Monthly Archives: December 2016

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The Best of 2016, Part 2

intro

As humanity prepares to bid farewell to this all-around  heartbreaker of a year, you are going to see a lot of “Best of 2016” (and “Worst of 2016”) lists floating around.  But none, I promise you, is quite like the Peabody Library’s Best of 2016 List.  We asked our staff to share with us–and you–their favorite books, films, albums, or other Library materials that they encountered this year.   The response was so terrific that we’ll be running a weekly series for your enjoyment.

And, just a note, the rules were that the media had to be consumed in 2016 (books read, films viewed, albums heard, etc.), but that doesn’t mean that they were made in 2016.  There are some classics on this list, as well as plenty of new material, so you can see all the phenomenal finds the Library has to offer year round!

best-books

From the Upstairs Offices:

3722322The View From the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

“This book got me thinking a lot about Imagination and Art and Creativity, things that have always been foundations for me but that I had started to lose touch with somewhere along the way. These essays and speeches renewed my energy for creative pursuits, and helped me think about their value in new ways.”

An enthralling collection of nonfiction essays on a myriad of topics—from art and artists to dreams, myths, and memories—observed in #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman’s probing, amusing, and distinctive style.

An inquisitive observer, thoughtful commentator, and assiduous craftsman, Neil Gaiman has long been celebrated for the sharp intellect and startling imagination that informs his bestselling fiction. Now, The View from the Cheap Seats brings together for the first time ever more than sixty pieces of his outstanding nonfiction. Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics, including (but not limited to): authors past and present; music; storytelling; comics; bookshops; travel; fairy tales; America; inspiration; libraries; ghosts; and the title piece, at turns touching and self-deprecating, which recounts the author’s experiences at the 2010 Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Insightful, incisive, witty, and wise, The View from the Cheap Seats explores the issues and subjects that matter most to Neil Gaiman—offering a glimpse into the head and heart of one of the most acclaimed, beloved, and influential artists of our time.

From the South Branch:

3574078Phoebe and her Unicorn (vols. 1-4) by Dana Simpson

“These are easily the best comics I’ve read since Calvin and Hobbes. They are genuinely funny, charming and so original. A guaranteed laugh, perfect for light reading.”

It all started when a girl named Phoebe skipped a rock across a pond and accidentally hit a unicorn in the face. Improbably, this led to Phoebe being granted one wish, and she used it to make the unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, her obligational best friend. But can a vain mythical beast and a nine-year-old daydreamer really forge a connection? Indeed they can, and that’s how Phoebe and Her Unicorn unfolds.

This beautifully drawn comic strip follows the unlikely friendship between a somewhat awkward girl and the magic unicorn who gradually shows her just how special she really is. Through hilarious adventures where Phoebe gets to bask in Marigold’s “awesomeness,” the friends also come to acknowledge that they had been lonely before they met and truly appreciate the bond they now share.

From the Reference Desk:

“Two fine books for the sports inclined”

1763138Bunts : Curt Flood, Camden Yards, Pete Rose, and Other Reflections on Baseball by George F. Will

George Will returns to baseball with more than seventy finely honed pieces about the sometimes recondite, sometimes frustrating, always passionately felt National Pastime. Here are Will’s eulogy for the late Curt Flood (“Dred Scott in Spikes”), Will on Ted Williams (“When Ted Williams retired in 1960, a sportswriter said that Boston knew how Britain felt when it lost India. Indeed. Britain felt diminished, but also a bit relieved”), and on his own baseball career (“I was a very late draft choice of the Mittendorf Funeral Home Panthers. Our color was black”). Here are subjects ranging from the author’s 1977 purchase of a single share of stock in the Chicago Cubs, a purchase brokered by Warren Buffett (“a St. Louis Cardinal fan, but not otherwise sinister”), to the collision between Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti, to the building of Camden Yards in Baltimore, to the dismantling of the 1997 World Series Champion Florida Martins.

AND…

3707586Scribe: My Life In Sports by Bob Ryan

Ever since he joined the sports department of the Boston Globe in 1968, sports enthusiasts have been blessed with the writing and reporting of Bob Ryan. Tony Kornheiser calls him the “quintessential American sportswriter.” For the past twenty-five years, he has also been a regular on various ESPN shows, especially The Sports Reporters, spreading his knowledge and enthusiasm for sports of all kinds.

Born in 1946 in Trenton, New Jersey, Ryan cut his teeth going with his father to the Polo Grounds and Connie Mack Stadium, and to college basketball games at the Palestra in Philadelphia when it was the epicenter of the college game. As a young man, he became sports editor of his high school paper-and at age twenty-three, a year into his Boston Globe experience, he was handed the Boston Celtics beat as the Bill Russell era ended and the Dave Cowens one began. His all-star career was launched. Ever since, his insight as a reporter and skills as a writer have been matched by an ability to connect with people-players, management, the reading public-probably because, at heart, he has always been as much a fan as a reporter. More than anything, Scribe reveals the people behind the stories, as only Bob Ryan can, from the NBA to eleven Olympics to his surprising favorite sport to cover-golf-and much more. It is sure to be one of the most talked about sports books of 2014, by one of the sports world’s most admired journalists.

 

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Wednesdays @ West: Winter, Happiness and Hygge

hyggelibrarystyle

Fellow readers, today is the first day of winter.  If you are a hardy New Englander who relishes in the joys of winter sports, beautiful snow-covered landscapes and the feeling of superiority that comes from knowing you’re tougher than your friends and compatriots who live in warmer climates, I wish you all the joys of your favorite season.  If you, like me, embrace winter somewhat less enthusiastically, I hope you will take comfort in the fact that the Winter Solstice at least marks the return of the light.  That’s what I try to hang my knit hat and mittens on this time of year.

I am one of those people who grumbles, “why do we live here?” when I scrape two inches of ice off my car and I regularly daydream about moving someplace where the sun shines and (sane) people wear flip flops in January.  I have always assumed that warm weather = happiness.  It has long puzzled me, then, to see the studies that show that the happiest countries on earth also tend to be some of the coldest.  Norway, Finland, Iceland, Switzerland, Denmark?  What do they know that I don’t?

geographyofblissHaving a pretty high standard of living, a strong social safety net, a good education system and a peaceful country certainly aren’t going to hurt people’s chances at finding happiness.  But is there more to it than that? Reading The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner gave me some additional clues.  In traveling to many of these countries Weiner learns that in Switzerland, people appreciate that their country is well regulated, the trains run on time and everyone follows the rules.  Hmm… sounds ok, but I’m not sure that would be my personal recipe for happiness.  In Iceland, people drink a lot, embrace failure, publish
more books per capita than any other country and have a charming tradition of an annual “Christmas book flood.” or Jolabokaflod.   Now, that sounds more like it.

iceland_christmas-book-flood

Still discovering the secret sauce to finding happiness when it’s cold yearoflivingdanishlyoutside continues to intrigue me, so I was eager to read The Year of Living Danishly: uncovering the secrets of the world’s happiest country by Helen Russell.  While I can’t give the book an unqualified recommendation because the writing style was not without issues and I honestly found the author a bit self-absorbed and irritating at times, it did give me a few more pastry crumbs to follow in terms of how to find inner warmth during the months of cold, snow and darkness.  Many of us would perhaps rather not experiment with the idea that high taxes, a certain amount of (mild) violence and a rigid insistence on following the rules (there that is again) is the
way to find happiness.  So instead, I’d rather focus on the fact that Denmark, being the home of the Lego company, embraces less work and more play.  Like the author, I’m also willing to test the theory that their famous Danish pastries are a key part of their general feeling of well being.  What intrigued me most, however, was the Danish concept of hygge.

If you’ve never heard of hygge, you’re not alone.  But the word is catching on.  In fact, it was a finalist for the Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year.  It ultimately lost to the term post-truth, which is, in my opinion, a very un-hygge concept.  But this week, The New Yorker published an article all about this trending Danish term.  Hygge (hoo-ga) has no direct English translation.  In fact one Danish translator ToveMaren Stakkestad has said, “Hygge was never meant to be translated.  It was meant to be felt.”  Still, this BBC article also does a fairly decent job of explaining the concept to us outsiders.  While obviously difficult to boil down to its essence, hygge appears to embrace the concept of creating coziness and togetherness during an interminable winter.  To me, a distinctly un-Danish person, it seems to involve lots of family and community bonding, candles, warm sweaters and socks, tea in china cups, books and comfort food.  At the risk of sounding like Maria von Trapp, these are a few of my favorite things, so I’m willing to give this hygge thing a shot.

At this point, you may be thinking to yourself, “Ok, Melissa, you don’t like winter.  You want an excuse to eat pastry, drink tea, wear sweaters and read books.  Fine.  But what does this have to do with the library?”  And that would be a perfectly legitimate question, since this, after all, is the library blog.  But I’m convinced that hygge and libraries do go together.  So this post is the first of a series I am going to offer you this winter on how the library can help you find hygge.  Maybe it will help you enjoy winter a bit more.  Maybe not.  But it’s worth a shot.

So more on hygge to come.  But for now I leave you this thought, which was borrowed from another library and seems to me to be the best place to start finding your winter joy:

coldcheckoutabook

 

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A Fine, Fine Line…

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Dear readers, I think we all know that I am a huge fan of romance novels.  I’ve explained my love of the genre one or two times here.

But sometimes it’s the things you love best that can also trouble you the most.  And since we have created a space here within the warp and weft of the Internet to talk about books, I thought I’d use this space to talk about that troubled relationship.

romance-novel-facts-ftrNow, as I’ve said before: I realize that romance is a genre built on fantasy and wish-fulfillment.  I no more expect verisimilitude from my romances than I think James Bond is a real guy, or that we can build dinosaurs from the DNA found in mosquitoes.  As I’ve said previously, romance novels are a space where we get to talk about issues of gender, and where we can support the healthy expression of desire and the individual quest for a happy ending.  They created a space where the social norms could be transgressed, and where women were given the space, the time, and the support, to discover what it was they wanted, and to go for it.  More and more today, we see the inclusion and recognition  LGBTQ community, as well.  Non-heterosexual romances are becoming more and more prevalent, and I, for one could not be happier.

But for all that the genre is subverting notions of gender and power, it is also sanctifying other social structures and power dynamics that really, genuinely worry me.  And I think it’s worth being aware of these things if we wish them to change–in real life, and in the world of the books we read.   I am not trying to chastise anyone for liking a particular book/genre/plot/etc here.  You are free to read whatever you chose, and have the right to enjoy any book you enjoy.   But I think, as readers, it’s worth questioning the things we see in books, and ask if we can do better.  So here goes:

Race

A few leading questions here…why are romances with non-white leads called “multi-cultural romances”?  Why are most of the small towns in “small town romances” only (or predominantly) populated by white, Anglo-Saxon people?  What reality is this reflecting?

c6ba144e4ec12cc26af733c4aaf65c2fThis is a very, very old problem in literature, specifically in American literature, than can be traced back to the myths and realties the 19th century (and earlier, to be honest), which we can discuss at length later.  But, to be brief, there are two assumptions at play here: first is the Victorian (classist)  assumption that marriage was only for white (wealthy) people.  Therefore, a love story that doesn’t involve white people (and usually financially secure white people) becomes  somehow ‘other’.   Secondly, a lot of romances seem to be striving for a more harmonious community, not by showing how people of different backgrounds can work together and appreciate difference–but by obliterating difference all together.

Now, I realize that there are plenty of places in the United States where racial/ethnic diversity is not present.  In some cases, that is the result of immigration and demographics and not necessarily reflective of any prejudices or discriminatory policies.  But the inability of the romance genre to reflect the diversity that exists within American society at large–or to place books that do in a separate genre category–is a problem.  And if we are going to be dealing in wish fulfillment and fantasy, I would so much rather embrace the idea of people from different backgrounds, be they social, economic, racial, ethnic, religious, or any other, living together and respecting their differences than I would a world where those differences didn’t exist at all.

Nothing I can say will sum it up better than this blog post by Tom Pollack, who is one of my favorite authors of 2017, so here is the link.


Class

The “Cinderella trope”, where a girl who is not fantastically wealthy is ‘rescued’ by a man who is, is so well-established that I didn’t really need to describe what a “Cinderella Trope” really was.  And it is true that, generally, women are more effected by poverty than men.  But money doesn’t give anyone the right to be a jackass.

...Or to sky down a money hill. That is dangerous.
…Or to sky down a money hill. That is dangerous.

So often in romance novels, a hero’s wealth…and let’s pause here and acknowledge that it’s almost always the hero who is the independently wealthy character.  The “self-made man”.  The utterly improbable rags-to-riches twenty-something billionaire.  There are stacks of books with titles like “The Millionaire’s Baby”, or “The Billionaire’s Secret Baby”…and it is taken for granted that the millionaire/billionaire in question is the male character in the story.  Which is, in itself, a problem.

However, as I was saying, so often in romance novels, the hero’s wealth is used as a justification for really anti-social behavior.   Because he is rich, he has been given tacit social approval to boss people around, to control the world around him, and to treat people as essentially less than himself.  This is a trope as old as capitalism itself…think of Jane Eyre and Rochester…for all his talk about their essential equality, Rochester is not above using his wealth and power to manipulate Jane–and while Charlotte Bronte wasn’t afraid to talk about some of the class issues in their relationship, it’s significant that this behavior is still going on in romances today.

What is supposed to be remarkable about these stories is that a wealthy, entitled man would deign to notice a non-wealthy woman, who can humanize him.  On a larger scale, these books tell us that there is a human, emotional side to capitalism that will reward those who are good and smart and kind of heart (and dangerous assumption in and of itself).   But what this trope also does is equate wealth with the kind of privilege that allows for–and applauds–the manipulation of others.  They also tell us that wealth is a (if not the reward).  Would Pretty Woman be as memorable without the spending-spree montages and the opera visit?  If it was just about a man buying a prostitute, would it be considered a classic romance film?  Would Christian Gray be as alluring if he weren’t fabulously wealthy?  I don’t know.  But equating success with wealth, and not with personal fulfillment is dangerous, in fiction or in reality.

Consent

Dear God, save me from the Alpha Males.

In real life, if any of us heard a story about a man shoving a woman against a wall and kissing her without her consent, I sincerely hope that we would all be deeply troubled, at the very least.  So why, when this kind of behavior is placed in a romance novel, is it so often posited as a good thing?

Often (perhaps too often) in romance, we see the glorification of the Alpha Male–the guy who takes charge, who gets what he wants, who doesn’t need others’ approval to seek out his desires (often, he is also quite wealthy, as well, which makes all these other things easier and more socially acceptable).  But here again, I find myself asking, over and over again….if I hadn’t been previously told by the book that this man is a hero, would I find his actions acceptable?  And over and over again, I find myself saying no.

Real heroes respect bodily and emotional autonomy.

From the 1921 adaptation of The Sheik with Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres, an enormously popular rape fantasy story
From the 1921 adaptation of The Sheik with Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres, an enormously popular rape fantasy story

I don’t think that will ever be turned into a bumper sticker or anything, but if I had to chose one of the best markers of a hero, in my personal book, it would be the ability to respect a heroine’s boundaries.  I’m not saying we have to have prolonged negotiations, or bring back historic courtship rituals before our characters are allowed to hold hands.  But more and more, I am worried that we are returning to the themes of the “rape fantasy romances” that became super-popular in the 1970’s, where women were only allowed to experience pleasure and desire after a man forced it on them.  While those themes are not as explicit in today’s books, every time I see a hero “grab” a heroine, “slam” their mouth against a heroine’s, or “crush” them in some kind of embrace, I  cringe.  Because this behavior is often a result of a hero’s privileged position–usual wealth or social standing–and his personal desires overriding the heroine’s right to bodily and emotional autonomy.  And that isn’t right, in real life, or in a fictional world that is supposed to offer us the chance of a better world.

 

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Making Magic: Keeping it Real

*This post is part of Free for All’s “Making Magic” series, which will focus on Kelley’s exploration of the opportunities in the library’s Creativity Lab as well as musings about art, creativity and imagination.

Recently, I watched Patti Smith’s Nobel Prize ceremony performance of Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall. Smith was chosen to accept the prize for Dylan who was unable to attend, a huge honor of course, and her performance to quote the “New Yorker” was fierce. The fierceness came from the Philharmonic’s gently accented  orchestral accompaniment; the fierceness came from the deep and gravelly tones of Smith’s famous voice; the fierceness came from the power of lyrics that reflect dark times that resonate today; but most of all the fierceness came because Smith messed up and she owned it gloriously.

When Smith forgot the lyrics of the second verse, rather than mumbling her way forward, she politely asked the orchestra to stop and then apologized to the audience for being so nervous. Her apology was genuine, and despite the fact that Patti Smith is a famous rock star her visible nervousness was real. This performance was important to her, the significance of the ceremony was overwhelming, and it meant a lot to her to get it right. When the instruments began again, Smith’s voice was stronger and the performance all the more powerful because Smith broke down the wall, let the audience in, and acknowledged that she was human and that the emotional weight carried in her heart and by this song were real.

Sometimes the hardest thing about being a writer or artist, and one of the toughest things about life, is being honest about things that are difficult to face. But the best stories and essays, the best works, are not the ones about the day when everything went perfectly; they’re the ones that dig deep to talk about the pain, the guilt, the hurt, the brokenness, the honest portrayals of the times when we messed up. We all have those things inside of us, but the power of artists is their ability to bring them to the open to help us learn and heal. When Smith stopped the orchestra, she made it not only OK to be imperfect, she made it powerful to be imperfect. She honored herself and her art by embracing all of the many facets of herself and her performance. In the process, she honored the song by infusing it with a deeper reverence that would have been lacking without that moment when her heart was just too full.

So the next time you’re writing, painting, performing, or otherwise creating, I encourage you to think about the power of imperfection and the glory of being genuine. In the meantime, find some inspiration in two musicians who are also wonderful writers: Bob Dylan and Patti Smith.

Just KidsJust Kids by Patti Smith
Having devoured this book in two afternoons, it’s no surprise that I can’t recommend this National Book Award Winner highly enough. Smith’s memoir of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe not only tells their story but paints an engrossing picture of life in the days when the boho set lived in New York’s Chelsea Hotel. Smith and Mapplethorpe support each other’s interests and art, and even after they are no longer a couple, they maintain an intense friendship that lasts until Robert’s death. A powerful story beautifully told.

m trainM Train by Patti Smith
In M Train, Smith tells the story of her artistic process and the loss of her husband through a tour of the places that have shaped her life. Starting with a coffee shop and then moving to international travel, Smith’s M Train is an tour of an artist’s life.

 

chroniclesChronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan
Dylan’s memoir explores his life and career highlighting the people and places who influenced him and his music. The New York Times’ book review said that “this book recaptures its author’s first stirrings of creativity with amazing urgency. Mr. Dylan is fully present in re-experiencing the dawn of his songwriting career.”

LyricsThe Lyrics: 1961 – 2012 by Bob Dylan
Read the lyrics to the songs that earned Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature. To quote the Los Angeles Times, Dylan “was the rebel, the healer, the bard in blue jeans and oversized shades who sang a generation through war and peace, past the perils of unrest and self-complacency. . . . And now Dylan has entered that pantheon, shoving against the boundaries of the definition of ‘literature’ just as he pushed past so many borders in music.”

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Saturdays @ the South: Holiday Horrors

checklist-1817926_640I’m sure everyone has a holiday horror story of some type. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, something goes wrong in the holiday prep a story ensues that will be told at future get-togethers. “Remember that time the turkey caught fire and we had to order pizza for the holiday dinner?” Horror is not all that uncommon this time of year, for authors, either. Whether this time of year is dorkily loved (like yours truly) or utterly reviled, sometimes you just need a break from the saccharine holiday cheer.  We’ve already mentioned on the blog how books can be a great retreat, (particularly when there’s a blanket fort involved) and can have restorative measures. Well, sometimes a little antidote for holiday cheer is precisely what the doctor ordered.

This antidote for holiday cheer and spreading a little holiday horror isn’t a new concept. In Germany and Austria, they have had a centuries-old tradition of the Krampus. The name, derived from the German krampen (meaning claw) is considered the anti-St. Nick and was used, partly as a means to frighten children into being good. The Krampus, according to folklore said to be son of Hel in Norse mythology, is a half-goat, half-demon, horned creature that whips children into being good. This is the yang to St. Nicholas’s ying. Where St. Nick goes around on December 6th  (known as Nicholaustag) in Germany, Austria and Hungary, delivering sweets to the children who have been good, Krampus appears the night before December 6th (known as Krampusnacht) to whip the bad children with his bundle of birch twigs and take the particularly wicked ones away to his lair. It brings on a whole new meaning to “he knows if you’ve been bad or good; so be good for goodness’ sake!” In recent years, here in the States, the Krampus has been gaining a bit of popularity,  appearing in a recent feature-film, making an episode cameo on the TV show Grimm and, apparently in something called a Krampus party as well (Google it; it’s a Thing). It’s an interesting reaction against the commercialization of the holiday season; though if you’re concerned about Krampus getting too commercialized, you’re about 120 years too late. Krampus postcards and other items have been manufactured in Germany since the 1890s.

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Greetings from Krampus – This was a Viennese Krampus card circa 1911.

In other horror and suspense news, this past Wednesday, December 14th would have been Shirley Jackson‘s 100th birthday and I can think of no better way to celebrate than with a list of holiday-related horror books that would likely have set even her spine a-tingle.

3206706Krampus by Brom

Brom most recently gained acclaim earlier this year with Lost Gods, but his 2012 works took the Krampus legend to a whole new level. With themes of family and hope this book might seriously creep you out, but its underlying heart may have you thinking that a little horror this time of year isn’t quite so bad…

3243262NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

This book by Stephen King’s son (make no mistake here, Hill is an astounding author in his own right and deserves his solid reputation sans any nepotism) is profoundly unsettling. A man, who’s license plate is the titular inspiration, kidnaps distraught and disadvantaged children and takes them to Christmasland, his own personal Christmas theme park which doesn’t quite live in this plane of existence. These children eventually lose their teeth to fangs, their blood to ice and their humanity to… something else. This is the type of horror that has some supernatural elements in it, but what is truly scary here is the capacity for people to lose their humanity and what happens when good intentions go terribly awry.

51rgydnykfl-_sx322_bo1204203200_Horror for the Holidays ed. by Scott David Aniolowski

This book has a little something terrifying for every holiday, from Valentine’s Day to the Pagan Yule to, yes, Christmas with it’s cover story featuring none other than Krampus. This sampling ranging from classic to modern horror tales can chill you all year ’round.

2656597Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

So this comes more under the humor than horror category, but the essay “The Santaland Diaries” is equal parts hilarious and terrifying; anyone who has been stuck at the mall waiting in line for Santa knows that it can be it’s own special version of hell. If you’re looking for something that’s not quite as terrifying but still an antidote for a holiday cheer overdose, this would be a terrific pick.

3580651Twelve Screams of Christmas by R. L. Stine

We started off this post with a list from the kids’ horror master Stine and I’d be remiss if I left off a little something for the kiddos (or kids at heart) who want a scare of their own. From his perennially popular Goosebumps series, this book has two frenemies who need a rehearsal space for the school’s Christmas play practicing in a space that just might be haunted…

While I won’t be replacing my decorations and festive lights with furs and demon horns, sometimes a little respite from the holiday madness is just what’s needed to get us through the home stretch. Till next week, dear readers, find whatever you feel comfortable with on these cold nights and maybe consider exploring the dark side of the holidays and see if its the remedy you might need.

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Five Book Friday!

It’s getting to be That Time of Year, dear readers…the holidays are a difficult time for a lot of people, and the stress of shopping and traffic and the endless loop of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree everywhere you go….

So I think it’s time we dip into our files of “things to make you smile”, and see if we can’t do something to make this frigid day a little better:

  1. This plushie grilled cheese sandwich:
opensquish_grilled_cheese_31427
http://bit.ly/2h8Nv2J

 

2) Corny Dewey Decimal System jokes:

448a5eb788d1473c65154ec1f026d079

3). This Guide from The Toast: “How to Tell If You Are In A Stephen King Novel”

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My favorite line: Abandoned building issues aside, you’ve learned by now to trust any wizened old man who speaks slowly and issues warnings to passerby, especially if they’re wearing overalls.

4) This new version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” that emphasizes consent, hooray!

5) New books!  Let’s meet some of them now!

81036_fivebooks_lg

3783219The Way of the Writer:  Charles Johnson, a National Book Award winner, Professor Emeritus at University of Washington, has made the art of storytelling into his life’s pursuit.  In this fascinating, and surprisingly useful book, he offers tips and advice developed from thirty years of mentoring students, and a lifetime of academic and literary pursuits.  Organized into six easy-to-digest sections, he runs through sentence structure and word choice before moving on to dialogue, plot and storytelling , as well as the very nature of human creativity, creating a work that is invaluable for aspiring writers and devoted readers alike.  Library Journal gave this book a starred review, saying ““All writers will welcome the useful tips and exercises, but the book will also appeal to readers interested in literature and the creative process. Johnson’s wonderful prose will engage readers to think more deeply about how to tell a story and consider the truth-telling power of the arts.”

3795544The Secret History of Twin Peaks: This book has been making a whole lot of headlines recently, not only because of the planned reboot of this series, but because it’s one of those awesome fiction-masquerading-as-reality books, with articles and pictures and illustrations that enlarge the world of the original series, placing the unexplained phenomena that unfolded there into a vastly layered, wide-ranging history, beginning with the journals of Lewis and Clark and ending with the shocking events that closed the finale of the original show.  I was always made to go to bed before the original show aired, but this seems like the perfect primer to get ready for the return.  Entertainment Weekly was delighted with this book, calling it “A treasure trove of town secrets…Plus, Frost (finally!) tackles unanswered questions from the show’s finale.”

3833718The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell:  In December of 2000, FBI Special Agent Steven Carr of the bureau’s Washington, D.C., office received a package from FBI New York: a series of coded letters from an anonymous sender to the Libyan consulate, offering to sell classified United States intelligence. The offer, and the threat, were all too real. A self-proclaimed CIA analyst with top secret clearance had information about U.S. reconnaissance satellites, air defense systems, weapons depots, munitions factories, and underground bunkers throughout the Middle East. Rooting out the traitor would not be easy, but certain clues suggested a government agent with a military background, a family, a dire need for money, and dyslexia. Leading a diligent team of investigators and code breakers, Carr spent years hunting down a dangerous spy and his cache of stolen secrets. Yudhijit Bhattacharjee has brought this fascinating story to life with impressive details and a knack for narrative that Kirkus called “A well-written…tale of thwarted amateur treason underscoring the disturbing vulnerability of today’s intelligence systems.”

3796480The Blood Mirror: It’s getting very close to blanket fort time, dear readers, our favorite time to indulge in dense series and longer books that we might not otherwise find time to enjoy.  And with this almost-conclusion of Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer Chronicles, it’s safe to say that this series is an ideal candidate for your blanket fort reading.    At the opening of this book, the fourth in this epic fantasy series, the Seven Satrapies have collapsed into four-and those are falling before the White King’s armies, leading to some intense battle scenes and pitched political intrigue.  For those who have come to love these characters, there are also growing relationships and character development that will keep fans turning the pages for more….and that’s all I can say for fear of spoilers.  Publisher’s Weekly loved all the layers and twists in this hefty installment, saying “Bestseller Weeks keeps the pot simmering with many secrets revealed and much verbal sparring in this fourth volume…[he] deftly moves the pieces around his chessboard, snapping them with assured feeling onto their new squares in preparation for a climactic confrontation. Readers will need to pay careful attention to catch all the political and social machinations.”

3779770Out of Bounds: World-class crime novelist Val McDermid is back in this taut tale featuring a twenty-year-old cold case that comes to light when a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, and a routine DNA test reveals a startling revelation.  Assigned to take up the case, Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie finds herself drawn out of the grief of a recent tragedy by the mystery…and a supposedly closed terrorist case in which she has no business investigating…but Pirie is not one to believe in coincidences, and this one is far too big to ignore.  McDermid is always gives readers what they are looking for in terms of complex characters and twisty, emotionally-fraught mysteries, and this 29th novel is no exception.  Booklist gave it a starred review, saying “Readers will easily connect with Karen, whose unwavering confidence is tempered by a strong dose of kindness and sense of justice . . . Satisfying investigative detail, swift pacing, and realistic mysteries steeped in the intricacies of Scottish law; a sure fit for fans of Tana French and of Denise Mina’s Alex Morrow series.”

 

Until next week, dear readers, keep smiling, and happy reading!

Uncategorized

The Best of 2016, Part 1

intro

As humanity prepares to bid farewell to this all-around sucker-punch of a year, you are going to see a lot of “Best of 2016” (and “Worst of 2016”) lists floating around.  But none, I promise you, is quite like the Peabody Library’s Best of 2016 List.  We asked our staff to share with us–and you–their favorite books, films, albums, or other Library materials that they encountered this year.   The response was so terrific that we’ll be running a weekly series for your enjoyment.

And, just a note, the rules were that the media had to be consumed in 2016 (books read, films viewed, albums heard, etc.), but that doesn’t mean that they were made in 2016.  There are some classics on this list, as well as plenty of new material, so you can see all the phenomenal finds the Library has to offer year round!

And so, let’s begin!

best-books

From the West Branch:
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

“…delightful, funny and sad.  I didn’t want it to end!”

3699126East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England’s brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha’s husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won’t come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master. When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking — and attractive — than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing. But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha’s reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.

From the Upstairs Offices:

The Yamas and Niyamas by Deborah Adele

3102231“The Yamas and Niyamas are the ten ethical foundations of yoga. Adele devotes a chapter to each Yama and Niyama that includes clear examples and explanations of the concepts followed by a series of questions to help readers spend time deeply exploring each principle. Whether you’re a yogi looking to deepen your practice, or someone who just wants to expand your way of living and thinking, you’ll find lots to think about here.”

The first two limbs of the eight-fold path of yoga sutras—the basic text for classical yoga—are examined in this spiritual guide to the practice of yoga. Foundational to all yogic thought, they are considered to be the guidelines to the yoga way of living that free individuals to take ownership of their lives, direct them toward the fulfillment they seek, and gain the skills to choose attitude, thought, and action. The first five guidelines are referred to as the yamas—a Sanskrit word that translates to “restraints”—and encompass nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, nonexcess, and nonpossessiveness. The last five are referred to as the niyamas, or observances—purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender. A self-study section at the end of each chapter may also be used by instructors for group discussion.

From the South Branch:

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

3554391“I’m a sucker for retold fairy tales and Forsyth’s take on Rapunzel was particularly well done. Forsyth’s prose is gorgeous as she weaves in historical facts with fairy tale and original ideas. It was reminiscent of my favorite Gregory Maguire books but with a style all its own.”

French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens…

After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition. Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.

From the Reference Desk:

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Read By Scott Brick)

2366289“I knew about this book from films that were made about it a few years back, but nothing could prepare me for the haunting narrative that Capote put together.  His sympathy and ruthless attention to detail bring every detail of this crime, of its victims, and, especially, of its perpetrators, to life in a way that is uncomfortable, fascinating, and surprisingly modern.  Scott Brick’s pitch-perfect narration gives extra life to the characters, and emphasizes the lingering effects of violence on all who are touched by it.”

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. 

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.