Posts by Donald Laub

For eight weeks a group has gathered at the St. George Library for a class called, "Memoirs: Penned and Spoken." They have exercised their writing skills, reflecting back on their lives and experiences, with a willingness to share with their fellow students. At the Celebration event they will be reading some of their work, and reflect on their lives and times.

The St. George Library Center recently received a grant — "Creative Aging in Our Communities: The New York City Libraries Project" — from Lifetime Arts, Inc., a Westchester County-based nonprofit organization. Over 25 locations in The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library systems received grants.

The New York Public Library with its sponsor, Citi Foundation, has announced the New York StartUP! 2012 Business Plan Competition for New York-based startup entrepreneurs with cash prizes totaling over $30,000. The third annual New York StartUp! gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to bolster their business acumen. Entrants gain practical insights about starting and growing a business, while learning about the comprehensive small business resources at NYPL’s Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL).

Please join us at the St. George Library Center on Monday, February 28 at 6:30PM for a book discussion of Push by Sapphire.

Thomas Matteo, the Staten Island Borough Historian, wrote a nice article in the Sunday, January 16, 2011 Staten Island Advance titled "Their Pens Were Mighty Indeed," about famous writers who have a Staten Island connection. While I was aware that Washington Irving, Emily Post, Amy Vanderbilt, Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville all had some link to Staten Island, the one I was not aware of was Edwin Arlington Robinson, writer of the poems  "Richard Cory," "Minver Cheevy" and many more. He lived on Staten Island in 1913 in the Lighthouse Hill section (picture of the lighthouse, which is still standing at Lighthouse Hill, to the left). It 

St. George Library Center hosts a book discussion of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell on Monday, January 24, 2011 at 6:30PM.

The Staten Island Ferry today remains a lifeline to Staten Island, as it is still heavily traveled by Staten Islanders for work and pleasure. The area of St. George grew up around the ferry. St. George was more or less a rural outpost until the ferry started landing at its present location in the the late 1800s. Other ferry services from Staten Island existed in other locations, but only one remains, the Staten Island Ferry, which docks just a hop-skip-and-a jump from the St. George Library Center.

A brief history of the St. George Library Center from pamphlet "St. George Library Center," 6/89:

This past July I visited Lenox, Massachusetts and had a chance to go to "The Mount", the home of Edith Wharton. I haven't read a lot of Edith Wharton, but have liked what I read, Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence. I also liked the movie of The Age of Innocence. I enjoyed the scenes in the movie of folks at the opera in the late 1800s, as well as seeing houses constructed at the then northern boundary of settlement in Manhattan, around 50th Street!

Paul Zindel, writer of young adult and children's books, was born in Tottenville in 1936 and died in 2003 in Manhattan. Before becoming a full-time writer, he  taught at Tottenville High School between 1959 and 1969. (When Tottenville High School was in Tottenville. The newer version is actually in Huguenot.)

I attended BookExpo America (BEA) on May 25 and May 26 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It is the first time I have ever attended BEA, which is a trade show for the book industry and is sponsored by ABA (American Booksellers Association) and AAP (Association of American Publishers).

This Saturday, May 15, Staten Island is bluegrass country! Starting at 2pm at the Tottenville Library, The Bluegrass Hit Parade: 1946 to 2010 will be a concert of bluegrass songs and tunes which were made famous by the originators of bluegrass music. Performed by Cross, Farrell, Cohen and Wright.

Bob Tomes, a professor of history at St. John's University, who lives right down the block from the Tottenville Library, will be speaking about his book Apocalypse Then: American Intellectuals and the Vietnam War, 1954-1975, a perceptive, well-balanced, and well-written look at a very difficult time in the life of the United States, which, among other things, gives insight to how we got to today's, by most accounts, somewhat contentious public discourse.

Love the NCAA basketball tournament? Read about two of its most famous alumni in When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird and Earvin Magic Johnson. From he book jacket: "When the Game Was Ours is a compelling portrait of two inimitable players across three decades. It is also a rollicking ride through professional basketball's best times."

Another favorite writer of mine is Willa Cather, author of My Ántonia and numerous other novels and short stories. I didn't discover her until I was in my last semester of college, and I have to admit I had not even remotely heard of her before that. But I was captivated by the story she told in My Ántonia and in the direct style of her writing.

For a long time Herman Melville has been one of my favorite writers, perhaps the favorite. I read Moby Dick in junior year of high school in 1968 and was totally mesmerized. I have re-read it at least five or six times and it amazes me every time. I've also read all of his other novels, some of which were very difficult to read, but always worthwhile and interesting. When you read them in order: Typee, Omoo, Mardi, Redburn, White-jacket--you can see Moby Dick coming.

If the Super Bowl is over and it is February and there is 12 inches of snow on the ground, to me that means baseball season is just around the corner!

I’ve been a New York Mets fan right since the beginning in 1962. I was 11 years old, and I have a very strong, and good, memory of going to the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan with my father and brother during that first season. We bought tickets at the park and got seats about 10 rows behind the Mets dugout! I got the autograph of one of the Mets coaches, Cookie Lavagetto, and I never saw such a bright blue as the color of his hat along with the brilliant white of his uniform.

Last night, Feb 8, the Tottenville Library book discussion group met to discuss Evening by Susan Minot. We had 20 attendees, the largest amount ever at the Tottenville Library book discussion. The discussion was lively and animated as usual.

Some felt the book was a bit too depressing, but most seemed to be interested in the story of a woman dying and reflecting back on an incident that had taken place 40 years earlier. What did that incident mean to her? Was she foolish for dwelling on it, or was it a legitimate thing to carry with her?

The Tottenville book discussion group has been meeting since this past September. Here is the schedule: