What Do I Read
Next? ~ Staff Picks
Archives Staff
Picks
In case you're interested in what 'we' read,
here is a
sampling....... We will try to
update as
often as possible so visit for new suggestions!
August
2012
We are thrilled to have our new Library
Director, Chip
Schrader on board and have him add his
favorite summer reads to our
‘staff
picks’!
Chip
begins
our
staff picks
with The Case of Victor Frankenstein
by Peter Ackroyd. The
author takes
the classic novel and paints in the
details of Victor Frankenstein’s
life as a
student and young man who catches a
compulsive need to experiment and
end human
suffering.As
the formative incidents of
his life play out, readers who enjoyed
the original novel, will
appreciate why
the Doctor became obsessed with
reanimating the departed.The book’s
language
flows serenely like an old Victorian
novel, and the themes of
immortality and
the conflict between faith and science
are more fully developed in this
version
of the tale. The
characters are vivid
and believable while the story anchors
it flights into fantasy with
scientific
inquiry and fact.
Dawn’s
and
Marie’s
favorite book of the summer is Gone
Girl by Gillian Flynn.Flynn’s
story
really
keeps you guessing and
Marie is still trying to figure out how
she felt about the two main
characters.They
both liked this book so
much that they read two earlier works by
the author – Sharp Objects
and Dark
Places.Both
books were well written
and pretty creepy!
The
Submission
by Amy Waldman begins
with a jury gathering in Manhattan to
select a memorial for the victims
of the
9/11 terrorist attack. The
jurors open
the envelope containing the anonymous
winner’s name—and discover he is
an
American Muslim.Dawn
visited the 9/11
memorial in April and this book and The
Woman Who Wasn’t There
by Robin
Gabby Fisher were both in her mind
during this very emotional visit.
What
would
happen
if the world started turning slower and
our days became 30 hours long and kept
getting longer? This is the
premise of
the book The Age Of Miracles by
Karen Thompson Walker, Marie’s
second
favorite book of the summer.Walker
follows the life of a twelve year old
girl and sees this hypothetical
future
through her eyes in this compelling
novel.Dawn
also loved this book and has been
recommending
this quick read to
people.
Marie
also
adds
to her extensive readinglist three good
books that had the common theme of the
sinking of the Titanic. In The
House
Of
Velvet and Glass by Katherine
Howe, the main character, Sibyl,
suffers
the loss of her mother and sister who
were passengers on the Titanic.
That loss
opens the way for Sibyl’s exploration of
the spiritual world and the
mysteries
that follow.The
Dress Maker by
Kate Alcott is a work of historical
fiction that follows the trials
that
occurred after the survivors of the
Titanic arrived in New York.Many of the
characters from that novel were
written about in the nonfiction work Gilded
Lives, Fatal Voyage:
The
Titanic’s First-Class Passengers and
Their World by Hugh Brewster.
During
Marie’s
vacation
earlier this summer, she had the
chance to catch up on two older titles
in a series written by Maine
resident
Paul Doiron.The Poacher’s Son
and Trespasser were two strong
mysteries centered on the
adventures of Maine
game warden Mike Bowditch.Doiron’s
newest title in the series, Bad
Little Falls, is coming out in
August
and she can’t wait to read it!
Let’s
Pretend
This
Never Happened
by
Jenny Lawson and Wild: From Lost to
Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by
Cheryl Strayed are two autobiographical
works by strong women.Lawson’s book is hilarious.Her sense of
humor is dark and quirky and
Marie found herself laughing out loud at
times. She
has
always enjoyed books about the
Appalachian
Trail, so she picked up Wild.Even
though she liked the book, shewished
Strayed
had written more about
the trail and less about her history.
Sheila
D.
has
two recommendations from the Young Adult
Area
which will be appealing to adults.
For those who are enjoying
twisted
fairy tales, she suggests Cinder
by Meyer. In this
futuristic play
on Cinderella, Cinder is a Cyborg
mechanic who wins the Prince’s
attention and
must deal with her hidden past while
trying to solve daily
betrayals. For
a more historically based YA novel, try
Revolution is not a
Dinner
Party by Compestine. In this
quick, but deeply moving read, 9 year
old Ling
blossoms over a 4 year time while
surviving the horrors of the Chinese
Revolution. The story is based on
true events in the author’s
experience.
Mystery
lovers
will
want to try any books in the Commissario
Guido Brunetti mystery series by Donna
Leon. The setting is
Venice, Italy
and Guido is such a down to earth,
intelligent Inspector. When
reading
these mysteries, you can hear the
lapping of the water and smell the
fresh Venetian
cooking on the breeze.
Aleida’s
list
also
named Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido
Brunettimystery series along with the
following
biographies: Consuelo and Alve
Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter
and a
Mother in the Gilded Age by
Amanda M. Stuart, The Piano Shop
on the Left
Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion
in a Paris Atelier by
Thaddeus
Carhart and Victoria’s Daughters
by Jerrold M. Packard.
Visit
us
and
let us know what your summer favorites
are!!
Staff Picks are brought to you by Dawn
Brown as she hounds the staff
for submissions for your reading pleasure.
March 2012
Lots of changes here at Springvale Library over
the past few months!!As
many of you know Karen, our Library
Director, is now the Director at South Berwick
Public Library.We
will miss her additions to our ‘staff
picks’ but will still pick her brain once in a
while and add her
favorites to our list.We
are excited that
Marcia, Marlene and Gus have rejoined our staff
part-time and will be
adding picks to the mix.
Dawn
suggests
Stephen King’s new one 11-23-63.This honking 600 page
book involves the interesting
subject of time travel.What
happens if
Lee Harvey Oswald hadn’t assassinated President
Kennedy?There are
two other titles that have become Dawn’s
most recommended The Snow Child by
Eowyn Ivey and Defending Jacob by
William Landry.New
titles
are also out by Kristen Hannah and Tatiana de
Rosnay would be
fun to pick up for a quick read.
Marie
states
that
this
winter hasn’t been the best for getting a lot of
reading done.Holiday
knitting took up most of her time but she did
discover Miss Read’s
books The Christmas Mouse and Village
Christmas. They took her back to another era
and put her in the
holiday spirit!She
also enjoyed The Dovekeepers by
Alice Hoffman.It
is
a bit different from her other books, but well
worth the time and
effort spent reading it.Set
in 70 C.E., The Dovekeepers tells
the intertwined stories of four
women living through a Roman siege in a community
of Jewish refugees at
King Herrod’s former mountain fortress on Masada. Right
now, she is reading Pure by
Julianna Baggott and she is enthralled.It has a very similar
feel to The
Hunger Games trilogy because it is a
coming-of-age
story
set
in
a dystopian future.Pure
is also the first in a planned trilogy.
Gus
Hedden
read Lee Child’s The Affair.
“What more do I
need to say? Jack is back!”
He
suggests
going to the facebook page “Tom Cruise is not Jack
Reacher” to
check in on whether or not Tom should play Jack in
the upcoming movie
“One Shot”.
FYI,
Jack
Reacher is 6’5” and weighs between 230-250
pounds…..
Marcia
adds
to our list Distant Hours by Kate
Morton.In this
classic gothic novel, London book
editor Edie Burchill gets lost on the way to meet
an author, and
stumbles upon a decaying castle.This is a
satisfying read with surprising revelations.
Believing the Lie by Elizabeth
George is a winner and her
fans won’t be disappointed Marcia tells us.Inspector
Lynley
Simon , Deborah St. James and all the familiar
characters are
back in this mystery dealing with secrets and
lies!A fun read!
“Making Sense of the
Civil War”
is a program sponsored by The Maine Humanities
Council, in
collaboration with the Maine State Library.Springvale
Public
Library applied and was accepted as a host for this
program.
David St. Pierre read the first assignment March by
Gereldine Brooks. He described the book as a very
good story told from
the fathers point of view from Louise Alcott’s Little
Women and his life prior to and during the
civil war.Vivid scenes
of the atrocities of war might make
this book difficut for some to read David warns, but
it is a story that
will stay with you after you have finished it. October 2011
Karen tells us about four books from
her summer reading list;
Summer of the Bear
byBella Pollen has a
touch of atmosphere, atouch
of intrigue, a family of 4 grieving for
the missing 5th, , all in their
separate desperate ways, and
a touch of Outer Hebrides Scottish magic.A
quiet,
yet
compelling and satisfying stand-alone novel.I
loved
it.
Once Upona River
by Bonnie Jo Campbell is a modern day female
survival story which makes
it like every other survival story except that it
could be happening
down the road and you would never more than
suspect what was happening.How
does a girl turn into a woman, all on her
own, with no support she doesn’t earn through grit
and stamina?This is
how.
Keep
a
dictionary handy when you read short, not so
sweet, but rich, The
Summer without Menby
Siri
Hustvedt.Mia is
betrayed by her
husband of many years so she takes a summer job
far from New
York City to
reassess her situation.I
loved the
literary quotes, I loved the characters, I loved
the words I didn’t
know and how the writer talked to me!Playful,
loving,
and
tight!Dawn and Marie
also
enjoyed this short novel.
From
the
sunsetover
the water on the cover to the bittersweet end , To
be
Sung
Underwater by Tom McNeal is beautiful,
lyrical, and
full of quiet revelations that unfold in the
stories of two people
whose lives converge and separate until they
finally blend together.Settle down and immerse yourself in the
brilliant storytelling of this lovely and
heartbreaking novel.
Sheila Dube
Sheila’s
mid-western
roots were showing with this go around of books
she
picked. Michigan
and Chicago
were the
setting for the following two gems.
Short Girls by Bich
Nguyen –This 2009
debut novel is about 2 American-born Vietnamese
sisters who are forced
to confront their own fragile relationships,
character flaws and
strengths when they are called home to celebrate
their widowed father’s
citizenship ceremony. The drama and humor
results from their
Mid-western environment colliding with their
Vietnamese heritage and
short stature. It stayed with me days after.
Divergentby
Veronica Roth-Fans of Hunger
Games by Collins and Matched by Conley will want
to read this new young
adult novel. This Dystopian thriller’s
setting is Chicago where
people are divided into 5 different groups based
on their most likely
character: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the
selfless), Dauntless
(the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite
(the intelligent).
Beatrice, a sixteen year old finds that who she is
appears to be less
cut and dry. A page turner that promises to
be a trilogy.
Dawn
Dawn
adds
to the list with the following titles:The
Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
is a tiny book of only 129 pages but it packs a
punch.It’s about
Japanese ‘picture brides’ and it follows
them from their scary arrival in San Francisco
to the internment camps
during WWII.Marie is
looking forward to
reading this as she read the author’s first book,
When the Emperor Was
Divine which she describes as a powerful and simply
written story also dealing
with the Japanese-American interment of World War
II.
Chevy
Stevens
follows the disturbing debut of Still
Missing with another edge of your seat
novel in Never Knowing.How would
you handle finding out that your birth mother is
the only survivor of a
serial killer still on the loose??And now
that killer is after you!!
On Folly Beach by
Karen White is a book
that has so much to it….A
family mystery,
a southern location,an
old book store,
Nancy Drew references, a lost love and a love of
family that is heart
warming.And this
book inspired Dawn’s
book group to create their own Bottle Tree!!We
all
loved
it and it was a great summer read!
Dawn
also
adds to her list another favorite Sisterby
Rosamund Lupton.This
gripping
novel
explores the bonds between sisters.I
loved it and couldn’t wait to discuss this with
others!!Get ready
for the spring release
of her 2nd novel Afterwards
which is sure to create a buzz.
Marie
Marie’s
list
includes the very popular The
Night
Circus by Erin Morgenstern.Though
it
doesn’t
go in depth with regard to characters, this is a
gorgeous
novel with a lot of dark imagery.Another
title that is described as ‘disturbing with a few
dark twists thrown
in’ is The Kingdom of
Childhood by
Rebecca Coleman.It
reads a bit like a
fairy tale.
Also
titles:
Extremely Loud &
Incredibly Close by
Jonathan Safran Foer is an intricate and
imaginative story about the
effects 9/11 had on a family and a childhood.
Claire DeWittAnd
The
City
Of The Dead
(Sara
Gran) “liked this novel for its quirky character
of Claire DeWitt and
sense of place in post-Katrina New
Orleans”
This Life Is In Your Hands
(Melissa
Coleman) “memoir about growing up in a family
homesteading in Maine.A serious and sad look
behind an ideal way of
life.”
Flashback (Dan
Simmons) and 2030
(Albert Brooks) “two books about the future in
the U.S.,
both
believable
with a few similarities. Both are thought
provoking,
with Flashback having a stronger story”
A Visit From The Goon Squad
(Jennifer
Egan) “very readable mix of fun characters. 2011
Pulitzer Prize winner
for fiction.”
Susie
Susie
finishes
up our list with The Race
by
Clive Cussler; an adventure in the early years of
flying.The Dog Who Knew Too Much by
Spenser
Quinn
and Dragon’s Time
by
Anne McCaffrey.
We
love to hear what you’re reading so we may pass
suggestions on to
others!!
June 2011
Karen ~ Christine
Falls by
Benjamin Black
Shangri-la
by Lisa Napoli Caleb's
Crossing
by Geraldine Brooks Sheila
~
Small
as
an
Elephant by Jennifer
Jacobson Dawn ~ State of Wonder
by Ann Patchett
Our summer reading programs began this week
... the adult reading
program is "Novel Destinations". Ask at
the main desk for
information on this fun program!!
May 2011
It’s always interesting when the staff
finds a book that
sparks so much discussion and this time the book
is Swamplandia!
by Karen Russell.The
setting is a failing
alligator theme park in the Everglades
and hosts a tough young heroine with a dead
mother, an ambitious
brother, an absent father and a big problem: how
to save her big sister
from eloping with a ghost.Sound strange?
It is!!Karen found
this book so different
but she loved Russell’s descriptions of the Florida
Keys, the quirky characters and
the dreamy way the plot was
strung together. She passed the book along to
her husband who thought
the book was awful!Marie
agreed with
Karen… and Dawn… thought it was TOO weird and
found huge gaps in the
story that just didn’t make sense to the overall
plot. Still a
satisfying read that should be considered.We
think
it
would be a great book club pick!
Karen enjoyed reading Slam
by Nick Hornby.Hornby
is a British writer whose endearing and
imperfect male characters stumble their way
through some kind of crisis.The movie About a Boy
was
based on his novel.
Zoo Story: Life in the
Garden of the Captives by
award
winning
journalist Thomas French is an intimate look at
the
people, animals, and politics of world-renowned
Lowry Park Zoo in TampaFlorida.Karen thought that
this book read easily and
it creates a thoughtful platform for thinking
about all kinds of
issues; from animal rights and endangered
species to business
management and exploitation.
Dawn and Marie both enjoyed The Weird Sisters
by Eleanor Brown and The Good
Daughters by Joyce
Maynard. Both of these explored family
relationships in an easy-to-read
way.The
Weird Sisters is
about three sisters and their odd quirks based
on ‘birth order’.Rose,
the oldest, is a faultfinding control
freak.Bean, the
middle sister, is a
promiscuous attention seeker and Cordy, the
youngest, simply refuses to
grow up.Dawn was
amused by this book as
she has two older sisters… and the family’s
nickname for the oldest is
“The Colonel”.Not
sure if the characters
of the other two sisters would fit.: )Does Dawn refuse to grow up??? HmmmmVery thought
provoking.
One Thousand White Women:
The Journals of May
Dodd by Jim
Fergus is an American
western with a strange twist.It is the fictional account of the
participation of
May Dodd and others in the controversial
"Brides for Indians" program
that was proposed but never put into effect.This
story
is
‘what if’ if had been this had actually
happened.Dawn
found it very interesting and a quick read.
Other titles
that Dawn enjoyed were The
Immortal Live of Henrietta Lacks by
Rebecca Skloot, Great House
by Nicole Krauss, Honoluluby
Alan
Brennert
and The Forgotten Garden by
Kate Morton.
Marie has been
busy reading and her
list consists of a variety of topics.She
finally read Cutting for Stone by
Abraham Verghese
and comments that she discovered all the good
things that she heard
about this novel were true.Radio
Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli disappointed
her somewhat as she
described it as a bit incomplete although she
did appreciate learning
about the culture in Bhutan
from a first person view. She thoroughly
enjoyed T.C. Boyle’s When the
Killing’s Done and will be reading more
by this
author.She liked
his writing style and
exploration of two environmental issues that
seem like they should go
together but were actually at odds.
Marie’s list
continues with The Paris Wife
by Paula McLain, City of Veilsby Zoe
Ferraris, The Poison Tree by
Erin Kelly, River
Marked by Patricia Briggs and The Night Season by
Chelsea Cain.
Our adult
summer
reading program this year will begin in June and
the theme is “Novel
Destinations”. February 2011
Karen
has
been
inspired by our New Year’s Resolution
display. In January,
library staff gathered up books they have
been intending to read but
haven’t gotten to yet and titled it “Our
New Year’s Resolution Display”.Karen was
inspired by this and finally read The 13th Valley
by John Del Vecchio, which,
according to her Vietnam
vet brother-in-law is the most accurate
portrayal of the Vietnam War
from the average soldier’s point of view.She
followed
that
up with All Souls by
Michael Patrick
MacDonald.This
memoir of a South
Boston native is an
eye-opener on poverty
and violence in the everyday lives of our
neighbors. She also snuck in
a new chick lit book by the Larson
sisters, Liar Liar,
which is sure to tickle fans of Janet
Evanovich.The
she
went
back
to
Vietnam
and is currently
reading through the
newest acclaimed novel, Matterhorn,
(U.S.
military hilltop bases were named
after peaks in the Alps
in this area)
by Karl Marlantes.She’s right back
in the jungle and it ain’t pretty but it
is riveting.
Dawn
is
thoroughly
enjoying her eReader (A Barnes and Noble
Nook) and the
ability to download titles from the Maine
Download Library.If
you have a compatible device you just need
your patron barcode number! A few titles
that Dawn has downloaded are: I am
Number 4 by Pittacus Lore,
which is soon to be a major motion
picture; The Good Daughters by Joyce
Maynard and Good
Grief by Lolly Winston.This service
has been busy since the holidays as the
eReader seems to have been a
popular gift this year!
Dawn
gives
high
praise to Room by Emma
Donoghue which is a
novel narrarated by a 5 year old named
Jack. There is just something
about the way that this child tells the
story of Room and Outside that
is amazing rather than irritating. She’s
not sure if she would have
enjoyed it as well if the story had been
told from the mother’s eyes.
Another
title that receives high praise from
Dawn
and Susie, not soon to be forgotten, is
Unbroken; A World
War II Story of Survival, Resilience,
and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand.This is the true
story of Louis Zamperini who lives
through a multitude of tragedies
that you just can’t fathom.Zamperini was
a juvenile delinquent, an Olympic
runner, war POW, Army hero and
overall life survivor.They both felt
overwhelmed by emotions while reading it
and feel that this is a story
that needs to be shared with everyone.
The Sound of
a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth
Tova Bailey
is a memoir about the appreciation of the
little things in life.It makes you slow down a bit and
really think
about what matters in your life… and both
Dawn and Marie learned a lot
about snails!A
very interesting and
thought provoking book.
Marie
highly
recommends The World Beneath
by Cate Kennedy
if you want a quick, entertaining and
amusing read.This
story takes place in Tasmania
and revolves around an
estranged father and daughter.Marie also
adds to her list Art in
America by Ron McLarty, Girl in Translation by Jean
Kwok, Popco by
Scarlett
Thomas,
and Body Walk by Sara
Paretsky.She
also knit a cable tam from our newest
knitting book Stitch
N’Bitch Superstar Knitting by
Debbie Stoller.
Sheila
E
adds
to our list The Fall by
Guillermo del Toro
which is the sequel to The
Stain, another vampire
series.Manhatten
today – the world
tomorrow!!Who
will win? Vampires or
mankind??Sheila’s
hint…. Odds are on the
vampires!She
also thought The
Tower,
the
Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart
was sweet and funny.
Sheila
D.
recommends
a young adult title, The 10
pm Question
by Kate De Goldi for those who have an
interest in characters that must
deal with mental health issues. The
characters are believable and
the family members show an array of how
different issues affect
families. It is a hopeful coming of
age story. For those
who like fantasy with their cup of tea and
cozy mystery, Sheila
suggests the cottage tales by Susan Wittig
Albert.
Beatrix Potter is featuredin this
fictionalized mystery series
where the animals play a major role in the
action.
It
has been a very snowy winter, excellent
for reading as you can see by
the amount of books read!What have you
been reading through all these snowstorms?
We always enjoy coming up with a fun summer
reading
program for our adult patrons.This past
year we did the very popular BINGO and decided
to play our own staff
BINGO.We were so
thrilled with the
response from our 55 patrons who played along
with us and especially
Cathy Lawrence for neglecting her housework to
complete the entire
BINGO board!!Congratulations
to Cathy and
for the many others who won a ‘special’ flower
pen, Springvale Library
mug, Springvale Library book bag and of course,
books!
For the first time ever, the
staff held their very
own book discussion group readingTinkers
by Paul Harding, the most
recent Pulitzer Prize winning novel.It
was fun to meet after work one evening and
discuss the many
complexities of this short book. Below are
some interesting
comments from the staff.
“An unusual family story told in
beautiful
descriptive language.” - Karen
“ I want to be a tinker." - Marie
“Harding reminds us that even
horrifically
painful life circumstances can at times be eased
with quick
moments of
honest humor.” Sheila D.
“As I lay dying…. This sums it up in a
nutshell." -
Sheila E.
“One of those books that you appreciate
more as you
discuss it.Not a
quick read, as I found
myself reading certain
sentences
over
and
over….” - Dawn
"This
book
will
make
you
think
about
your
own
life." - David
Karen:
I
loved
reading The Tower,
the Zoo and the
Tortoise by Julia Stuart. It is a
gentle, surprisingly
humorous story of a couple healing from the death
of a child. It
is set in the Tower
of London
where
Balthazar Jones lives with his fellow Beefeaters
(guards and docents
for the Tower) and their families.
Definitely a feel good
story with some wacky moments.
If
you
liked
A Prayer for Owen
Meany
and the Poisonwood
Bible, Cutting
for Stone by Abraham Verghese
would be a good match for your reading tastes.Verghese is an
excellent storyteller with a light
touch, like Irving’s
early
and
mid-career books.This
book is
set in Ethiopia and spans 50 years in the lives of
a set of twins, who
almost immediately upon birth are orphaned by
their parents but grow up
in the loving care of an extended family in a
mission hospital.So
satisfying.
I
am
listening
to an audio book by Nick Hornby,Juliet,
Naked which is a laugh out loud funny
romance.How did I
miss this author?
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead is
this year’s Newbery Award winner.It is a
complex time travel puzzle story that will have
astute readers flipping
back and forth to figure out which clues they
missed.
David:
Talking to Girls
About Duran Duran: One
Man’s Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut
by Rod Sheffield. A
fun read for anyone who grew up in the 80’s or is
a fan of the music of
that era.Just
overall a fun coming of age
book
Wicked
Girls: A Novel of the Salem
Witch Trialsby Stephanie
Hemphill.An
interesting
take
on this tragic period of our history.Told
from the point of view of the girls who were
the accusers.It is
all told in verse as
well.
Dawn:
Little
Bee(Chris
Cleave)
-All sorts of horrible,
depressing things happen to
Little Bee in what turns out to be a very
memorable book. Inspiring.
The
Scent of Rain and Lightning(Nancy
Pickard)
-Loved it more than her
previous novelThe Virgin of
Small Plains.
The
Passage(Justin
Cronin)
-Very LONG book at 700+
pages…not sure worth the
effort.
Still
Missing (Chevy Stevens)
-OMG! Disturbing book… but
could NOT put this down.One
day read!!!
Father
of
the
Rain(Lily
King)
-Story about a broken family,
narrated by the
daughter, beautifully written.
The
Girl Who Played with Fire(Stieg
Larson)
-A must read in the
continuing saga.
The
Poachers Son (Paul Doiron)
-Murder mystery set in Maine
with an unexpected ending.
Mockingjay(Suzanne
Collins)
-final
book
of
the Hunger Games trilogy and must confess to
disappointment.
Marie:
Our Tragic Universe
(Scarlett Thomas)
-a
great
“storyless story”
This Must Be The
Place (Kate Racculia)
-good
story
The Chill Of Night
(James Hayman)
-suspense
and
mystery
in
Portland,
Maine!
also
enjoyed The
Cutting, Hayman’s first book in the
series
Dragon Haven
(Robin Hobb)
-a
satisfying
conclusion to the Rain Wilds Chronicles
Cupcakes From The
Primrose Bakery
(Martha Swift)
-beautiful
cupcakes
with
unique
ingredients, can’t wait to try a recipe!
The Cookbook
Collector (Allegra Goodman)
-large
cast
of characters with multiple story lines
The Stormchasers
(Jenna Blum)
-insight
on
the storm chasing scene with a family story thrown
in
Backseat Saints
(Joshilyn Jackson)
-edgy
book
on a woman’s transformation
The One That I Want
(Allison Winn
Scotch)
-quick
read
with mystical elements thrown in
Sheila D:
Sheila
has
been awarding some books her attention, the
Newbery award books
that is! She recommends The
Graveyard bookby Neil
Gaiman (2009 winner) for a little creepy suspense,
Kira-Kira by
Cynthia Kadohata (2005
winner) for historical fiction fans and the Newest
Newbery (2010
winner) When
you Reach Me by
Rebecca Stead for the suspense & thrill of
time-traveling
themes. Charlie Bone fans will want to get
the newest title in
the series, Charlie
Bone and the Red
Knightfor
a satisfying
ending.
Sheila E:
Little Bee(Chris
Cleave)
Mockingjay(Suzanne
Collins)
The Girl who Played
with Fire(Stieg Larsson)
The Girl who Kicked
the Hornet’s Nest(Stieg
Larsson)
Jamie’s Food
Revolution: Rediscover how to
Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals
(Jamie Oliver)
We’d
love
to hear what you read this summer that made an
impression on you…
good or bad!!
June
2010
A series by young adult
author Suzanne Collins has
got the staff buzzing and talking it up to
patrons.The Hunger Games
is
as Karen put it ‘the ultimate reality game
show’. This book is about a
world where the government has unlimited control
and the conflict is so
amazing and ‘out there’ it is hard to put the
book down.Suzanne
Collins has the ability to bring to life the
action, suspense, romance, humor, cleverness
with vivid imagery.You
can imagine every setting, every character
and every battle as the Games play out.And,
you
can’t
help falling in love with the main character!Catching Firecontinues
the
story but leaves you wanting more.There
is high anticipation for the final book Mockingjaydue
in August.
The Millennium Trilogy is
another series that Dawn
and Marie are enjoying. The
Girl
with
the
Dragon Tattoo is an award-winning
crime novel by the
late Swedish journalist Steig Larsson.When
the
author
died in November of 2004 he left three
unpublished novels,
the first two topping the best selling lists
since their release and
the third, The
Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
was just released in May.
These novels revolve around five generations of
the Vanger family and
spans several continents.Marie
describes
the first as a ‘solid read’.
The
Lotus Eaters by
Tatjana Soli, The
Handbook for Lightning
Strike Survivors by Michele
Young-Stone and Silver
Borne by Patricia Briggs are books
that Marie
would recommend reading this summer.They’re
not
light
summer reads but they would be satisfying.
Dawn suggests The Map of
True Places by Brunonia Barry as a
summer read.While
not as ‘mysterious’ as her first novel The Lace Reader,
this one is also set in
Salem, MA with some of the same characters
making an appearance.Other
titles that Dawn read during the spring
are The Last Time I Saw
You by
Elizabeth Berg, The
Postmistress by
Sarah Blake and Winter
Garden by
Kristin Hannah.All
would be worth the
summer book list!
Sheila Dube is on another
mystery reading binge.She
has been reading some titles by classic
mystery authors like Martha Grimes and Dorothy
Simpson. The Old Fox
Deceiv’d by Grimes, as well as, Puppet for a Corpse,
Last
Seen Alive, and Dead by Morning
by Simpson have been meeting that “all things
British” need with Chief
Inspectors, cups a tea and descriptions of
quaint English villages that
hold deep dark secrets.
Sheila also recommends Laurie
R. King’s newest Mary
Russell/Sherlock Holmes book The God of the
Hive as well as Elizabeth George’s
new release in the Inspector
Lynley series This
Body of Death.
Karen adds to the staff picks
a couple of books
with timely themes.February
by Lisa Moore is a novel about a widow’s grief in
the aftermath of an
oil rig disaster.The Bell
Ringersby Henry
Porter is a look around the
corner into the near future.A Western
government integrates it data gathering systems
with the help of a
corporation and spies on the populace in order to
be more efficient and
secure.It is so
likely a story that one
starts to wonder who is watching and listening
right now!She also
read The Orcharda
memoir
by
Adelia Robertson of her years running the family
orchard
during the Great Depression in Ipswich Massachusetts.She
writes
evocatively
about that time period and the hardships that
almost
everyone faced.
Summer
fun
to all!!
We love to hear what you’ve
been
reading!
February 2010
Zooming to the top of Karen’s
all-time favorite
list is Barbara Kinsolver’s new book The Lacuna
(la-q-na)!!It is
the life story of a
writer, set in Mexico
and the United
States from
the 1930’s -1950’s.She
describes it as exquisitely crafted,
sweeping, and packed with contemporary themes.In
Karen’s
opinion,
this is Kingsolver’s best book to date and if
you do
audio books do not miss this
reading by the author!
Karen also read two other guy
books recently.Out Stealing Horses
is a translation of a novel by Per Petterson.It
is
a
resonant coming of age story set in rural Norway
that is beautifully
descriptive and quietly tragic.
The
Badlands Saloon
by Jonathan Twingly is a brief story of a young
man’s crossing into
adulthood during a summer job in North Dakota.Oliver
has
returned
to his home state to work after his first year
at art
school in New York City.Don’t look for drama
or plot here, just a
snapshot rich with the sort of oddball people
all of us meet in life.Kindly
told, it flows along gently and is
peppered with paintings by the author.Marie
adds
that
this book is quirky, vivid and meandering.
One of Dawn’s favorite new
books is Colum McCann’s Let
the Great World Spin.In this novel, stories of a group of New
Yorkers are
connected by the historical Philippe Petit's
famous wire walk on a
cable stretched between the twin towers of the WorldTradeCenter
which takes place in 1974. McCann captures the
times and people in such
a way that you feel part of the event. The
important theme of this book
is not that things end, but that things go on.
In the authors note at
the end of the book McCann writes; "A
book is completed
only when it is finished by a reader. This is
the intimate privilege of
art; In fact, it's the intimate privilege of
being alive. When telling
stories we are engaged in a democracy like no
other." Dawn loves
this quote!
31
Hoursby Masha
Hamilton is a story that Dawn has thought of
often since she finished
it. The mom in the novel wakes
up suddenly
one night with a mother's intuition that
something is very wrong with
her twenty-one year old son, Jonas. For the next
31 hours, she will try
to find him before something, she doesn't know
what, goes horribly
wrong.Her
intuition proves accurate
as we learn that Jonas is preparing to become a
suicide bomber, blowing
up a subway in New York.
Interesting
and
heart breaking, told in the mother’s perspective
and
basically taken from the current days headlines.
Marie wanted to move to
Avening, a fictional town
on an island in the Pacific
Northwest,
after
finishing When Autumn
Leaves by
Amy Foster.She
describes this novel as a
magical story with a cast of interesting
characters.
The
Christmas Cookie Club
by Ann Pearlman, A
Change in Altitude
by Anita Shreve and Bird
in Hand by
Christina Baker Kline were titles that showed up
on both Dawn and
Marie’s reading list for the past few months.Not
considered
favorites
but satisfying and fun reads.
Audrey Niffeneggar follows up
the popular The Time
Travelers Wife with her newest
novel Her Fearful
Symmetry.This
is an odd ghost story with a twisty plot
that left Dawn questioning some aspects of the
almost silly story.
Sheila Dube revisited some
well loved mystery
authors in the past few months.P.D. James
older titles The Murder
Room and Death
in Holy Orders satisfied her need
for Inspector Dalgliesh’s sleuthing and The
Clutch of the Constables by Ngaio
Marsh was an enjoyable older
mystery (1969).Doing
laundry is usually
not Sheila’s first love, but she loves Mandy
Dyer who owns a Laundromat
and solves mysteries on the side.She can
be found in Buttons
& Foes by
Dolores Johnson.
Marge, one of our faithful
volunteers, adds the
following mystery to our staff picks The Big
Steal by Emyl Jenkns. Marge found it
to be a good read and
encourages lovers of antiques and old houses to
give it a try!
The
Help by Kathryn
Stockett and The Lost
Symbol by Dan
Brown continue to be titles that have very LONG
wait lists.If you
want something similar to Stockett’s
book, try Someone knows
my Name by
Lawrence Hill, We are
all Welcome Here
by Elizabeth Berg or Beth Hoffman’s debut novel
Saving
CeeCee
Honeycutt.For
Dan Brown
fans give Steve Berry a try, or James Rollin’s
Sigma Force novels.
October 2009
Karen
has
read a string of books lately that she claims 'fit
her just right'.
The Dart
League King by Keith Morris takes place in one
evening and she found every character in the book,
even the local
cocaine dealer, kind of endearing. The
ending is ambiguous, so if
you like very tidy endings, it isn't for you, but
she thinks it had a
happy ending for every character. The
Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
was a fabulous young adult fantasy about a child
who grows to manhood
in a graveyard with certain permissions granted
that are usually
reserved for the residents. Karen normally
isn't a big fan of
fantasy but this ranks high on her list!
Two
authors
with first time novels makes Karen's list for this
quarter.
Sweeping Up
Glass by
Carolyn Walls packs a punch while
being very readable. This satisfying story
is part mystery, full
of excitement, and set solidly in small town
Kentucky. The second
novel is What Was
Lost by
Catherine O'Flynn. This
mystery is set in New England and starts with a
young girl's
fantasies, then jumps ahead to finish years
later. Karen
describes the story as convoluted with many
surprises with beautiful,
suspenseful and strong writing.
The Housekeeper and
the Professor by Yoko Ogawa was described by a
patron as 'a little gem' and the staff here
agrees! This is an
intimate story about family, memory and believe it
or not, the poetry of mathematics.
It is also the story about
characters getting to know someone but with a
major twist: the
person forgets everything in eighty minutes.
How do you sustain a
relationship with someone who cannot remember?
Karen, Marie and
Dawn all loved this book. It is a quick, 200
page book but will
keep you thinking of the characters and premise of
the book for a long
time.
At
the
top of Dawn's "must reads" and "favorite books of
the year" list is Olive
Kitteridge: A Novel in Short Stories by Elizabeth Strout.
Her prior
novels Amy and
Isabelle and
Abide
with Mewere favorites as
well and when Olive was released, Dawn
picked it up and just
couldn't get into it. Then In April, Strout,
won the Pulitzer
Prize for Olive Kitteridge and Dawn tried
it again this past
summer. LOVED it. This book is set in
rural Maine and
through short stories Olive appears in all, some
as the main character,
some as just a mention but through it all we learn
that the way we see
ourselves is not always the way that others see
us.
Unaccustomed Earth by Lahiri Jhumpa
is another
collection of stories that Dawn enjoyed. The
book is split into
two sections, the first containing four stories
and the second three
stories that are all connected. These
stories all center around
ordinary topics and ordinary people. Because
of the way the book
was set up, it was a book that was put down on
numerous occasions but
held enough intrigue to pick up and finish.
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
and A Change in
Altitude by
Anita Shreve were books
that Dawn read and enjoyed.
Marcia's
staff
picks include The
Spire by
Richard North Patterson which is
a suspenseful, poignant love story set in a small
private college and
also Shannon by Frank Delaney,
a beautifully
written story of Robert Shannon, a young American
suffering from shell
shock as he searches far for peace in Ireland.
Sheila
English
is currently reading The
Children's Book by A.S. Byatt.
Set
in
fin de siecle, England this magical book holds a
mirror to the
new middle class. This didn't get a great
review but Sheila is
loving it! Dead
and Gone by
Charlaine Harris is #9 in the
southern vampire series and in this latest saga
the werewolves and
other shape shifters reveal themselves to a not
quite ready public.
Sheila is our 'in house' vampire expert!!
Other selections
that Sheila adds to staff picks are Catching
Fire by
Suzanne Collins
(sequel to The Hunger Games and every bit
as good) and The
Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larson.
Marie's
staff
picks include three dystopian novels. The Hunger Games,a young
adult novel by Suzanne Collins, has a grim and
different story line set
in a world in which reality television means
fighting to the death for
young people drawn in a lottery. It is
compelling and she can't
read to read the second in the series Catching
Fire. The
Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
is disturbing in
its depiction of an imagined future world.
This is a companion
novel to her 2003 book Oryx and
Crake. The third novel The
Island
at
the End of the World by
Sam Taylor was unique in that it is told
in three voices
influenced by limited reading materials.
Marie figured out the
Shakespeare and the Biblical voices but would
appreciate comments on
where the third voice comes from.
The Physick Book of
Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, The Elegance of the
Hedgehog by
Muriel Barbery, and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
are titles that
Marie would hand to patrons and say 'try this'.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
has had a long
waiting list from the day it arrived here.
It continues to be a
staff and patron favorite and has inspired many
discussions at the
front desk. Karen experienced this book by
listening to it and highly
recommends it. Another title with a long
list is Dan Brown's
latest The
Lost Symbol.
Interested in taking a rafting trip in the Grand
Canyon? You
might want to pick up In the Heart of
the Canyon by
Elisabeth Hyde
another title that seems to have made the rounds
with the staff.
It reads fast and keeps the reader
captivated by the setting.
Please share with us your favorite reads so we may
pass them along to
our patrons. We love to hear what you've
been reading and how you
liked or disliked a particular title!
June 2009
Marie and Karen
start
off our list of staff picks with a title that they
describe as 'edgy,
fast-paced, and filled with dark humor that is not
for the faint of
heart'. Does this intrigue anyone? Beat
the Reaper
by first-time novelist Josh Bazell turns a hit man
into a medical
intern and does it in such a way that the reader
is immediately drawn
into the story. The Washington Post's review
states "Beat the
Reaper is a
hypochondriac's nightmare but a reader's dream".
Karen and Marie
agree and Marie enthusiastically declares that
this is the best book
she has read in 2009!
Karen expected
to have
a stack of books to talk about after her vacation
in May but she spent
more time in the garden and at graduations than
reading!
(Congrats to her daughter Rosie who just
graduated from Boston
University!) Karen did get through a few,
one being Ghosts by Cesar Aira
which is a haunting
and dreamy novella, an international best seller,
set on an apartment
building under construction. It has the
mystical elements so
typical of the South American writers. She
loved it and so did
her husband.
Prayers
for Sale
by Sandra Dallas is a wonderful
period piece set in Colorado during the Great
Depression. This is
a good book for anyone who enjoys a gentle story
filled with the fabric
of social support women give each other through
quilting and tending
the home.
The newest
quirky
family story (Karen's favorite kind of book!) is The
Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews. It is sad,
funny, poignant, happy, quirky,, all at the same
time. Hattie has
landed at her sister's house in Canada after being
dumped by her
boyfriend in France and finds her sister
hospitalized again with
depression. Not ready to become an instant
parent for her niece
and nephew, Hattie and the kids set off across two
countries to try to
find the children's father who left years earlier.
Must be good as it
was on Marie's list also and she also describes it
as quirky with very
likable characters.
If you saw the
Academy
Award winner Slumdog Millionaire and would like to
read something set
in India, Karen suggests a new novel by first-time
author Shilpa
Agarwal, Haunting Bombay.
When
13
year
old Pinky Mittal unlocks a door in her family
bungalow
that has been bolted shut her entire life, she
unleashes the ghost of
an infant girl and her midwife, sending her whole
family into a
tailspin. This multigenerational saga had
Karen rushing home to
finish it.
An unusual
narrative
structure in Important
Artifacts
and
Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore
Doolan
and Harold Morris by Leanne
Shapton created enough of a stir that a
few of us just had to
take it home. This is an auction catalog
with photographs and
captions which tells the story of a New York City
couple, Lenore and
Harold. For something different and outside
of the box , this
novel is a fun read and is bound to be a
conversation starter.
Dawn thinks Lise
See's
new novel Shanghai
Girls does what she does best - writing
about the relationships
of people and the ups and downs of life long
relationships. If
you enjoyed Snow
Flower and the Secret Fan this is a must
read that will have you
thinking about it long after you finish. ThePiano
Teacher
by Janice Lee is another novel that
deals with the difficulties of love and survival
during a time of war
and the choices made during this hard time.
Other titles
that Dawn
recommends are Still
Alice by
Lisa Genova, Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg
and Sonata for Miriam by Linda Olsson.
Sing
them Home
by Stephanie Kallos is a new staff
favorite. This is a heart wrenching story of
three siblings who
have lived in the shadow of unresolved grief since
their mother's
disappearance when they were children. Karen
and Dawn were
anxiously awaiting the release of this book as we
both loved the
author's first book in 2004, Broken
for
You. Marie is hooked on this author
after reading both
titles and highly recommends them.
Marcia is the
proud new
owner of a Kindle® from Amazon and a few of
the staff enjoyed
playing with it one day!! This nifty little
device can store
thousands of books on it and currently Marcia is
reading In the Bleak Mid Winter by Julia Spencer
Fleming. She
is also enjoying Jeffrey Deaver's new book, Roadside
Crossesand tells us that it is quite
exciting.
For history
buffs
Sheila Dube recommends Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark.
This
mystery gives a flavor of the historical tone of
the 1300's with
Hildegard a widowed nun finding the clues as
bodies began piling up.
If you are into the harrowing experience of
London's tunnels
after the Great Stink, try Ann
Perry's The
Dark
Assassin featuring Inspector Monk.
There is nothing
like shifting clay to make life exciting and
dangerous. Twilight fans won't want to miss
Jessica's Guide to
Dating on the Dark Side by Beth
Fantaskey. Senior year is never
what anyone expects.
Marie adds to
the list
of staff picks the Mercy Thompson
series by Patricia Briggs. This is
a four book series
featuring an auto mechanic who can turn into a
coyote! WHAT??
This is definitely for those who like the
supernatural,
werewolves in particular. She also enjoyed Tender
Morsels
by Margo Lanagan. This young
adult novel is based on the fairy tale Snow White,
Rose Red and Marie
describes it as very magical, rich and thought
provoking but.....
reader be warned, there are a few disturbing
parts.
As we enter the
summer
months Springvale Library will be experiencing
some changes, the major
one being the closing of the library on Fridays.
As a staff, we
are disheartened and sad that we have to do this
as we would love to be
adding services, not taking away, but it is a sign
of the times.
On a positive note, we are hoping we'll be
able to read more and
thus have more staff picks for you!!
Happy
summer to
all.
February 2009
Things have been extremely busy at the library but
we've still managed
to compile quite an interesting list of books that
the staff has read.
Please let us know some of your favorites
during this cold winter.
Karen starts off the staff picks with a gracefully
written book that
she is currently reading, The
Little Giant of
Aberdeen County by new author
Tiffany Baker, and she is loving it.
(There is already a
waiting list for this title!) It is rich with
the characters and
drama of a small town. She also describes A
Guide to the Birds of
East Africa
by Nicholas
Drayson as a charming, delightful and
unusual love story.
There are birds and birders in this story but
don't be put off
by the title. It is sweet and surprising
and you'll feel
right at home in its Kenyan setting. Dawn is
currently enjoying this
book.
Knowing that the author Randy Pausch had terminal
cancer as he wrote The Last Lecture,
Karen
picked
up the audio book for her commute. She
actually
expected to find it too saccharine or maudlin for
her tastes but she
was pleasantly surprised to find it interesting,
joyous and
inspiring.
Dawn took the recommendations of others and read The
Story of Edgar
Sawtelle
by David Wroblewski
and The
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.
Wow!
So glad she did. Two very interesting
reads that would be
great for book groups. Edgar
Sawtelle was very sad and heartbreaking but
well worth the read.
She still has many questions about the ending
of this
novel.
A few other picks on Dawn's list are Songs
for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan, The
Hour I First
Believed, a must read for Wally Lamb fans,
and a young adult
book, The Boy in
the Striped Pajamas by John
Boyne, that she can only describe as
'disturbing'. If
you're a Jodi Picoult fan The Year of Fog by Michelle
Richmond is a
great read. This book deals with an emotional topic
that questions the
biological bond and love between two people when
Abby, the main
character, loses her fiancé's six-year-old
daughter. Dawn
thought it had a very Jodi Picoult like
ending. Handle With Care
is
Jodi
Picoult's new book which is due out in March.
Marie describes The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam
as a very
well written and poetic story about the intersection
of diverse
characters in Afghanistan, each having hidden
connections with the
others. The
Graveyard Book by Neil
Gaiman has just won the 2008 Newberry Award
and Marie and Sheila
E. loved it. It is the retelling of
Kipling's The
Jungle Book, set in the grave
yard of course!! Marie, who is our in-house
artist, thought the
graphic novel The Good Neighbors by Holly Black
had great
artwork and she found the story engaging!
Marie also adds The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
to her list which
was one of Dawn's top picks for 2008.
Sheila Dube can't get enough of Minette Walter's
mysteries at the
moment. The
Dark Room,
The Echo and The
Breaker were
all suspenseful and thought provoking.
Continuing with the
mystery genre she also enjoyed Quiet
as a Nun
by Antonia Fraser which featured the character
Jemima Shore, an
investigative reporter. A few of her
non-fiction picks include Dewey: The Small Time
Library Cat which in her words was 'the
cat's meow', (and the
pictures helped!) and Plain Secrets:
An
Outsider Among the Amish by Joe
Mackall. Sheila grew up next to an
Amish community in
Indiana so she felt connected in a personal way.
For all the Charlie Bone fans out there Sheila
encourages them to pick
up #7 in the series Charlie Bone and the
Shadow.
Spring is coming! October 2008
Karen just finished High Crimes: the fate
of Everest in an age of greed
by Michael Kodas which she guarantees will
open your eyes to the
lack of glamour and romance attached to climbing the
world's tallest
mountain. (She has scratched that item off her
list now!)
She also read A
Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne
which has been widely
read by the Sanford School Department staff,
including our very own
Sheila English. This book was an eye-opener
and has given Karen
some very useful, practical information that was
delivered in a quick,
easy package. Sheila Dube is currently reading
this this book and
echoes Karen's comments.
With winter coming, Karen and Marcia recommend Stephen Carter's New
England White
which is an elaborately plotted murder mystery set
in a college town in
New England. Stephen Carter has a few other
titles that might
satisfy the mystery reader which include The
Emperor of Ocean
Park and Palace
Council.
A new favorite book??? Staff members Karen,
Marie, Sheila English
and Marcia loved The
Guernsey
Literary
and Potato Peel Pie Society by
Mary Ann Shaffer!! If it
was available in paperback, this would make a
perfect December book
group choice! Karen describes it as funny,
informative, sad,
joyous, romantic (light on this one), and
satisfying. This novel
is set in post World War II England, and it is a
tale told through
letters.
Dawn and Marie have both been reading a few of the
same titles and
loved Oxygen by Carol Cassella. The author
is a real-life anaesthesiologist and weaves an
intimate story of
relationships and family in a high stakes medical
thriller. If
you enjoy Jodi Picoult's novels, this author is very
similar. Another
title that staff members Dawn, Marcia, and Marie
continue to talk about
is American Wife by Curtis Settenfeld.
This
novel is loosely based on Laura Bush's life and was
an interesting read
during this election season! The
Lace Reader
by Brunonia Barry is sure to be a
book group favorite when it is released in
paperback! "Every gift
has a price ... Every piece of lace has a
secret....." This book
is mesmerizing and deals with lies, secrets,
half-truths and you have a
hard time deciding what is fact from fiction.
We have the book
and the unabridged audio book available to
borrow!
Dawn also recommends Anita Shreve's
latest novel Testimony which
deals with a sex scandal at a New England boarding
school. It is
a story told in the voices of men, women, teenagers,
and parents
involved in the scandal and details the ways that
lives can be changed
forever in one foolish moment.
Marie and Sheila English read the very popular The
Story of Edgar
Sawtelle
by David Wroblewski.
This
is
described as a very well written novel with an
inspiring
and different method of communication between
Edgar and the dogs.
Other titles that Marie shares are What
was Lost
by Catherine O'Flynn, The
Gargoyle
by Andrew Davidson and, an old
children's favorite, The Wind in the
Willows by
Kenneth Grahame.
Sheila Dube, while creating a costume for Halloween
of her favorite
literary character Sister Frevisse, reread The
Murderer's Tale by Margaret Frazier which she
highly enjoyed -- again! She also read Madapple by Christina Meldrum
which was
intriguing and slightly disturbing. It was a
blend of herbs,
religious fascinations and very eccentric family
members, but not a
read for everyone!
Please share with us your favorite reads so we may
pass them along to
our members!
July 2008
Karen finished The
Great
Swim by
Gavin Mortimer
earlier this summer and she is constantly reminded
of this book every
time she is in the water doing her 'measly' (her
words!) 1/2 mile swim.
This book explores the history of four
American swimmers in the
race to be the first woman to swim the English
Channel. These
women were the celebrities of the 1920's!
Gavin Mortimer tells
the true story of these woman who took on the
challenge. Karen
loved the whole thing, including the fact that the
woman who finally
did it, broke the first man's record by 2 hours!
Karen also took home a very fun children's book
because she couldn't
resist the cover and the title! (You can judge
a book by its
cover in this instance!) A girl in a swim cap,
goggles, and
swimsuit is pretending to read a dog-erred copy of
Stuart Little which
is upside down. Moxy Maxwell Does Not
Love Stuart Little by Peggy
Gifford is a delightful story of a girl
with a deadline who does
not like to be told what to read.
Another title that Karen describes as a fine novel
is The Pigeon and the Boy by Meir Shalev.
This is a
beautiful story set in Israel about a mother and a
son, love, destiny,
and the joy of work.
Karen also had the great pleasure of hearing Louise
Erdrich read aloud
from her newest work, The Plague of Doves
and she has now finished reading it. All of
her books are a
lovely blend of humor, character and wisdom and she
likes each one
better than the last.
Sheila Dube has been on her summer mystery kick and
many of the titles
she read have turned out to be historical in nature.
Don't you just
love learning something when you're reading for fun?
She
recommends any of the following: Buckingham
Palace
Gardens by
Anne Perry, Oh Danny Boy by Rhys Bowens
or the young adult
mystery that will air in September as part of
Masterpiece Mystery! on
PBS, The Ruby in
the Smoke
by Phillip Pullman.
For
Inspector
Lynley fans, Careless
in Red by
Elizabeth George
is a must read.
Don't
Throw
it Out by
Lori Baird
is a title that Marie encourages people to read and
put into use.
This book delves into the many ways of
recycling, renewing, and
reusing many of the common items we find in our
households.
Marie also suggests Jeffrey
Lent's book A
Peculiar
Grace which is a well written story with
Portland,
Maine as one of the ending locations. Shadow
Year by
Jeffrey Ford reminds her of
summertime and Ray Bradbury books.
Dawn highly recommends Here if You Need Me: A
True Story
by Kate Brastrup.
After
the
tragic death of her husband Drew, a Maine State
Trooper, Kate becomes a chaplain for the Maine
Warden Service and this
is a touching account of her journey. She
brings a human element
to her story that we all can relate to.
The
Host by
Stephanie Meyer
is the author's first adult novel after her very
popular Twilight
series and Dawn had to
pick it up and read it after doing the vampire thing
in Twilight.
No vampires in The Host, but it is a science
fiction, love story that keeps you reading.
Dawn enjoyed it,
although her favorite sci fi novel still remains The
Sparrow by
Mary Doria Russell. There is
much anticipation for Stephanie Meyer's fouth and
final book in the
Twilight series, Breaking
Dawn
which is due out August 4th!
Other titles that Dawn has enjoyed include The
Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, An
Unexpected Forest by Eleanor Morse and Skeletons
at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.
Share some of your summer reads with us and don't
forget that you can
place holds on any of these titles either by a call,
a visit, or
through our web site. March 2008
It has been a LONG winter and the staff has filled
the long, snowy days
with lots of reading which is much better than
shovelling!
Karen's South Berwick book club chose Don
DeLillo's Underworld,
an
800+
page tome that kept her busy for weeks! She
felt it was
good to have a little pressure to delve into the
work of one of modern
America's most acclaimed writers. Her exact
words were "He's
brilliant!". She loved his inventive use of
language and the plot
crafting she described as stunning! Mr.
DeLillo requires a real
commitment to read so he may not be for everyone,
but Karen says give
it a go.
Another book that Karen added to her list is Michael Pollan's In
Defense of Food
which has made her more thoughtful with her grocery
store purchases.
To overcome her graphic novel phobia (which many of
us may share),
Karen picked up Alison
Bechdel's Fun Home: A
Family Tragicomic. She was surprised
that the comic book
format didn't stop her from enjoying this memoir of
the author's
father. She did want to add that this graphic
novel's mature
content might be off-putting or offensive to some.
Sheila Dube, our children's librarian, reread Roll
of Thunder, Hear
My Cry which is found in our juvenile
section but don't let this
stop you from picking it up. This story is
about an
African-American family dealing with racism in
Mississippi in the 30's.
For readers that are intrigued by real life
oddities, she
suggests trying Identical
Strangers
by Elyse Schein and
Paula Bernstein. In this real-life
memoir, these twins are
separated at six months and then reunited thirty
years later.
Sheila recommends for teens the fiction story Memoirs
of a Teenage
Amnesiac
by Gabrielle Gavin
and for those mystery lovers, try Laurie
R.
King's
latest Touchstone.
Dawn has really spent her free time reading and has
many to add to the
staff picks! One of her most enjoyable reads
included the much
talked about Pillars
of
the
Earth by
Ken Follett.
This
was originally published in 1989 but has enjoyed a
resurgence greatly due to the power of Oprah!
She loved the
characters in this historical novel, especially
Prior Philip, and also
the romantic story of Tom and Ellen. She has
admitted to a whole
new appreciate of architecture. Don't be put
off by the 900+ plus
pages as it does move along quickly.
Last
Night
at the Lobster by Stewart
O'Nan inspired Dawn to pick up another of
this author's books A Prayer for the Dying.
This
author
has amazing descriptive talents with the scenes and
especially emotions. The plots of both titles
aren't what Dawn
calls spellbinding, but the way the author pulls you
into the story is
amazing. He has got a wonderful talent for
capturing the mood so
effectively that you feel you are part of the story.
She
describes Last
Night at the Lobster
as a great read, especially on a snowy 'no school,
no work' snow day,
as this book takes place at a Red Lobster restaurant
during a blizzard.
Gives you a whole new insight to the workings
of a mall parking
lot restaurant. Karen and Marie
enthusiastically agreed!
Gregory Maquire has done it again with the young
adult novel What the Dickens:
The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy.
Here he takes
'skibbereen', aka tooth fairies, and tells a tale
based on believing.
'What-the-Dickens' is a newly hatched orphan
creature who gets
into a mess of trouble. A fun read especially
if you're a fan of
Gregory Maquire's style for taking an existing tale
and adding a twist!
Dawn loved it and we've got a signed copy by
the author here at
the library.
Other titles that Dawn adds to her list are Change
of Heart,
Jodi Picoult's newest novel
that is sure to bring up questions and comments
about religion, Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock
which is a
disturbing story of child abuse with an
unsuspecting ending, and The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller,
the story of two
different woman and their marriages.
Marcia and Karen had FUN reading The
Man Who Killed
Shakespeare
by Ken Hodgeson.
It
was
one of those predictable, you know what happens
next, kind
of book but you don't care because because it is so
enjoyable and easy
to read.
Marcia and Marie both took home the book Japanese
Temari:
A Colourful Spin on an Ancient Craft by Barbara S. Seuss and
Marcia
really created a buzz with the staff when she made
one of these
beautiful items. A Temari ball is a Japanese
handball
traditionally made out of rags wrapped around a
noisemaker and then
covered by colourful thread. The ball is then
given to someone as
a sign of friendship. Temari balls have been
decorative additions
to the Japanese household for centuries and this
book is an
introduction for the beginning temari-stitcher.
We're trying to
convince Marcia to host a program here at the
library for both staff
and patrons to learn this intriguing craft!
Marie suggests trying The Way Life Should Be by Christina Kline, The
Outcasts of 19
Schuyler Place by E.L.
Konigsbury, Suite
Francaise
by Irene Nemirovsky,
and The
Opposite
of Love by
Julie Buxbaum.
In April we will be celebrating "National Library
Month" and the staff
will be wearing 'What I'm Reading' badges --
ask us about our
choices! Also, you are invited to 'pass it on'
by taking and
wearing a stick-on badge of your own announcing your
support of public
libraries.
Happy Spring! December 2007
As we close out of 2007 we wish everyone a very
Happy Holiday Season
and best wishes for 2008! We hope you've had a
great year of good
reads and hope a few good books are on your 'holiday
list'. We've
tried to put together some of our favourites for
you! We invite
you to share your favorites with us!
Karen enjoyed reading the novel A
Peculiar Grace by Jeffrey Lunt. A
middle-aged artist-blacksmith finds himself housing
a stray young woman
and confronting some of his past on his way to a
better present.
It was a satisfying read and the writing had an
everyday ease about it
that made it comfortable to read through.
She also slowly digested Inside Alzheimer's:
how
to hear and honor connections with a person by Nancy Pearce.
The thought
of maintaining a relationship with someone who's
mind is diseased and
brain is riddled with holes is daunting, so she
appreciated the
practical on-the-front-line approach of this
book. This is a
hopeful, positive, and useful book which offers ways
to continue loving
relationships when communication changes through
illness.
Sheila Dube needed a respite after a busy story time
season so she
allowed herself some cozy reading. She
proceeded to "eat up" the
latest three culinary mystery novels by Diane Mott Davidson, Chopping
Spree, Double
Shot and Dark
Tort and
then she whipped up a batch of Christmas cookies
followed by a large
apple crisp. Yum. Aren't mysteries
inspiring???!
Marcia picked up a book that was recommended by one
of our library
trustees and found that she couldn't put it down! New
England White by Stephen Carter has many twists
and turns and is an intriguing look at American
society from an elite
black's view which is a rare!
Marie added some of her most memorable reads of 2007
starting with her
most favorite being Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber.
This is a novel
that is very surreal with a lot of contrasting
textures. A
dreamlike childhood of an ape mother in a rain
forest is in the
background of a snowy Syracuse New York where the
main character
analyzes fingerprints for a living. The main
character seems
concrete, but at the same time the reader wonders if
something is not
quite right about her. Marie describes it as
'satisfyingly
mysterious'.
Marie also suggests two books that would be great
for book discussion
groups. See You in a Hundred
Years by
Logan Ward is
the story of a family that lives as if they were in
1900, even though
it is really 2001, for a year. Animal,
Vegetable,
Miracle by
Barbara Kingsolver
is a non-fiction book where Kingsolver's family
spends a year eating
homegrown food. Karen also enjoyed this book
so they were able
to share ideas and thoughts on it.
Both Marie and Dawn read Alice Sebold's new novel The
Almost Moon.
They
both
found it to be a disturbing, touching and well
written
account of a relationship between a mother and a
daughter. The
word "disturbing" is emphasized since the main
character kills her
mother at the beginning of the book. The rest
of the book cycles
between the past and the present. Marie
describes it as "not the
happiest of reading" and Dawn didn't take to it as
much as Sebold's The Lovely Bones.
Dawn recommends two great reads that also would be
interesting choices
for book discussion books. The
Book Thief
by Markus Zusak tops her list of
great reads of 2007. This book is billed as a
young adult book
but don't afraid to try it as it is an experience!
She describes
this book as an astounding, thought provoking,
beautiful book, and
after she finished, thought "Who can I pass
this along to?" Death
himself narrates this World War II-era story.
Another of her
great picks for 2007 include A
Hatred for Tulips by Richard Lourie which is another
World War II-era story. This is a riveting
novel told from the
viewpoint of Joop, an old man in Amsterdam
today, haunted
by his shameful secret of what he did as a teenager
more than 60 years
ago.
We can't wait to see what great reads there are in
2008! July 2007
What a dilemma Karen is in as we bring you our July
staff reads!
She is currently 100 pages away from finishing The
Yiddish Policeman's
Union by
Michael Chabon
and the new Harry Potter has just come in!
What to do?? The
Chabon book is unusual and she says that she likes
it better with every
page turned. It is a detective murder story
set in an alternate
history Alaskan state. It has a noir feel with
wonderful similes
and the characters grow as the plot does. Not
an action packed,
fast read book, but she is enjoying the
unfolding. Harry Potter
will have to wait a few more days.
But..... Sheila Dube couldn't wait and ate it
up! The long
awaited, last installment in the series pulls all
the various threads
of the last six books together neatly in a magically
wizardry
way. It is an absolute must read for those
that have read and
grown up with the series.
For mystery lovers who want an enjoyable beach read,
Sheila recommends The Sudoku Murder by Shelly Freydont.
Set in
New Hampshire, this quick mystery is filled with
"Ayuh's", a murder, a
match making aunt and a touch of geeky
romance.
Karen also suggests listening to the audio A
Long Way Gone, narrated by the author, Ismael Beal.
This
took
her into the unimaginable world of the degradation
of a
society in civil war and the experience of children
and child soldiers
in Sierra Leone. It is a taste of a place and time,
told in the
beautiful words of a person who has come back from
the brink.
This memoir has very strong and violent material as
you may guess by
her description. The book is available also.
Two of our staff members, Karen and Marie, have read
Barbara
Kingsolver's Animal,
Vegetable,
Miracle and they both agree that it would
make a
great discussion book! Karen, being a long
time gardener, looked
forward to reading about this family's experience
during a year of
eating local foods. There are sidebars with
recipes and
information about the food industry, as well as
thoughts of the author
on the "whys" and "whats" of the year.
Marie has been enjoying Nevada Barr and her Anna
Pigeon
mysteries. After listening to High
Country and Hard
Truth on CD, she was hooked and has been
reading all of her
mysteries. Anna Pigeon is a feisty law
enforcement park ranger
who appreciates the wild and its creatures.
During her time in
different national parks, someone usually gets
murdered and Anna always
seems to end up right in the middle of the
situation!
Maledicte by Lane Robins,
is a dark story
that starts out with a fifteen year old named
Miranda and her
companion Janus living on the streets in an
abandoned part of town
called the Relicts. Marie enjoyed the sense of
place in this
story and some of the descriptions were beautiful in
an ethereal
way. It is a fantasy book with a theme of
eternal love and
revenge.
Marcia enjoyed the new Kerry
Greenwood novel Earthly
Delights
which is a light headed mystery that takes place
down under in
Melbourn, Australia. The main character is a baker
with an array
of "characters" contributing to the plot.
Dawn adds to the list with The True Story of
Hansel and Gretel by Louise
Murphy. WOW... This book is well
written with believable
characters but be prepared to be emotionally
moved. It is a
holocaust story set in Poland during WWII with the
fairy tale woven
in. Not a light read by any means.
Another favorite for Dawn was Sherman
Alexie's Flight.
Alexie
does
a fantastic job of getting inside the mind of a
teenage boy
faced with many obstacles. "Zits", the main
character, is an
orphaned, American Indian teenager who deals with
racism, homelessness
and the usual challanges of adolescence.
The novel Red
Leaves by
Thomas Cook
begins with "Family photos always lie."
Can you ever really
know what lies behind those posed smiles? Dawn
picked up this
book and thought it would be a predictable, missing
child book but
found it to be very thought provoking and surprising
in many
ways. Others she enjoyed were Summer
Reading by
Hilma Wolitzer, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled
Hosseini, and The Last Summer (Of
You
and Me) by
Ann Brashares.
Tell us your favorite summer reads! April 2007
Our staff picks begins with what Karen calls
'her best book of
the year so far', A
Perfect
Mess:
The Hidden Benefits of Disorder: How crammed
closets, cluttered offices, and on-the-fly
Planning Make the World a
Better Place by Eric Abrahamsom
and David H. Freedman . She
enthusiastically shares her
opinion, "Yes, Yes, Yes! I knew those people
with the color coded
closets were wasting time! This book
illuminates the reasons we
work like we do and affirms the good in chaos."
Sounds like a great
book to read instead of organizing those cluttered
drawers and spring
cleaning!
Karen also suggests picking up The
Tiger in the Attic:
Memories of the Kindertransport and growing up
English by
Edith Milton. This book is
described by Karen as being less about the
Kindertransport and Nazi
Germany than she thought it would be. She
found it to be a
lively, humorous look at a young child who becomes
more English than
Jewish as she grows up a refugee in an eccentric
British household and
then later, as a young woman, her life with her
mother in the United
States.
The
Astonishing
Life of Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson
has been a much
talked about novel that Karen had to pick up.
After finishing it,
she said it was the most unusual historical novel
she had ever
read. The novel begins with the feel of
science fiction and then
sends itself into the Revolutionary War era of
colonial America.
Published as a young adult novel, this is a complex,
graphically
violent and disturbing book that she wouldn't give
to any young person,
but she highly recommends this to anyone interested
in race issues,
U.S. history and ground-breaking writing style.
Sheila Dube has recently finished two adult
non-fiction selections that
provide a feminine view point or voice to opposing
life
situations.
Another
Day
in
the
Frontal Lobe by
Katrina Firlish is a memoir of one of
the few female
neurosurgeons in the United States. She gives
an educational and
personally insightful account of her residency
years.
Child
of
the Jungle
by Sabine Kuegler
is the story of the authors life in West Papua,
Indonesia living
among the Fayu tribe in neutral
territory. This author
lived there with her family from the age of five
into her teen years,
with the purpose of bringing peace to the
tribes. Sheila found
this memoir to be a fascinating read that she
couldn't put down.
Cultural differences, jungle dangers and wearing
shoes are all part of
this incredible story.
Sheila English's take on Nora
Ephrion's I
Feel
Bad
about My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a
Woman is
summed up with her comment "Getting old is
harder on some body
parts more than others!". She revisited
this book after
initially picking it up in the fall.
Chicken
with
Plums by
Marjane Satrapi
is a graphic novel set in Tehran in 1958, where a
musician loses the
will to live when his beloved musical instrument,
the Tar, is
damaged. Graphic novels are not just for kids
anymore!!
Sheila suggests picking one up to try it!
Marcia suggests a few fun mysteries. One of
her favorite authors
is Sue Henry and Marcia wasn't disappointed by her
latest The Refuge Finds Maxie
on the Big Island in Hawaii. After a
trip to Hawaii
recently, Marcia really felt a connection to the
story. A new
mystery author that Marcia has discovered is Mike
Doogan and she
enjoyed his novel, Lost Angel: A Nik Kane
Alaska Mystery which focuses on a missing
girl in the Christian
Community of Rejoice. Seeing as this is the
authors first novel,
we expect more Nik Kane mysteries to come!
Mary and Marcia both read Susan
Isaac's Past
Perfect and had conflicting opinions about
it. Marcia
enjoyed it while Mary felt it seemed to fizzle at
the end. Give
it a try and let us know what you thought!
Our Springvale Public Library Book discussion group,
led by Mary, has
read Pomegranate
Soup by
Marsha Mehran
and Three Cups of
Tea by
Greg Mortenson.
They
are
currently enjoying They
Took to the Woods by Louise
Dickinson Rich.
Nineteen
Minutes by
Jodi Picoult
is a novel that deals with a school shooting, where
the author tells
the story from the perspective of the shooter.
Dawn describes
this novel as a disturbing topic but as a Jodi fan,
one that she had to
read.
Dawn also read The
Last
Days
of Dogtown
by Anita
Diamant and didn't find it as fulfulling as
her previous novels, The
Red Tent,
or Good Harbor.
The
characters
didn't have any depth to them and the novel seemed
to be
flat. A recent favorite was Anita Shreve's
newest novel Body Surfing.
Stephen King's son, Joe Hill has a new book on the
NY Times Best Seller
List, The
Heart-Shaped Box which Dawn read and
enjoyed. This novel
is centered around an aging rocker, who is a
collector of bizare,
macabre items. The rocker pays $1000 for a
suit that is said to
be inhabited by a ghost and then, not
surprisingly... the angry spirit
makes an appearance. Not a gory novel or too
scary, just a fun,
entertaining read.
Let us know what you've been reading!! January 2007
Where has 2006 gone??? We apologize for the
long lapse from our
last posting. Although we have been busy with
the holiday season,
and especially the "Victorian Tea Time" every
afternoon in December, we
still had a chance to read some great books which
we'd like to share!
The Whistling
Season by
Ivan Doig was recommended to
Karen by two very different people. The
historical western
setting in this book and its humor made it a highly
enjoyable
read. A widower and his three boys hire a
housekeeper, ("Doesn't
cook, won't bite") and along with the housekeeper
comes her brother,
who by default starts teaching in the rural one room
school
house. The story is told by the oldest son and
the book ends when
he is ordered to close all the small schools in the
state decades
later. Karen describes it as a very satisfying
and smooth
read.
Karen moved on from this western to Mineral
Spirits by
Heather Sharfeddin, another
Montana setting, which is a sensitive portrayal of a
sheriff working on
a Jane Doe murder case, who gets involved with the
10 year old
neglected boy who found the body.
Marcia was engrossed in True Evil by Greg Iles
who brings us his
latest suspense thriller. This is a new take
on the traditional
cat and mouse game between an FBI agent and a
fiendishly-clever serial
killer. For those of you who enjoy Greg Iles,
it's another edge
of your seat read!
Copper
River;
A Cork O'Connor Mystery
by William Kent Krueger is another thriller
that Marcia
recommends. This sixth Cork O'Connor mystery
continues the saga
as the Minnesota Sheriff is sent running from hired
killers.
Booklist's review of this mystery states that this
series 'gets darker
and more elegantly written with each new
book'.
Marcia suggested Sheila D. try the Maisie
Dobbs
mysteries and Sheila is now hooked on
them! Maisie
is a single, super-sleuth spinster with a psychic
twist at the turn of
the century London. Sheila is currently
reading the third in the
series, and is in line to read the brand new 4th one
titled Messenger of Truth.
Dawn and Sheila both enjoyed and were moved by Hugging
the Rock
by Susan Taylor Brown. This
is a juvenile title that is presented in brief,
free-verse poems and is
a very quick read but one that stays with you long
after you turn that
last page. It is a story of a mentally ill
mother who deserts her
husband and daughter. The very first page of
the book describes
the daughter watching her mother packing and
leaving. How do you
cope with the question of "What do you do when your
mom runs away from
home?" It is the story of how a loss can
reveal the
powerful and complex bonds between a father and
daughter.
For the holiday season Dawn enjoyed Elizabeth's
Berg's The
Handmaid
and
the Carpenter which is a very sweet
dramatization
of the nativity story. Being an Elizabeth Berg
fan, she wasn't
disappointed in this new perspective of the classic
Christmas
story. Dawn continued the holiday theme with
sportswriter Mike
Lupica's Miracle on 49th Street
which is a sports themed juvenile novel revolving
around 12 year old
Molly and her desire to win her father's love who
just happens to be
the star player for the Boston Celtics. It is
a story with a
strong, young female character and although very
predictable, it was
entertaining.
Mary just finished reading what she calls 'one of
the most intriguing
books she's read in a long time', James Church's
mystery/thriller, A Corpse in the Koryo.
With
fine
writing
this
novel
brings
to
life
the
very
likable
Inspector
O
and
takes
you
inside the very closed world of North Korea. Totally
different, but another favorite for Mary is Greg
Mortenson's
non-fiction book, Three Cups of
Tea: One Man's Mission
to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One
School at a Time.
Tom
Brokaw
said it is "one of the most remarkable adventure
stories of
our time. Greg Mortenson's dangerous and
difficult quest to build
schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and
Afghanistan is not only a
thrilling read, it's proof that one ordinary person,
with the right
combination of character and determination, really
can change the
world."
We hope this new year brings many blessings to all. September 2006
Back to school.... back to school......
We can't believe
the summer went so fast! Here are some of our
favorite titles
that the staff have read.
Karen read Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
which she
describes as a lively, riveting, update (depending
on how long ago your
high school American history class was) of the
English colonization of
the new world in Plymouth. She listened to the
audio book and
thought it was wonderful. She also read The
Great Stink
by Clare Clark which is an English
historical mystery set in the times of
Dickens. Currently she is
half way through the novel To Love Mercy by Frank Joseph,
and is having a
difficult time putting it down to come to
work! This author's
first published novel is about two young boys, one
black and one white
and how they try to be friends in the wrong time and
in the wrong place.
Sheila English read the new best seller by Anna Quindlin Rise
and Shine
which is about two sisters in New York, one of which
is wildly
successful, and the other not. She also
enjoyed I Feel Bad About my
Neck And Other Thoughts about Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
which is a
collection of essays about aging and life in
general. She thought
the essay on reading was one of the best ones she
has ever read.
Proven
Guilty;
A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
deals with wizards
in Chicago! YIKES! (Vampires and
werewolves too!)
(Maybe lion, tigers and bears.... oh my.)
Sheila tells us that
this is a really good series.
In the children's room, Sheila Dube suggests trying
Cornelia
and the
Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters
which is a 'story
within a story' by Lesley M.M. (yes, thats 2 M's)
Blume. Jenny
Nimmo has also continued the Charlie Bone series
with number 5, Charlie Bone and the
Hidden King.
From the adult collection, Sheila really enjoyed The
Girls by
Lori Lansens. This is an
intriguing novel about conjoined twins that seemed
so true to
life. Sheila would like to invite the mystery
readers to try some
cozy, paperback selections such as Mr.
Malory and the
Fatal Legacy by Hazel Holt, The
Second Sorrowful Mystery by
Jonathan Harrington, or Keepsake
Crimes
which is a scrap booking mystery by Laura Childs.
Dawn continues with the mystery genre adding Gone
Baby Gone
by Dennis LaHane. This is
suspenseful mystery, a real 'who dun it?', with many
twists and turns,
that keeps you reading. She also enjoyed
the very popular The Memory Keepers
Daughter
by Kim Edwards
which is about how one decision can affect so many
lives.
Lastly, Dawn wanted to add Richard Peck's new young
adult novel Here Lies the Librarian
which is laugh out loud funny and quite appropriate
for us to read!!
Pick up one of these reads and please share your
favorites with us! July 2006
It’s nice to see summer finally here! The staff has
again been busy
reading lots of new books plus many old favorites.
Karen has read all non-fiction as she has been
having a hard time
finding novels that look interesting to her at this
time. She has
read The
Butterfly Hunter: Adventures of People who found
their True Calling off
the Beaten Path by Chris
Ballad, A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger
(author of The
Perfect Storm) and The
Worst Hard Time:
theUuntold Story of those who Survived the Great
American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. Karen’s mother,
who lived in Oklahoma during the dust bowl, was
shocked by the hardship
portrayed in this book.
Sheila Dube read Little
Indiscretions by Carmen Posadas
which is a culinary mystery which she found
disjointed at first, but it
‘all comes together in a nicely whipped
soufflé.” She also
enjoyed North
by
Northhanger
or,
the Shades of Pemberley : a Mrs. & Mrs. Darcy
mystery by
Carrie Beris. This is a Jane
Austin spin-off involving Mrs. Darcy solving a
mystery while pregnant
and running a Victorian household and coping with a
conniving aunt!
Susie Riding adds to the list with her latest read,
Marker by Robin Cook,
which is a thriller
about mapping the human genome.
One of Mary’s favorites so far this summer is Brenda
Serottte’s new
memoir, The
Fortune Teller’s Kiss. The author’s
perceptive, colorful,
humorous, and sometimes achingly real descriptions
of herself, her
family and other people and events were so vivid,
Mary felt that she
had seen them herself.
Uncommon
Carriers
by John McPhee
is a grown-up version of every young boy’s fantasy
life, as the
peripatetic writer gets to ride in the passenger
seat in an 18-wheel
truck along on a barge ride up the Illinois River
and then climb into
the cabin of a Union Pacific coal train a mile long.
Gus Hedden, our
new staff member, is hoping that McPhee’s next book
is written along
similar lines and includes fire trucks and heavy
construction machinery.
Dawn enjoyed another Elizabeth Noble
novel The
Friendship Test which is based on four
women and spans both
England and America. The characters are vastly
different with a
‘tristy’ plot and makes for a great beach read (or a
cozy winter
read!). Kristen
Hannah’s new book The Magic Hour
is another great summer read that Dawn
enjoyed. This book
revolves around the soap opera story of a feral
child and the adults
that try to help her. It is a love story of a
parent and child
that is heartwarming.
WEIRD, weird, weird is how Dawn describes Christopher Moore’s
latest book A Dirty Job.
The
author
tackles
‘death’ in his latest wonderful, whacked-out
story!! The main character in this book,
Charlie Asher, is a
Death Merchant and has to follow the rules outlined
in “The Great Big
Book of Death”. What a cast of
characters!! You find
yourself engrossed in this strange but entertaining
story, and Dawn
couldn’t put it down!
Come visit us this summer and check out some of
these books! March 2006
We are celebrating our 100th year anniversary this
year! There
will be many activities throughout the year so keep
checking our web
site and newsletters for updates!
The first book taken out of the Springvale Public
Library in 1906 was The Pearl of Orr's
Island: A Story of the Coast of Maine by Harriet Beecher
Stowe, and in
honor of that, Susie Riding took this book home with
her and read
it. She found it to be slow going but could
understand the
popularity of it back in 1906.
The staff began the new year with a fun game,
"Staff Winter
Reading Bingo" . This is a game that we will
be implementing as
part of our Summer Reading Program for adults
so we had to try it
out first! We were to read selections based on
a prepared bingo
board and get BINGO. Each square on the board
represented a genre
or instruction of what to read. Examples were;
Read a young adult
novel, Ask for a recommendation from a patron, Read
a mystery, Go to
the stacks close your eyes and pick a book, etc.
Sheila Dube was
the big winner with Sheila English and Marcia
Goodwin close behind
her. It was fun!
Karen was able to cross off two blocks on her board
with Popco by Scarlett Thomas and The
Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton. Popco was
unpredictable and she
didn't know where it was going while she was reading
it but she didn't
want it to end! It is a hybrid novel including
mystery and
intrigue, surprises, codes, a little World War II
history, a little
mathematics history, fresh characters who live in
today's world, and a
cake recipe!
The Darwin
Conspiracy
toggles back and forth between Charles Darwin and
his family and a
couple of modern graduate students who discover
archives that will
change the way the world looks at the the Voyage of
the Beagle and the
origin of the theory of evolution.
Sheila Dube tackled How the Irish Saved
Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic
Role from the Fall
of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill.
This is a
history selection providing insight into how real
history is as we know
it, especially the preservation of intellectual
culture. Although
Sheila is not normally a history buff, she enjoyed
the writer's style
and learned a tremendous amount of unfamiliar facts
concerning
Christianity, philosophy and Irish history.
Sheila also recommends The Lighthouse by P.D. James,
as a good mystery
along with Margaret
Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale
which is a slightly disturbing, utopian themed adult
fiction novel.
Dawn read Beachcombing
for
a
Shipwrecked God by Joe
Coomer which is a novel set in Portsmouth
NH and deals with
three distinctly different women living together on
a boat docked at a
pier. Other popular fiction titles read were A
December Wedding by Anita Shreeve, The
Sunflower
by Richard Paul Evans, Little
Beauties
by Kim Addonizio and Night by Elle Wiesel.
Dawn and Sheila also read a young adult novel that
is now on their
favorites list called The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner
Duble.
This is a historical fiction novel set in Andover
MA and is based
on the author's own family events during the
turbulent Salem witch
trial time period. It is a realistic novel
that brings to life
the character of Abigail and her family.
Marcia read a new science fiction novel called Necessary
Begger by
Susan Palwick which tells of a
family that is exiled to an unknown country through
a mysterious door
when one family member is accused of
murder. Survival is
the key as they struggle with language barriers and
customs unknown to
them. This novel reminded Marcia of the
Newberry Award winner Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata.
Marley
and
Me by John
Grogan
was a fun read and enjoyed by both Dawn and Sheila
English.
Another Jodi Picoult novel, The
Tenth Circle
has arrived at our library and Dawn felt that this
book lacked the
surprise ending that the author is known for.
It is a novel set
both in Bethel, Maine and Bethel, Alaska and
includes a graphic novel
as part of the plot.
Stop in to pick up one of these books!! December 2005
As we end the year, we wish to extend our heartfelt
thanks and
gratitude for all our wonderful patrons and all who
have so generously
donated to our annual appeal. We wish you all
a happy, healthy
and prosperous new year!
Karen ended the year with many interesting
reads. One selection
was Green Grass
Running Water by Thomas King
which is a wild & funny Blackfoot love story
narrated in tandem
with multiple versions of the Blackfoot creation
myth as told by Coyote
and his four sidekicks (or is Coyote the
sidekick?) The style is
fresh and the story is satisfying.
Purple
Hibiscus
by Chimimanda Ngozi
Adiche is a little gem of a book that
reminds the reader how
people everywhere face the same problems but face
them in very
different contexts. Set in Nigeria and beautifully
written, it is the
story of a young girl struggling with the
expectations of a cruel
father. Very readable, completely universal.
Permanent
Rose is the latest children’s novel by
British author Hilary
McKay who has been creating warm and quirky stories
for 15 years.
This book is peopled with characters I would love to
have as neighbors.
The
Fingersmith
by Sarah Waters
is a period piece set in London with stock
characters, illicit trades,
and unexpected plots twists.
Marcia surprising enjoyed The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher
which is a
novel that deals with a family tragedy. It is
a dark novel but
reads quickly and holds the interest of the reader.
Dawn read the recently popular book A
Million Little Pieces by James Frey.
This is the
true story of the authors recovery from alcohol and
drug addiction
beginning with his enrollment in a Minnesota
rehabilitation center
after a two week binge and black out. The
vivid details will have
the reader cringing. James Frey also just
released My Friend Leonard
which is about one of the colorful characters
that he met while
in the center.
Dawn also enjoyed a few short, holiday books
appropriate for this time
of year. Comfort
and
Joy by
Kristen Hannah
and The Christmas
Scrapbook: A Harmony Christmas by Philip Gulley
were quick reads
which both have the traditional themes of holiday
celebrations.
As the long cold months of January and February
loom, come visit the
library and pick one of these suggested books or
browse our shelves for
other selections!
Happy 2006! September 2005
The busy days of summer are over, and the new fall
season is in full
swing. We hope everyone enjoyed their summer
and came away with a
favorite "summer read."
Karen highly recommendsBlink: The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking by
Malcolm Gladwell.
This is a fascinating look at the human thinking
processes. It is
some science, and also some anecdote on how we
rapidly process
information in our brains. It delves into when
we can trust those
"gut" instincts. It’s short and easy to
absorb. Great book!
Mary's favorite summer read was Pocketful
of Names
by Joe Coomer. This story is
set on an island off Stonington, Maine where the
author lives part of
the year. A very compelling and beautifully
written story and
Mary describes it as her favorite book since The
Kite Runner,
which has been a very popular book here at the
library and all across
the U.S.
The Maine theme continues with Any
Bitter Thing by Monica Wood. Dawn LOVED
this book, also written by a Maine author,
with a Maine
setting. This is a very touching and emotional
story about the
numerous jobs of parenting and keeping families
together.
Religion plays a key role in this novel with one of
the main characters
being a priest. All the characters are very
believable and the
story moves along quickly… and when the book ends,
you still want more.
Sue enjoyed Lake
of Sorrows
by Erin Hart.
She
describes
it as a poetic tale of love, mystery and myth set in
the
wilds of Ireland.
Sheila, our Children’s librarian, would like to
thank everyone who
participated and helped out with the Summer Reading
Program this year,
Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds. It was very, very
successful!
One of her favorite reads this summer was Olive’s
Ocean by
Kevin Henkes. This is a
great novel that deals with the question of ‘what
if?’ and this book
made her cry!!
Please visit us and also browse through our new
basket by the
circulation desk with staff favorites. Also,
let us know if you
visit our website. We would love to hear your
comments.
Thanks!! July 2005
We hope everyone is enjoying the summer and reading
lots! We've
been busy here and are grateful to the many
volunteers that helped with
our very successful book/yard sale! With all
the activities of
summer, our staff has still managed to read quite an
interesting
selection of books.
Karen suggests An
Instance of the Fingerpost by
Ian Pears, a historical mystery set in
England. She also
describes I am
Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
as an 'eye opener' (or reminder) for a parent with a
college bound
child.
If Sherlock Holmes intrigue is your 'cup of tea',
than the newest
installment of the Mary
Russell
series by Laurie R. King called Locked
Rooms is
for you. This psychological thriller takes
place in the early
1900's and centers around the fire and earthquakes
in San
Francisco. The story stays true to the
characters developed in
the series. Sheila just finished reading it
and now wants to read
King's first book called The Bee Keeper's
Apprentice again.
Also, being the children's librarian, Sheila has
just finished Harry Potter and the
Half-Blood Prince by J. K.
Rowling and found it as magical,
suspenseful, gripping and dark
as the other five! Springvale Public Library
has 4 circulating
copies. Come check one out!
Dawn read Raising
Hope a
first novel by Katie
Willard which is set in NH and is about 12
year old "Hope" who
is being raised by her aunt and father's
ex-girlfriend. Sound
confusing....?? A good story of mothers and
daughters and the
bonds they share. Another recent favorite she
read is The Vagabonds by Nicholas Delbanco
which is a
well written novel that provides a historical
subplot inside a
contemporary family drama. It deals with an
inheritance from the
trio of 'vagabonds', Henry Ford, Harry Firestone and
Thomas Edison.
Dawn also revisited a few of the older, juvenile
titles which included The Midwife's
Apprentice
by Karen Cushman, Island of the Blue
Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
and her daughter's favorite Tales
of a Fourth Grade
Nothing by
Judy Blume.
Fudge
is
still funny from an adult perspective!
Mary was on vacation over the holiday and recommends
a few 'fun'
books! The theme of Mary's vacation was
Provence and she read A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
which is a
wonderful, humorous description of living in
Provence from the
viewpoint of a transplanted English couple.
She also enjoyed a "Murder
She Wrote" mystery featuring
Jessica Fletcher in Provence,
To Die For,
and Jaques Pepin's
autobiography The Apprentice.
She
is
currently
reading the book group selection, His
Excellency, George
Washington and is thoroughly enjoying Joe
Coomer's brand new
book, Pocketful
of Names.
Sue enjoyed the new Janet Evanovich's Eleven
on
Top which is a funny, outrageous,
laugh-out-loud continuation
of Stephanie Plum's anitcs!
We hope everyone is enjoying the summer. Stop
in to pick up one
of our staff selections! April 2005
The staff has read quite an interesting mix in
the last couple of
months!
Karen picked up the newly released novel from Mary Doria Russell A
Thread of Grace
and was glad she did! She describes it as a
'lyrically' written
W.W.II novel set in rural Italy, dealing with how
the Italian people
worked to save Jewish refugees. She is anxious
to read other
novels by this author. She also read Traveling
with
Che
Guevara:
The
Making of a Revolutionary by Alberto Granado.
Sue just got back from vacation in Florida where she
relaxed on the
beach and read Lucky's
Lady by
Tami Hoag.
A light read with suspense, romance and lots of
cajun flavor.
Other books recently read include Cold
Science by
Robert Parker and Saving Cascadia by John J. Nance.
Marcia suggests Amagansett, by Mark Mills.
She enjoyed
this author's debut novel.
"Having coffee every morning with friends" is how
Dawn described The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble.
This
novel deals with the issues of a group of
women who belong to a
reading group. They become fast friends
despite their differences
in age, background, and situations. She also
read The Hitchhiker's Guide
to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams,
a
soon-to-be
released feature film, which has brought attention
to this
older book. Dawn's comment on this selection
was 'strange
book'.
The Ha-Ha: A Novel by Dave King
was also enjoyed by
Dawn and Karen. It is told from the
perspective of a lonely man
with a severe brain injury who is challenged to
broaden his world when
he must take care of an 11 year old boy.
Sheila Dube has been absorbed and quite busy with a
Children's
Literature class she is taking right now. Her
required reading
included Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
(If you like the
reality show "Survivor", you may like this
one.), Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson,
Morning Girl by Michael Dorris, The
Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, Number
the Stars
by Lois Lowery, and Giants
in the Land
by Diana Appelbaum. The
"Giants" in Giants
in the Land
are the white pine trees that England harvested for
ship masts before
the revolution in Maine. Sheila recommends
this as a truly
interesting non-fiction book.
The
Kite
Runner by
Khaled Hosseini
continues to be a very popular book and is one of
Mary's all-time
favorites. She says that friendship, love,
loyalty, betrayal,
survival, the relationship of fathers and sons --
all that and more are
woven into this beautifully written first
novel. However, she
didn't enjoy Bill
Bryson's Neither Here Nor There.
Unlike
his
book
A
Walk in the Woods, which was full of
hilarious descriptions of
his adventures and misadventures along the
Appalachian Trail, in Neither Here Nor There the author
seemed very disconnected from the people around him
and left the reader
with little sense of the places he visited or how he
was really
thinking and feeling as he traveled around Europe
revisiting some of
the favorite spots of his youth.
Mary reports that Gerard
Robichaud's
novel, Papa
Martel,
was greatly
enjoyed by the "Let's Talk About It" group this
month -- and led
to animated discussion about the Franco-American
experience here in
Maine.
Another inspiring book that needs to be mentioned is
Mountain
beyond
Mountains: Healing the World: The Quest of Dr.
Paul Farmer
by Tracy Kidder. This book
deals with one man's dedication to changing the
health of the poor in
Haiti which has lead to innovations in health
systems that treat
poverty and illness worldwide. Karen and Mary
have both read this
book and it is the book choice for our own
Springvale Public Library
Book Group. It should be an interesting and
enlightening
discussion!
Please stop in to pick up one of these interesting
reads!! February 2005
Karen just finished a young adult fantasy by
Nancy Farmer called Sea of Trolls,
and also Amagansett by Mark Mills
which is a mystery
set in a post W.W.II fishing village on Long
Island. She is
currently reading Aloft by Chang-Rae Lee.
Marcia just finished Sharyn McCrumb's St.
Dale, a book that deals with racing
legends, and also Conviction by Richard North
Patterson.
She rates this selection as a great read, which
makes one think about
'how and who' gets the death penalty in the U.S.
Dawn and Sue read a new memoir by Jennifer Traig
titled Devil in the
Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood.
In
this
book,
the author tells her story of growing up in the 70's
and
her struggle with OCD and anorexia. This is
NOT a textbook type
book... reads more like a novel with a humorous
writing style.
Laugh out loud at times.
Our Children's Librarian, Sheila, just
finished the classic Charlotte's Web by E.B. White,
a Maine
author, and found it just as enchanting as an
adult as she did
when she was a wee child. She suggests picking
up an old favorite
or one of the many new children's books that we have
such as the
adventure story Bartlett
and
the
City
of Flames
by Odo Hirsch,
which
her nine-year old son loved!
In addition to these, other titles read are The
Giant's House: A
Romance by
Elizabeth McCracken, Daughter
of
Persia:
A
Woman's Journey from her Father's Harem through
the
Islamic Revolution by
Sattareh Farman-Farmaian and a recent
favorite for a few of us, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
All of these books are available right here at
Springvale Public
Library!
443 Main Street,
Springvale, Maine 04083
| (207)324-4624
