Suffield Photo Club's next meeting

The Suffield Photo Club is excited to present guest photographer Molly Stromoski, a life long Suffield resident, who is finishing her senior year at Suffield academy. She will be sharing photographs from her portfolio, talking about the newer techniques and technology she uses to edit her photos, and explaining a tedious, but rewarding project that was assigned by a Pratt admissions officer. Molly has plans to continue her passion for photography at Pratt in Brooklyn NY in the fall. While art has always been a part of her life, photography took the forefront in her high school years. She's taken many classes at her school, both for film and digital photography, and is now a photography teachers assistant for her senior year. Molly will also be talking about the scholastic portfolio course at Maine Media, Rockport Maine, she took this past summer. She was able to shoot and edit all day long, a dream for some photographers. 

The group will have two short demos using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements and then theme photos of the month will be shown. February's theme is "RED" and for March the theme will be "Black and White". 

The meeting is February 21st, 6:30 in the Suffield Senior Center. Everyone is welcome. suffieldphotoclub.com

Thursday Readers

January 12th Meeting
new temporary location: Suffield Senior Center

The Best American Short Stories of the Century
edited by John Updike

"Since the series' inception in 1915, the annual volumes of The Best American Short Stories have launched literary careers, showcased the most compelling stories of each year, and confirmed for all time the significance of the short story in our national literature. Now THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES OF THE CENTURY brings together the best -- fifty-six extraordinary stories that represent a century's worth of unsurpassed achievements in this quintessentially American literary genre". Amazon

The group will be discussing a few select short stories from the book, including  "The Things They  Carried" by Tim O'Brien.

Join the group on January 12th to discuss some of the stories. The library has copies available for checkout.  The meetings are at 12:30 in the Suffield Senior Center at 145 Bridge Street.  Everyone is welcome.  For more information, please call the library at 860-668-3896.

And for the curious minded, At Home

Bill Bryson is fast becoming one of my more favorite authors.  His A Short History of Nearly Everything, though perhaps not quite that comprehensive, did give a rather overwhelming history of us (homo sapiens) and how we got here.  His next book, At Home, has a terser focus that covers a far more manageable area (though perhaps 'terse' is not the right word to use where Bryson is concerned).  Though Bryson's tour of the home goes from room to room, he takes us on a journey from ancient Rome to the tea plantations of China, all in an effort to better understand how our homes became just that--home.  Bryson's genius is a child-like quest for explanation and an uncanny ability to explicate the answers he finds in an entertaining manner.  In the book, the reader will meet some incredible people and hear some even more incredible stories of both folly and triumph.  The world is an interesting place and Bryson once again proves that fact is stranger than fiction.  Highly recommended.

Bernhard for the hard to buy for

Thomas Bernhard is not the easiest writer to read, but he has written some of the more interesting works of the 20th century (e.g. Correction, Woodcutters).  A good way to get to know his work is through his shorter prose, so Prose should go on any challenging reader's list. http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?id=2799, then let them find their own way to the novels!

Vonnegut rules

If you are looking for a gift idea for the discerning reader on your list this holiday season, look no further than two titles concerning Kurt Vonnegut.  One is the Library of America's Novels and Stories, 1963-1973.  It contains Cat's Cradle, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, and Stories (including Welcome to the Monkey House).  In other words, this is Vonnegut at his very best.
Or if they own all Vonnegut's books, they can read about his life in Charles Shields' And So It Goes.   This is a fascinating life, well-told. Vonnegut died from a fall in 2007 and deserves to be remembered.  His best books dealt with important ideas.  Slaughterhouse-Five should be read by all.

Mervyn Peake's year

How many of you have heard of Mervyn Peake?  He was born 100 years ago this year and is the author of the highly quirky Gormenghast Trilogy.  Made up of the books Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone, they tell the story of the 77th Earl of Gormenghast, Titus Groan, and the changes he must contend with as he takes over as ruler of his crumbling kingdom.  A story of immense depth and fantastic color, readers can find out more at the website: http://www.mervynpeake.org/gormenghast/
Peake was also a talented artist and illustrator and a new edition of The Gormenghast Trilogy has just been published by Overlook Press that incorporates many of his idiosyncratic drawings.
For more information on the author, check out the blog: http://mervynpeake.blogspot.com/

All aboard for the Polar Express!!

Polar Express: A Story Time

The Library invites kids ages 3-5 to board the Polar Express at Second Baptist Church (100 North Main Street) on Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 PM, or, Wednesday, December 7 at 10:30AM. Travel to the North Pole, drink hot cocoa, meet Santa and hear the story of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Wear your pajamas if you’d like – and don’t forget to bring your camera. Registration starts Tuesday, November 22. You can register by calling the library at (860) 668-3896 or, stop by to see us at the lower level of Suffield Town Hall, 83 Mountain Road, Suffield, CT.