New York Times-bestselling author Beatriz Williams joins us to discuss this summer's hot read, Tiny Little Thing.
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Meet the Author: Beatriz Williams
Archives for Authors & Books
Battle of the Books in The Edge
All tweens and teens entering grades 6-9 in September 2015 are invited to join the Edge team for the Battle of the Books competition! Teams from libraries throughout Westchester will compete by answering trivia questions based on five different books. Participants will read the pre-selected books over the summer, attend team meetings, and compete (as a team) in the Westchester Library System Battle of the Books tournament. The tournament takes place on October 17, 2015, at Ossining High School. The first meeting takes place on June 23 at 4 p.m. in The Edge Media Lab. We will be discussing
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Hoopla Launch Event planned for this Saturday
We are excited to announce the public availability of thousands of movies, television shows, music albums and audiobooks, all available for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital. White Plains Library card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or iOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to begin enjoying thousands of titles – from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers – available to borrow for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers. hoopla digital has a simple sign-up and attractive, easy-to-use interface, so it’s easy to get to your listening and viewing experience.
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Authors & Books, Homepage, Library News, and Technology.
adults, all ages, children, collection, eBooks, movies, music, technology, teens, and television.
adults, all ages, children, collection, eBooks, movies, music, technology, teens, and television.
Hoopla: Streaming Movies and Music Now Available
We are excited to announce the public availability of thousands of movies, television shows, music albums and audiobooks, all available for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital. White Plains Library card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or iOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to begin enjoying thousands of titles – from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers – available to borrow for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers. hoopla digital has a simple sign-up and attractive, easy-to-use interface, so it’s easy to get to your listening and viewing experience.
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Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Technology.
all ages, audiobooks, books, collection, computers, eBooks, movies, music, services, and technology.
all ages, audiobooks, books, collection, computers, eBooks, movies, music, services, and technology.
The Sami Rohr Library of Recorded Yiddish Books
Yiddish, a language without a country, has an estimated five million speakers throughout the world. Recently, the language has seen a resurgence of interest, particularly among younger generations looking to reconnect with their heritage. Also, the number of speakers is increasing with the growth of Yiddish language programs in universities and adult education settings. In his Nobel Prize for literature speech of 1990, Isaac Bashevis Singer said we haven't seen the end of Yiddish. He was correct. To help preserve Yiddish literature in its original tongue, Sami Rohr has commissioned a set of thirty “talking” books. Produced by the National
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Non-Fiction Comics
When it comes to non-fiction books created in a comics style, the term “graphic novel” becomes a misnomer, although it is certainly still used. I prefer to say “graphic non-fiction.” Are you surprised that non-fiction material has been covered by comics? The one “graphic novel” to win the Pulitzer Prize was in fact non-fiction – Maus by Art Spiegelman. (In 1992 alone this book won Pulitzer, Eisner, and Harvey awards and Los Angeles Times' book prize for fiction. (!) This book tells the story of the artist's father's experience in the Holocaust as a Polish Jew and the artists' coming
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Meet the Author: Zane!
New York Times best-selling author Zane will appear at the Library this Saturday, September 29, at noon. We hope you'll join us for what is sure to be an entertaining Q&A. Bring your questions about her books, how she writes, or maybe how she got started. As part of this appearance, Sarah Bracey White, published author and Executive Director of Greenburgh Arts and Culture, will facilitate a conversation between Zane and the audience. Zane is the New York Times best-selling author of, among others, Afterburn, The Heat Seekers, the Flava series, and Dear G-Spot. Her television series, Zane’s Sex Chronicles,
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Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Uncategorized.
adults, author event, books, and reading.
adults, author event, books, and reading.
From Comic Book to Movie
Have I convinced you to try comics yet? What you may not realize is that many popular movies are based on comics and graphic novels. (Wikipedia has a list that spans the globe. For English-language comics-into-movies only, go here.) If you loved “V for Vendetta,” “Ghost World,” “Road to Perdition” or “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” you may want to check out the comics that started it all: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore (DC Comics, 2005) Ghost World (Special Edition) by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics, 2008) Road to Perdition by Max Allan Collins (Pocket Books, 2002) The League of Extraordinary
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Borrow Museum Passes for Free
Did you know that the Library offers free Museum Passes to the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Bruce Museum, Children’s Museum of Manhattan, The Frick Collection, Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum, Katonah Museum of Art, and Stepping Stones Museum For Children? These passes are available to all White Plains Library cardholders over the age of 18 who are in good standing. One pass may be borrowed at a time per family. You get the pass for three days and 2 nights and passes cannot be renewed. You may sign up for a pass up to 30 days in advance either
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Comics with a French Flair
Did you enjoy TinTin or the Smurfs as a kid? Then you've already had taste of Franco-Belgian comics, another distinct style of comics and graphic novels. As I've already covered, the Japanese have their own style, manga, which has influenced Korea's manwha and China and Hong Kong's manuha. In the United States, descendants of Jewish immigrants have heavily influenced American comics. Lest you think Europe is a comics wasteland, the French and Belgians have a history of “bandes dessinées” (translated as “drawn strips”), their own style of comics. Within the world of bandes dessinées there are distinct sub-styles – not
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Storywalk: Featuring a Story About Olympian Chris Paul
Hey, Olympic basketball fans – Did you realize that this year’s Trove Summer Storywalk® is all about Chris Paul, member of the 2012 USA Men’s Olympic Basketball Team competing in London? He was also on the 2008 USA Olympic Basketball Team that won the gold medal in Beijing. Well if you can’t get enough of Olympic basketball, bring the whole family for a cool walk along The Trove’s Summer StoryWalk® in The Library Gallery. As part of this activity, first through sixth graders take a chance at winning a basketball. On your walk, you will enjoy an inspirational story based
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Our Collection: Something for Everyone
Ever wonder how books, DVDs, eBooks and other items are selected for your library? First, the White Plains Public Library, with staunch support from the City, is fortunate to have a healthy materials budget–even in these fiscally strained times. This allows us to build and maintain a large, up-to-date collection–with plenty of copies of high-demand titles such as “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. Second, we have many librarians–each with different interests, expertise, and points of view–involved in chosing materials for you. They read reviews, follow the media, and are guided by your concerns and requests. This ensures a varied and comprehensive collection:
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What is Freading?
Hint: it means eBooks from the Library without the wait! Freading is a new online service that allows White Plains Library cardholders to download eBooks to their favorite devices. (Except for the older Kindles. It does work with the Kindle Fire.) Freading offers over 11,000 titles in all genres and is particularly strong in Mystery, Romance, and Self-Help. You will find many Children’s titles there too. Freading does not have books from any of the “big six” publishers but does have a wide array of titles from some of the smaller presses like Algonquin, Kensington, and Poison Pen. Freading uses a
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Parents – fit in reading every day and have some fun!
Before going away on vacation, do some research about places you are going to visit with your children. Read a book set in the same locale. Read about kayaking if you plan to do it, or the animals you might see on your trip. Did your kids find some shells at the beach? Find out what kind they are at the Library. If you begin a new family activity like cooking or worm composting, the Library is a good place to start to find out how things work. The summer, when life moves at a slower pace, is the perfect time to
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The Jewish Experience in Comics
In the United States, a great many comics artists and writers have been Jewish. You might have heard of some of these men and not known their heritage because they changed their names to less ethnically identifiable names. Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, etc.? He was born Stanley Leiber. Jack Kirby, co-creator of Captain America (among other characters), was originally Jacob Kurtzberg, son of Austrian Jewish immigrants. He was determined to leave his poor, Lower East Side childhood behind. The other co-creator of Captain America, Joe Simon, was born Hymie
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Newsflash! Grown Ups Read Comics Too
At least in Japan they do! In the United States comics are mostly thought of as something for children or teenagers. In Japan, manga is popular with people of all ages. (Manga is the Japanese name for Japanese-style comics.) In fact, some types of manga are pretty adult in theme. Adult women in Japan are sometimes fans of “yaoi” or “boys love” – a genre of manga that is created for a female audience featuring men in romantic relationships with other men. Artists elsewhere, including other Asian countries, the United States and Europe, have created manga-style comics. The manga industry
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What are Graphic Novels?
Comics have had a tumultuous time here in the United States. What we now know as a comic (comic strips, comic books, and eventually graphic novels) began to appear in the late nineteenth century. They grew in popularity as they evolved from newspaper items to comic books; but in the 1940s many people became shocked at the increasingly gory covers and artwork of horror and crime comics. A psychologist, Frederic Wertham, wrote “Seduction of the Innocent” in 1954 and claimed that comic books were a major cause of juvenile delinquency. A panic followed. Today we know that comics don't cause
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Smitten by Downton Abbey?
Downton Abbey has taken the U.S. by storm! Who would have thought that a period drama shown on PBS would get such word of mouth? Downton Abbey is set in a fictional English manor house just before The Great War (later known as World War I). If you liked the British drama Upstairs Downstairs then Downton Abbey is right up your alley. If the show has piqued your interest in Edwardian England, our Smitten by Britain: Reading and Viewing Around Downton Abbey book list will keep you busy. The online version links titles directly to our catalog so you can see
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