Archives for Authors & Books

Reading Around the World: Chinese New Year

Reading Around the World: Chinese New Year

With Tata's “Reading Around the World” book picks, younger patrons and their families will enjoy reading about the different cultural celebrations around the world. Easy holiday Picture Books and easy Folklore stories will introduce young readers to the world outside the U.S. This month you can learn about Chinese New Year. Simply click on a title or cover to place it on hold. Chinese New Year is celebrated according to the Lunar Calendar and falls on Saturday, January 25 this year. This begins the Year of the Rat. The Rat is considered the first animal of the Chinese Zodiac. Therefore,
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January 22, 2020 9:30 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Evergreen, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, Chinese New Year, and Reading Around the World.

Book Reviews by Teens, for Teens

Book Reviews by Teens, for Teens

Below you'll find a book review of new or upcoming titles submitted by teens in the Edge. If you'd like to place a hold on the book being reviewed, click on the title or cover. Author: David Yoon Title: Frankly in Love Review: One of my favorite books of the year! It’s more than just a cute romance. It talks about race, a complicated family dynamic, academic standards and with humor as a plus. We get diverse characters throughout the book too! Everyone should read it! A 5 out of 5 star read. David Yoon has brilliant writing and I
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January 22, 2020 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: book review, by teens for teens, David Yoon, and teen book review.

Barbara Wenglin’s Short Story Series

Barbara Wenglin’s Short Story Series

White Plains librarian Barbara Wenglin’s short story discussion series has been a popular fixture for years as the selections and their interpretations have produced a riveting give-and-take among the attendees. The spring series opens on Thursday, March 12th, at 2:00 p.m. with a discussion of “Islands on the Moon” by Barbara Kingsolver, taken from the anthology, Stories of Motherhood (Everyman’s Pocket Classics, 2012, edited by Diana Secker Tesdell). The flyer with dates and details is attached. The theme of mother-child relationships intersects with the screening and discussion (date TBA) of the Academy Award winning film, The Piano (Miramax, 1993) that
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January 21, 2020 11:45 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Events, and Library News.
Tags: book club, book discussion, book groups, and short story discussion.

Groundhog Day Books for Younger Readers

Groundhog Day Books for Younger Readers

Groundhog Day is observed on February 2nd each year. This date marks the midpoint between the Winter Solstice in December and the Spring Equinox in March. According to the Farmers' Almanac, “If he [the Groundhog] sees his shadow, we will have six more weeks of winter; if he doesn't, it'll be six weeks till spring.” Below you'll find a variety of books for younger readers to help them understand the holiday and what groundhogs have to do with the changing of the seasons. Will Spring Be Early? Or Will Spring Be Late? by Crockett Johnson “Misled by an artificial flower,
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January 18, 2020 10:05 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, Groundhog Day, and young readers.

Slow Reading Spring Session

Slow Reading Spring Session

Library users may wonder about one of our newest reading groups: Slow Reading. “Slow reading describes my practice of looking at a text very closely in order to appreciate nuances of language and hence of meaning,” says Ellen Lambert, author (The Face of Love: Feminism and the Beauty Question) and White Plains resident, who holds a Ph.D. in English from Yale University. Lambert taught literature at Manhattan’s Dalton School for over 25 years (and intends to start a tutoring service for high school students.) “In our discussions of short fiction, we often read particular passages out loud. We then examine
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January 16, 2020 11:15 am | by | 4 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, and Homepage.
Tags: book discussion and slow reading.

Holocaust Remembrance Day Author Visit

Holocaust Remembrance Day Author Visit

This event has passed. Please visit our children's calendar here for a current listing of events. Israeli-born Larchmont resident Amalia Hoffman is a renowned children’s book author and illustrator. She has appeared at the Library to talk about such books as All Colors, Astro Pea, Dreidel Day, and The Klezmer Bunch, and her honors include the PJ Library Author Incentive Award for Dreidel Day. On Monday, January 27, at 4:30 p.m. in the Library’s Galaxy Hall (second floor), Hoffman will make a return visit to discuss her newest book The Brave Cyclist: The True Story of a Holocaust Hero (Capstone
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January 16, 2020 9:45 am | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Events, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Amalia Hoffman, author visit, Gino Bartali, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and The Brave Cyclist.

2019 Staff Picks

2019 Staff Picks

The White Plains Library Staff have assembled their picks for the year, featuring cookbooks, DVDs, music, audiobooks, and plenty of plain old books. It's a wonderfully wide-ranging list, full of lots of surprises, and should help with your holiday shopping or just some entertainment for yourself. Enjoy! Below you'll find a list with links to the catalog or resource where they're available (simply click on the title) as well as a blurb on why staff enjoyed it. Gluten-free Baking at Home by Jeffrey Larsen (Cookbook) “Why I liked it: Because of the mix of classic recipes like carrot cake and
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December 11, 2019 3:30 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: best books of 2019, book recommendations, books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Macmillan, eBooks, and Access

Macmillan, eBooks, and Access

If you are looking for a new eBook published by Macmillan and can’t find it in our collection, it’s because the publisher, Macmillan, has taken the unprecedented act of limiting public library access to their eBooks. In response, the White Plains Public Library has decided to suspend the acquisition of all eBooks published by Macmillan. Macmillan, one of the country’s five largest publishers, includes such well-known brands as Farrar, Straus & Giroux, St. Martin’s Press, Picador, Tor, and more. This fall, Macmillan announced that it would make eBooks available to libraries under a new model: a library may purchase one
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November 20, 2019 2:54 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: eBooks, Macmillan, and publishers.

Meet the Authors: Himmelfarb & Massena

Meet the Authors: Himmelfarb & Massena

This post has expired and the events have already occurred. Copies of the book that is mentioned can be purchased at the Everyday Healthy Cafe on the first floor of the Library. White Plains in the 20th Century (Arcadia Publishing) is a 130-page compendium of photographs of White Plains throughout the 1900s compiled by former White Plains librarian Ben Himmelfarb and current city archivist Elaine Massena. They gathered 200 photographs largely from the collections of artist/photographer John Rosch (1854-1949) and longtime White Plains city historian Renoda Brown Hoffman (1909-2005) to show how a village-turned-city (in 1916) evolved over 100 years.
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November 12, 2019 9:52 am | by | 8 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Library News, and Local History.
Tags: adults, author event, Ben Himmelfarb, books, Elaine Massena, local history, white plains collection, and white plains history.

September 2019 LibraryReads

September 2019 LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published in September that librarians across the country love. Just click on a title or book cover to place it on hold. Red at the Bone: A Novel by Jacqueline Woodson Published: 9/17/2019 by Riverhead Books “A rich, multigenerational weaving of two families, starting at Melody’s coming-of-age party. She wears the dress her mother didn’t get to wear because she was pregnant with Melody at the time. Alternating narration moves forward and backward in time, reflecting on family, desire, identity, and parenthood. For fans of Jesmyn Ward and Brit Bennett.”—Julie Graham, Yakima Valley Libraries,
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October 23, 2019 11:30 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations and Library Reads.

What Should I Read Next?

What Should I Read Next?

This post as expired and the event has passed. Visit our adult calendar here for a current list of book related events or subscribe to our eNewsletter here to find out when Carol Fitzgerald will return. Get a heads-up on new books and refresh your reading list for the colder weather with publishing insider Carol Fitzgerald on Sunday October 20th at 1:30 p.m. Back by popular demand, Carol will share news about the season’s buzz-worthy titles and facilitate a discussion of book group practices, successes, and failures. Carol Fitzgerald is the President of The Book Report Network—a group of internet
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October 9, 2019 11:40 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, and Library News.
Tags: book club, book discussion, book groups, book recommendations, and carol fitzgerald.

Teen Film Series: One Book, One Movie

Teen Film Series: One Book, One Movie

This post has expired. Please visit the teen calendar for the latest Edge events. Teens can extend their One Book, One White Plains reading experience by coming together to watch a film with related themes to Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Join in a meaningful discussion afterwards. Light refreshments will be served. The films will be shown at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays in the Edge. Film schedule: October 3 – The Perks of Being a Wallflower October 10 – The Blind Side October 17 – The Sun is Also a Star October 24 – A Dog's Journey
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October 2, 2019 2:11 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Events, and Library News.
Tags: film discussion, film series, movies, One Book One White Plains, teen films, and teen movies.

Book Club: The Future is Female

Book Club: The Future is Female

One of our newest book groups returns this month. The Future is Female, a mix of memoirs, short stories, novels, and poetry by and about interesting, talented, and inspiring women in history, the arts, sports, and everyday life. Led by Ellen O’Connell, the group will meet on the first Monday of every month, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. To place one of the readings on hold, simply click on the title. October 7: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (2014) a Novel — As part of the One Book, One White Plains program. “A moving exploration of family, history, and
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October 2, 2019 9:00 am | by | 11 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Events, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: book discussion, books by women, and feminist books.

Meet Author Ann Chiappetta

Meet Author Ann Chiappetta

This post has expired. Visit our adult calendar to see upcoming book and author events. When Ann Chiappetta lost her vision in 1993 because of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a “Why me?” cry would have been very understandable. The New Rochelle resident had a family and a successful career as a designer of acrylic displays and furniture, where sight, of course, was critical. RP is a rare, genetic ocular disease that strikes about 1 in 4,000 people (the gene is recessive), and Chiappetta was the first in five generations of her family to be afflicted. “The diagnosis had come years earlier
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September 28, 2019 11:47 am | by | 3 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Events, and Library News.
Tags: Ann Chiappetta, book event, and meet the author.

August 2019 LibraryReads

August 2019 LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published in August that librarians across the country love. Just click on a title or book cover to place it on hold. The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai Published: 8/6/2019 by Avon “An intelligent, multicultural contemporary romance. Rhi, CEO of the Crush dating app, and Samson, NFL star, embark on a joint project that turns into more than just talk. Issues of #MeToo in the tech industry and the NFL’s concussion problem are woven in. For readers of the Forbidden Heart series, Elle Wright, and Alyssa Cole.”—Jessica Werner, The Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA
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September 25, 2019 9:37 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations and Library Reads.

One Book, One White Plains

One Book, One White Plains

This September and October, White Plains will come together as a community to read Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You. A gripping page-turner and striking family portrait, the novel follows a Chinese American family in 1970s small-town Ohio as they try to understand the death of the oldest daughter, Lydia. It explores “alienation, achievement, race, gender, family, and identity” (Amazon.com). Writes the New York Times Book Review: “If we know this story, we haven’t seen it yet in American Fiction, not until now.” How to participate? If you have a book group, make Everything I Never Told You your
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September 3, 2019 9:00 am | by | 3 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Events, and Library News.
Tags: book discussion and One Book One White Plains.

Book ‘Em Fall 2019-Spring 2020

Book ‘Em Fall 2019-Spring 2020

Book ‘Em, our Mystery Book Group returns select Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. beginning September 11th. This year we’re reading contemporary women authors—both first time novelists as well as the most acclaimed crime writers—with books that take us from Canada to Ireland to Japan. See the full list of dates below: September 11 (USA) Celeste Ng: Everything I Never Told You A huge mystery eats away at the center of the Lee family. October 16 (Ireland) Jo Spain: With Our Blessing Could a recent murder be linked to the notorious Magdalene Laundries? November 13 (Australia) Jane Harper: The Lost Man A
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August 28, 2019 5:16 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: Book 'Em, book discussion, and mystery.

July 2019 LibraryReads

July 2019 LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published in June that librarians across the country love. Just click on a title or book cover to place it on hold. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman Published: 7/9/2019 by Berkley “Nina likes her bookish life just fine. She works in a bookstore and is on a highly competitive trivia team. She is funny and snarky and great company (says this reader). Suddenly, a father she never knew dies and leaves her with a pack of brothers and sisters and Nina may be forced out of her comfortable reading chair.
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August 1, 2019 2:20 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations and Library Reads.

One Book, One White Plains

One Book, One White Plains

This post has expired. For the latest information on One Book, One White Plains and to register for a pop-up discussion group, visit this post. We are excited to announce that Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng, has been selected as our choice for One Book, One White Plains. A moving exploration of family, history and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and an examination of the rifts that keep us apart. “One Book, One White Plains is an opportunity for White Plains residents of all backgrounds to come together
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July 28, 2019 3:25 pm | by | 6 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, and Events.
Tags: book discussion, Celeste Ng, and One Book One White Plains.

June 2019 LibraryReads

June 2019 LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published in June that librarians across the country love. Just click on a title or book cover to place it on hold. Evvie Drake Starts Over: A Novel by Linda Holmes Published: 6/25/2019 by Ballantine Books “Relationships are hard, whether with a spouse, a best friend, a new love interest, or ourselves. Evvie navigates all of these after a life-changing series of events. An engaging novel that explores relationship nuances without being too dark or too cutesy. For fans of Jenny Colgan, Cecilia Ahern, and Sophie Kinsella.”—Maribeth Fisher, Scotch Plains Public Library, Scotch Plains,
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July 3, 2019 2:42 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations and Library Reads.