"The Passage of Power" by Robert Caro was chosen as the BEST HISTORY BOOK of 2012 by History News Network's online poll.

In second position is "Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man" by Walter Stahr.

In third position is "Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering During the Civil War and Reconstruction" by Jim Downs. In fourth position is "Nature Next Door: Cities and Trees in the American Northeast" by Ellen Stroud. In fifth position "The Patriarch: the remarkable life and turbulent times of Joseph P. Kennedy" by David Nasaw.

On November 14, 1851 (161 years ago) Herman Melville's masterwork MOBY DICK was first published in the United States.

Beginning this Friday evening, more than 160 New Yorkers will be participating in a marathon style reading

of MOBY DICK. This event (New York City's first) will take place over three days and at three independent bookstores.

Each participant has been assigned a 10-minute time slot. For more information, read the article by Amanda Petrusich

which was published in the New York Times today, November 15, 2012.

See what our library has to offer about MOBY DICK by clicking here.

Books by Herman Melville in the Hamden Library Collection

See what is new in the 600's! We just updated our Lifestyles bookletter.  This bookletter lists our brand new books in health, medicine, cooking, baking, etc. Click on the link to the online catalog for each title and you can place a hold, if a book is on order, in processing, or checked out. If the book happens to be checked in, you can call us at the info desk (203-287-2680) and we will put it aside for you. If you would like to receive this bookletter or others in your email every month, click on this link to subscribe.

Celebrate Food Day on October 24, 2012! Come and see our book display this month. We have selected books centered around healthy cooking and sustainable food. Find more reading suggestions here.

October is also Vegetarian Awareness Month.