My February 2015 Mail-A-Book Connection Enjoy Queens Library programs, book reviews, discussion groups, health forums, friendship, support, education, resources, and entertainment using your home phone, personal computer, or smartphone http://www.queenslibrary.org/books/mail-a-book [email protected] Happy Valentine’s Day Mail A Book Services, 94-11 217 Street, Queens Village, NY 11428, 718-464-0084 Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library system February 2015 After Hours Group Discussions Lifelong Learning from your home History - Art - Literature - Popular Culture - Current Events The History of Valentine’s Day Led by Karen Quinones Patriot Tours Thursday Feb 5, 2015 8pm-9pm Short Stories Led by Bonnie Sue Pokorny Thursday Feb 19 “The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.” Please call 718-464-0084 to register for this program & to get access numbers Ni Hao Mail A Book 你好,圖書郵寄服務 我們現在有中文書籍、電影及音樂光碟 Mail A Book Services, 94-11 217 Street, Queens Village, NY 11428, 718-464-0084 Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library system February 2015 The Poet In You Led by Denise Downing Discover and celebrate the poet in you Discuss and share your favorite poems Wednesday February 18 @ 11 am A Teleconference Event Book Club Led by Bonnie Sue Pokorny Join us on Wednesday February 25 @ 11 am This is a Teleconference event This month we are reading and discussing Ricochet by Sandra Brown Call Mail a Book @ 718-464-0084 to register and to receive a copy of the book February 2015 Thanks to Gladys Maresse for her recommendations: The Invention of Exile by Vanessa Manko A novel that takes you from Russia to Mexico and the U.S.A. This book is about a family divided because of a few words spoken. Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique A story about the Island of St. Thomas as it is transferred from Danish Rule to American control. Many subplots and traditions concerning two sisters. An enlightening story. The Miniaturist by Jesse Burton A book about a household in Amsterdam in the 1600’s. A young bride and how she copes with many secrets. A fascinating story. The three above books are all about how women coped with the hardships of growing up in the 1600’s and later. The Drop by Dennis Lehane Reviewed by Bonnie Sue Pokorny While reading this book, I kept checking to see if this was really a Dennis Lehane book. First of all, it is very small and he usually writes large, intrigue novels. Second, is that while this is not a love story there is hope of a love blossoming. A bartender finds a puppy that has been beaten and injured in a garbage can. He takes the puppy in even though he knows nothing about dogs. A woman sees him remove the puppy and she helps him. In addition, the bar where he works is held up and a customer has been missing for ten years. It is a wild romp and while it not as humorous as a Elmore book, it is an interesting and absorbing book. February 2015 The Lion Seeker by Kenneth Bonert Reviewed by Katherine Cohen A book about leaving the “old country” for a new country of opportunity is familiar to many New Yorkers, who often can relate such a story to their own family history. The Helgers leave Lithuania in the early part of the twentieth century to escape poverty, forced military service and pogroms. Their destination is not New York, but Johannesburg, South Africa and the immigrant experience there is one which will not be entirely familiar to the reader. Their son Isaac, who remembers very little of the village he was taken from at age 5, considers himself a South African. It is his mother Gitelle who keeps alive the memory of the sisters she left behind, teaching her son the names of all his relatives still in Lithuania. She pushes him to succeed; to be “a clever’ not “a stupid”. As the Nazis come to power in Germany, anti-Semitic fascists appear around the world, including South Africa’s Grey shirts. Isaac grows up, and encouraged by his mother, he becomes a hustler whose only goal is to make money and buy his mother a house. His kind and religious father tries to teach him the dignity of work and is successful for a while in having his son take up a trade of which he can be proud. Unfortunately, Isaac’s lust for money and success leads him to a fateful decision which he will come to regret. These family conflicts unfold against the background of the 1930’s and 40’s in South Africa. The story is told in unflinching terms and will resonate with readers today who can relate to the family dynamics and recent world events of the 20th century. No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin Reviewed by Richard Kagan This book won a Pulitzer Prize and one can see why. It is a richly researched, wonderfully written story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, as told during the backdrop of the oncoming World War II, and all of the domestic issues that President Roosevelt faced. It could be said, that when the romantic relationship ended between them, the “working” relationship became stronger. When Eleanor discovered evidence of an affair between Franklin and Lucy Mercer, she was deeply hurt. She didn’t leave him however. She was there by his side as he battled polio and ran for public office. Then they became a formidable team. This book in some ways reads like a Masterpiece Theater production. Drama abounds. Can Eleanor raise her children, and still attend to her increasing role as fact-finder and important voice that FDR carefully listened to? Their love for each other grew and took on a different dimension. Some couples stay together for the good of the family, they stayed together for the good of the country. After reading his book, it is fairly easy to observe that FDR was a political savant. He found people to help him make decisions. He built a small close-knit group of friends who kept him company and supported him daily as he took his hands off the steering wheel and the U.S. moved closer to war. No Ordinary Time spends a good deal of focus on the great budding friendship of FDR and Winston Churchill, who became war partners and planners. Churchill made a famous speech to a joint session of Congress, in which he said, “If my mother had been American, and my father English, I might have gotten here on my own.” That joke almost bought down the hallowed chambers of the House. Eleanor admired Churchill, and saw he was a remarkable leader, but she did not like his continual drinking, smoking of cigars, and late hours, which kept FDR up late. Once she spotted them, in the Map Room, looking at the latest movements of troops in the European Theater and remarked that they looked like boys at play. If there was an important speech to be made, Eleanor, despite her own fears, made it on behalf of her husband. Once she was asked to fly to Chicago during the 1940 Democratic Convention to face unruly delegates. They wanted to hear directly from the President himself that if nominated, he would run for President. However, despite the growing resentment, FDR decided not to speak to the Convention and sent Eleanor. “I think you should go,” he said. Eleanor flew to Chicago, and spoke to the delegates and that did the persuading. They heard what they needed to hear, and crisis was averted. Book Review continued No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin Reviewed by Richard Kagan Eleanor had her own friends and support system. She became close to Lorena Hickok and Joseph Lash. She traveled tirelessly promoting her important causes, bringing issues to the attention of the President. She became his eyes and ears. When FDR passed away in the spring of 1945 he was 62 and he looked much older. It was a major time of transition in America. Eleanor carried out FDR’s wishes for a United Nations, and she became its first ambassador to the new body. If you want to read about a tumultuous time in U.S. history this is a good book to read. Well done. February 2015 Poetry How Do I Love Thee? To Celia Drink to me, only, with thine eyes, How Do I Love Thee? Let me count the ways. And I will pledge with mine; I love thee to the depth and breadth and height Or leave a kisse but in the cup, My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight And Ile not look for wine. For the ends of Being an ideal Grace. The thirst, that from the soule doth rise, I love thee to the level of everyday's Doth aske a drink divine: Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. But might I of Jove's Nectar sup, I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I would not change for thine. I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I sent thee, late, a rosie wreath, I love thee with the passion put to use Not so much honoring thee, In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. As giving it a hope, that there I love thee with a love I seemed to lose It could not withered be. With my lost saints,- I love thee with the Breath, But thou thereon did'st onely breathe, Smiles, tears, of all my life!- and, if God choose, And sent'st it back to mee: I shall but love thee better after death. Since when it growes, and smells, I sweare, - Elizabeth Barret Browning Not of it selfe, but thee. - Robert Burns: The Poetry (1896) February 2015 Love Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; Only One Day Before By Millicent G. Tycko Submitted by Alice Morley Only one day before Easy to rake up the yellow tan orange Fallen leaves Saved in piles to Later create earth To plan again And every fair from fair sometime declines, Only one day before By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; And now the rain Pours hard into But thy eternal summer shall not fade Puddles of dark earth The wind is not only Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; gusty rather the wind Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, Blasts my thoughts My images of only When in eternal lines to time thou growest: One day before So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee. William Shakespeare Sore Loser By Althea F. Gonya All right! So I loved and lost. Friends say I waged a splendid fight. (And a lot of help, this chat of friends, In the middle of the night.) Oh I’ll get along Very well, I bet. But I won’t forgive And never forget. February 2015 By Kathy Moran, RN, BSN (Information extracted from article written on the World of Psychology Blog: by Margarita Tartakovsky; Retrain Your Brain to Reduce Worry) Some people believe you can retrain your brain. Kathryn Tristan author of the book Why Worry? Stop Coping and Start Living believes you can. Here are a few of her suggestions: Eliminate energy draining habits. Thinking and worrying about the worse possible outcomes, doesn’t help you solve anything, it just drains your energy. Instead think about possible outcomes that are positive. Redefine your concept of perfection. Reality is that, life isn’t fair all the time, not everyone loves you, sometimes bad things happen in life. So learn to accept the reality of what the world is. Go with the flow rather than resisting the bumps that may occur in life. Resisting is adding to your struggle and therefore your stress. Blame, anger and guilt are negative reactions and emotions. Learn to move beyond them by creating a positive mantra for yourself, seeking alternative ways to solve a problem, asking for help or sometimes simply not reacting to a situation, which in the past has caused a negative emotion or reaction. Try and replace blame with gratitude. Instead of guilt inject forgiveness. And last but not least, when angry, try and control how you express yourself. Speak in a calm manner so that others hear what you’re saying. This morning I heard if you write down one thing that makes you happy for 100 days you can actually change the way you think. I’m all for this exercise as I can only gain from it. So today it makes me happy to challenge you to do the same. One hundred days of one thing that makes you happy. How about it? The information given by Kathy Moran, RN, is not a substitute or replacement for information and/or advice you have received from your health care provider. Always contact your health care provider and obtain their consent before making any changes to your health care regimen. If you have identified any of the symptoms described in this information please follow up with your health care provider. 22 15 8 1 Sun 24 Chit Chat 2pm SKYPE Crosswords 1pm Chit Chat 2pm 17 BINGO 2pm 10 Chit Chat 2pm 3 Tue 23 President’s Day 16 SKYPE Crosswords 1pm 9 SKYPE Crosswords 1pm Memoir Writing Kathy Cohen 10:30am 2 Mon Bonnie’s Book Discussion “Ricochet” by Sandra Brown 11am 25 The Poet in You 11am 18 You Be The Judge 11 am 11 What Are You Reading 11 am 4 Wed 26 After Hours Short Story Discussion Group 8-9pm 19 12 After Hours : History of Valentines Day Karen Quinones 8-9pm 5 Thu Chat & Stars 10 am 27 Chat 10 am 20 Chat 10 am 13 Chat 10 am 6 Fri 28 21 Valentine’s Day 14 7 Sat Queens Library Mail a Book Calendar - Virtual Programs for Older Adults February 2015
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