Danbury Library Blog

In the heated debate on global warming at least no one has blamed worldwide temperature spikes on the elevated temps a.k.a. hot flashes of women of a certain age. A topic once avoided like the plague--menopause is now openly discussed and addressed as a natural part of the aging process. Books like Is it hot in here, or is it me? cover all the bases from info on hormone therapy, natural remedies to diet and exercise --all from a layperson's point of view.

Humor helps as well The Hot Flash Club novels are very funny adventures of a group of women of a certain age.

Posted by Mary at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The original manuscript of Jack Kerouac's definitive Beat Novel On the Road has been published in a new edition. This edition is based on the original manuscript which was typed by Kerouac on a 120 foot scroll in a 20 day marathon in April, 1951. The scroll was auctioned to James Isray (owner of the Inianopolis Colts) for 2.43 million in 2001.

Kerouac's novel of freedom and the promise of the open road is definitlely worth a read because of its widespread influence on so many Beat writers. One of these, Thomas Pynchon, acknowleged this influence in his preface to his book of short stories entitled Slow Learner.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

National Public Radio provides excellent coverage of all things literary. Their new four-part series, “Crime in the City," features crime writers and the cities in which their fictional sleuths live and work. Donna Leon spoke today about Venice, where her Commissario Brunetti detective stories take place. Both a travelogue for armchair tourists and a discussion of the importance of setting in a genre novel, the NPR series is fun and informative. Next stop: John Burdett’s steamy, seamy Bangkok.

More book talk is available on C-SPAN2, which presents interviews with non-fiction authors every weekend on BookTV.

Posted by Andrea at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The staff and volunteers of the Danbury Library were recently informed by the City of Danbury's Department of Health, Housing & Welfare that there may have been the potential for exposure to pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) at the library. As was reported in the News-Times on August 15, a teen library volunteer was diagnosed with active TB. TB is an airborne bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs. Repeated and prolonged exposure to someone with an active case of TB who is coughing or sneezing is necessary for infection to take place. In other words, touching library materials, such as books or DVD's, or using library equipment, such as computers or self-check machines, will not result in infection. City health officials have told us that the library's staff members and volunteers are at a very, very low risk of having been exposed, and the library's customers are at an even lower risk. In other words, you need not worry about catching TB on your next visit to the library. To be on the extremely safe side, the city is offering free TB skin tests to all library employees and volunteers to ensure that no library employee or volunteer has been infected.

For more information about TB, contact Ms. Maureen Singer, R.N., at the Community Health Service (791-5050), or visit the American Lung Association's web site. We at the library and city health officials are doing everything possible to keep our customers and employees healthy and safe.

Posted by Mark at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Brooke Astor, a great lady and a great benefactress to the City of New York died yesterday at age 105. Mrs. Astor is reported to have once said she wanted her headstone to read "I had a wonderful life". She certainly had a remarkable one. The thrice-married Mrs. Astor was the belle of New York society and the salvation of many of its cultural institutions including The New York Public Library. Check out The Last Mrs. Astor to read more about this "aristocrat of the people".

Another book about the Astors, Justin Kaplan's When the Astors Owned New York gives a vivid portrait of the "gilded age" Astors and their impact--they put the 'grand' into grand hotel.

Posted by Mary at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are all familiar with the adage that all politics are local. Soon we may have to amend this to all food is local if a number of groups are successful in their attempts to change our culinary habits.

Locally there is a group called the Plow-to Plate Community Coalition. This group is trying to encourage better eating habits with the goal of fighting cardiovascular disease. New Milford Hospital is encouraging people to use locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables to improve their diets. (www.hunthillfarmtrust.org)
Another perspective on this topic is provided by Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She and her family moved from Arizona to Appalachia. They bought a farm and vowed to buy only food raised in their neighborhood, grow it themselves or do without it. The book chronicles their life on the farm.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 03:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The story of Jane Austen’s real-life romance, “Becoming Jane,” comes to the big screen this week, and the movie version of “The Jane Austen Book Club” is scheduled to open September 21. It seems like Jane-mania is now completely and thoroughly entrenched in popular culture. The BBC, Hollywood (and Bollywood) have adapted and re-interpreted most of Austen’s novels. She and her characters have inspired sequels, prequels, contemporary variations (including chick lit) and mysteries. Use the library catalog’s keyword search function to find everything in our collection relating to Jane Austen. (Sick of Jane? There’s always Virginia Woolf.)

Posted by Andrea at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During our recent hot and humid spells, you may have felt that it wasn't too much cooler and drier in the library than it was outside. Even though the library's chillers are due to be replaced this coming fall, we have to make it through this summer with the current, old system. The good news is that some significant adjustments were made to the air conditioning system recently, and the library is now significantly cooler and drier. We'll all keep our fingers crossed (now that they're no longer covered in sweat) that the terrific work performed by the Public Buildings staff will get us through the rest of the cooling season in comfortable fashion.

Posted by Mark at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)