Vineyard Haven Library will be CLOSED for carpet cleaning on Saturday, December 23rd. Other MV libraries are open on Saturday, but may be closing early. All MV libraries will be CLOSED for the holidays on Sunday December 24th & Monday December 25th.
Vineyard Haven Library will be OPEN regular hours on Tuesday December 26th
As we starting counting down the days to the new year, it's time to look back at all the wonderful books published in 2023 and gather the collective wisdom of critics as to which stand out from the crowd. Here is our annual compilation of "best books" lists from newspapers, websites and radio stations. If you still need a suggestion, check out our Shelf Service page on our website, or stop by the library at any time!
The New York Public Library's Best Books of 2023
The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2023 (To access New York Times online click HERE and enter the code c59d2806040934a2. Then create a username and password for unlimited 3-day access. Renew your three day pass by returning to the library website. You may use this login and password for every future visit to the New York Times online.)
Winners of the 2023 National Book Awards
Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2023
The Washington Post's 10 Best Books of 2023
Teens Top Ten from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
New York Public Library's Best Books for Teens 2023
Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2023 for Children
School Library Journal's Best Picture Books of 2023
The new issue of Martha's Vineyard Magazine includes a feature article on former mariner turned folk artist, Captain John Ivory, whose paintings can be seen at the Vineyard Haven Public Library.
https://mvmagazine.com/news/2023/11/13/john-ivory%E2%80%99s-last-command
The talk by Jane Slater mentioned in the article was recorded and can be viewed on the library's Vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/765105772
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Have you missed having an app to access your CLAMS account, place holds and check out e-materials? The wait is over! Find our new app in Google Play or the Apple App Store by searching for "CLAMS Library Network" and download today!
Use the new app to:
...and more!
* The CLAMS "Libby" app will still be available for selecting and reading eBooks and other downloadable content!
REGISTER ONLINE or by calling the library.
Beginning in January, Philip Weinstein, the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of Literature at Swarthmore College, will present a nine-part seminar, Known and Unknown Worlds: Fictions of the 21st Century.
Programs will be held online via Zoom twice monthly from 6pm - 7:30pm, beginning Thursday January 18th (subsequent sessions will be on Wednesday evenings). Prior to the first class in January, registered participants will receive a welcome email with Zoom access information. A limited number of copies of the books will be available for pickup at the library, or can be requested through CLAMS. All sessions will be recorded.
Additional course description, readings, and class dates appear below.
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My candid answer is that no common theme or procedure joins together these six books. Rather, I find them the most resonant novels published (in English) in the 1st two decades of our new century. It's too early to call them classics, but (like classics) they stay in the mind long after an initial reading. The impression they make--on this reader at least--is intricate, powerful, lingering. With the exception of The Dutch House, each is difficult to categorize. Indeed, Austerlitz, The Known World, and Apeirogon escape all familiar novelistic frameworks. The Corrections and A Visit from The Goon Squad operate in more recognizable territory, but both are capable of startling you. As for The Dutch House, it is, while neither unfamiliar nor surprising, simply perfect.
We will devote two sessions each to the three longer novels (The Corrections, The Known World, Apeirogon), and a single session each to the three others. I cannot predict what you will come away with, but I can say this: together, they comprise an unforgettable set of readings. Rather than expertise--who is an expert on 21st century fiction?--I shall offer what guidance I can. A remarkable experience--in equal measures challenging and rewarding--lies ahead.
Dates and reading assignments:
Thursday Jan 18 2024: Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections (1st of 2 sessions)
Wednesday Jan 31 2024: Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections
Wednesday Feb 14 2024: W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz
Wednesday Feb 28 2024: Edward P Jones, The Known World (1st of 2 sessions)
Wednesday Mar 13 2024: Edward P Jones, The Known World
Wednesday Mar 27 2024: Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad
Wednesday Apr 10 2024: Ann Patchett, The Dutch House
Wednesday Apr 24 2024: Colum McCann, Apeirogon (1st of 2 sessions)
Wednesday May 8 2024: Colum McCann, Apeirogon
Philip M. Weinstein is Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English Emeritus at Swarthmore College. His numerous publications include Faulkner’s Subject: A Cosmos No One Owns (1992), What Else But Love? The Ordeal of Race in Faulkner and Morrison (1996), and Becoming Faulkner (2009). His newest book is a collection of essays entitled Soul-Error, published in May 2022. Professor Weinstein has been offering literary seminars in cooperation with the Vineyard Haven Public Library since 2012, and is the Honorary Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for Vineyard Haven Library's expansion and renovation project.
REGISTER ONLINE or by calling the library.
On the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773), learn about the brewing political problems tea presented in its history with Claire Evans, author of High Tea and the Lowdown. Then, genealogist and librarian Debra Dudek examines the history of the Boston Tea Party’s most famous partiers (and phonies), as well as how to trace bona fide participants through lineage societies and historical groups. Debra M. Dudek is Head of Adult and Teen Services at the Fountaindale Public Library District in Bolingbrook, IL. She holds a post graduate certificate in Genealogical, Palaeographic & Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. On Zoom only, please register here to get link.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is conducting a study of Beach Road, Lagoon Pond Road, and the Five Corners intersection in Tisbury. This study will develop conceptual alternatives intended to improve climate resiliency, safety, and the public realm. This planning study precedes the project development process and will include opportunities for public input on existing conditions and proposed alternatives. A Working Group of local stakeholders will inform the MassDOT team on local perspectives throughout the study.
A public information meeting will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, December 6th at 6:30 p.m.
Register to attend
This meeting will present the study team's review of existing conditions in the area of Beach Road and Five Corners, including flood vulnerability, road safety and operations, and existing infrastructure. There will be the opportunity for public comment. The study team will also provide an overview of next steps.
Public comments can be submitted via email to: planning@dot.state.ma.us.
Thanksgiving Holiday Hours at VHPL:
Closing early at 1pm on Wednesday November 22nd
BOOK SALE BENEFIT THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
Save the Date! Book Sale to Benefit the Library at 11 Pine Tree Lane
A local family is holding a book sale benefit for the library on Saturday November 25th from 9am to 3pm. The sale will be held at the residence at 11 Pine Tree Lane, Vineyard Haven, and all proceeds from the sale will go to the Vineyard Haven Library Building Fund.
PLEASE NOTE BOOK DONATIONS FOR THE SALE ARE NOT ACCEPTED
Enjoy books? You will enjoy being a Friend of the Library! Members pay annual dues of $25 to provide financial support for the library and its programs. Volunteer opportunities are also available -- volunteering is an great way to meet island neighbors while helping to support the library! Our monthly meetings are open to all, so come and learn what you can do to support and help.
For more information or to join, download our brochure and membership application, or pay dues online using Paypal.
HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENTS AT THE LIBRARY!
4 to 5 pm Tuesday, November 7th
5 to 6 pmTuesday November 14
2 to 3 pm Sunday November 19
4 to 5 pm Tuesday November 28th
Want to learn how to make your home or business more energy efficient? Vineyard Power will help you and your neighbors gain access to no-cost home energy assessment, rebates for energy efficient home heating appliances, assistance in adopting renewable energy resources, such as solar, and other incentives available in our island transitions away from fossil fuels. Bring your latest electric bill (or electric account number) to sign up for the assessment. You can also sign up by calling 1-800-797-6699 or visiting CapeLightCompact.org.
INDUCTION COOKING DEMONSTRATION!
During each of these sessions there will also be a demonstration of cooking with induction! Vineyard Power has generously donated funds for the purchase of a portable induction cooktop that will eventually be available for patrons to borrow with their CLAMS card. Learn more about induction cooktops including an available rebate here.
Check out our November calendar!
[In-person] 6 pm Tuesday, November 7th
Author Talk: TautukKonik/Looking Back with photographer Candace Cochrane
Candace Cochrane first went to Newfoundland in 1967 to work in a children’s summer recreation program run by the Quebec-Labrador Foundation (QLF) on the Northern Peninsula. The landscape and its people inspired her to develop her photography skills in order to document her experiences.
Cochran will talk about the making of a collaborative portrait of Inuit life in photographs and stories from northern Labrador. This presentation will include discussion of the collaborative process between Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors, repatriating photographs to their source communities, and the shape-shifting character of photography itself.
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[Online] Author Talk: When the World Didn’t End by Guinevere Turner
Wednesday, October 18 at 6pm
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Check out our October calendar!
Congratulations to Silas Campbell and Carly Souther Fotta, the top male and female finishers in the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library 26th annual in-person 5k on a rainy Sunday, September 24th!
This year's 5k is a hybrid event, and "Virtual" 5k runners and walkers have until September 30th to register at https://runsignup.com/Race/Register/?raceId=65915&eventId=653190
Registration for the virtual event is $25. All registered participants will be entered into a raffle drawing for a gift certificate from The Green Room, on October 1st. Virtual Runners who register can also come to the library to pick up a t-shirt, while supplies last.
Race proceeds help the Friends of the library to sponsor children's programs, museum passes, and other library programs and services.
Thank you to our Race Sponsors: Cape Cod 5, Cronig's Market & Healthy Additions, Donnelly + Co., The Green Room, Island Source, Martha's Vineyard Bank, Miller Sederholm Law Office, Broadway Screen Printing, and Vineyard Grocer!
Full results for the in-person event below:
VH Library 5K Run/ Walk the Chop - 9/24/2023
Vineyard Haven, MA
Last Completed Event
Mixed 5000 Meter Run
Comp# Name School Time Points
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1 459 Campbell, Silas M14 Vineyard Haven, MA 18:52.00
2 409 Campbell, Seth M52 Vineyard Haven, MA 19:07.00
3 403 Park, John M24 San Francisco, CA 20:04.00
4 411 Alves, Jose M47 Oak Bluffs, MA 20:22.00
5 420 Souther Fotta, Carly W35 Monroe, GA 21:29.00
6 454 Wong, Andrew M31 New York, NY 22:49.00
7 453 Omara, Jim M58 Vineyard Haven, MA 25:57.00
8 455 EL Sherif, Jennifer W53 Salem, MA 26:13.00
9 427 Smith, Anita W60 Vineyard Haven, MA 27:54.00
10 439 Omara, Heidi W49 N Andover, MA 28:32.00
11 432 Russell, Jess W40 West Tisbury, MA 28:50.00
12 431 Schule, Lizzy W42 Chilmark, MA 28:52.00
13 441 Goldfarb, Steven M63 New York, NY 28:58.00
14 426 Griffin, Benita W40 West Tisbury, MA 29:12.00
15 443 Wild, Kristin W54 Potomac Falls, VA 29:15.00
16 406 Engley, Stephen M41 Vineyard Haven, MA 29:20.00
17 415 Nolan, Diane W58 West Tisbury, MA 29:27.00
18 408 Campbell, Victoria W48 Vineyard Haven, MA 29:30.00
19 456 Rosen, Amy W59 Swampscott, MA 30:13.00
20 424 Houston, Everett M30 West Tisbury, MA 30:40.00
21 442 Van Riper, Katie W27 Vineyard Haven, MA 30:41.00
22 410 Coggins, Carly W16 Vineyard Haven, MA 32:41.00
23 452 Lobdell, Karen W70 Vineyard Haven, MA 33:44.00
24 422 Ambrozaitis, Ruth W63 Edgartown, MA 34:03.00
25 423 Kane, Elizabeth W63 Vineyard Haven, MA 34:04.00
26 451 Lozano, Natalie W47 Portland, OR 34:45.00
27 425 Cummings, Jennifer W43 Edgartown, MA 34:57.00
28 407 Carr, Diane W66 Edgartown, MA 36:22.00
29 421 Souther, Patti W64 Monroe, GA 37:10.00
30 444 Gerosa Beal, Brenda W72 Hingham, MA 37:37.00
31 450 Lozano, Eric M52 Portland, OR 41:53.00
32 447 Buechner, Katherine W41 Providence, RI 42:59.00
33 440 Goldfarb, Stacy W62 Vineyard Haven, MA 43:03.00
34 438 Mazer, H Mark M76 Edgartown, MA 44:18.00
35 433 Burnside, Kate W53 Edgartown, MA 45:48.00
36 414 Berkov, Ken M81 Vineyard Haven, MA 49:01.00
37 458 Holladay, Janet W71 Edgartown, MA 49:02.00
38 416 Smith, Susan W66 Vineyard Haven, MA 50:19.00
39 457 Honey, Laura W73 Vineyard Haven, MA 50:22.00
40 419 Hood, Carol W80 Oak Bluffs, MA 54:07.00
41 404 Schnneider, Audie M81 Vineyard Haven, MA 55:14.00
42 405 Hudock, Nina W61 Fairfax Station, VA 55:15.00
43 434 Hokanson, Jacqueline W71 Vineyard Haven, MA 55:37.00
44 461 Zlotkowski, Edward M78 West Tisbury, MA 1:05:58.00
45 462 Wolfe, Ellen W78 West Tisbury, MA 1:06:00.00
This will be followed by a drop-in-anytime Open House at the same location, the following morning (Saturday the 23rd from 10 am – Noon), where refreshments and coffee will be provided. The Open House will be a chance to talk in more detail with the consultants and Committee & Board members about specific recommendations found in the Action Plan.
Important Update About CLAMS App
Summer Reading ends September 8th! Be sure to come in and collect your prizes!
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
Register for the 26th Annual 5k Run/Walk to The Chop!
All registered participants will be entered into a raffle drawing for gift certificates or Friends merchandise
Summer Reading ends September 8th! Be sure to come in and collect your prizes!
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
The Longevity Series with Jim Lobley is a six month lecture series where we will explore the concept of deep health, a holistic approach to well-being that encompasses the five pillars of longevity: movement, nutrition, cognition, connection, and sleep. We'll delve into the science of aging and look at strategies for building a practice that optimizes our chances of living healthier for longer. All classes will be virtual with the option to view on the screen at the Chilmark Library. Wednesdays at 4 pm, monthly September through February.
Longevity: A Start-Up Guide (Sept 6th) Explore the concept of deep health, a holistic approach to well-being that encompasses the five pillars of longevity: movement, nutrition, cognition, connection, and sleep. We'll delve into the science of aging and look at strategies for building a practice that optimizes our chances of living healthier for longer.
Mobility: Freeing the Body for Movement (Oct 4th) In this session, we will delve into the crucial topic of mobility and how our habitual sitting and standing postures can impact our freedom of movement. Discover the underlying reasons behind these limitations on a physical and soft tissue level, and gain insight into how to counteracting these restrictive patterns. Whether it's preventing injuries or simply alleviating physical discomfort, we will explore practical techniques to enhance our ability to move freely.
Stress, Sleep, and Recovery (Nov 1st) We know that sleep is essential for so many aspects of our long-term health, and yet it seems the least tractable of the longevity practices. In this session, we’ll unravel the intricate relationship between stress, sleep, and recovery, and how they impact our well-being. We’ll talk about how stress can disrupt your sleep patterns and hinder your body's ability to recover effectively, and discuss practical strategies to manage stress levels, improve sleep quality, and optimize the recovery process.
How to Train Your Balance (Dec 6th) Balance training is great for anyone! It’s particularly important for athletes and anyone over 50. Dynamic balance training goes much further than just being able to stand on one foot. It trains the whole balance system including your core and nervous system, making your body more stable, responsive and resilient. I’ll explain the basics of balance training and show you how to design your own balance practice.
Eating for Longevity (Jan 3rd) In this session we explore the vital connection between metabolic health and longevity. Discover the recommendations of leading scientists and nutritionists on eating for longevity, with a special focus on the renowned Mediterranean diet. We'll dive into practical examples of what a longevity-focused meal looks like, discuss supplements that boost our "longevity genes," and explore the potential benefits of intermittent fasting.
Smart Body – Healthy Brain: Movement for brain health (Feb 7th) Moving is one of the best things we can do for our brains. This lecture focuses on 4 important areas of cognition – executive function, attention, memory, and processing speed – and how each of these can be strengthened through specific types of movement. I’ll explain the science, show you how to maximize the brain health benefits of your current workout, and discuss other practices that have been shown to contribute to cognitive longevity.
Jim Lobley is a certified personal trainer and longevity coach in private practice in Northampton, and the founder/director of The Long Game, an online learning and training platform for longevity. He is also a Certified Brain Health Trainer through the Functional Aging Institute, and has an MA in Dance/Movement Therapy from NYU.
Sponsored by the Chilmark and Vineyard Haven Public Libraries. Please contact the library for Zoom link.
Beginning in September, Philip Weinstein, the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of Literature at Swarthmore College, will present a six-part seminar on Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, hosted on Zoom by Lifelong Learning Swarthmore. Professor Weinstein and Lifelong Learning Swarthmore have generously arranged for Martha's Vineyard Library patrons to participate in this program at no charge.
The class will take place every two weeks on Mondays from 7:00-8:30 pm, September 18th, October 2nd, October 23rd, November 6th, November 20th, and December 4th.
At a time when most Americans have trouble thinking positively about Russia, it may be productive to launch a six-part engagement with Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Our aim is to come to grips with the literary dimensions of Tolstoy’s big book, not with the problematic history of post-Tolstoyan Russia in the last hundred years. That said, it is not surprising that Lenin was deeply interested in Tolstoy and wrote brilliantly about him. More, Tolstoy’s abiding concerns—the drama of class differences and commonalities, Russia’s relation to European culture and powers, among others—continue to resonate long after his death in 1910.
"Not a novel," Tolstoy said about his epic novel, yet his refusal of novelistic norms does not keep War and Peace from being a supreme example of 19th-century Western fiction. Realistic, recognizable, filled with intricate and sympathetic characters, this novel does what great novels do: it informs, enlarges, deepens, and entertains its readers. It also does more: it seeks not just to rewrite history but to articulate a philosophy of history, intermingling the real and the invented in ways that baffled Tolstoy's critics. Reading 200 pages per session (every two weeks, for three months), we shall take the time necessary to try to do justice to Tolstoy's masterpiece.
Beginning in January, Professor Weinstein will present an additional seminar with Vineyard Haven Library, "Known and Unknown Worlds: Fictions of the 21st Century." Texts for this course will include works by Jonathan Franzen, W.G. Sebald, Edward P Jones, Jennifer Egan, Ann Patchett, and Colum McCann. Additional details to be announced.
Philip M. Weinstein is Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English Emeritus at Swarthmore College. His numerous publications include Faulkner’s Subject: A Cosmos No One Owns (1992), What Else But Love? The Ordeal of Race in Faulkner and Morrison (1996), and Becoming Faulkner (2009). His newest book is a collection of essays entitled Soul-Error (2022). Professor Weinstein has been offering literary seminars in cooperation with the Vineyard Haven Public Library since 2012, and is the Honorary Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for Vineyard Haven Library's expansion and renovation project.