A community of writers who are working to infuse true stories with emotional honesty, members of the group write memoir, essay and research-supported works in a flexible form that welcomes shifting voices and viewpoints, refined wordplay and the analytical modes of the essayist. The group publishes a journal, Solstice, to which members can contribute.
Registration required. Contact Janie Hermann: jhermann@princetonlibrary.org or call 609.924.9528 x228 for more information.

Search engine optimization -- getting your website a top ranking on Google, Yahoo, and other search engines, is an important part of developing an effective website. What are the secrets to moving your website to the top of the page? Matt Dawson of Image Cog website design, and Karen Hodges Miller of Open Door Publications will discuss techniques for optimizing your website. Topics will include natural vs. manufactured results, the effective use of keywords, and the importance of writing interesting and informative copy that attract visitors and keeps them returning to your site again and again.

Lawyers will be at the library for free private consultations on immigration and general legal issues. No appointments necessary; service on a first-come, first-served basis. Spanish translators available.
Co-sponsored by the Princeton Public Library, the Latin American Task Force, Lutheran Social Ministries of NJ, the Housing Authority of Princeton and the Mercer County Bar Association.
For more information, call Lucia Acosta at 609.924.9529 x316.

Short story discussion in Spanish

This playful, game-like alternative to ordinary conversation is designed to enrich interpersonal relationships. Moderated by Alan Goldsmith, Noodle Talks begin with a container filled with 400 fettuccini-like paper strips being passed around. On each strip, there are one or two questions covering the full gamut of life experience. Some questions refer to the past, others to the future; some are concrete, others metaphorical; some invite us to laugh at our foibles while others bring us to tears. There are no right or wrong answers, just the truth of our own inner or outer experience.

Quirke is a hard drinking pathologist in 1950's Dublin who one night discovers his brother-in-law, prominent obstetrician Malachy Griffin, altering the medical records of one of Quirke's recent corpses who died in childbirth. Why? This is a dark and atmospheric tale of suspense.

In this combination lecture, cooking demo and tasting session, Holistic Health Counselor Rochelle Blank discusses the effects of white sugar and processed foods. Designed for high audience interaction, this session will clearly illustrate that sugar is similar to an addictive drug often with harmful health effects. Learn to change your relationship with sugar while satisfying your sweet tooth with delicious no-sugar recipes and new choices for optimal health.

A look at the crucial question are men necessary? answered by New York Times curmudgeon Maureen Dowd. Also, readings related to literary events and anniversaries for the month of September as well as light-hearted verse from a miscellany of poets.
Reader: Pat Connor

Aura con Carlos Fuentes: Una historia de amor y pasión, pero aún más de la lucha contra la muerte y el deseo de prolongar momentos de esplendor y belleza.

Caroline Harris, Curator of Education and Academic Programs at the Princeton University Art Museum, will discuss ongoing programs and the museum's permanent collection and preview the upcoming exhibit Frank Gehry: On Line.
The Princeton University Art Museum celebrates the inauguration of the university's Peter B. Lewis Science Library, designed by Gehry Partners, with this exhibition, on display Oct. 4 -- Jan. 4. The exhibit features 31 original drawings by the renowned architect and several models for his buildings, representing a wide array of projects culled from the last two decades.
Ms. Harris has been a staff lecturer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and has taught art history at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and at the University of Virginia.

EBSCOhost 2.0 : EBSCOhost one of our most popular databases, providing comprehensive access to information in a variety of fields from your home or office with a library card. EBSCO is getting a makeover. Janie Hermann, Program Coordinator, will take you on a tour of the exciting and helpful new features. This session will help you get more from EBSCOhost.

Worth the Fighting For by John McCain, with Mark Salter: McCain picks up where his memoir Faith of My Fathers left off, after his release from a North Vietnamese POW prison, taking pride in his status as a maverick and paying tribute to inspirational figures like Theodore Roosevelt, Ted Williams and Robert Jordan, the fictional protagonist of Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

Contemporary Fiction Discussion: Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson: At age 77, Trond Sander has settled into a rustic cabin in an isolated part of eastern Norway to live the rest of his life in quiet deliberation. However, a meeting with his only neighbor forces him to reflect on a fateful summer that shaped the course of his life.

Short story discussion in Spanish

Co-sponsored by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, the office of Congressman Rush Holt (D-12), the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc and the Princeton Public Library, this workshop will gather in one place all the necessary resources needed to go through the process of applying for U.S. citizenship.
Immigrants who have been legal permanent residents for at least five years (three years if married to a U.S. citizen) and meet other requirements can qualify for citizenship. For those who may not meet all the requirements yet, or are unsure about whether they want to take the step, there will be presentations on what the process entails. A group of trained volunteers will assist applicants with the completion of the N400 form. There will be a photographer on hand for passport pictures, and translators in different languages to translate birth certificates and other necessary documents. If you are are considering becoming a U.S, citizen this is a rare opportunity you would not want to miss. To register, or if you are fluent in a foreign language and would like to volunteer for this event, contact the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF) at (877) 452-5333. Pre-registration required

"The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity": Russell Roberts, professor of economics at George Mason University, tells a captivating story about the unseen forces that create and sustain economic harmony around us. Stanford University student and Cuban-American tennis prodigy Ramon Fernandez is outraged when a nearby megastore hikes its prices the night of an earthquake. As Ramon is thrust into the national spotlight by events beyond the Stanford campus, he learns there's more to price hikes than meets the eye and gains a new appreciation for how our economy works and the wondrous role that the price of everything plays in everyday life.

Nirit Yadin, chef at The Whisk & the Spoon, the learning kitchen at Whole Foods Market, will lead a cooking demo followed by a discussion of the book, a novel of friendship, love, and cuisine. Featured recipes will complement the book. Please register at the Welcome Desk, or by calling 924-9529, ext. 218.

A carpenter's pencil is perhaps the most humble of tools. But in a prison in Spain during the civil war it is a treasure, certainly in the hands of a painter. The painter even gets killed for it, and the pencil is from then on in the hands (actually behind the ear) of a guardian, the murderer. Based on the book by Manuel Rivas. In Spanish, with English subtitles.

Betty Lies, cofounder of Princeton's Cool Women Poets, serves as poet in the schools for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as well as a Geraldine R. Dodge poet. Author of four books of prose, her appearance at the library will mark the launch of her first poetry collection, The Blue Laws. Betty's work has appeared in US 1 Worksheets, The Green Mountain Review, Kalliope, Journal of New Jersey Poets, The Southern Review of Poetry and Zone 3. Betty has been named a NJSCA Distinguished Teaching Artist and given the Governor's Award on Arts and Education. Betty was awarded a 1995 Poetry Fellowship by New Jersey State Council on the Arts. A Montgomery resident, Betty taught at Princeton's Stuart Country Day School for 25 years, primarily as head of the English Department.

Short story discussion in Spanish

A media-savvy social satirist, Strauss has been a featured lifestyle trend writer on national morning shows and talk shows including ABC, CBS, CNN and, most recently, VH1. Her articles cover a range of topics, from beauty and food trends to celebrity interviews, appearing in publications such as: The New York Times, The New York Post, and Daily News, as well as national magazines: Time magazine, Town & Country Travel, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, Wine Enthusiast, and Esquire among others. She is author of The Joy of Funerals: A Novel in Stories, which won the Ingram Award. Her most recent book, Have I Got a Guy for You is an anthology of blind date stories.

If you love to scrapbook and are looking for space to spread out and work, these three -hour sessions are for you. Bring your own scrapbooks, photos, and other supplies; the library will supply a cropping station. A scrapbooking expert will be on hand to offer advice and will also lead a make and take session, where you can make a seasonal border or other accent for your pages.
To ensure adequate supply of materials, registration is requested. Please call the library reference desk at 609-924-9529 x220 or e-mail refstaff@princetonlibrary.org

Lo Sceicco Bianco (The White Sheik): When small town newlyweds head to Rome for a ridiculously unromantic honeymoon, the young bride sneaks off to meet The White Sheik, a dashing hero from one of the photo comic books. Directed by Federico Fellini.

Participants share a short piece of their own writing and/or a short selection from a book they have read in a relaxed atmosphere. Francesca Benson will lead these no-pressure sessions, where the focus will be on the pleasure of reading and writing in community.

Ray Brown, paintings and drawings
Maia Reim, photographs
Brown is a painter, printmaker, portraitist, muralist and storyboard artist. He attended the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Montreal. In his capacity as a storyboard artist, he has worked at several animation studios in Los Angles. Recent exhibitions/projects include a solo exhibition at the City Hall Gallery, Solana Beach, Calif.; group shows with the Animated Film Society of Los Angeles, the USC Gallery and the Hirsh Gallery, Los Angeles; and a mural for the Hospital of Hope, Montreal, Quebec. As an art educator, he has taught at Dawson College, Montreal; the Scottsdale Artist's School, Phoenix; and Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles. He teaches at the Arts Council of Princeton.

Reim grew up in Chicago, and earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Iowa. As a graduate student, she taught creative darkroom photography to undergraduates. She did additional study at the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College and The School of Visual Arts in New York. She mounted numerous solo exhibitions of her black and white silver print photographs in the 1970s in Chicago and Iowaand participated in juried group shows as well. After a long hiatus during which she raised her family, she began showing her digital prints in 2006. She has spent her career working as a graphic designer and has been the advertising art director at Princeton University Press since 1989. She is a member of the Princeton Photography Club and a friend of Gallery 14 in Hopewell.
Exhibit: Through Nov. 30, Reference Gallery, second floor

In the spirit of Socrates' belief that the unexamined life is not worth living, participants pose questions, listen to others, raise challenges, and consider alternative answers. All are invited and no preparation is necessary.

EBSCOhost 2.0 : EBSCOhost one of our most popular databases, providing comprehensive access to information in a variety of fields from your home or office with a library card. EBSCO is getting a makeover. Janie Hermann, Program Coordinator, will take you on a tour of the exciting and helpful new features. This session will help you get more from EBSCOhost.

Are you caring for an elderly relative or parent? Find out more as a panel of local experts discusses adult day programs, home health care, housing options and geriatric care management. Speakers present at this session will be: Jill Jaclin, MSW with Secure at Home, an initiative of Jewish Family & Children's Service of Greater Mercer County; Hilary Murray, MS, Buckingham Place Assisted Living & Adult Day Services and Buckingham Home Health Services; and Susan Hoskins, LCSW, Executive Director, Princeton Senior Resource Center.

Penny Harter recent books include The Night Marsh (2008), Along River Road, Lizard Light: Poems From the Earth, and Buried in the Sky. Her illustrated alphabestiary, The Beastie Book, is in press from Shenanigan Books. She has won three fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as well as an award from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Mary Carolyn Davies Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the William O. Douglas Nature Writing Award. She lives in Summit with her husband, William J. Higginson, and visits schools for the New Jersey Writers Project.
Shelley Kiernan is a member of the U.S.1 Poets' Cooperative. Her work has appeared in U.S.1 Worksheets and Feminist Studies.

Short story discussion in Spanish

The author has mingled with the Russian Mafiya, polished propaganda in China, and belly danced with rumba queens in Cuba. These adventures inspired her award-winning memoir Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana and the guidebook 100 Places Every Woman Should Go (2007). Her second memoir, Mexican Enough: My Life Between The Borderlines, was published last month. A Hodder Fellow at Princeton University in 2005-'06, Griest and has won numerous writing residencies around the world.

Short story discussion in Spanish

Tony Award-winning director Marshall W. Mason discusses the revival of Talley's Folly, the Pulitzer prize-winning tale of the transformative power of love. On a moonlit night in 1944 Missouri, Jewish accountant Matt Freidman knows he has only one chance to win Sally Talley's heart. As they tip-toe toward love, the fragile pair must confront her family's bigotry and their own tightly kept secrets.
Mason was the Founding Artistic Director of Circle Repertory Company and his 44-year collaboration with Talley's Folly author Lanford Wilson is the longest collaboration between a writer and director in the history of American theater.

The Art of the Public Grovel: Sexual Sin and Public Confession in America
In this fascinating and important history of public confession in modern America, author Susan Wise Bauer explains why and how evangelical-style confession became a mainstream secular American rite. Revealing the rhetoric, theology and history that lie behind every successful public plea for forgiveness, The Art of the Public Grovel will interest anyone who has ever wondered why Bill Clinton is still popular while Jim Bakker fell out of public view.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
In this mystery set in the rural 19th century Canada, Mrs. Ross discovers the body of French trapper Laurent Jammet, scalped and with his throat cut. Missing is her 17-year-old adopted son, Francis, who immediately becomes a suspect. But Francis is on the trail of a killer, with his mother and others close behind.

Participants share a short piece of their own writing and/or a short selection from a book they have read in a relaxed atmosphere. Francesca Benson will lead these no-pressure sessions, where the focus will be on the pleasure of reading and writing in community.

E-voting Machines: Ready for Prime Time or Not?
With Election Day less than a month away, this timely Tech Talk with Dr. Edward Felten will explore the current state of electronic voting machines, looking at the progress that has been made since the last election as well as the security risks that might still be present. Ed Felten is a Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs at Princeton University, and is the founding Director of Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy. He has testified before the House Administration Committee on electronic voting. In 2004, Scientific American magazine named him on its list of 50 worldwide science and technology leaders.

You've got your financial plan for retirement, now what about your lifestyle plan? This program from the Princeton Senior Resource Center will help you explore your options including managing your time, identifying your passions and making a difference through volunteering. You will get a start on developing your vision and goals for achieving a meaningful, satisfying retirement.