The Short List

During Teen Read Week in October more than 6,000 teens voted New Moon as their favorite books for 2007. Teens’ Top Ten is a “teen choice” list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in five school and public libraries around the country—the 2007 nominees were chosen by book groups in Connecticut, Kansas, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Utah, selected for their experience in discussing books.

The 2007 Teens’ Top Ten is:

• New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
• How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
• Maximum Ride: School’s Out – Forever by James Patterson
• Firegirl by Tony Abbott
• All Hallows Eve (13 Stories)by Vivian Vande Velde
• Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• River Secrets by Shannon Hale
• Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe
• Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.cfm

“What we do in the next two or three years will determine the future of our planet.” This is the warning of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chairman, Ramachandra Pauchauri. In an effort to mobilize the nation to act before it is too late, the environmental education group, Focus the Nation, has set aside January 31 as a day to focus on global warming solutions for America. It is an unprecedented initiative on the part of schools, businesses, and civic organizations to engage in activities which will expedite the adoption of clean energy alternatives. In keeping with these goals, the Essex Library will offer three important films on Wednesday evenings at 7pm.

January 30 - Everything’s Cool, exposes the efforts of those with vested interests to ignore, dispute, or even doctor the evidence that fossil fuels are causing irreparable harm to the earth’s atmosphere.

February 6 - How to Save the World spotlights marginal farmers in India who are saving their poisoned land by reviving ancient pollutant-free farming methods. In following their example, we may discover an environmentally sustainable food system capable of feeding the world.

February 13 - Kilowatt Ours is an inspirational film that demonstrates how easy it is to conserve energy that is produced from traditional sources as well as the many ways the average consumer can easily become part of the renewable energy revolution. The film shows the connection between personal choices and energy use and introduces us to individuals, businesses, schools and universities who have cut their energy use in half by taking simple steps that benefit the consumer, the environment and the economy.

Our Winter Foreign Film Series returns again on Fridays at 7 p.m., beginning on January 4th and running through January 25th.

The 4 films are:

• Jan 4th-Caché (France, 2005) Anne and George Laurent seem to live the perfect life in a lovely Parisian neighborhood until they start receiving anonymous videos of their home and family. Who is doing the videotaping and why? The performances of Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche are superb as they convey their gradual emotional disintegration in subtly different ways. This is a movie you could spend hours examining, analyzing and, above all, arguing about with others. Directed by Michael Heneke.
• Jan 11th-After Life (Japan, 199 Suspended between earth and heaven, 22 people have a week to answer an important question: “What is the one memory that you choose to carry into the afterlife?” The memory they choose will then become the afterlife they experience throughout eternity. How people remember, how they fictionalize their memories, and the nature of memory itself are all part of the fascination of After Life. This is an exquisite film that explores after-life experience and lingers in the mind and in the senses for many days. Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu.
• Jan 18th-City Of God (Brazil, 2003) Horrifying yet at times comic, City of God, is an unforgettable picture of a group of youths growing up in an impoverished housing project built by the Brazilian government. Our guide to the “City of God” is Rocket, a young man who would surely wind up another corpse on the street if he didn’t find his life’s calling in photography. Armed with a cheap point-and-shoot and a keen eye, he becomes the chronicler of his community. This is a skillfully composed film that impresses with its artistry and quirkiness while delivering a blow to the solar plexus with its message. Directed by Fernando Meirelles.

• Jan 25th- The Lives Of Others (Germany, 2006) Set, appropriately, in 1984, The Lives of Others is a rich and involved drama from the period of German history preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall. Gerd Wiesler, a dedicated and respected officer in communist East Berlin’s secret Stasi police has the task of spying on a popular playwright and his live-in girlfriend to determine if the couple has any involvement in anti-government activities. A cold and lonely man who unquestioningly follows orders, Wiesler develops an unexpected curiosity in his subjects that changes all of their lives. His exposure to the passionate and artistic couple forces him to reevaluate his commitments to the country’s oppressive regime. The Lives of Others works beautifully, both as a social and psychological drama and as a taut, tightly wired thriller. Directed by Florian Henkel.

Those who attend are invited to participate in a short discussion following the viewing. Coffee and a light dessert will be served during and after the film.

Cathy Burgard will once again present “Searching The Library Catalog and Placing Holds” on Wednesday, January 23rd at 7p.m. This hands-on training session will show you how to find books and other materials in the Library catalog, place holds, renew materials and manage your account. Basic computer skills and Internet experience required. For more information or to register please visit or call the library at 767-1560.

The Library will be closed Monday and Tuesday, December 24th and 25th as well as Monday and Tuesday, December 31st and January 1st.

This amusing YouTube video was made for Aunties Books in Spokane, Washington but it applies to gift givers on this coast too.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yl2FHschmwI

The series this year will feature Treasures Of The Mystic Seaport and History Of Connecticut Lighthouses. Presentations
will take place at the Library at 4pm on Sunday, February 3^rd, 10^th and 24^th. For more information, see our website or call
the Library. In the past, this series has attracted standing-room only audiences. Those wishing to attend should register
early to avoid disappointment.

Most of us have a literary to-do list that includes “read more Shakespeare.” Despite his being arguably the most importantwriter ever, sitting down to read a play all by oneself can seem like facing a plate of broccoli. You know it’s good for you,but it’s awfully hard to dig in. Our new Shakespeare reading group will help you make good on your lofty intentions - andhave fun doing it, too. Starting Thursday, January 17th, and running monthly after that (2/21, 3/20, and 4/17) Jenny Trippwill moderate as we read a series of four plays in roughly chronological order. The first will be Henry IV, Part I, a history play,followed by Love’s Labors Lost, Coriolanus, and The Tempest. Copies of the plays, as well as recorded audio performances, will be availableat the library in early December. We’ll read, explore, discuss, and enrich ourselves — and no broccoli!