Hundreds Attend Authorfest in Winchester

There was a strong showing at the annual Authorfest event held Tuesday in Winchester.

A few hundred people attended Authorfest Tuesday for the chance to meet authors and illustrators from the New England region. A combined 16 authors and illustrators visited with Winchester Public School students during the day, followed by a book signing at Town Hall, according to event organizer Ceci Cordeiro. She added that this year's Authorfest was either the 15th or 16th time the event has been held in town. "We had 14 authors come to the elementary schools, one author did all of (McCall) Middle School and one author visited (Winchester) High School," Cordeiro said. "Each author does three presentations. The kids absolutely love it and it is very exciting for a child to meet an author, and some of these guys are really, really funny, …

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Author Anita Diamant to Speak in Winchester Sunday

The event, which is free, open to the public and will include light refreshments, is slated for 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Shir Tikvah in Winchester.

Book Clubs: We Want Your Recommendations

Tell us what you're reading right now using this nifty form on Patch!

As part of our ongoing Patch Reads program, we are actively seeking input from you on what you are reading right now. Fill out this form and tell us what you and your book clubs are reading and why. Then we'll share it with others so that we can all benefit from your book club recommendations. 

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Volunteers Needed For En Ka Society's 'Lucky 13' Street Fair

The event is slated for May 17 and 18 on the corner of Skillings Road and Mount Vernon Street across from Winchester Town Hall.

Reading to A Dog, Author Visit Planned in April at Winchester Library

A preview of the Children's Room programs planned for April, according to the Winchester Public Library's newsletter.

Reading to a dog and an author visit are just some of the programs lined up for the Children's Room at Winchester Public Library in April, according to a library newsletter. The Step into Storytime is slated for April 1 and April 8, but will not resume until the fall, according to the newsletter. Instead of the Preschool Storytime Club on April 9, "Bats at the Ballgame" author Brian Lies will be visiting the library to read from his newest book, according to the newsletter. The program, which is for children over 3, will be at 9:45 a.m. in the Storytime Room. The Read to a Dog program, which is intended for children over 5, is slated for 3-4:30 p.m. April 6 in the Children's Room, according to the newsletter. Kids can read to certified …

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Will Winchester Public Library Be Open on Saturdays This Summer?

Winchester Public Library is looking to do something that has never happened before: open on Saturdays during the summer months, according to Director Ann Wirtanen.

Winchester Public Library is looking to do something that has never happened before: open on Saturdays during the summer months, according to Director Ann Wirtanen. The library conducted a survey last spring to identify the needs of the community, including a new website and also for the library to open on Saturdays in the summertime. "Saturdays in the summer was another identified deficiency by the public in our survey," Wirtanen said. "The public wants us open on Saturdays, and we budgeted for it and so far it has passed the Town Manager (Richard Howard)'s office so we're really excited about the possibility with our new budget of being open on Saturdays during the summer." By opening on Saturdays in the summer, Wirtanen said it would …

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Winchester Public Library Launches New Website

Winchester Public Library launched its new website this week.

Winchester Public Library launched their new website on Monday, according to the library's newsletter. The website overhaul cost nearly $6,000 and was fully funded by the Friends of the Winchester Public Library, according to Library Director Ann Wirtanen. Acton-based DG Communications was tasked with website project, she added. "(The website) is well organized so it is easy to locate the eLibrary at the top, and downloading eBooks, streaming music and our databases are easily identifiable where they were somewhat buried before," Wirtanen said. "Our previous homepage was too full and too dense so what we have done is organized it, highlighting the things people want." As part of a five-year strategic plan, the library sought to improve …

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What's On Your 'Must Read' List for February?

James Patterson's cover girl looks like Mandy Moore, to me, and Dan Brown has another book coming out.

For all your voracious readers out there, here's a look at some of the hottest books of February, according Barnes & Noble: "Inferno" by Dan Brown: This book doesn't even hit the shelves for three more months, but pre-orders make it one of the hottest books right now. Brown, of NH – an of course, "Da Vinci Code" fame, will likely have another movie deal on his hands: About the book: In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces…Dante’s Inferno. Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret …

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Classic Books to Share with Your Children for Valentine's Day

From Charlotte's Web to Where the Wild Things Are, share these classic books with your children and encourage their love for reading.

“Where’s Pa Going with that Axe?” The Enduring Quality of Children’s Classics By Anita Silvey Courtesy of James Patterson's Read Kiddo Read Foundation The opening line of E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web— “Where’s Pa going with that axe?”—has now been read by adults to eager young listeners for more than 60 years. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day have been picked up with enthusiasm for more than 50 years. For 75 years, parents have shared The Hobbit, and this year Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are turns 50. These books and others like them (Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Virginia Lee Burton’s Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables) bring …

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Preview This Winter's Hottest Books

Bestselling authors Sue Grafton, Jodi Picoult and more are releasing books this winter.

It might be chilly out, but book publishing is red hot right now. Several favorite bestselling authors are releasing books early in 2013. What are some of the most anticipated books?

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