Amazing...time passes so quickly. On the one hand, I feel like I am going to be freezing and shoveling snow forever and then "bam" I am hearing on the radio that it will be 90 degrees outside by the weekend. The seasons storm on by, ready or not. Right now the Children's Department is preparing for the start of one of our busiest times of year...the Summer Reading Program. This year's theme is called "G'Day for Reading" which pays homage to our mates across the world. Our program begins the very day that school lets out for the summer on June 19th. Both readers and non-readers are welcome to pick-up a reading log to keep track of their summer reading favorites. And the beauty of summer reading is that readers may read anything their hearts desire...perfect! But if anyone is scratching their head trying to think of a good title, we have "Suggested Summer Reading Lists" compiled by the Nashua School District librarians, hooray!! We also have some totally cool events throughout the summer for kids so be sure to check out our Summer 2008 Kidstuff flyer http://www.nashualibrary.org/documents/kidstuff.pdf. So come on down "under" and join us for a summer full of fun.

Do you read books from a specific genre? Can't get enough mysteries, romance, science fiction? Always want to know what's new for you to read? Then sign up for one of our BookNews Newsletter! Once a month, a selection of some of the newest titles in a particular genre are highlighted. Information provided includes, the book's cover image, author, ISBN number, and the summary from the book jacket. There is also a link to find the book in our catalog, allowing you to see if the title is checked in or out and where the title is located in the library. To sign up for the newsletters, either go to our Newsletter sign up page or, if you are in the library, fill out the BookNews form, which can be found at the Circulation Desk. If you don't want newsletters sent to your email, you can visit the BookNews web site, find the genre you are interested in, and click 'view' to see the latest newsletter. At the sight you can also view lists of award winning books and best seller lists.

If newsletters aren't your thing, you can always check out our New Fiction and New Non-Fiction display located to the right of the circulation desk. Or if you are just interested in all our new books, no matter what genre or topic, you can check out our "New Books" site at http://www.nashualibrary.org/newbooks.htm.

Leave a comment about some of the new books you are reading (or are looking forward to reading)!

It should be no surprise to devotees of the TV series that In a notable scene from this current movie one of the female characters ends up in bed with one of the male characters (no names, no spoilers). But there is is an unexpected happening as they begin to read from a book of collected love-letters. In a movie full of products like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Skyy vodka, and Mercedes Benz, this book brought out the librarian in me. But is the book really a collection of love-letters, or it just a prop department book camouflaged to suit the requirements of the plot? I’m afraid I came up with no answer. But my curiosity was stirred by the question to see what sorts of similar collections might exist at our library.

A subject search for love-letters on the NPL online catalog brings up seven volumes. Several of these are devoted to a unique love correspondence, but others are anthologized collections similar to the one in the movie.

So why not spend an intimate evening at home and peruse one of these books. Sip a bit of Skyy vodka and read, for example, one of Napoleon’s letters to Josephine from the beautiful book Love Letters: An Illustrated Anthology compiled by Antonia Fraser:
“I have not spent a day without loving you; I have not spent a night without embracing you; I have not so much as drunk a single cup of tea without cursing the pride and ambition which force me to remain separated from the moving spirit of my life.”

Or select from the same book one of Franz Liszt's love-letters to Marie d’ Agoult:
“My heart overflows with emotion and joy! I do not know what heavenly languor, what infinite pleasure permeates it and burns me up. It is as if I had never loved!!! Tell me whence uncanny disturbances spring, these inexpressible foretastes of delight, these divine tremors of love. Oh! All this can only spring from you, sister, angel, woman, Marie!”

Another anthology of love-letters at our library is The Book of love: writers and their love letters selected by Cathy N. Davidson. Our books devoted to unique love correspondences are:

Letters of a Portuguese nun / Myriam Cyr by Myriam Cyr,

Dear Scott, dearest Zelda: the love letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald edited by Jackson R. Bryer and Cathy W. Barks, and introduced by their granddaughter Eleanor Lanahan,

Dear, dear Brenda: the love letters of Henry Miller to Brenda Venus edited by Gerald Seth Sindell,

How do I love thee? The love-letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett selected and introduced. by V. E. Stack,

La nouvelle Heloise. Julie; or, The new Eloise; letters of two lovers, inhabitants of a small town at the foot of the Alps translated and abridged by Judith H. McDowell.

Today is a day of distinction for two reasons. Today is Friday the 13th, a dubious distinction, but this Friday the 13th is special! This is the only Friday the 13th in 2008. Opinions are divided on Friday the 13th, but the history of both Friday and thirteen appear to be unlucky.

Friday, according to the encyclopedia Man Myth and Magic, has been unlucky right from the beginning. It is supposed to be the day on which Adam and Eve ate the apple. Friday is not a good day to embark upon anything new whether it be a trip, a job, or a hairstyle. In the Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore and Symbols, Friday was the day when criminals were executed in Europe and was often called "hangman's day".

The reputation held by the number 13 is no better. Again, according to Man, Myth and Magic, hotels do not have a 13th floor and streets often do not have a house number 13. Thirteen people should never sit down to dinner together, and if you find yourself in a room with twelve other people, be very sure not to be the person nearest the door! A Friday and a 13 together on the same day - watch out!

That's one side of the story. According to The Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, the Irish consider Friday a good day to die (as long as you are buried on Saturday and prayed for on Sunday). Both Man, Myth and Magic and The Dictionary of Mythology Folklore and Symbols tell that the early Romans considered Friday a day dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love and therefore, a lucky day.

Personally, my superstitions are hard to pin down. I will walk under a ladder, especially on Friday the 13th. One has never fallen on me yet. (knock on wood). I will go out of my way to avoid a black cat, but I'd do it to avoid any cat. No offense cat lovers. I never pick up a penny on the ground - face up or down. Too much work for one cent! But, let my husband go away on a business trip, and I know something terrible is going to go wrong while he is gone. Something always does. Mostly I think that's my bad karma.

If you'd like to improve your luck or understand your karma, the library has some books for you:

The luck factor : changing your luck, changing your life
As luck would have it : incredible stories from lottery wins to lightning strikes
Luck : understanding luck and improving the odds
The power of karma : how to understand your past and shape your future
The complete book of superstition, prophecy and luck
Knock on wood and other superstitions

I like to read mysteries. And many mysteries are part of a series. One thing I’ve noticed is the way books let readers know that it is part of a series varies greatly. One very popular series is the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich. These titles are very conveniently titled with the corresponding number, i.e., One for the Money, Two for the Dough, etc. Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone Mysteries are also an obvious progression, A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, and so on. Other books, will give you the series number somewhere on the book. Sometimes the number is on the book spine, on the cover, and sometimes on the books cover page. The cover page is in the beginning of the book, and supplies information like title, author and publisher. On the cover of the book Sunrise by Karen Kingsbury, we are told that this is the first book in the Sunrise Series. Another example is Gilbert Morris’s Singing River Series. One the cover page, we see that the book ‘The Dream’ is Book II of the series. In other cases, the name of the series the book belongs to is written on the cover. For example Have ‘Your Cake and Kill Him Too’ by Nancy Martin is A Blackbird Sisters Mystery.

You can see from these different examples that there is no standard way to display information about book series. If you’re like me, I generally like to double check the order of the series, especially if there is no series number on the book. (And I know you are out there because I’ve had these questions at the Reference Desk before!) The database Novelist is the best source to double check series information. You can access the Novelist database from the Nashua Library database webpage. If you are in the library, sign on to one of our computers to access the database. If you are at home, you will need to enter the last 5 digits of your barcode. Once you are in Novelist, you can type in the author, book title or series title. Along with the search results, you will see what series a particular book belongs in and the order in which to read them in. (Check out these blog entries for more great Novelist features: Want to Know What to Read Next?, Novelist - Make it your own, and For Fun Try Novelist). If you like to use Amazon, you can also search titles and authors, and they will sometimes list, next to the title, series information.

Leave a comment about a series you are reading.

Several days ago I was trying to persuade my "other half" that our next vacation should be in Italy. Since I am dealing with someone for whom Canada is his only venture out of our country, I decided I need to brush up on my persuasion skills. Persuasion is a form of social influence. Dictionary.com defines the word "persuade" as "to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging" or "to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding". In his book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" Robert B. Cialdini, an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation, defined six "weapons of influence":

1. Reciprocation - People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing.

2. Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, verbally or in writing, they are more likely to honor that commitment. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment often works because the buyer has already decided to buy.

3.Social Proof - People tend to do what other people are doing.

4. Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. An example is the My Lai massacre.

5.Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people whom they like. For example, it has been proven that people are more likely to buy if they like the person selling.

6.Scarcity - A perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.

Our library has several new items about the art of persuasion in the new business and non-fiction book areas::
Persuasion IQ: the 10 skills you need to get exactly what you want by Kurt W. Mortensen.

Yes!: 50 secrets from the science of persuasion by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini.

Good in a room: how to sell yourself (and your ideas) and win over any audience by Stephanie Palmer.

IInfluencing like Jesus: 15 biblical principles of persuasion by Michael Zigarelli with Carolyn Stanford Goss.

"Deceit is the Cinderella of human nature, essential to our humanity but disowned by its perpetrators at every turn. It is normal, natural, and pervasive. It is not, as popular opinion would have it, reducible to mental illness or moral failure. Human society is a network of lies and deceptions that would collapse under the weight of too much honesty." (David Livingstone Smith, Why We Lie, p 2)

It may sound cynical, but for many scientists and social critics it's dogma. Psychologist Robert Feldman conducted an amazing study which suggests that 60% of people tell on average 2-3 lies for every ten minutes of conversation. This has in view socially acceptable lies in addition to blatant or bald-faced lies. The frequency applies to men and women equally, though the sexes tend to lie about different things: men to make themselves look better, women to make others feel good.

I actually tested this on myself a few years ago, and monitored eleven lies in the space of a day. Granted most of these were the socially acceptable or trivial lies ("It's nice to see you", when it really wasn't; "I'll get back to you soon," knowing I wouldn't), it's still sobering. I consider myself pretty honest, but even morally upright folk (as I like to think of myself) seem to realize there's something anti-social about too much truth.

Then there's self-deception, which according to David Livingstone Smith is essential to our well-being. It soothes the stresses of life, and in the process helps us lie efficiently to others. "Lying to ourselves promotes psychological well-being," states Smith in an online interview, and in his book he cites research showing that mentally healthy people deceive themselves more than those who are ill and depressed, opposite what we're taught to believe. So remember: self-knowledge isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you're too in touch with reality, too honest with yourself, you might suffer for it!

So on that uplifting note, be sure to come in and check out the library's materials on lying and deception.

Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind, by David Livingstone Smith. An evolutionary-psychological perspective, explaining why homo sapiens are a species of habitual liars.

The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life, by Ralph Keyes. A cultural-critical perspective, suggesting that postmodernity has increasingly blurred distinctions between right and wrong, and today's world strongly inflames our inclinations to lie.

Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, by Sissela Bok. Classic study on the subject.

Lying and Deception in Everyday Life, edited by Michael Lewis and Carolyn Saarni. A collection of essays that looks at the boundaries between unethical and adaptive lies.

The Varnished Truth: Truth Telling and Deceiving in Ordinary Life, by David Nyberg. The author who quipped that "self knowledge isn't all it's cracked up to be". He exposes our collective pretense and explains that lies can be healthy, helpful, creative, and moral.

The Concise Book of Lying, by Evelin Sullivan. A tour-de-force on the history of lying and deception.

"He triumphed during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, when a hero was most needed by the people of Australia."--Museum Victoria Australia

The hero in question, a great athlete, died mysteriously in 1932 after winning a big race. The death sparked conspiracy theories; some speculated that gangsters were involved.

The athlete? A legendary Australian racehorse. Phar Lap won 37 out of the 51 races he ran in, with a streak of 14 straight victories and the Melbourne Cup among them. His last race was Mexico's Agua Caliente, the most lucrative horse race in North America--and he won.

While the exact circumstances of Phar Lap's death remain a mystery, the cause has finally been determined. Just last week, scientists announced that the horse died of arsenic poisoning. Forensic scientists were able to determine the cause by testing hairs from the horse's hide.

It's the ability of scientists to solve such intriguing mysteries that make TV shows like CSI such a big hit. If you've ever wondered whether those shows are really getting it right, here are a few books on the topic:

Crime scene chemistry for the armchair sleuth / Cathy Cobb, Monty L. Fetterolf, Jack Goldsmith

Forensic detective : how I cracked the world's toughest cases / Robert Mann and Miryam Ehrlich Williamson

Bodies we've buried : inside the National Forensic Academy, the world's top CSI training school / Jarrett Hallcox and Amy Welch ; foreword by Bill Bass.

The C.S.I. effect / Katherine Ramsland.

Two of the biggest news stories in recent weeks involve Sheila LaBarre and Neil Entwistle. Both of them have been tried and judged to be criminals - murderers to be exact. The viewing public has shared every gory detail of their crimes, observed their behavior in the court room and watched and listened to statements by their relatives and the relatives of their victims. Newspapers and television news shows have reported on and analyzed their every move.

Just in case you have been out of the country or just too busy for the last few weeks, let me identify these people and summarize their crimes. Sheila LaBarre has been found guilty of murdering Kenneth Countie and Michael Deloge and disposing of their remains on her farm in Epping, New Hampshire. She readily admits murdering these men, but claims that she was insane at the time. Neil Entwistle has been convicted of killing his wife and baby daughter and then running home to England in an attempt to avoid capture. He claims that his wife shot the baby and then shot herself.

Criminals, especially murderers, seem to capture the public interest. Are we most interested in the who, the why, the how, or whether or not they get away with it? It's hard to say, but big crimes are big business for book publishers. Remember that controversial book by O J Simpson? The one where he doesn't admit that he committed the crime, but tells how it was probably done? Publication of this book was cancelled so that Simpson would not profit from his alleged crime, but If I did it was published by the Goldman family so that the world would know how guilty O J Simpson was.

Many criminals who have generated headlines and captured the public's attention have had books written about them. In recent years we have become well acquainted with Scott Peterson who murdered his wife Laci, John and Patsy Ramsey, who may or may not have murdered their daughter JonBenet, John Allen Muhammed and Lee Boyd Malvo, serial snipers who terrorized the Washington DC area, and Dennis Rader, better known as the BTK killer. Here are a few of the books in the library's collection recounting their crimes:
Witness for the prosecution of Scott Peterson by Amber Frey
Blood brother: 33 reasons my brother Scott Peterson is guilty by Anne Bird
Perfect murder, perfect town by Lawrence Schiller
The death of innocence: the untold story of JonBenet's murder by John Ramsey
Three weeks in October : the manhunt for the serial sniper by Charles A. Moose
Inside the mind of BTK by John Douglas

If you find that you are interested in murderers and their motives, Ann Rule is an author for you to read. Her books are well-written and detailed and involve the reader's emotions. The library has a large collection of her books. Some of the most recent are Smoke, mirrors and murder, Too late to say goodbye, No regrets : and other true cases and Worth more dead and other true cases.

Keep watching for new books! Sheila LaBarre and Neil Entwistle are sure to be written about in the near future.