BECKET ATHENAEUM

August Book Club Selection

2008-07-22T18:46:00.000-04:00

The Book Club has chosen to read “Out Stealing Horses” by Per Petterson

for the next discussion.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 26^th at 3 pm.

Book & Tag Sale

2008-07-10T21:50:00.002-04:00

OUR ANNUAL BOOK & TAG SALE WILL BE HELD ON

SATURDAY, JULY 19TH FROM 9 - 3

We are now accepting donations of books and tag sale items for the BIG EVENT

please call for more information

also on this special day

Debbie O'Carroll will be here to perform her magical performance

"Amazing American Animals"

at 11 am

PLEASE JOIN US!!

Becket Athenaeum Newsletter July 2008

2008-07-04T21:19:00.002-04:00

"Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better"

~Albert Camus

Happy Summer and Happy Independence Day! Our theme for July is Summer Reading. We are very excited about our children's summer reading program, which kicks off July 5^th. We agree with author Anna Quindlen, who said, "I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." We hope to inspire many future bookshelf builders! The theme for this year's state-wide summer reading program is Wild Reads and we have lots of fun animal activities planned as well as a new Reader Leaders club. We hope to see wild kids of all ages gracing the Athenaeum, this summer. Come in on July 5 ^th to sign up, and see the calendar at the end of the newsletter for details on our events for July!

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken." ~James Dent

Summer reading is for grown-ups, too. Our display this month features good summer reads including The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt, Stalin's Ghosts by Martin Cruz Smith, Last Post by Robert Barnard, A Theory of Relativity by Jaquelyn Mitchard, several books by Jodi Picoult, Patrick O'Brian, and much more.

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought. "

~Wallace Stevens

BOOK SALE—DEBBIE O'CARROL

Our annual book sale will be on Saturday, July 19^th. Also on the 19^th, Debbie O'Carrol will be performing her magic show, Amazing American Animals at 11:00. The show will be followed by a children's wild mask parade.

"In summer, the song sings itself."

~William Carlos Williams

HELP NEEDED

We count on volunteers to help with setting up and staffing the book sale and we are short-handed this year. Please come in and sign up to help out!

YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

Our youth advisory board is recruiting members to help us produce our first local history video. This is a great opportunity for young adults age 12-18 to get involved in the community and have fun making a video. Join us July 10^th at 5 p.m. for snacks and planning!

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world." ~Ada Louise Huxtable

QUILT OF QUOTES

We have had several lovely quotes given for our quilt project. Our most enthusiastic contributors have been young adults, so we would like to remind the fully-grown to roll up their sleeves, pick up a fabric pen, and write a few lines! You will find fabric and laundry markers near the tea station—share with us a favorite line from a book or movie, or something overheard at the Athenaeum, read online, or in any way connected to the library. Once the quotes have been collected they will be sewn into a Becket Athenaeum Quilt of Quotes for all to enjoy.

MAGAZINES

We are in the process of reviewing our magazine subscriptions and welcome your suggestions and comments. What do we have that you love? What do you wish we subscribed to? Or if magazines are of no interest to you, we would like to know that, too.

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

~Henry James

A GENTLE REMINDER

As a courtesy to other patrons and staff, please step outside when speaking on your cell phone. Thank you!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Saturday, July 5^th 11:00 ORIGAMI

Fold some wild animals at the library! Children and adults welcome.

Tuesday, July 10^th 5:00 YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

Young adults age 12-18 are invited! This month we will be working on our local history video project.

Saturday, July 12^th 11:00 ANIMAL MASKS

Children of all ages are invited to make wild masks for our wild mask parade on July 19^th!

Saturday, July 19^th 9:00 BOOK SALE

11:00 DEBBIE O'CARROL

12:00 WILD MASK PARADE

Tuesday, July 22^nd 3:00 BOOK CLUB

The selection for this month is My Dream of You by Nuala O'Faolain

Wednesday, July 23^rd 5:00-7:00 READER LEADERS PARTY

Children who have earned 10 Reader Leader points are invited to enjoy an evening of pizza and board games at the library.

7:00-8:30 POETRY WRITER'S GROUP

Bring poems you've written, poems in progress, favorite poems by others, for conversation and inspiration. All styles welcome!

Saturday, July 26^th 11:00 ANIMAL ART

Join us in making wild animal art to display in our children's art exhibit. Collage, colored pencil, crayon, etc. All supplies provided.

I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.

~Simone de Beauvoir

Book Club

2008-06-24T18:40:00.002-04:00

The book chosen for the month of July is "My Dream of You" by Nuala O'Faolain. The Book Club will meet on Tuesday, July 22nd, at 3 pm. Any Questions, please call

Summer Reading Program

2008-06-19T22:52:00.001-04:00

THE SUMMER READING PROGRAM BEGINS

SATURDAY, JULY 5TH AT 11 AM

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FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

2008-06-19T22:47:00.001-04:00

Please Join Us on Thursday, June 26th at 7 PM

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June Newsletter

2008-06-16T10:20:00.002-04:00

Becket Athenaeum Newsletter

June 2008

Better late than never--the June newsletter at last! We have some exciting programming still to come this month, including Community Volunteer Day, and Family Movie Night, so don't forget to check the calendar at the end of the newsletter.

"How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence."

--Benjamin Disraeli

This month's theme is Gardening and Home Improvement. We have books for proven green thumbs as well as perfect beginners, whether you're interested in growing medicinal herbs, flowers, or good old-fashioned food. If you partake in the official Becket pastime (Working-On-My-House) we have books and videos to help with everything from minor repairs to building a house.

When you're ready to take a break from your gardening and repairs, curl up in the shade with a new book. If you're feeling reflective, try Memo to the President Elect by Madeleine Albright, or The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Or if what you really want is a nice escape, we have plenty of new fiction including Careless in Red by Elizabeth George, Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, and The Importance of Being Kennedy by Laurie Graham.

SUMMER HOURS

Tuesday 1:00-7:00

Thursday 1:00-7:00

Saturday 9:30-3:30

"Tomatoes and squash never fail to reach maturity. You can spray them with acid, beat them with sticks and burn them; they love it."

--S.J. Perelman, Acres and Pains, 1951

DOWNLOAD BOOKS, AUDIOS, AND VIDEOS

CWMARS offers e-books, audios and videos online, many of which can be downloaded and burned to CDs. For more information go to: http://digitalbooks.cwmars.org/ or ask your friendly librarian.

"A garden was the primitive prison, till man with Promethean felicity and boldness, luckily sinned himself out of it."

--Charles Lamb, 1830

RURAL LIVING TIP

Make your own laundry soap. It's easy and costs pennies!

· Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil.

· Grate into it one bar of Felsnaptha--an old fashioned bar soap found at the grocery store. (I use my Kitchenaid to grate it, but it can easily be done with a hand grater or food processor.)

· Add 1 cup washing soda (not baking soda) and 1 cup Borax.

· Boil until Felsnaptha is completely melted.

· Pour into a 5 gallon bucket, add cold water to fill bucket.

· Transfer into containers and cap.

The consistency will be slimy, but it works well. This is a gentle, natural laundry soap and costs less than $1/gallon to make.

"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden."

--Orson Scott Card

NEW COMPUTER

Thanks to a WMRLS grant, we have a brand new patron computer, and have put the last of our outdated PCs out to pasture. The new machine is fully equipped with useful software and a large widescreen monitor. It's a real treat!

"What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it." ~Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871

PROGRAMMING SUGGESTIONS WELCOME

We are very pleased to be developing so many new programs at the Athenaeum! While we are encouraged by the success of most of our programs, we recognize that it is something of a trial and error process, and we welcome your input. Would you like to initiate a new-mothers group, a baseball card swap, a storytelling workshop, a healthy-eating support group? Let us know how we can help!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

"Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance."

--Ruth E. Renkel

Jimmy Pearsol on changing a diaper:

Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then, fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Tuesday, June 17^th 4:00 p.m. ALL AGES STITCHING CIRCLE

Knit, cross-stitch, hand sew, crochet, and chat!

Tuesday, June 24^th 1:00 p.m. BOOKMOBILE

Out with the old, in with the new. Volunteers invited to help!

3:00 p.m. BOOKCLUB

The bookclub will be discussing the third section of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Wednesday, June 25th 7:00 POETRY WRITERS GROUP

Bring your poems, sip tea, talk poetry, gain feedback and inspiration. All styles welcome.

Thursday, June 26^th 7:00 p.m. FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

This month our feature movie will be preceded by a short public service ad made by Community S.O.L. 4-H! We will be showing Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. This movie is rated G, and is 94 minutes long. As always, juice and popcorn will be served.

Saturday, June 28^th11:00 COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER DAY

Help us put our collection in order, label shelves, build a dollhouse, prepare library cards, and other exciting jobs. Refreshments provided!

"A man's children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season."

-- Unknown

WEB SITES OF INTEREST

http://becketathenaeum.blogspot.com/ Check out the Athenaeum's blog, beautifully maintained by Nancy!

http://www.renegadegardener.com/ "Renegade Gardener is the Web's best site for gardeners seeking truth, hope, and one lousy sign that someone unfettered by industry prejudice is interested in helping you become a better gardener."

www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/ Ideas, how-to, tool reviews, what more do you need!

Youth Chess Day May 24, 2008

2008-05-24T12:01:00.002-04:00

Youth Chess Day

2008-05-24T11:51:00.002-04:00

June Book Club Meeting

2008-05-24T10:19:00.003-04:00

The Becket Athenaeum Book Club will be reading part 3 of The Omnivore's Dilemma for June. The meeting will be held on TUESDAY, June 24th at 3 pm. Please join us!

May Newsletter

2008-05-09T08:55:00.001-04:00

Becket Athenaeum Newsletter
May 2008

Happy Spring!

Along with daffodils, we have a couple of wonderful new items blossoming on our lawn this month. A lovely reading bench has been built by Don Hauser in memory of his wife, a cherished library friend, Nancy Hauser. We are so grateful for Don’s beautiful work and know that for many years to come Nancy’s generous spirit will be enjoyed through this tribute. We hope everyone will join us for the bench dedication on May 10th at 11:00 a.m.

We are also fortunate to have Jake DeFoe improving our outdoor area through his Eagle Scout project. Thanks to Jake, we will soon have a refurbished drop box, some pleasant new landscaping, and a picnic table! We are so appreciative of Jake’s efforts and the efforts of the many Boyscouts who volunteer at the Athenaeum with individual projects and doing lawn work each spring and fall.

We are in a whirlwind of indoor spring-cleaning this month as well. All bookmobile items—books, audios, and movies—have been moved to the front shelves. Also on the front shelves are all new books, audios and movies. Materials are considered new for 6 months and then will be placed into regular circulation. We are also rearranging movies and audios, organizing fiction, and more. Come on in and see the changes—once finished we are confident that the library will be easier to use and even more pleasant. A big thank you to those who have volunteered their time to help with this project!

My mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart—a heart so large that everybody’s joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation.
--Mark Twain

Our theme this month is Mothers. This is a broad theme, ranging from Mary Cassat to Mommy Dearest, but we would like to take the opportunity to honor the majority of mothers who fall somewhere in-between, for the glorious, hard, gratifying, heartbreaking, heart mending, enduring, proud and profound work involved in raising children.

We hope you will enjoy the selection of mother-related materials we have on display, and we enthusiastically invite any and all mothers to a special Mother’s Night Out movie at the Athenaeum, May 13th at 8:00 p.m.

“The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.”
--Henry Ward Beecher

Our display this month offers something for everyone—fiction, biography, humor, videos, audios, and even a cookbook. Check out First Mothers:The Women Who Shaped the Presidents, by Bonnie Angelo--these days we know every detail of a president’s personal life, but it is fascinating to learn about the women who in so many ways formed those lives. For a good, funny story try Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. Or for a delicious combination of memoir and recipes, dive into My Mother’s Bolivian Kitchen, by Jose Sanchez.

Mothers and daughters might like to read The Mother-Daughter Book Club, by Heather Vogel Frederick, written for 9-12 year olds. Perhaps it will inspire you to join the Athenaeum’s MAD Bookworms, a new mother-daughter bookclub.

If you like audios, our display includes Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark, a Mother’s Day mystery. Also newly acquired is Mother-Daughter Wisdom, by Christiane Northrop, M.D., which explores the health implications of the mother-daughter relationship.

“I looked on child-rearing not only as a work of love and duty, but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world, and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.”
--Rose Kennedy

We also have a number of new non-mother related (if there is such a thing) books, audios, and videos! Bhenazir Bhuttos’ Reconciliation, finished shortly before her assassination; Zapped, a new Regan Reilly mystery by Carol Higgins Clark; Barbara Walters’ memoir, Audition. For the movie fans, we have several new videos, including No Country for Old Men, Three Kings, Seven, Why Did I Get Married and more.

CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK
May 11th-17th is Children’s Book Week. Be sure to check the calendar below for fun book week events!

“If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam.”
--Lord Langdale

WISH LIST
We would appreciate any of the following!
--Refreshments for our youth programming, such as chips, juice, cookies, and other packaged snacks.
--Brown grocery bags, sturdy boxes (especially ones with handles), and/or plastic storage bins.
Also, we have set up a wish list at Amazon.com. Any of our patrons who are inspired to donate a book, can find our wish list by clicking on “Gifts and Wishlists” and typing in “Becket Athenaeum.”

One of the very few reasons I had any respect for my mother when I was thirteen was because she would reach into the sink with her bare hands—bare hands—and pick up that lethal gunk and drop it into the garbage. To top that, I saw her reach into the wet garbage and fish around in there looking for a lost teaspoon. Bare hands—a kind of mad courage!
--Robert Fulghum

NEW HOURS
Beginning on May 15th, our hours will be as follows:
Tuesday 1:00-7:00
Thursday 1:00-7:00
Saturday 9:30-3:30

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Saturday, May 10th 11:00 a.m. NANCY HAUSER BENCH DEDICATION
Performance by the Praise Team, refreshments, speakers.

Tuesday, May 13th 8:00 p.m. MOTHER’S MOVIE NIGHT
All mothers welcome--nursing babies also welcome! We
will be showing Mother with Albert Brooks and Debbie
Reynolds. Refreshments will be served.

Thursday, May 15th 4:00 p.m. I SPY AT THE LIBRARY
Children of all ages are invited to join Rosemary Stark in reading Walter Wick’s wonderful I Spy books, and constructing I Spy boxes to display at the library!

Saturday, May 17th 11:00 a.m. CRAFT AND STORY HOUR
Continue to celebrate Children’s Book week by enjoying favorite children’s books with Purr McEwen, and make bookmarks with Robyn Cheney!

Tuesday, May 20th 4:00 p.m. ALL AGES STITCHING CIRCLE
Apologies for last month’s scheduling of this, as it was during school hours. This month we hope to have a lively group of knitters, cross-stitchers, and others!

7:00 p.m. FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT
Join us for A Wrinkle in Time! As always, popcorn and juice will be served.

Thursday, May 22nd 6:00 p.m. MAD BOOKWORMS
This is the new name for the Mother-Daughter Bookclub! The group will be finishing A Wrinkle in Time, which is also our family movie this month.

Saturday, May 24th 11:00 a.m. YOUTH CHESS DAY
Children and young adults are invited to come in for a day of playing, or learning to play, chess. All levels welcome!

Wednesday, May 28th 7:00 p.m. POETRY WRITER’S GROUP
Bring your poems, sip tea, talk poetry, gain feedback and inspiration.

Saturday, May 31st 2:30 p.m. YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
Young adults age 12-18 who would like to join the Becket Athenaeum, please join us to plan youth programming, including our first video project. We will also discuss development of our young adult resources.

BOOKCLUB—The date and time of the monthly bookclub meeting will be announced shortly. The bookclub is reading the second section of Omnivore’s Dilemma this month.

Grown don’t mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What’s that supposed to mean? In my heart, it don’t mean a thing.”
--Toni Morrison, in Beloved.

Family Movie Night

2008-04-08T21:17:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, April 22nd at 7PM

We will be showing "Enchanted"

Popcorn & Juice will be available!!!

This event is free and open to the public!!

Please join us!!

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New Videos Added to our Collection in April

2008-04-05T10:28:00.001-04:00

Dead Poets Society
Enchanted
I Am Legend
Secondhand Lions
Sylvia

New Books Added to our Collection in April

2008-04-05T10:27:00.002-04:00

The Poetry of Arab Women

The Voice that is Great Within Us by Hayden Carruth

City Lights Pocket Poets Anthology by Lawrence Feringhetti

The Berkshire Hills A WPA Guide

How To Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor by Robert Mendelsohn

Neruda and Vallerjo Selected Poems

Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children & Teenagers Safe by Gavin DeBecker

Calendar of Events for April

2008-04-04T22:41:00.009-04:00

April 8 - Bookmobile Day 1 pm

April 14 - 19 National Library Week

April 15 - National Library Workers Day
April 15 - All Ages Stitching Circle 2 pm
April 17 - Tea Appreciation for Peg Goss 2:30pm

April 17 - Book Club 3 pm
April 18 - Poetry Evening 7 pm

April 19 - Story & Craft Program 11 am
April 22 - BAYAB Organizational Meeting 5pm

April 22 - Family Movie Night 7 pm

April 24 - Mother /Daughter Book Club 6pm

April is National Poetry Month

2008-03-25T12:34:00.004-04:00

go to this site for your poem of the day -

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Book Club Selection for April

2008-03-22T13:01:00.002-04:00

The book chosen for the month of April is "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. The book club has chosen to meet on Thursday, April 17th at 3 pm. As always light refreshments will be available.

New Books added to Our Collection March 2008

2008-03-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup

The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

The Healing Cuisine of China: 300 Recipes for Vibrant Health

The Heavens Declare

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace

New Videos added to our Collection March 2008

2008-03-13T18:56:00.001-04:00

American Gangster

The Assassination of Jesse James

Babette’s Feast

Big Night

Fried Green Tomatoes

Gone Baby Gone

The Jane Austen Book Club

Like Water for Chocolate

No Reservations

Sicko

Snow Buddies

Tortilla Soup

Story & Craft Program for March

2008-03-09T12:56:00.002-04:00

The next Story & Craft program will be held on March 15th at 11 am. We will be reading books and doing a craft to celebrate St. Patricks Day. Children 2-12 are invited, children under the age of 6 must be accompanied by an adult. A snack will be provided. PLEASE JOIN US !!!

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CHILDREN’S LIBRARY CARDS

2008-03-07T17:44:00.009-05:00

We are pleased to announce a new policy on issuing library cards to children! To be issued a library card of her/his own, a child must simply be able to write her/his own name on the registration card. A library card is a precious prize to a child, and we hope to issue many of them!

Family Movie Night

2008-03-06T22:09:00.005-05:00

Please Join Us for Movie Night

Thursday, March 20th

at 7pm

We will be showing the new Disney film

"SNOW BUDDIES"

Please call for more information

Movie and popcorn are free but we encourage everyone to bring

a non-perishable donation for the food pantry

Young Adult Roundtable

2008-03-01T20:25:00.001-05:00

Youth in grades 6 - 12 are invited to share ideas for young adult programming and resources. Would you like to have a writer's group, a sci-fi book club, learn to make your own movies...? Come in and tell us how we can help! Pizza and soda will be served!

Please Join Us!

Saturday, March 8th at 3 pm

Becket Athenaeum

3367 Main Street

call for more info: 623-5483

Book Club Selection

2008-03-01T20:04:00.003-05:00

The book chosen for the month of March is "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson, The Book club has chosen to meet on Thursday, March 20th at 3 pm. As always, light refreshments will be available.

Theme for March

2008-02-24T21:16:00.003-05:00

Coming soon!

The theme for the month of March is "Food and Health" We are already planning what great movies and books we can purchase and put on display at our "Theme of the Month" table for all of you to come and check out. If you have any suggestions please let us know.