NEW HAMPSHIRE AUTHORS

Over the centuries, there have been many New Hampshire authors, from the obscure to the world renowned. Luckily, our talking book collection contains the works of some of New Hampshire's finest authors. If you haven't tried them yet, we highly recommend them! Here are just a few:

RC 24270 Mallory's Gambit by L. Christian Balling. A CIA man encounters the woman who betrayed him, 40 years later. The author is a University of New Hampshire physics professor and novelist.
RC 23867 Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks. Tale of a tragic bus accident and how it shakes a small town. Banks lived in NH for many years and has had his books made into movies.
RC 34503 Strange Death of Mistress Coffin by Robert Begiebing. A new arrival in New England in 1648 must solve a murder. Begiebing is a New Hampshire College professor of English.
RC 21138 Before and After by Rosellen Brown. Family lives are destroyed as the son is caught and tried for a girl's murder. Brown lived in Peterborough in the 1970's.
RC 28228 Launching of Modern American Science 1846-1876 by Robert V. Bruce. 1988 Pulitzer Prize winning history of science. Author was Madbury resident.
RC 46519 A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Two unfit buddies hike the Appalachian Trail. Humorist Bryson lives in Hanover.
RC 16237 Look to the Mountain by Legrand Cannon. Historical novel of early New Hampshire. Cannon summered in New Hampshire.
RC 50334 Against the Tide: fate of the New England Fisherman by Richard A. Carey. The author, a Center Sandwich teacher, chronicles a year working with independent fishermen.

Change is Good?!

More personnel changes at Library Services to Persons with Disabilities! Sherry Ober has left our section, after several years of fine service, and is now a Library Associate in Special Library Services in the main State Library building on Park Street. On Oct. 5, Betty Clark will begin work as Library Technician. She was an executive secretary at the State Library for several years.

FAVORITE NARRATORS

Popular National Library Service narrators were recently honored by the American Foundation for the Blind. Erik Sandvold, Bill Wallace, and Robert Sams received the Alexander Scourby Narrator of the Year Award in June. This award honors excellence in the narration of talking books. Sandvold, an actor, has recorded almost 300 books and received the fiction award. Wallace, a veteran narrator of 17 years, received the nonfiction award. Also receiving an award for recording of nonfiction American history was actor Robert Sams.

ANNUAL NFB CONFERENCE

The New Hampshire members of the National Federation of the Blind are pleased to announce their annual conference, which will run November 16-18, 2001 at the Holiday Inn in Concord. Featured speaker is Dr. Maurer, national president of the National Federation of the Blind, and a blind attorney in Baltimore, MD. A special guest will be Ron Brown, a blind mobility instructor from Indiana.

Friday afternoon activities include demos of user-friendly products and a meeting of dog guide users. Saturday is a full day with sessions on recreation, families of the blind, and reports from agencies for the blind. Throughout the day there will be activities scheduled for the children of attendees. The day will end with a banquet and presentation of awards and scholarships. Following dinner, the musical group Blind Ambitions (two members are blind) will entertain.

The conference will wrap up on Sunday with a business meeting and election of new officers. The conference registration cost is $2 and the banquet is $25. Special room rates at the Holiday Inn are available; mention "NFB" when registering.

BATTERIES

In the past we have said that keeping your cassette player plugged in all the time affects the ability of the battery to recharge. The National Library Service now advises that this is no longer the case with the newer players. Everyone can now keep their player plugged in while listening. It is still recommended that you allow the battery to completely recharge by not using the player for a period of 12-16 hours.

Other machine tips:
• Keep your machine in a cool, dry place and do not eat or drink near it.
  
• Save the box your machine came in. You might need to return it.
  
• Call us before sending back a malfunctioning machine. We may be able to troubleshoot over the phone.

OUT OF ASIA

The NH Humanities Council sponsors book discussion groups in the program "What is New Hampshire Reading this Month?" This year's theme is "Out of Asia." Libraries and bookstores are holding discussions on selected titles. Our library owns two of the titles in recorded format. If interested, give us a call for a copy. Visit the Council's website (www.nhhc.org/winhr/index.htm) for more information on the program.

• Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima. Doomed love story set in 1912 Tokyo (September selection)
• RC 51570 Tale of Murasaki by Liza Salby. Novel about the life of 11th century Japanese author Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji (October selection)
• Some Prefer Nettles by Junichiro Tanizaki. Autobiographical novel of the conflict between traditional and westernized Japanese culture (November selection).
• RC 48113 Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata. Tragic love affair between a wealthy playboy and a geisha. 1968 Nobel Prize for literature (December selection).

HISTORIAN IN NH

Renowned Presidential historian Michael Beschloss will be the guest speaker at the NH Humanities Council annual fundraising dinner on October 10th. He will discuss presidents past and present. Beschloss has written several histories available as talking books. They are:

RC 24878 Mayday: Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the U-2 Affair. The infamous 1960 spy case.
RC 32332 Eisenhower: a centennial life. Biography of the WWII general and U.S. President.
RC 36283 At the Highest Levels: the inside story of the end of the cold war. The negotiations between Bush and Gorbachev that led to the end of the Cold War.
RC 37869 Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960-1963. Interactions between the two world leaders, especially the Cuban Missile Crisis.

DIGITAL TALKING BOOKS

The Library of Congress is planning for the next generation of talking books, making future plans to replace cassette books with a new digital format. Cassette books have been around since the 1960's, and flexible disc books only recently ceased production. Digital books will mean a new recording and playback system. Currently, the National Library Service is working on standards for the books and playback equipment of the future. We may be able to use the new format in the next 5 to 10 years.

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