Your source for information on the latest and greatest in reading arts and entertainment!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

New Audiobooks!

The Third Bullet, by Stephen Hunter
A reimagining of the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy finds Bob Lee Swagger drawing on old records, intelligence archives and observations at the infamous site to investigate a new clue about a third bullet that mysteriously exploded.




Daddy Love, by Joyce Carol Oates
Kidnapping a latest victim in a string of young boys he tortures and rapes, a self-styled preacher confines the child in a small box and gradually brainwashes him over subsequent years into believing that they are father and son; while the boy's mother, who was savagely injured during the abduction, clings to hope that her son is alive.



Benediction, by Kent Haruf
A terminally ill cancer patient is attended throughout his final days by his wife and daughter while the trio contemplates their relationships with an estranged son, a situation that stirs up painful memories for a new next-door neighbor who has recently lost her mother.



Striker, by Clive Cussler
Detective Isaac Bell returns in the remarkable new adventure in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series.After witnessing a terrible coal mining accident, Detective Isaac Bell hunts for the high-level saboteurs he believes are responsible.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Try A Book Club In A Bag!

Welcome to the Merrick Library's Book Club in A Bag Program. Each bag contains 10 copies of a title, discussion information, discussion leader tips, and a book sign up sheet to help the leader keep track of the books. The Reference Department has been very busy gathering multiple copies of several titles for your discussion groups. You will be able to check them out as one complete kit. Also included will be everything you need to lead your group; author biographies, discussion questions, critical material and more! All of the work has already been done for you. All you need are some interested readers, some snacks, great conversation, and you are good to go! Please call the Reference Desk for more information. (516) 377-6112 x112 or x113.





Tuesday, February 26, 2013

New DVDS...

Out February 26:
 
"Chasing Mavericks" - based on a true story - a wave thought to be a myth presents the ultimate challenge to a teen surfer and his local legend mentor - family drama starring Gerard Butler ("300," "Gamer") and Elisabeth Shue ("Back to the Future," "Dreamer")
 
"The Master" - a stress-disordered Naval veteran falls into a post World War Two cult - stars Amy Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix
 
"Searching for Sugarman" - this year's Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature - what became of Sixto Rodriguez, a Detroit folksinger who became a pop music superstar in South Africa?

Monday, February 25, 2013

Let Us Pick Your Next Read


Merrick Library's Reference Department would like to make choosing your next read easier. Visit our homepage, fill out a short questionnaire and our staff will provide you with up to 5 titles according to your preferences. You will be notified when your selections are available at the Reference Desk. **Merrick cardholders only

Borrow A Nook Simple Touch!


Borrow a Pre-Loaded Nook Simple Touch

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Our Nook eReaders are pre-loaded with the many titles. Merrick Library card holders can check them out for 14 days. The titles currently on our Nooks are:
The Innocent, by David Baldacci
Once We Were Brothers, by Ronald Balson
Sandcastle Girls, by Chris Bohjalian
Gold, by Chris Cleave
The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Panther, by Nelson DeMille
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
Heading Out of Wonderful, by Robert Goolrick
Calico Joe, by John Grisham
Summerland, by Erin Hilderbrand
Fifty Shades Trilogy, by E.L. James
Defending Jacob, by William Landay
Sutton, by J.R. Moehringer
11th Hour, by James Patterson
The Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, by Anna Quindlen
Shoemaker's Wife, by Adriana Trigiani
Unnatural Acts, by Stuart Woods

There are also several classics available on the Nooks, including:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

New DVDs...


 
"Argo" - based on the true story of how a fake science-fiction film crew engineered the escape of six American diplomats from Iran in 1979 - Golden Globe winner for Best Movie Drama and Director (Ben Affleck) - seven Academy Award nominations including Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) - also starring Victor Garber, John Goodman ("Flight") and Bryan Cranston (TV's "Breaking Bad")
 
"End of Watch" - for two young Los Angeles policemen, crime has really gotten out of hand! - Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Cinematogaphy and Supporting Male (Michael Pena) - also starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Kendrick ( "Pitch Perfect")
 
"Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season" - from HBO and the books of George R.R. Martin - how many families want the land of Westeros? Would you believe SEVEN? - winner of six Emmy  Awards and for two straight years the American Film Institute TV Program of the Year - stars Sean Bean, Lena Hedley and Peter Dinklage (Emmy and Golden Globe winner)

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Library Closed President's Day

The Library will be closed on Monday, February 18th in observance of President's Day. Why not pick up a book about your favorite president...

Thursday, February 14, 2013

New Audiobooks!

Touch and Go, by Lisa Gardner
When Justin and Libby Denbe, along with their fifteen-year-old daughter, disappear, investigator Tessa Leone must race against time to expose the Denbes' darkest secrets to discover who would want to kidnap such a perfect little family and just how far they are willing to go.


Power Trip, by Jackie Collins
On a state of the art luxury yacht off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Aleksandr Kasianenko, a billionaire Russian oligarch, his sexy supermodel girlfriend and their guests—five powerful and famous couples—are all held hostage by a master pirate who is working for a Russian mobster with a grudge.
  
Middlesteins, by Jami Attenberg
An unforgettable novel about the obsessions, loves, and foibles of a Midwestern family on the brink of tremendous change. Two siblings with very different personalities attempt to take control of their mother's food obsession and massive weight gain to save her life after their father walks out and leaves her reeling in the Chicago suburbs.

  
In the Shadow of the Banyan, by Vaddey Ratner
Her life of privilege in Cambodia shattered by the outbreak of civil war on the streets of Phnom Penh, young Raami endures four years of loss, starvation, and brutal forced labor while clinging to memories of the legends and poems told to her by her father.


Until the End of Time, by Danielle Steel
A couple destined to be together forever meet an untimely demise and wind up reincarnated as a hardened New York City publisher and a shy Amish woman writer, both of whom feel an uncanny attraction to each other.


  
A Week In Winter, by Maeve Binchy
A final novel by the late best-selling author of Tara Road follows the efforts of a woman who against the opinions of local detractors turns a coastal Ireland mansion into a holiday resort and receives an assortment of first guests who throughout the course of a week share laughter and the heartache of respective challenges.


Deadly Stakes, by J. A. Jance
Contacted to investigate the gruesome murder of a gold-digging divorcee on behalf of the woman accused of the crime, police academy-trained former reporter Ali Reynolds is simultaneously drawn into another case that could be related to hers and must stop a dangerous killer from striking again.
  
Guilt, by Jonathan Kellerman
When he is consulted on a cold case involving the discovery of infant remains in a neglected fixer-upper Tudor mansion, psychologist-investigator Alex Delaware, tracing the long history of past residents, is led down a bloody path littered with unprecedented narcissism and unspeakable cruelty.

 Slim For Life, by Jillian Michaels
The leading wellness expert and author of Master Your Metabolism outlines a no-nonsense insider's plan for rapid and permanent weight loss, drawing on her extensive background to identify gimmick-free best practices for enabling specific positive health transformations.
  Alex Cross, Run, by James Patterson  - Out February 18th
In the aftermath of a disgraced plastic surgeon's release from prison, Detective Alex Cross investigates the murder of a young mother whose newborn has disappeared, a case that is further complicated by two additional killings.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013


********   NEW PAPERBACKS!  *********

We have added some great new paperbacks to our collection, and you're going to want some of these.   

Come in and check them out in our New Paperbacks section across from the Circulation Desk.


American Elsewhere


American Elsewhere, by Robert Jackson Bennett
An ex-cop inherits her mother's home in Wink, New Mexico, and discovers that the residents of the small, quiet town are even stranger than she had imagined in this new tale of the supernatural from the author of Mr. Shivers





book jacket

The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs, Nick Trout 

Reluctantly returning home to Eden Falls, Vermont, to revive his late father's failing veterinary practice and then sell it as quickly as possible, Dr. Cyrus Mills finds his plans changing when he gets more and more entrenched in the community and in his relationships with a cast of colorful characters.




Stay Close, Harlan Coben

A bored suburban wife, a documentary photographer-turned-paparazzo and a detective who cannot let go of a cold case hide secrets from their loved ones only to have the past return in dangerous ways. By the best-selling author of Live Wire.








Close Your Eyes, Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen

Using carefully honed sensory skills gleaned from a childhood spent blind to solve cases, music therapist Kendra Michael is tapped by former FBI agent Adam Kyle, who is investigating the work of a serial killer who may be responsible for the disappearance of Kendra's ex.







Check out these new paperbacks, too:

Keeping Bedlam at Bay in the Prague Cafe,  M. Henderson Ellis

The Good Daughter, Jane Porter

Fellow Mortals, Dennis Mahoney
The Autumn Bride, Anne Gracie
Shattered, Dani Pettrey
A Duke Never Yields, Juliana Gray
Once Again A Bride, Jane Ashford
Beach House No. 9, Christie Ridgway
























New DVD's...


"The Men Who Built America" - their names were Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan and Ford - how they transformed this nation is the subject of this History Channel docudrama

"Alex Cross" -  Follows the young homicide detective/psychologist as he meets his match in a serial killer.  The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this taut and exciting action thriller.

"Bully (The Bully Project)" - the results of this documentary about five teenagers and their families in school bullying situations include suicide and carrying a firearm 
 
"The Kid With A Bike" - from France - a kindly hairdresser helps a boy abandoned at a youth facility come to terms about his father's rejection of him - acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival and by the National Board of Review USA
 
"Nurse Jackie: Season Four" - from Showtime - Edie Falco returns as the brilliant yet troubled emergency nurse finally facing her addiction but also a new hospital adminstrator aiming to keep her in line

"Perks of Being a Wallflower" - The Perks of Being a Wallflower is based on the wildly popular novel by Stephen Chbosky about a freshman named Charlie who is always watching from the sidelines until a pair of charismatic seniors takes him under their wing. Beautiful, free-spirited Sam and her fearless stepbrother Patrick shepherd Charlie through new friendships, first love, burgeoning sexuality, bacchanalian parties, midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the quest for the perfect song
 
"Pitch Perfect" - the most unlikely assortment of college girls merge to become a one of a kind a cappella singing group - stars Anna Kendrick ("50/50) and Brittany Snow ("Hairspray")
 
"Robot and Frank" - a ex-jewel thief gets an automated helper while in a nursing home - or is it his partner in a future heist? - stars Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon and James Marsden
 
"The Sessions" - based on a true story - a writer locked in an iron lung since childhood wants to lose his virginity - stars John Hawkes, William H. Macy and Helen Hunt (Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress)
 
"Skyfall" - the fate of MI6 and M herself is in the hands of Bond - James Bond! - nominated for five Academy Awards - starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes
 
"Teddy Bear" - from Denmark - a thirtyish bodybuilder with a domineering mother secretly travels to Thailand to find a wife - winner of the World Cinema Directing Award  (Mads Matthiesen) at the Sundance Film Festival
 
"Weeds: Season Eight" - from Showtime - Mary Louise Parker is back as Nancy Botwin, suburban pot dealer relocated in the Big Apple with a contract out on her

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Turn Of Mind by Alice LaPlante 


Join the Merrick Library Book Club

as we welcome author 

Alice LaPlante 

via Skype to discuss her 

critically acclaimed debut novel



“To call Turn of Mind a thriller—or a chronicle of illness, or a saga of friendship for that matter—would confine it to a genre it transcends. This is a portrait of an unstable mind, an expansive, expertly wrought imagining of memory’s failures and potential. . . . In LaPlante’s vivid prose, [Dr. White’s] waning mind proves a prism instead of a prison, her memory refracted to rich, sensual effect. There are moments of steely, surgical calm, the language tight and fractured . . . and there are moments of blooming, antic poetry. . . . LaPlante has imagined a lunatic landscape well. The twists and turns of mind this novel charts are haunting and original.”—The New York Times Book Review


Amazon.com 10 Best Thriller and Mystery Books
Washington Post Notable Fiction
The Guardian Best Thrillers
Kirkus Reviews Top 25 Best in Fiction
Globe and Mail Best Mysteries and Thrillers
Shelf Awareness Top Pick




The Merrick Library Book Discussion

will be held

Wednesday, March 6th
at 2:30pm.

We look forward to seeing you!



Wednesday, February 6, 2013


Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers
Join us for the Library's Book Discussion 
Today @ 2:30

Tuesday, February 5, 2013


New DVDs

Out February 5:
 
"Alex Cross" - Tyler Perry stars as James Patterson's detective/psychologist pushed to personal limits by a serial killer - backed by all-star cast including Edward Burns, Jean Reno, Cicely Tyson and Matthew Fox (TV's "Lost)
 
"Celeste and Jesse Forever" - a woman questions whether she can stay friends with her soulmate/ex-husband after they divorce - stars Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Ethan Hawke and Emma Roberts
 
"Deadfall" - brother and sister on the run from a robbery gone wrong take vastly different paths when they split up heading for Canada - stars Eric Bana ("Star Trek"), Olivia Wilde, Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson
 
"Flight" - the heroic actions of an airline pilot who landed a crippled plane safely are called into question - two Academy Award nominations: Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor (Denzel Washington) -  costarring John Goodman and Melissa Leo ("The Fighter")
 
"Here Comes the Boom" - Kevin James stars as a teacher who enters the world of mixed martial arts to save the school  music program. Problem: it has been twenty years since he last wrestled in college - also starring Salma Hayek and Henry Winkler (TV's "Happy Days")
 
"A Late Quartet" - a cellist's retirement due to dire illness sets events in motion that threatenthe existence of a renowned classical music ensemble - stars Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Wallace Shawn

Friday, February 1, 2013

The bestselling Nicholas Sparks book, Safe Haven will be out in theaters February 14th.  A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
Director:Lasse Hallström
Stars:Cobie Smulders, Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, David Lyons