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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Books on Sale Soon...


Books on Sale Soon:

City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare, April 5th

I'm Over All That and Other Confessions by Shirley MacLaine, April 5th

Elizabeth 1 by Margaret George, April 5th

She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey through Poems by Caroline Kennedy, April 5th

Unlimited: How to Build and Exceptional Life by Jillian Michaels, April 5th

Monday, March 28, 2011

Top Ten Graphic Novels According to Booklist. 2011


Top 10 Graphic Novels

The Acme Novelty Library, v.20. By Chris Ware. Ware’s roughly annual books have been steadily expanding the range of what the comics format is capable of expression, and here he takes a dazzling leap forward, chronicling the entire life of yet another emotionally crippled antihero, Jason Lint.

Artichoke Tales. By Megan Kelso. Set in a fantasy land populated by artichoke headed people, this finely drawn graphic novel chronicles a family’s saga before, during, and after a bitter civil war.

Bodyworld. By Dash Shaw. Professional drug-addict Paulie Panther arrives in town to toke a bit of local plant that shoots users in the minds and bodies of others. Shaw continues to impress with this blend of dystopian sci-fi, dire comedy, and high school romance.


A Drunken Dream and other Stories. By Moto Hagio. This collection of short showcases the four-decade career of one of the most influential creators of manga for women, ranging from melancholic shojo romances to gender-bending sci fi to powerhouse introspective character studies.

Elmer. By Gerry Alanguilan. A son coming to terms with his dead father’s legacy isn’t a tremendously new narrative idea, but considering the characters are sentient chickens who were nearly wiped out by humans after gaining consciousness, this story is definitely in unmarked territory.

It Was the War of the Trenches. By Jacques Tardi. Eminent French cartoonist Tardi’s ground-level account of the First World War, chronicling the harrowing experience of French troops in the trenches, is a relentlessly grim and moving reminder of the cruelty and stupidity of war.

Koko Be Good. By Jen Wang. A spirit so free she nearly floats right off the page, Koko and two other misfits bounce around San Francisco and the early stages of adulthood, equally unsure of and inspired by one another.

Moving Pictures. By Kathryn Immonen. An elegant historical graphic novel that explores the personal relationships of a museum curator protecting revered works of art during the Nazi occupation of Paris.

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit. By Darwyn Cooke. Cooke’s second adaptation starring Donald Westlake’s professional heister (following The Hunter; 2009) pits the ruthless parker against a powerful crime syndicate in a virtuoso display of power noir silkiness.

The Umbrella Academy, v.2: Dallas. By Gerard Way. This ultra violent, peculiar, and effervescent play on the super-hero genre features a slew of brain-bending twists revolving around an attempt to thwart-and un-thwart- the Kennedy assassination.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Books to Movies...



Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2) by Jeff Kinney "In theatres March 25th, 2011."

Director: David Bowers
Writers: Gabe Sachs (screenplay), Jeff Judah (screenplay)
Stars:Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick and Robert Capron

Monday, March 21, 2011

Book Signing....BETHENNY FRANKEL



Thursday, March 24th, 7pm @ Book Revue
Reality star BETHENNY FRANKEL will speak about and sign her new book,
A PLACE OF YES: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life.

In her new book, Bethenny opens up about and shares the obstacles she overcame helped her achieved her successes in life. Bethenny's path was not always clear. She overcame a difficult childhood, failed relationships, entrepreneurial efforts that never quite got off the ground, and lifelong money struggles. To deal with these challenges,Bethenny developed ten rules for pursuing her goals with authenticity and drive, including: finding your truth, acting on it, and owning it. And by putting Bethenny's rules together, you can use them to be more successful, more fulfilled, healthier, and happier than ever before.

Bethenny Frankel is a celebrity Natural Food Chef, New York Times bestselling author of Naturally Thin, and star of Bravo's hit series The Real Housewives of New York City. In addition to her monthly column in Health magazine, Bethenny is regularly featured at events around the country. She currently resides in New York City with her dog, Cookie.

Saturday, March 19, 2011


On Sale Soon...

One Hundred Names for Love by Diane Ackerman, April 4th
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Marable Manning, April 4th
I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark, April 5th
Miles to Go: The Second Journal of the Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans, April 5th
Bossypants by Tina Fey, April 5th

Trade Paper...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett April 5th
Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush April 5th
Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink, April 5th

New York Times Literary Treat of the Week...


Baer, Robert and Dayna. The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story. Crown.

“Life is infinitely stranger than anything the mind of man could invent.” The Baers would probably agree with that declaration of Arthur Conan Doyle in describing their journey to wedded bliss through the territory of espionage. Robert Baer, whose 2002 memoir See No Evil inspired the movie Syriana (both available at Merrick Library) was a Central Intelligence Agency veteran whose first family disintegrated due to his road work and was doublecrossed in Tajikistan by double agent Aldrich Ames. California-born Dayna was a fact checker of C.I.A. applicants whose promotion to a “deep cover” team led to the breakup of her first marriage. Taking alternate chapters the Baers provide a view of how real-life spying takes its toll that cannot be matched by fiction.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

New Non-Fiction Business Title


In the beginning, the World Wide Web was exciting and open to the point of anarchy, a vast and intimidating repository of unindexed confusion. Into this creative chaos came Google with its dazzling mission--"To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible"--and its much-quoted motto, "Don't be Evil." In this provocative book, Siva Vaidhyanathan examines the ways we have used and embraced Google--and the growing resistance to its expansion across the globe. He exposes the dark side of our Google fantasies, raising red flags about issues of intellectual property and the much-touted Google Book Search. He assesses Google's global impact, particularly in China, and explains the insidious effect of Googlization on the way we think. Finally, Vaidhyanathan proposes the construction of an Internet ecosystem designed to benefit the whole world and keep one brilliant and powerful company from falling into the "evil" it pledged to avoid.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Books to Movies...


The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

"In theatres March 18th, 2011."


A lawyer conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car while representing a high-profile client in Beverly Hills.

Director: Brad Furman
Writers: John Romano (screenplay), Michael Connelly (novel)
Stars:Matthew McConaughey, Josh Lucas and Marisa Tomei

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

New Audiobook Arrivals!

The Andreas family is one of readers. Their father, a renowned Shakespeare professor who speaks almost entirely in verse, has named his three daughters after famous Shakespearean women. When the sisters return to their childhood home to care for their ailing mother, and to lick their wounds and bury their secrets, they are horrified to find the others there. But the sisters soon discover that everything they've been running from might offer more than they ever expected.



When an oil-drilling station off the coast of Colombia is destroyed by terrorists, resulting in the death of his men, Delta commando Dewey Andreas sets out for revenge. Meanwhile, the enigmatic Alexander Fortuna, who has embedded himself into America's corporate elite, plots another attack. With time running out, Andreas must locate Fortuna and stop him before any more lives are lost.




In this fictional memoir, Hadley Hemingway chronicles the life and career of her husband, famed twentieth century writer Ernest Hemingway. Through Hadley's unique perspective, listeners get a behind-the-scenes look into the personal lives of the Lost Generation writers, including Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound.




When Nöel learns that his former flame is terminally ill and pregnant with a child she claims is his, he agrees to take care of the baby girl once she's born. But as a recovering alcoholic whose demons are barely under control, he can't do it alone. Luckily, he has an amazing network of family and friends who are ready to help. A tale of joy, heartbreak and hope in a close-knit Dublin community.




Haunted by her father's mysterious death, Lucy Jarrett returns to America after several years in Japan. Unable to sleep, she rummages through family's lakeside house and discovers a locked chest full of valuables that reveal a family history previously unknown to her. As she digs deeper, she realizes that her family's history is much more interesting than she once thought.

Monday, March 14, 2011

New York Times Literary Treat of the Week....



Just as biographies dominate recent Non-Fiction Best Seller lists in the New York Times Book Review they are also in abundance at Merrick Library. Here are three new arrivals of note:

Dench, Judi. And Furthermore. St. Martin’s Press.

Whether one knows her as Jean in the popular Britcom “As Time Goes By,” the spymaster “M” in recent James Bond movies, or in film work that includes the current version of “Jane Eyre” Judi Dench has a tremendous fan following. With admirable British reserve, the actress recounts both sweet and sour moments in a lifetime spent on stage and these days largely in cinema. A tender part of these proceedings is telling about her thirty years of marriage to actor Michael Williams who died of cancer in 2001.

Merrick Library has the following films on DVD featuring Judi Dench:
Casino Royale,Doogal, The Importance of Being Earnest,Ladies in Lavender
Macbeth (with Ian McKellen), Mrs. Henderson Presents, Nine
Notes on a Scandal, Pride and Prejudice (with Keira Knightley, Quantum of Solace, The Shipping News

Dubus, Andre, III. Townie: A Memoir. W.W. Norton and Company.

Divorce and abandonment by his famous writer/father left the author, his mother and siblings to endure the drug-ridden, violence-prone environment of 1970s mill town Massachusetts. Andre III took up weightlifting and boxing to counteract repeated beatings but could not protect his family from the toll of life. In college he was reunited with his father who treated him as a buddy. Andre III would become caretaker to the elder Dubus after the latter was paralyzed by a car. Both generations would find different kinds of personal deliverance through writing.

Merrick Library has the following book by Andre Dubus:
Dancing after Hours: Stories

And the following books by Andre Dubus III:
Bluesman, The Garden of Last Days and House of Sand and Fog

Hamilton, Gabrielle. Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef. Random House.

One’s idea of an exclusive restaurant is bound to be turned upside down by this mostly food-related memoir. Hamilton’s East Greenwich Village eatery Prune handles only thirty diners at a time and specializes in comfort dishes prepared in high gourmet style. This was born out of a caring attitude the author saw disappear in her Pennsylvania youth when her parents’ marriage fell apart. The subtitle to this volume is explained by the fact that Hamilton could easily have pursued a full-time writing career had not food been a constant throughout her often stormy life.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Books To Movies...


Jane Eyre (Signet Classics) by Charlotte Bronte
The list author says:
"In theatres March 11th, 2011.


A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.

Director: Cary Fukunaga
Writers: Charlotte Brontë (novel), Moira Buffini (screenplay)
Stars:Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender and Jamie Bell

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Author Signing......


LINDA FAIRSTEIN

Friday, March 11th, 7pm @ Book Revue in Huntington.
Bestselling crime-novelist, LINDA FAIRSTEIN will speak about and sign
her new book, SILENT MERCY.

In the latest thriller in Linda Fairstein's bestselling series, Alex Cooper dives deep into the byzantine, sinister world of New York City's powerful religious institutions. It's the middle of the night. Prosecutor Alexandra Cooper is called to Harlem's Mount Neboh Baptist Church, a beautiful house of worship originally built as a synagogue. But the crowd gathered there isn't interested in architecture, or even prayer. They've come for the same reason Alex has: to find out why the body of a young woman has been decapitated, set on fire, and left burning on the church steps. The only identifiable artifact on the charred remains is the imprint of a Star of David necklace seared into the victim's flesh. Alex wonders if the fire was meant to destroy this woman's body, or to draw attention to it. Her fears are confirmed days later, when a second corpse is found at a cathedral in Little Italy.
The killings look like serial hate crimes, but the apparent differences in the victims' beliefs seem to eliminate a religious motive. Convinced that another young woman is bound to die, Alex mines the depths of Manhattan's many houses of worship to find a connection between the victims. In the process, she uncovers a terrible and perilous truth that takes her far beyond the scope of her investigation, and directly into the path of terrible danger.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Read and E-Book Week. March 6-12 2011


E-books appeared on the web, easily shared and stored on a hard drive or storage disk, and quickly began to grow in popularity.

The Merrick Library has an extensive collection of Free Downloadable E-books for our patrons to borrow and enjoy.
Visit the downloadable audio and E-book link on our hompage for more information.

Friday, March 4, 2011

DVD Collection/ Spirit Awards Honored Flims


On February 26 the 26th annual Independent Spirit Awards were presented in Santa Monica, California. The following movies in Merrick Library's DVD collection were honored at the gathering:

"127 Hours" - Best Male Lead (James Franco)

"Get Low" - Best First Feature

"The Kids Are All Right" - Best Screenplay

"Please Give" - Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble Cast)

"Winter's Bone" - Best Supporting Female (Dale Dickey), Best Supporting Male (John Hawkes)

Books to Movies...


Priest: Genesis (Priest Ultimate Edition) Volume 1 by Min-woo Hyung

"In theatres March 4th, 2011."

Summary: A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece.

Director: Scott Charles Stewart
Writers: Cory Goodman, Min-Woo Hyung (graphic novel series "Priest")
Stars:Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet and Maggie Q

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Author Signing


DR. RICHARD S. ISAACSON, M.D.

Tuesday, March 8th, 7pm @ Book Revue in Huntington.
Alzheimer's expert, DR. RICHARD S. ISAACSON, M.D. will speak about and sign his new book, TREATING ALZHEIMER'S, PREVENTING ALZHEIMER'S.


In his new book, Treating Alzheimer's, Prevention Alzheimer's: A Patient & Family Guid, Harvard trained Neurologist, Dr. Richard Isaacson answers the most common patient and caregiver questions on the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and shares his cutting edge approach in the fight against AD, the greatest public health crisis facing our world today.

The 83rd Academy Awards...



On February 27 the 83rd annual Academy Awards were presented in Los Angeles. The following movies in Merrick Library's DVD collection were honored at the ceremony:

"Alice In Wonderland" - Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design

"Inception" - Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects

"The Social Network" - Best Film Editing, Best Orginal Score, Best Adapted Screenplay (based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, also available at Merrick Library)

"Toy Story 3" - Best Animated Feature Film, Best Original Song ("We Belong Together")

"The Wolfman" - Best Makeup