Suffern author Chelle Cordero will be at newly-opened independent The Raider Bookshop for two reasons this Feb. 13.

She will be promoting her latest novel, “Common Bond, Tangled Heart” and she says she will be  there to celebrate the opening of The Raider Bookshop in Suffern.

Chelle Cordero has written eight novels published by Vanilla Heart Publishing in Seattle, Washington. Seven are  romantic suspense genre and one is a murder mystery. “Bartlett’s Rule,”  Cordero’s first release, was named to Carolyn Howard Johnson’s Top Ten Reads of 2009 list, Final Sin is a 2009 Pushcart Prize nominee.

“Common Bond, Tangled Hearts” was just released at the end of Januar.  Feb. 13 will mark its Rockland County debut.  All of Cordero’s books will be available for sale and and she will be on hand for signing copies and greeting her readers from 2 to 4 p.m.

The Raider Bookshop, owned and managed by Adam Salviani, is part of international Raider Publishing and opened in Rockland County  on Jan.5. The companyis branching into retail, according to Cordero , and “is looking to add a venue for Indie authors and publishers in an eclectic Rockland County community.”

The Raider Bookshop is  at 99 Lafayette Ave.  in the same building as the historic Lafayette Theater. It is  open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday  and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays .

########

Seven romance writers from the Hudson Valley will be converging in Yonkers this Sunday for  “Local Romance Night” in a Barnes & Noble program — and  just in time for Valentine’s Day.

”(We are) very proud to produce our first Local Romance Night.  This type of community event is more than just signing and selling books,” said Martie Ripson, Community Relations Manager.  “We’re shining our spotlight on local talent whose published works might otherwise go unnoticed.”

The authors will sign books, answer questions and discuss what it takes to get published in this genre.

Authors include:

Chelle Cordero (Hostage Heart), Sara Taney-Humphreys (The Amoveo Legacy), Janet Lane Walters (All Our Yesterdays), Laura Marie Henion (Lillian’s Love), Charmaine Gordon (To Be Continued), Kathleen Kubik (Neither Sand Nor Sea), and Allie Boniface (One Night in Memphis).

It begins at 7:00pm at the Barnes & Noble, 2614 Central Park Ave., Yonkers.   Admission is free.

It was reported today that J.D. Salinger, author of “Catcher in the Rye” had died at the age of 91. The writer of “Franny and Zooey”  and short stories as well, he is said to have influenced generations of readers and writers.

Salinger had been living a reclusive life for decades in Cornish, N.H. Read a complete story on his passing by Hillel Italie of the Associated Press.

Turns out that like many writers, Salinger also spent time in Westchester.

“In January 1947,  sick of big city life, he moved to a garage apartment in Tarrytown, New York. That same year, he sold two stories, one to Mademoiselle and one to Cosmopolitan. In the fall he moved farther into the country into a barn studio in Stamford, Connecticut,” according to the 2008 biography, “J.D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye and Other Works” by Raychel Haugrud Reiff.

Now, I wonder, which garage? I almost suspect it could have been one of the those apartments above the garages in Sleepy Hollow, then known as North Tarrytown, near the intersection of Route 9 and Beekman Avenue just as the state road bends to the left.

Westchester author Marilyn Johnson will discuss her latest book, “This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All,” at a special gathering set for 7 p.m. Feb. 3 at the White Plains Library, 100 Martine Ave.

The discussion will include looking at whether librarians are becoming obsolete in an age of Internet information sites and other topics relating to physical books.

The meeting, sponsored by the Westchester Library Association,” is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

For information about the library, call 914-422-1400. For information on the library association and its events, visit www.westchesterlibraryassociation.org.

Here are some really interesting fundraising events the Ruth Keeler Memorial Library has organized:

Tables of Content—-Literary Events

You are invited to attend literary dinners and brunches benefiting the library and hosted by local families. While many of the events have sold out, these are still open. Please call or email the library to reserve a place. Checks should be made out to the library.

Saturday, February 6th from 6:00-8:00 – Martinis & Mayhem – $75/person

Whether you are a gin man (or woman) or a vodka fanatic, you will find no better place to quench that special thirst than at this grand celebration of the martini. Follow Robert Benchley’s advice: “Why don’t you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?” (Or some other drink)

Saturday, March 20th at 11:30 – Maple Harvest – $50/adult & $25/child

Crowd around the grill for a country lunch, while learning all about “sugaring” from your enterprising hosts who every year tap their own trees. You might even snag a taste of North Salem syrup.

Sunday, March 14th at 4:00 – Art North Salem – $150/person

Enjoy dinner at Roseclyff, the spectacular home created by this multi-talented artist and designer. The decor is accented by the vibrant colors of her paintings and her sculpture, and by the whimsical one-of-a-kind furniture. Show-cased in the March/April 2009 Bedford Magazine.

Sunday, February 28th at 11:30 – Edible Ecriture – $100/person

As philosopher Francis Bacon observed: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed.” In an unusual pairing of literature and food, your hosts will offer you a selection of fine foods written about in their favorite books.

Author Michael Gates Gill, who wrote  the New York Times bestseller, “How Starbucks Saved My Life,” will read from his new work, “How to Save Your Own Life:  15 Lessons on Finding Hope in Unexpected Places,”  at 3 p.m. Jan. 24 in the Bronxville library’s Yeager Room.

The reading will be followed by a book signing and reception. Gill is a former Bronxville resident.

The event is open to the public. The library is at 201 Pondfield Ave.

I’ve learned a lesson, and it may help me out greatly with my future reading choices.

When a friend recommended the writer Jonathan Tropper, I took his book Everything Changes from the New Rochelle Public Library and quickly decided I didn’t like it.

The characters seemed a little flat, the writing held too many cliches, etc.

But wait. Read on (especially if you’re Westchester resident and author Jonathan Tropper.)

Because this friend recommended the guy so highly, I brought the book back after reading maybe 70 pages and tried another, The Book Read more of this entry »

Well-known children’s book illustrator, Jerry Pinkney of Croton has a new honor—a Randolph Caldecott Medal to his credit.

This morning the American Library Association awarded the Westchester-ite yet a Caldecott Medal, one of the most prestigious honors in the children’s book world, according to morning news releases. Rebecca Stead won the companion Newbery Award for her book,  “When You Reach Me.” These were announced this morning during the library association’s Boston gathering.

Pinkney won  for  “The Lion & the Mouse,”a wordless adaptation of an Aesop’s fable, about a  ferocious lion who spares a timid mouse. Seven other books have been recognized as Honor Books for Caldecott medals.

According to the publisher (Little, Brown)  of “The Lion,”  Pinkney  “has been illustrating children’s books for over 40 years and has more than 75 books to his credit. He has the rare distinction of being the recipient of five Caldecott Honor books. He has also won the Coretta Scott King Award five times, the Coretta Scott King Honor three times, and was nominated for the prestigious international Hans Christian Anderson Award.”

Pinkney spoke at the 2000 African American Literary Tea in Tarrytown and locally has been a highlight of many book-related functions.

His previous honor books are: “Noah’s Ark” in 2003, “The Ugly Duckling” in 2000, “Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and his Orchestra” in 1999, “The Faithful Friend” in 1996, “John Henry” in 1995, “The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South” in 1990, and “Mirandy and Brother Wind” in 1989.

(The photo of Pinkney above is from Little-Brown kids. )

When I think of American poet Walt Whitman, I recall free verse poetry and his collection, “Leaves of Grass.”  I never thought about his views on the Civil War, slavery and Abraham Lincoln.

But my vision has been expanded.  This weekend I went to the Katonah Museum of Art to see an exhibit “Bold, Cautious, True: Walt Whitman and American Art of the Civil War Era.”

The exhibit contains  more than 50 works — paintings, drawings, sculptures —  from museums and private collections around the country. It  was put together by Kevin Sharp, the director at Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tenn. The exhibit began here in Memphis and  came to Katonah, where it stays through Jan. 24.

A former child slave from Sudan is set to speak Sunday at the 14th annual Martin?Luther King Jr. program at the Desmond-Fish Library.

The  “Bringing the Dream Home: Civil Rights and the Hudson Valley” features Simon Deng,  a human rights activist who speaks across the U. S.; has addressed the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland; and has organized protest marches in Washington, D.C.

“He is a modern day abolitionist,” said Stephen Kent, a library trustee who helped organize the two-day event that features  a family musical performance Monday afternoon.