This week, the magazine came out with its PW Top 10 for 2009 and first on the pile for nonfiction is  Blake Bailey’s biography of John Cheever: “Cheever: a Life” (Knopf).

Cheever, a Pulitzer prize-winning short story writer and novelist, lived in Ossining from 1951 until his death in 1982, so this book has been very popular locally especially in Ossining. Cheever  set many of his stories in the suburbs of Westchester and Connecticut. And widow Mary Cheever still lives in Ossining and their son Benjamin Cheever, a very talented writer in his own right, lives nearby as well.

The magazine’s editor describe the book  as ” a delicious biography that could bring Cheever back into the literary firmament” and adds that “Bailey offers up juicy, appalling, hilarious and moving anecdotes with verve, sensitivity and perfect timing.”

In 2007, the Ossining Public Library named the reading room in its new building on Croton Avenue in Cheever’s honor.

Putnam: In Patterson, voters agreed to increase the annual contribution from the town to the Patterson Library by $80,293 to $514,293 annually. The vote was yes 1,082 and no 972.

Rockland: In Stony Point, voters agreed to set the annual contribution from the town to the  Rose Memorial Library at $255,000. The vote  was yes 1,204 and no 599.

Westchester: In Peekskill, voters agreed to increase the annual contribution of the City of Peekskill for the operating budget of the Field Library to be increased by $25,000 to a total of $700,000 annually. The vote was yes 1,216 and no 755.

The Slapering Hol Press Second Friday Café Reading Series at the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center will present this fourth annual Veteran’s Day Reading at 7:30 p.m. N0v. 13.

Nurkse will  read selections from his works, including  “The Border Kingdom” (Random House, 2008)  (to the left, cover art from Random House)

Richey will be reading selections from her book of poems The Warrior: A Mother’s Story of a Son at War (Viking, 2008) which was nominated for a Pushcart Award.

Also included are readings by selected community poets and writers including  Margaret Kogan, Philip M Carr-Harris, Christina Turczyn,  Mervyn Taylor,  Gloria Lazar,  Ruth D. Handel,  Natalie Safir,  Laura Vookles, Gillian Cummings,  Michael Carman,  Terry Dugan,  Andrew Acciar, ; Gretl Claggett and Andrea Alterman.

The reading is at The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center, 300 Riverside Drive, Sleepy Hollow.. For information call 914- 332 5953.  Admission is $5 ($3 for members) payable at the door. .  A Q&Aand book-signing and wine and cheese reception will follow the reading.  Host for the evening is Cindy Beer-Fouhy.

It’s billed as a free family event; registration is requested. Program is at 2 p.m, this Saturday. Mahopac library is at 668 Route 6.

If you think it is clear issue, just read the story and comments in today’s story about the Hendrick Hudson Free Library in Montrose.

State police say the library is not helping investigators look into into the possible viewing of child pornography by a patron.

Last month police seized a computer  from this community library after receiving a complaint from a librarian that a patron may have been using it to view illegal material.  The library  has said its board members are reviewing the matter to determine how to proceed under its guidelines and state law.

Librarians have long contended that the public’s right to have access to materials should be maintained. This extends to patrons’ privacy in accessing information,  whether it is personal medical information, business research or psychological questions.  It is when the issue of pornography comes up that the issue becomes muddy.

There’s lots more to write about this and we’d welcome some insights and opinions.  Comment here or e-mail me at bnackman@lohud.com

The Journal News/LoHud.com photographer Frank Becerra Jr. was there and he shot some photos. He also posted on our new community blog for northern Westchester communites.  Check it out.

She is a published poet, performance artist, teacher, featured reader at The New School, The Knitting Factory, The Kitchen, and Cornelia Street Café in New York City. Regional performances include several Out Loud Festivals, Woodstock Poetry Festivals, Colony Arts Center, the Albert Shahinian Fine Arts Gallery, Woodstock Artist’s Association, and a member of All Right! Girls, a poetry performance group.

“In conjunction with the National Day on Writing sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, we have created a website that seeks to celebrate the importance of writing in the lives of the Briarcliff community and hope that you will be interested in contributing something that you have written,” the district writes on its home page. Submissions will be screened by the district’s English department.

The district and the NCTE urged everyone from students and parents, to school staff and grandparents, to write something and share it online.  The length must not exceed 2,500 words and the piece could be an essay, a letter or a brief memoir.

The website will be up for viewing from Oct. 20, the National Day on Writing, through June 1, 2010. The deadline for submitting your writing is Nov. 6, 2009 — so there is still time.

I clicked on New York under submissions and found there were 570 pieces filed and some already from Briarcliff.  Keep writing…. and reading!

“Author Jessica DuLong has written a book titled, “My River Chronicles, Rediscovering America on the Hudson.” Ms. DuLong will be at the Ossining Public Library on Wednesday, October 28th at 7 p.m. in the Budarz Theater. Books will be available for purchase and signing following the discussion.

“In rich and captivating prose, Jessica DuLong kindly invites the rest of us on the journey of her lifetime: from a dot-com job to the fabled waters of the Hudson River, where she became a fireboat engineer. This is an unusual and fascinating book.” – Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

“Because of Ms. DuLong’s knowledge and skills, in any given interview Jessica DuLong can discuss the following: What it was like being on the John J. Harvey following the September 11th attacks, pumping river water to firefighters at the World Trade Center site – the only water available to Ground Zero for days, How we as a society find meaning by working with our hands, How America was born on the Hudson River; creating a revolution that affected the entire world and the differences between white-collar and blue collar work. All of these topics make for a great discussion at the Ossining Public Library.

“Ms. DuLong became one of the world’s only female fireboat engineers and tells the story of a mechanic’s daughter and Stanford graduate who left her blue-collar upbringing behind for discovering the waters of the Hudson River.”

He suggests a process based on what he calls the Three R’s  (Recognize, Reject, and Replace) to  overcome  seven habits that hes says hold people back from achieving their goals.

Three tips include: Reject finger-pointing and take responsibility for your life, stop undermining yourself with negative self-talk, and use positive affirmations to reinforce successful habits.

Cossolotto is president of  the Westchester-based Ovations International. The book is published by Morgan James Publishing and is available from Amazon.com and other sources including his own site.

Strout is the featured guest of  Manhattanville’ College’s “Meet the Writers” Literary Series fall 2009. This  literary series offers  readings  and introductions to renowned authors. Events  are  funded in part by Poets & Writers Inc. with additional funding  from the New York State Council on the Arts.

This particular event is  at  7 p.m. Nov. 3 at Reid Castle in Purchase and will feature a reception, Q & A and book signing.  It is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Contact  Karen Sirabian, Director of Manhattanville College’s Master of Arts in Writing Program at 914 323-5239, e-mail  sirabiank@mville.edu.

Strout is well known for her previous book, “Amy and Isabelle” and other writings. But her  latest short story collection,  Olive Kitteridge from Random House has been quite popular with book groups.  The Somers Library Book Discussion Series talked about it earlier this month and they haven’t and won’t be the only ones.

The National Book Critics Circle said this of the collection:

A series of brief sketches of the residents of a Maine town, Olive Kitteridge ducks the cloying school of small-town portraiture, instead using close-ups of Olive and her friends and relatives to tease away at the threads of anger, pettiness, and fear that can leave a life unraveled and unfulfilled.