The sanctuary of everything stylish in Westchester, Bloomingdale’s, will be featuring the authors of “Cooking with the Bible” Biblical Food, Feasts, and Lore” in the White Plains store’s Epicurean Center.

It will be tomorrow right around lunch time — perfect timing for a food talk. And as for the religious aspect, don’t forget that Passover and Easter are coming up fast and each include special foods and family meals.

The focus of ” Cooking with the Bible ”(Greenwood Press) is on food, cooking and what people might have eaten during Biblical times, explains Rob of Rob Seitz Communications in New Rochelle. The authors dish about the “gospel on food according to Anthony and Rusty” (a/k/a co-authors Anthony Chiffolo and (The Rev. Dr.) Rayner “Rusty” Hesse, he says.

Not everyone will be interested in locust soup, I suspect, but there are recipes for matzoh ball soup, haroset, Persian lamb stew and deviled eggs.

The authors will be at Bloomingdale’s between 12 noon to 2:00 pm. The store is on Bloomingdale Road in White Plains, just off exit 8 of the Cross Westchester (287).

The co-authors are Hartsdale residents. Chiffolo and (The Rev.) Hesse. Chiffolo is editorial director of Praeger Publishers and Hesse is and pastor of St. John’s Wilmot Episcopal Church in New Rochelle. Both are religious scholars and their shared avocation is cooking and recipe development. (In fact, they are researching for their next cookbook, “Cooking with the Movies.”).

The first edition of the book took more than four years to put together. It involved researching biblical passages in to find references to food and also developing and testing the recipes on family members, friends and members of Rusty’s congregation.

The original hardcover edition was published during better times, 2006, and sold for $75. The soft-cover edition is $25.

Fans of two local authors — Dave Donelson and Marek Fuchs — will have the chance to meet them face to face and hear them speak at the 18th Annual Westchester Library System’s Book and Author Tea Luncheon

It is held April 16 form noon to 2 p.m. at Abigail Kirsch’s Tappan Hill in Tarrytown.

The theme is mystery stories and also includes writers Hallie Ephron and Laura Lippman.

Donelson ( photo on left) lives in Harrison and is a library board trustee, while Fuchs (photo on right) calls Hastings his home.

The writers will speak about their books and the art of writing giving the audience a glimpse of how these bestselling writers create their works. This being a luncheon, there will be tea and tasty treats. a full menu with dessert. Past events have featured a grand tea service, small sandwiches and a festive dessert.

The Book & Author Tea is sponsored by the Westchester Library System and held during National Week Library to increase awareness of libraries and library programming.

The luncheon is sponsored by Con Edison, Entergy, and the H.W. Wilson Foundation.

This year’s program will be emceed by Terry Kirchner, executive director of the Westchester Library System. Entergy Nuclear will receive the National Library Week Recognition Award for its continued support of the WLS and its mission to ensure that all Westchester County residents have seamless access to excellent library service.

Ticket prices for the luncheon are $75 for general admission and $100 for a Library Patron, which includes a journal listing and special invitation to an author reception at 11:15am. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 914-231-3226 or go to WLS site.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, which was first published in 1969.

To date it has been translated into more than 47 languages and sold over 29 million copies.

It is one of my favorite children’s book, but I particularly love the book because it is one of the first ones I read to my two sons. And it is one of the books they first responded to. I recall watching them wiggle around like a caterpillar and they really enjoyed the illustrations and the colors.

Eric Carle really created something that was long lasting. (To the right is an illustration from his site acknowledging the four decades.) Carle was born in Syracuse, N.Y., but as a young child moved to Germany with his parents and went to school there. As an adult he worked for The New York Times and then an advertising agency doing illustrations and artwork. He currently lives in Florida and North Carolina, says the biography on his site.

To note the date, Google has adapted its logo and it is really cute.

I just learned that there is The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass. Sounds like a day trip to me.

After 37 years, the Second Story Book Shop in Chappaqua is giving up its
lease May 1 and closing its doors. The owner, Joan Ripley, made the
announcement in a letter to the community she has mailed to some customers
and passed out to others as they have come into the store over the last
couple days.

The end of Second Story is another blow to the survival of independent book
stores in Westchester, where only a handful survive.

Second Story was close to closing in 2005 when its rent doubled but Chubb
Insurance stepped in as a corporate sponsor.

This time, Ripley said in the letter she is being pressured by her children
and grandchildren to retire. But also, the bookselling landscape has
changed. Ripley said rents in town are “out of sight” and customers have
moved their shopping to cyberspace.

Coming soon to your bookstore and library is a view of conservatism today from the Westchester shores of Hudson River. Is it a counter-revolutionary movement and a form of political warfare?

New York Times editor and book author Sam Tanenhaus tackles the topic in his book, “The Death of Conservatism,” to be published in September, the publisher Random House has just announced.

Tanenhaus is a Tarrytown resident and editor of The New York Times Book Review and Week in Review so I bet he will have a lot to say on this topic from his perspective. His publisher, Random House, says he is also working on a biography of William F. Buckley. He is also the author of “Literature Unbound: A Guide for the Common Reader.”

Here is how Random House describes the book:

“Tanenhaus argues that conservatism today is in fact a counter-revolutionary movement which seeks not to ‘conserve’ the traditions of ‘civil society’ but rather to destroy them through a politics of civil warfare. In this book, Tanenhaus expands on this argument in a narrative that describes a half-century-long conflict between consensus ‘realists’ and orthodox ‘revanchists’ who were locked in a struggle for the soul of the movement. He offers a panoramic view of modern politics as well as new interpretations of figures from Dwight Eisenhower and Joseph McCarthy through Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. At the same time he tells the history of the modern political thought, and reexamines thinkers from Whittaker Chambers and James Burnham, to William F. Buckley, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Irving Kristol. This book will offer a roadmap for a newly revitalized conservatism that can become a force again in our political life.”

It is no surprise that library use is up in every community during this economic horror show. People are renewing their library cards (some adults are even getting cards for the first time), borrowing more materials and taking advantage of useful and fun programs. More people are finding out that libraries provide great (and cheap) entertainment along with job search help, available computers and information on just about everything.

What is encouraging as well is to find out that funding sources are recognizing the importance and value of public libraries.

• Annual Library Lobby Day in Albany earlier this month drew many more supporters than in past years to talk with elected officials about libraries and funding options. Representatives from Westchester Library System, Mid=Hudson Library System and Ramapo-Catskill Library System bused up to the state capitol to make their message clear. For photos, check out Mid=Hudson’s site.

• The New York State Senate’s budget proposal restored close to 18 percent to public library funding. What the Assembly will do remains unclear, but library groups are urging its supporters to contact their representatives.
• President Barak Obama remembered libraries when he signed FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill last week. It recognized some still open bills from last year and brought them along. These include grant money for the Library Services and Technology Act, which help system libraries do their work. Also in the bill is funding for the state’s Talking Book and Braille Library.

American Library Association President Jim Rettig said this additional state funding will provide much-needed assistance to the nation’s libraries that are experiencing a spike in usage during the recession.

“Last year, libraries hosted more than 1.3 billion visits and are now averaging 175 million visits a month,” Rettig said.

“As Americans deal with the weakened economy, they are turning to their libraries more and more – not just for no-fee access to the Internet and free books, CDs and DVDs – but also for assistance with online job searching, resume building, 21st century job skills training, and e-government. We want to thank Congress and the White House for recognizing the need to fund libraries at the full level of the LSTA, especially during this time when Americans need their libraries more than ever.”

I’m heading off to go to visit some libraries in our region in search of  some of the most-used and newest programs out there. Feel free to point me in the right direction…..a bnackman@LoHud.com

Ever wonder what drives the sport of women’s basketball? A new publication by a Mercy College staffer and Rockland County resident sheds some light on the sport — and this Monday you can meet the author in Nyack.

Christine A. Baker has just released “Why She Plays: The World of Women’s Basketball ” (University of Nebraska Press), a book about female hoop players from youth basketball to the WNBA and she is slated to talk about and sign copies Monday at 7 p.m. at the Nyack Library.

In her book, Baker includes current statistics and trends in the sport and talks about the last 36 years. She interviews players and coaches offering portraits of the athletes offering an inside look at the sport of women’s basketball and how it fits into our the American sports culture.

Baker is director of public relations at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry and an adjunct professor at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill. She is a contributing writer for the Web site, Full Court Press covering the WNBA and women’s sports. Oh, and she coaches basketball, too.

The library is at 59 S. Broadwnay.

So glad to hear that wherever Bill Clinton goes he remembers that a grand independent bookstore is in his adopted hometown of Chappaqua.

Second Story Book Shop highlights Clinton’s book (his and his wife’s) and also sells Presidential memorabilia.  But Second Story has been a great store for decades offering suggestions to book buyers and knowledgeable information on books new and old.

The former president spoke at the Association of American Publishers this week and according to those who were there reminded the group that he really likes Chappaqua and its independent bookstore. They sell his book.

Mediabistro’s Galleycat editor Ron Hogan apparantly has been Twittering about it all morning.

And Delmio, an interactive publication for book lovers, has its own report on the Clinton bookstore raves.

Second Story has been in business in Chappaqua for 37 years. It is at 75 North Greeley Avenue — just between the Post Office and Susan Lawrence caterers.

Author Dave Donelson  who wrote a novel, “Heart of Diamonds” with the Congo crisis and the diamond trade as a central focus, will be at the Suffern Free Library this Monday to talk about the African nation.  He will give a brief overview of the current situation in the Congo and show photos from his travels to Africa.

Donelson says his fictional treatment of the Congo’s ongoing strife and desire to hold onto the nation’s riches relate to the real situation as the cause of over five million deaths since 1998.

In his novel, Donelson uses a diamond smuggling scheme to represent the fight for control of the DRC’s gold, timber, uranium, copper, coltan, and other natural resources.  An intricate plot involving an American televangelist, the President of the DRC, and the White House reflects the convoluted relationships of the factions involved in the struggle.  His heroine, Valerie Grey, is a TV journalist who uncovers the scheme and fights to expose it to the world.

Book by Book announced the publication in a previous blog that you might want to take another look at.

“Since I started writing the book, there have been glimmers of hope in the situation,” Donelson said in a recent press release.  “But violence continues and hundreds of thousands of people are still suffering as refugees.  Peace and prosperity are still a long way away.”  He adds, “I hope Heart of Diamonds will help draw attention to the crisis.”

Donelson is a freelance writer and photographer. He lives in West Harrison and is a trustee with the Westchester Library System.

“Heart of Diamonds” was published by Kunati Books, named Independent Publisher of the Year at the 2008 Book Expo America.

The talk is at 7 p.m.  The library is at 210 Lafayette Ave.

I was disappointed today to find a rejection notice from Abebooks that “Dorothy Dale’s Strange Discovery” was unavailable. I had my doubts when I ordered it (for some reason I thought the set ended at 10), but if it was available, it would complete the series I began last summer with the unexpected acquisition of “Dorothy Dale, Girl of Today.”

At some point my love affair with Dorothy, who burst on the scene in 1915, may make blog fodder, but in searching around to see if “Strange Discovery” actually exists, I decided to do a little research into Margaret Penrose, the alleged author of the Dorothy Dale series.

Penrose was, not surprising, the pen name of one of the Stratemeyer Syndicate writers (think Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, although the Dorothy Dale series actually predates those by a few decades). And while I know that Wikipedia is the worst possible source for real information, Penrose was identified there as being Lilian C. Garis (1873-1954).

Apparently, Garis was a reporter for the Newark (N.J.) Evening News around the turn of the last century.

That probably explains why Dorothy lived in a “small upstate New York town” and took train trips into NYC for Christmas shopping and whatnot in the early books. It also explains why the scenes in Dorothy’s father’s small newspaper ring so true.