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The Perseid Meteor Shower | Stargazing Books, Apps, and Resources

It’s Meteor Month! Break out your comfiest lounge chair and head out to the backyard (or dark-sky site) and don’t miss the annual Perseid meteor shower!

The best viewing time for the Perseid viewing is August 11-12, 2020!

Did you know… The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle. The meteors are called the Perseids because the point from which they appear to hail lies in the constellation Perseus.

To read more about it...

Checkout the Library’s copy of Astronomy Magazine / August 2020 edition

The Perseid meteor shower peaks early in the morning on Wednesday, August 12. Often the best meteor shower of the year, the Perseids produce rates of up to 100 meteors per hour.
The peak of the Perseid meteor shower occurs overnight from August 11 to 12. On August 12, the shower’s radiant — the point on the sky from which shower meteors appear to originate — will be high in the northeast around 2 A.M. local time. That will be the best time to watch for shower meteors, although you’ll likely catch meteors anytime between dusk on the 11th and dawn on the 12th.

Visit Astronomy.com for Perseid viewing info and some great photos of Comet NEOWISE!

Browse our favorite astronomy websites to consult for convenient nightly star charts and more:

Get the latest space exploration, innovation and astronomy news. Space.com celebrates humanity’s ongoing expansion across the final frontier.

NASA.gov brings you the latest news, images and videos from America’s space agency, pioneering the future in space exploration and scientific discovery.

Quality sky maps and star charts for skywatchers and educators. Download The Evening Sky Map free each month. Find constellations, planets, comets.

Prefer to go mobile? Download our favorite sky-viewing & "augmented reality" apps:

Star Walk 2 Free

Star Walk 2 is an exquisite stargazing app enabling you to explore the night sky through the screen of your device. Make an effortless journey through thousands of stars, planets and constellations. All you have to do is point your device to the sky!

DOWNLOAD:

Star Chart

Used by over 30 million people worldwide, Star Chart provides a magical star gazing experience like no other. You can now have a virtual planetarium in your pocket! Look through the eyes of your device to see a virtual window into the whole visible universe.

DOWNLOAD:

SkyView Lite

This beautiful, intuitive stargazing app uses your camera to precisely spot and identify celestial objects in sky, day or night. Find popular constellations while you scan across the sky, locate planets in our solar system, discover distant galaxies, and witness satellite fly-bys.

DOWNLOAD:

Want more astronomy? Check out these titles for adults & kids:

Keep looking up... Space is boundless!

If You Liked… “Where the Crawdads Sing”

By bcplweb Booklists, Booklists, If You Liked...

Did you love Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens? This absorbing, atmospheric tale about a lonely girl’s coming-of-age in the marshes of North Carolina topped The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2019 and The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2020 for a combined 30 non-consecutive weeks. If you’re looking for more reads like this one, check out this list of read-alikes.

The Scent Keeper

by Erica Bauermeister

A moving and evocative coming-of-age novel about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives. The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek, and even help us find our way back home.

Let's No One Get Hurt

by Jon Pineda

Fifteen-year-old Pearl is squatting in an abandoned boathouse with her father, a disgraced college professor, and two other grown men, deep in the swamps of the American South. Despite the isolation, Pearl feels at home with her makeshift family: the three men care for Pearl and teach her what they know of the world … While Pearl is out scavenging in the woods, she meets Main Boy, who eventually reveals that his father has purchased the property on which Pearl and the others are squatting.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

by Carol Rifka Brunt

1987. The only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus is her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life … June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and that this unexpected friend just might be the one she needs the most.

The Great Alone

by Kristin Hannah

A desperate family seeks a new beginning in the near-isolated wilderness of Alaska only to find that their unpredictable environment is less threatening than the erratic behavior found in human nature.

Sycamore

by Bryn Chancellor

Out for a hike one scorching afternoon in Sycamore, Arizona, a newcomer to town stumbles across what appear to be human remains embedded in the wall of a dry desert ravine. As news of the discovery makes its way around town, Sycamore’s longtime residents fear the bones may belong to Jess Winters, the teenage girl who disappeared suddenly some eighteen years earlier, an unsolved mystery that has soaked into the porous rock of the town and haunted it ever since.

The Risen

by Ron Rash

While swimming in a secluded creek on a hot Sunday in 1969, sixteen-year-old Eugene and his older brother, Bill, meet Ligeia, a free-spirited redhead from Daytona Beach banished to their small North Carolina town. Ligeia entrances the brothers, especially Eugene, who is drawn to her raw sensuality and rebellious attitude. But when Ligeia vanishes as suddenly as she appeared, the growing rift between the two brothers becomes immutable. Decades later, the once-close brothers now lead completely different lives. When a shocking reminder of the past unexpectedly surfaces, Eugene is plunged back into that fateful summer and the girl he cannot forget.

The Barrowfields

by Phillip Lewis

Just before Henry Aster’s birth, his father—outsized literary ambition and pregnant wife in tow—reluctantly returns to the small Appalachian town in which he was raised. There, Henry grows up under the writing desk of this fiercely brilliant man. But when tragedy tips his father toward a fearsome unraveling, what was once a young son’s reverence is poisoned and Henry flees, not to return until years later when he, too, must go home again.

My Absolute Darling

by Gabriel Tallent

Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At fourteen, she roams the woods along the northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous: Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother, in the thrall of her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes, lives in a big clean house, and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. What follows is a harrowing story of bravery and redemption.

If the Creek Don't Rise

by Leah Weiss

In a North Carolina mountain town filled with moonshine and rotten husbands, Sadie Blue is only the latest girl to face a dead-end future at the mercy of a dangerous drunk. She’s been married to Roy Tupkin for fifteen days, and she knows now that she should have listened to the folks who said he was trouble. But when a stranger sweeps in and knocks the world off-kilter for everyone in town, Sadie begins to think there might be more to life than being Roy’s wife. As stark and magnificent as Appalachia itself, If the Creek Don’t Rise is a bold and beautifully layered debut about a dusty, desperate town finding the inner strength it needs to outrun its demons.

Miller's Valley

by Anna Quindlen

For generations the Millers have lived in Miller’s Valley, Pennsylvania. Mimi Miller tells about her life with intimacy and honesty. As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, she discovers more and more about the toxicity of family secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the inequalities of friendship, and the risks of passion, loyalty, and love. Home, as Mimi begins to realize, can be “a place where it’s just as easy to feel lost as it is to feel content.” Miller’s Valley is a study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says, “No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, even if they go.”

Want more recommendations?

You can check out all of our online booklists (for kids and for adults), or reach out to us! Our staff is ready and willing to make reading, listening, or viewing recommendations to you! Email us at reference@benlib.org or contact us via our online form!

The Lineup: Baseball Biographies & Movies

By bcplweb Booklists, Booklists

The 2020 season of Major League Baseball is officially here! While this season is going to look a lot differently, we’re just happy to see baseball back in action. In celebration of the return of baseball, we’ve rounded up our favorite biographies and films to get you ready to cheer on your favorite team.

All of the titles featured here we have in our collection. To see if an item is available to check out or place on hold, click the cover image.

Baseball Books — Biographies

This book takes you behind the scenes as friends and colleagues share their best, funniest and most poignant stories about an incredible guy and player.

The definitive and revealing biography of Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks, one of America's most iconic, beloved, and misunderstood baseball players.

An inspiring memoir from David Ross, the veteran catcher dubbed 'Grandpa Rossy '.

Superbly researched through interviews with family, friends and former Negro League and Major League players this is a spellbinding story of the athlete, showman, philosopher, and boundary-breaker Leroy "Satchel" Paige.

With his irreverent personality, laid-back approach, and penchant for the unexpected, Joe Maddon is a singular presence among Major League Baseball managers.

Journalist and baseball lover Ed Henry reveals for the first time the backstory of faith that guided Jackie Robinson into not only the baseball record books but the annals of civil rights advancement as well.

Authorized by Willie Mays this is the definitive biography of one of baseball's immortals.

The extraordinary life of Jackie Robinson is illuminated as never before in this full-scale biography by the author chosen by Jack's widow to tell her husband's story, and who was given unprecedented access to his private papers.

Mashi is the story of an unlikely hero who gets caught up in an American and Japanese baseball signing dispute and is forced to choose between his dreams in the United States or his duty in Japan.

A portrait of Babe Ruth and his partnership with business manager Christy Walsh traces how their strategies, achievements and notoriety established a blueprint for modern athletic stardom.

The autobiography of an African American who broke the color barrier in major league baseball and devoted his life to achieving justice.

Hall of Famers, clubhouse workers, coaches, and trainers offer their own unique take on Ryan in this book filled with never-before-told anecdotes, personal recollections and eyewitness accounts of his greatest games.

One of the most consistent superstars of his era, an incredibly gifted batter who compiled 3,630 career hits (1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road), won three World Series titles, and retired in 1963 in possession of 17 major-league records.

Here is Ryne the human being, Ryne the father, and Ryno the ball player. Here is the Ryne Sandberg that no one ever knew - until now.

A pitcher who achieved success at the major league level despite having been born without a right hand…he played ten seasons in MLB for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers.

Some of the best players in Major League Baseball were born outside the United States, with Latino players representing one of the fastest growing ethnicities in the league.

Ortiz opens up about his life in baseball, about former teammates, opponents, coaches, and executives, and about the weight of expectation whenever he stepped up to the plate.

Roberto Clemente became one of the greatest Latino players in the major leagues, a ballplayer of determination, grace, and dignity who paved the way and set the highest standard for waves of Latino players who followed in later generations.

Drawing on interviews with friends and family, as well as teammates and opponents, this is an account of one of the biggest talents and most tragic figures ever to play baseball.

Classic and unforgettable baseball stories and anecdotes as only Yogi can tell them.

Films About Baseball

Want more recommendations?

What’s New: Thrillers for 2020

By bcplweb Booklists, Booklists, What's New

Do you love a gripping page-turner that you just can’t put down? Below are a handful of our picks for the best new thrillers of 2020, hand-picked by our Adult Services Department staff. All of the titles featured here we have in our collection. To see if an item is available to check out or place on hold, click the cover image or button to the right of the description.

The Missing American

by Kwei Quartey

After her dreams of becoming a police officer come crashing down, Emma starts working for a private detective agency in Accra. Anxious about her uncertain future and career in the city, she soon finds herself investigating the case of a missing American citizen in Ghana. In a plot that expands continents and the secrets of two countries, Emma must navigate a convoluted world of international scams, fetish priests, and the mysteries of the dead.

The Majesties

by Tiffany Tsao

Gwendolyn and Estella have always been as close as sisters can be. Growing up in a wealthy, eminent, and sometimes deceitful family, they’ve relied on each other for support and confidence. But now Gwendolyn is lying in a coma, the sole survivor of Estella’s poisoning of their whole clan. As Gwendolyn struggles to regain consciousness, she desperately retraces her memories, trying to uncover the moment that led to this shocking and brutal act. Was it their aunt’s mysterious death at sea? Estella’s unhappy marriage to a dangerously brutish man? Or were the shifting loyalties and unspoken resentments at the heart of their opulent world too much to bear? Can Gwendolyn, at last, confront the carefully buried mysteries in their family’s past and the truth about who she and her sister really are?

A Good Man

by Ani Katz

Paul Martin was a devoted family man who had all the trappings of an enviable life: a beautiful wife and daughter, a well-appointed home on Long Island’s north shore, a job at a prestigious Manhattan advertising firm. He was also a devoted son and brother, shielding the women in his orbit from the everyday horrors of the world. But what happens when Paul’s fragile ego is rocked? After committing an unspeakable act–that he can never undo–Paul grapples with his sense of self. Sometimes he casts himself as a victim and, at other times, a monster. All he ever did was try to be a good man, but he may actually be a very, very bad man.

The Holdout

by Graham Moore

Maya Seale believes that Bobby Nock is innocent, so she becomes determined to persuade her fellow jurors of it. Ten years after the trial and Maya’s successful campaign for his innocence, a documentary crew starts to look into what happened between the jurors behind closed doors. Maya, now a defense attorney, finds her life under scrutiny, as a body of one of her fellow jurors is found in her apartment.

The Rabbit Hunter

by Lars Kepler

Ten little rabbits, all dressed in white tried to get to heaven on the end of a kite. Kite string got broken, down they all fell, Instead of going to heaven, they all went to… It begins with a nursery rhyme. Nineteen minutes later you die. A masked stranger stands in the shadows. He watches his victim through the window. He will kill him slowly–make him pay. Soon the Rabbit Hunter has claimed another three victims. This predator will stop at nothing to reap his ultimate revenge. It’s up to Joona Linna and Saga Bauer to untangle one of the most complex cases of their career, and follow the killer’s trail of destruction back to one horrific night of violence.

Hi Five

by Joe Ide

Isaiah Quintabe, the genius PI who combines book smarts, street smarts, and enough blistering action to melt the pavement of East Long Beach, is back with a new adventure. Fresh off the beating he took at the hands of a gang of ex-Abu Ghraib thugs working as paramilitary contractors, IQ is determined to build a life for himself with his new girlfriend, Grace. For once, he wants to be normal–a normal guy, with a normal PI business, doing the best he can. But this is IQ, and trouble is never far behind him. Joined by his faithful band of fast-talking, sharp-tongued partners, Deronda and Dodson, the cases are wild, the mysteries twisty, and the driving fast.

The Janes

by Louisa Luna

On the outskirts of San Diego, the bodies of two young women are discovered. They have no names, no IDs, and no family looking for them. Fearing the possibility of a human trafficking ring, the police and FBI reach out to Alice Vega, a private investigator known for finding the missing, for help in finding out who the Janes were – and finding the others who are missing. Alice Vega is a powerful woman whose determination is matched only by her intellect, and, along with her partner Cap, she will stop at nothing to find the Janes before it is too late.

Deep State

by Chris Hauty

Recently elected President Richard Monroe–populist, controversial, and divisive–is at the center of an increasingly polarized Washington, DC. Never has the partisan drama been so tense or the paranoia so rampant. In the midst of contentious political turf wars, the White House chief of staff is found dead in his house. A tenacious intern discovers a single, ominous clue that suggests he died from something other than natural causes, and that a wide-ranging conspiracy is running beneath the surface of everyday events: powerful government figures are scheming to undermine the rule of law–and democracy itself. The unthinkable is happening. The Deep State is real. Who will die to keep its secrets and who will kill to uncover the truth?

Want more recommendations?

Now Recommending: Great Eats & Cool Treats

By bcplweb Booklists, Booklists

Need some new recipe ideas and inspirations for your summertime cooking? Look no further! Whether you prefer to be behind the grill, or if you’d rather stay cool in the kitchen, we’ve got a variety of cookbooks in our collection — grilling, barbecuing, salads, sandwiches, and sweet treats — all perfect for summertime fun and good eating.

by Christine France — Tempting savory and sweet barbecue recipes, as well as new ideas for salads and accompaniments, salsas, dips and marinades.

by Danielle Bennett — Packed with simple recipes for casual, down-to-earth family food.

by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby — Demonstrating their cardinal principle: cooking your food can be as much fun as eating it!

by America’s Test Kitchen Editors — If you can eat it, you can cook it on the grill and do it better with ATK.

by Bill Kim with Chandra Ram — 80 recipes tailored for home cooks, includes suitable substitutions for hard-to-find ingredients.

by Tom Colicchio — Creates new classics like Tuna with Fennel, Black Olives, and Lemon; and elevates basic cold cuts through imaginative and tasty combinations.

from the editors of Food52 — New salad blends made substantial with vegetables, meats, grains, beans, fish, seafood, pasta, or bread.

by Michele Jordan-- Make stand-out salads & sides with over 50 recipes for sensational vinaigrettes, salad dressings, and sauces.

by Gunter Beer — Taste tempting creations to suit all occasions.

by Matt Kadey — Turn up the flavor-not the heat… with these fast and fun no-cook meals!

Be sure to check-out issues of the Allrecipes magazine — available at the library and for curbside pickup. Check out their website www.allrecipes.com for seasonal inspiration!

by Leslie Bilderback — Mouthwatering collection of shortcuts & classic techniques that help you achieve delicious results.

by Bruce Weinstein — Fill your summer days with scrumptious frozen treats and beverages!

by Nathalie Jordi, David Carrell and Joel Horowitz — Pair new ingredients, balance sweetness, and explore fruits (and vegetables and herbs!)--in simple recipes that work with standard ice pop molds or improvised ones.

by Adams Media — Featuring step-by-step instructions and nutritional data for each tasty drink, break out your blenders!

by Christine Watson — Crammed with refreshing recipes, clear and easy to follow.

Want more recommendations?

If You Liked… “Little Fires Everywhere”

By bcplweb Booklists, Booklists, If You Liked...

Did you love Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng? It’s also now a mini-series on Hulu starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington! If you’re looking for more reads like this one, check out this list of read-alikes.

Such a Fun Age

by Kiley Reid

A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both. With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone “family,” and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.

Commonwealth

by Ann Patchett

Commonwealth is the story of two broken families and the paths their lives take over the course of 40 years, through love and marriage, death and divorce, and a dark secret from childhood that lies underneath it all. Told with equal measures of humor and heartbreak, Commonwealth is a meditation on inspiration, interpretation, and the ownership of stories. It is a brilliant and tender tale of the far-reaching ties of love and responsibility that bind us together.

The Leavers

by Lisa Ko

One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon-and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents’ desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.

Ask Again, Yes

by Mary Beth Keane

In Mary Beth Keane’s extraordinary novel, a lifelong friendship and love blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next thirty years. Heartbreaking and redemptive, Ask Again, Yes is a gorgeous and generous portrait of the daily intimacies of marriage and the power of forgiveness.

The Mothers

by Brit Bennett

A dazzling debut novel from an exciting new voice, The Mothers is a surprising story about young love, a big secret in a small community–and the things that ultimately haunt us most. Set within a contemporary black community in Southern California, Brit Bennett’s mesmerizing first novel is an emotionally perceptive story about community, love, and ambition. It begins with a secret.

The Perfect Nanny

by Leila Slimani

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

by Lindsey Lee Johnson

The wealthy enclaves north of San Francisco are not the paradise they appear to be, and nobody knows this better than the students of a local high school. Despite being raised with all the opportunities money can buy, these vulnerable kids are navigating a treacherous adolescence in which every action, every rumor, every feeling, is potentially postable, shareable, viral.

A Good Neighborhood

by Therese Anne Fowler

A gripping contemporary novel that examines the American dream through the lens of two families living side by side in an idyllic neighborhood, and the one summer that changes their lives irrevocably. A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today―what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don’t see eye to eye?―as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.

Big Little Lies

by Liane Moriarty

A murder…A tragic accident…Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.

The Gifted School

by Bruce Holsinger

Crystal, Colorado. Four young families juggle the stresses of parenthood, careers, and marriage. As the kids head for middle school, the families are still tight. But when an exclusive magnet school for ‘gifted children’ is being built, cracks begin to form in their relationships. As the parents go to great lengths to ensure their child is accepted, relationships turn toxic and secrets are exposed.

Want more recommendations?