The BCPL Bulletin
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Fall / Winter 2019 Issue No. 3 the Follow us on: BCPL Bulletin A Newsletter from the Broome County Public Library Library Hours: Monday-Thursday 9am-8pm Friday & Saturday 9am-5pm Food for Fines ... pg 3 A Reader's Dilemma ... pg 6 Book Sale Dates ... pg 8 Library Programs ... pg 10 HAPPENINGS AT BCPL Early Voting For the first time, New Yorkers were able to vote early for the November 5, 2019 general election, no reason or excuse needed. The Broome County Public Library was chosen as one of the three early voting sites in Broome County. For nine days leading up to the election, from October 26 to November 3, all residents of Broome County were able to vote in the Library's Decker Room. We were happy to work with the Board of Elections to offer this convenience to the community. Grant Applications We have also been busy applying for a variety of grants. The Youth Services Librarian submitted a grant request through the Four County Library system, who received funds from the New York State Library's Family Literacy grant. We also applied for a New York State Construction grant, and very recently the Friends of the Broome County Public Library submitted a grant request on our behalf to Tioga Downs for accessibility upgrades. Holiday Book Swap The Books & Beans Book Club will do a holiday book swap on December 19, 6-7:30, at Little Venice. Bring a new or used wrapped book; new members are welcome, but registration is required. Call 778-3829. Books being discussed at the December meeting will be The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. Yoga @ the Library The Library's Yoga program continues to do very well, both attendance and enthusiasm among the participants remains high. Beginner's yoga is offered every Tuesday evening, 5:30 to 6:30 in the Exhibit Room for most of the year. We will, however, be taking a break for the holidays. Last session before the break will be November 19th, resuming again in January. No registration required. Wear loose clothing and bring a yoga mat (we do have a limited supply to lend out). I love my library and I read the newsletter. Present this coupon at the Circulation Desk and receive $1 off any fine* *Applies to overdue fines only, no lost materials. Valid only at the Broome County Public Library. One certificate per person per newsletter. Expiration Date 12/31/19 Tis the season ... FOOD FOR FINES DONATE FOOD, REDUCE YOUR FINES During the month of December, donate one non-perishable, unexpired food item and receive $1.00 in fine forgiveness. *Does not apply to fees from lost materials All donations will go directly to CHOW Join us! SIGN UP FOR EMAIL Return the form below to any public service desk at the UPDATES library or email your name and email address to Ever wonder what's going on at the library? [email protected] Sign up to receive email updates about special programs and events, new services, and other with a subject line of Patron information. Email List. I would like to receive information from the Broome County Public Library about special programs and events, new services and other updates. Please add me to your email list. Name: Email: Have you tried HOOPLA? Hot Tips F R O M A B O O K I E The Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson The Land of Wolves is the 15th book in Craig Johnson’s Longmire series. If you have seen the television show that is based on these books, then you know that the series is set in northern Wyoming's Absaroka County where Walt Longmire is Sheriff. This book begins with the carcass of a dead sheep found in the Big Horn Mountains, and quickly becomes the investigation into the suicide or murder of a dead shepherd with a connection to a powerful family of Basque ranchers. Walt, still recovering from the injuries he sustained in Mexico retrieving his kidnapped daughter, must follow the twists and turns of the case, as a renegade wolf stirs up hysteria among the population of Absaroka County, pitting ranchers against environmentalists. As with all the books in this series, the land itself is an integral part of the story, in both its beauty and its challenges. This series tends to have a wide appeal because it does such a A puurrfectly good successful job at catering to different reading tastes, combining intelligent and thoughtful writing, interesting plots, and lots of way to spend a action for those who enjoy it. Everyone will, of course, have their favorites. For example, I really enjoyed The Western Star, cold, snowy day. for it's exploration of Walt's backstory, whereas a friend much preferred The Depth of Winter, a much more action oriented story where Walt travels across the border to retrieve his kidnapped daughter from the leader of a Mexican drug cartel. I look forward to reading this series every year, and with a strong and intelligent lead character that I really enjoy, a darn good story, and strong supporting characters, this book did not let me down. by Jennifer Keysor Public Services Librarian A Readers Dilemma ... I’m not a huge reader, but I certainly do read. I pulled a book off the shelf recently thinking I recognized the author as someone who I’d read before and liked, John Irving. I just finished “A Widow for One Year.” And yes, I enjoyed it. I followed Ruth Cole as she twisted and turned through life. I was uncomfortable at times, I laughed out loud and I cried. But, now what? I’m lost. I have now started three new books and none of them has captivated my attention in quite the same way. Do I go back to the author whose style I enjoy? Do I find something in the same genre? What do I call that anyway? I think I’ll ask a librarian. A Few Suggestions ... Finding that next book you really love can be tricky. However, being able to identify another book that you enjoyed can be a good starting point. The first thing to do is to figure out exactly what appealed to you in the previous book. For example, did you really love the setting? A particular character? The way the author used language? The pace of the book? Or was it the fact that the book was a mystery or a romance or some other category of fiction? The number of books out there can be overwhelming, and answering these questions can help you narrow down the potential pool to a more manageable number. Fiction Genres Knowing what genre you enjoy can be a very good place to begin, but what exactly is a genre? When people talk about fiction, they often divide it in half. A book will be either popular, or genre fiction, or literary fiction. A genre is simply a way to divide popular fiction into smaller categories or subsets. These categories can then be divided again into even smaller categories within the genre. So lets say you like romance stories; romance is the genre, but that does not mean you enjoy every romance ever written. Maybe you really like contemporary romances set in the modern day, but you just hate historical romances. Or perhaps romantic suspense or paranormal romances are more your speed. Genre fiction as a whole usually follows a certain structure; it is generally plot-driven, written around a loose formula, and is meant to be entertaining. Fiction that falls under this category is most often divided into mystery, romance, thrillers, suspense, fantasy, science fiction, horror, historical fiction, Christian fiction, and westerns . Books can and do contain a mix of different genres and elements, but there will always be more emphasis on one. For example, suspense and romantic suspense vary in that in romantic suspense the emphasis is on the romantic relationship between the two main characters, while the suspense part of the plot is secondary. In books that fall under the suspense category, the element of suspense will be what drives the story, with the relationships among the characters having less importance. Knowing what genre, or mix of genres, appeal to you can tell you which authors you might like. The Library provides lists of authors Continued on the next page ... organized around different genres to help you get started. Ask at either the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk. Geography, etc. Genres are an excellent place to start, but there are a couple of other elements that might appeal to readers. For example, if the setting of the book was something you really enjoyed, then one option would be to look for other fiction books set in the same geographic area. You then have the choice of looking for novels within the same genre or branching out into different kinds of fiction. You might even want to consider reading a non-fiction book about the history of that area. The pace of a book can also vary. Some books move at a very leisurely pace, while others, most often thrillers or suspense novels pick up speed as they go and drive the reader towards the resolution of the story. These books usually have shorter chapters, with less descriptive language. If it was a particular character or characters that you enjoyed, than maybe character driven books appeal to you and you might look for other books that are more character focused. And this brings us to literary fiction.