Some of the Connecticut Authors listed on the Library's Beyond the Best Seller list will be visiting and discussing their books at the New Canaan Library. Stewart O'Nan, author of The Circus Fire will share his new book Songs of the Missing with readers on Wednesday, March 4th at noon when the Friends of the New Canaan Library's Lunch Bunch Book Group presents an Authors on Stage event.

We are very excited to have Frank Delaney, Connecticut author of Ireland, Tipperary and Shannon, Sunday, March 15th, at 4:00 pm, celebrating St. Patrick's Day, a wee bit early at the Library.

Then on Wednesday, March 25th, at 12:00 noon, Connecticut Mystery Writer, Rosemary Harris, author of Pushing Up Daisies and The Big Dirt Nap will join colleagues Jane Cleland, Killer Keepsakes and Meredith Cole, Posed For Murder for Under the Writer's Veil as part of Author's on Stage at the Library.

Connecticut is a great place to write and a great place to write about.

Our February issue of Beyond The Best Seller List has a special theme! We decided to focus on the state of Connecticut, and we make recommendations for fiction set in Connecticut as well as nonfiction titles about our state.
Putting the list together was an interesting process, and I learned a little history as I went through the process. Probably my favorite book on the list is The Merritt Parkway by Bruce Radde. It tells the story of the road from conception in the 20's to completion in the 40's , with an interesting analysis of the history of the region and the place of the automobile in American culture.
We honor the people of our state by recommending biographies of famous residents Mark Twain and Charles Ives, and honor unsung heroes with Connecticut Speaks for Itself, a compilation of personal testimonies of hardworking people and immigrants tales. Local architecture is celebrated in the book The Harvard Five in New Canaan. Stewart O'Nan's The Circus Fire tells the sad story of a fire in Hartford in 1944 that killed 169 and injured many more.
On the Advice, How-to and Miscellaneous list I recommend Pat and Lester Brook's Food Lover's Guide to Connecticut. These two local authors have put together a great book of where to eat and shop locally.
On the Fiction side of the list there is a lot of good fiction, some new and some old. Mysteries by Rosemary Harris (Pushing Up Daisies) and Laurien Berensen (Dog Eat Dog) are recent books that are set in Fairfield County. Rick Moody's The Ice Storm is set right here in New Canaan. Mary-Ann Tirone Smith's novel Masters of Illusion is a fictional take on the aforementioned circus fire in Hartford.
As with all issues of Beyond the Best Seller, the kids aren't left out: take home N is for Nutmeg for your younger kids. Older (grade 4-6) would enjoy The Forbidden Schoolhouse of Prudence Crandall. What a story: Crandall stirred up a controversy when she opened a school for young African American girls in the 1800's in Canterbury CT.
We hope that our patrons will enjoy these Nutmeg State recommendations. If these pique your interest we have plenty more books about and set in our state. Just ask a Librarian!