The Inside Scoop on New Books for the Fall

Recently, I had the good fortune to attend Book Expo America, an annual event where publishers and authors promote their upcoming titles to booksellers and librarians. Here is a preview of some of the fall’s most anticipated books.

Watch out for new titles by popular authors Adriana Trigiani, Gregory Maguire, Lee Child, Geraldine Brooks, and Jane Smiley.  Coming in September, Jonathan Franzen’s “Purity” is being touted as his best to date and a literary feat.  For fans of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series, a new author continues Lisbeth Salander’s exploits in “The Girl in the Spider’s Web.”

By all accounts, the fall fiction debut to watch out for is “City on Fire” by Garth Risk Hallberg.  At a whopping 944 pages, this novel set in 1970s New York City is purportedly impossible to put down and triggered a bidding war among publishers.  The most talked about upcoming non-fiction includes “The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory” by Julie Checkoway and Dan Marshall’s comic memoir “Home Is Burning.”

One thing is certain. With hundreds of new titles on the horizon, readers have a lot to look forward to this fall.

Contributed by Dorothy Pawlowski, Head of Adult Services

Online Learning with Lynda.com

Do you want to keep up to date on the software you use?  The Ridgefield Library’s newest online resource lynda.com is for you.  This powerful learning tool offers over 3,400 video courses for professional and personal development.

These instructional videos, taught by experts in their fields, can be accessed anywhere an Internet connection is available.  Topics offered include business and management skills, software training, design and web development, 3D and animation, and computer programming.   You’ll also find a wealth of instruction on photography and multimedia editing. Videos are searchable by topic and can be viewed in short segments. 

Seeking a job or professional advancement?   Lynda.com is a powerful tool for information on job search strategies, designing a resume, preparing for an interview, and managing your career.  Once you’ve finished a course, upload a Certificate of Completion to your LinkedIn profile.

All you need to get started is a Ridgefield Library card.  We will be offering training sessions on using lynda.com on June 17th, June 18th, and June 19th in the Library’s Donofrio Family Technology Center.   To register for one of these sessions or to start learning, visit our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.  

Contributed by Dorothy Pawlowski, Head of Adult Services

June Is for Audiobooks

June is a perfect time to celebrate National Audiobook Month, as family vacations get underway and folks spend more time in outdoor pursuits like gardening.  At the Ridgefield Library, we offer an extensive collection of listening material on CD, mp3 and Playaway and in several digital formats. Options include fiction and non-fiction for adults, favorite children’s and teen titles, recommendations for family listening, language learning material and even lecture courses by celebrated college professors.

Audiobooks are a great boon for commuters who want to put their travel time to good use catching up with the latest bestseller.  They can also be of great benefit to beginning or reluctant readers who need a helping hand.  Playaways in particular, with their self-contained player and simple one-button operation, are popular with those whose vision or dexterity may be less than 100%.

Some listeners seek out audiobooks read by particular narrators. Some readers are such a perfect fit with the material they present that they add immense pleasure to the listening experience.

Look for audiobooks in physical formats in the adult, children’s and teen areas. For a quick start to using digital audiobooks, just click on the square blue “Download Audiobooks” icon on our homepage at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.