New Hampshire is celebrating Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in March 2010 as part of the Big Read program. We'll be taking part by hosting a discussion of the book led by our very own Liz Whaley. Liz was an English teacher at Oyster River High School for many years, and now, besides being the most loyally followed bookseller at Water Street Bookstore, is the leader of our once monthly book group.

You can check out all of the programs being offered for the Big Read in New Hampshire at http://bigreadnh.org.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us. Read the book and come add your two cents!

This book is the result of a program developed by Eileen Palazzo to help girls and young women overcome eating disorders. The program, called Free, is a combination of weight loss and nutrition, but more than that, it is a method to change one's relationship with food.

Palazzolo has been running her "Free" program for several years out of Southern NH where she is also a fitness and gymnastics instructor. It was shortly after recovering from an eating disorder and years of unhealthy self-image on her own that she realized she could help others to overcome society's view of perfection as well. "I am not a nutritionist, psychologist, physician or physiologist," she states, "I am an ordinary person who through many trials and tribulations has found peace with my physical self."

Excerpt:
"The concept of losing body fat, and therefore weight, is a simple mathematical equation. Consume less calories than you burn. This is the only sound solution to the physiological task of weight loss. The psychological task of weight loss is another story indeed."

Bring your questions and join us for this fascinating and important event.

POSTPONED UNTIL SEPTEMBER. CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS! 

We are psyched to be hosting Paul Davies, Director of the Beyond Center at Arizona State University and author of over 20 books. He won the Templeton Prize in 1995 for his work on the deeper meaning of science.

Fifty years ago a young astronomer named Frank Drake began the searching the cosmos for life, and the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project began. After all this time, however, astronomers and scientists have little to show for their work but what they call an "eerie silence"-- eerie because they are convinced the universe is filled with life, but we cannot seem to find any. Davies explains why. Researchers have been looking in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong way. They tend to expect lifeforms like humans, when that may not be the case at all. Davies argues that we need to be more expansive in our expectations of life. His latest book, The Eerie Silence, is a provocative and mind-expanding journey that will thrill science and science-fiction fans alike.

Did the 2009 Exeter UFO Festival whet your curiosity for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence? Are you a fan of science fiction writers like Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Peter F. Hamilton? Have you always wondered if there is anyone else out there? Paul Davies is a highly respected, professional researcher-- basically the expert on the search for extraterrestrial life. Be here for this fascinating event.