Happy Thanksgiving from FPPL!

The FPPL Staff wish you and your families a very happy and safe Thanksgiving! The library will be closed Thursday and Friday, and will re-open on Saturday, November 28.

If you're looking for some last minute turkey-prep or cooking questions, here are some helpful online resources:

• "Let's Talk Turkey" is the USDA's official "Poultry Prep" Fact Sheet providing information about cook times and temps and food safety.
  
  
• Butterball, home of the eponymous Turkey Hotline (1-800-BUTTERBALL), have some helpful resources online including a "Thanksgiving Guide" and tips for "Thanksgiving on a Budget" along with your standard conversion guides, recipes, and time-saving tips.
  
  
• Speaking from personal experience, vegetarians can feel pretty left out on Thanksgiving. If you're abstaining from meat this year, consider the sponsoring a turkey with the Adopt-a-Turkey Project. The site also includes vegetarian and vegan Thanksgiving recipes. Another link for vegetarians - Tofurky.com is another holiday alternative for the meat-free folks in your family!
  
  
• Searching for festive Thanksgiving music? NPR has got you covered with their "Songs for Stuffing" playlist!
  
  
• Looking for fun holiday trivia material to share over Thanksgiving dinner? Check out the U.S. Census Bureau's annual Thanksgiving fact sheet, including facts on annual pumpkin harvest and national cranberry yield.
  

National Book Award winners announced today!

The winners for this year's National Book Award are announced today! According to the National Book Foundation's website, "193 publishers submitted 1,129 books for the 2009 National Book Awards."

Check out the nominees that made the cut (follow the links to request titles through SWAN):



Fiction

American Salvage, Bonnie Jo Campbell (Wayne State University Press)
Let the Great World Spin, Colum Mc Cann (Random House)
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, Daniyal Mueenuddin (W. W. Norton & Co.)
Lark and Termite, Jayne Anne Phillips (Alfred A. Knopf)
Far North, Marcel Theroux (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Nonfiction

Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook, David M. Carroll (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species, Sean B. Carroll (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City, Greg Grandin, (Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt)
The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy, Adrienne Mayor (Princeton University Press)
The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, T. J. Stiles, (Alfred A. Knopf)

Poetry

Versed, Rae Armantrout(Wesleyan University Press)
Or to Begin Again, Ann Lauterbach(Penguin Books)
Speak Low, Carl Phillips(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Open Interval, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon(University of Pittsburgh Press)
Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy, Keith Waldrop (University of California Press)

Young Adult/Children's Literature

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, Deborah Heiligman(Henry Holt)
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, Phillip Hoose (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Stitches, David Small (W. W. Norton & Co.)
Lips Touch: Three Times, Laini Taylor (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)
Jumped, Rita Williams-Garcia (HarperTeen/HarperCollins)

To learn more about the National Book Award including author interviews, past years winners, and a list of judges by category, visit the National Book Foundation online.

Local resources for the H1N1 vaccine...

Due to increasing awareness of the H1N1 virus, more and more people are considering vaccination. If you're looking for local vaccination sites, read on.

Beginning early November, Cook County will be distributing the H1N1 vaccine at the West Suburban Tuberculosis Clinic located at the (south east corner of Jackson and Desplaines - right across the street from the library). No firm date has been given at this time. To make an appointment to receive the vaccine, call 708-786-4000.

At this time, the Cook County Department of Public Health will focus on priority groups including all pregnant women; caretakers and household contacts of children under the age of 6 months; healthcare and emergency medical services employees; individuals 6 months to 24 years of age; and individuals 25 to 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, that put them at high risk for flu-related complications.

Upcoming Program: "Simplify the Holidays"

Mark your calendars! On Tuesday, November 17th we will be welcoming back Beth Randall, certified Professional Organizer and owner of Joe Organizer for a program entitled "Simplify the Holidays." In this presentation, Beth will help you get ready for the holidays from shopping, sending greetings, handling all the toys, etc. To register for this program, call the Reference Desk (708-366-7171) or register online.