Now that summer is definitely, apparently (?) upon us, it’s time once again for the Free-For-All to share with you some of our lovely staff’s selections for summer reading!
We are a staff of diverse reading/listening/viewing habits, which makes these posts so much fun. There is such a wide range of books and media that our staff enjoy that there is bound to be something in here to help make your summer that much more entertaining! And so, without further ado, here is our second round of Staff Selections:
“An engaging story with a dual narrative of mother and daughter. I appreciated the themes of the struggles of bi-cultural life experience, the mother-daughter relationship development, the symbolism, and the historical fiction aspect. A warning regarding the historical aspects of the book – the abuse the mother shares in her narrative that takes place in the very painfully patriarchal early/mid 1900s China may be triggering for victims of abuse”
One of the most profound and moving works of Native American literature, a novel that is itself a ceremony of healing. Tayo, a World War II veteran of mixed ancestry, returns to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, deeply scarred by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese and by the rejection he encounters from his people. Only by immersing himself in the his people’s past can he begin to regain the peace that was taken from him. Masterfully written, filled with the somber majesty of Pueblo myth, Ceremony is a work of enduring power.
Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Qatar, awash in petrodollars, find joy in all that cash? Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? In a unique mix of travel, psychology, science and humor, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions…I would love to see an update of this book now that social media has become so saturated in our lives.
A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best….Furiously Happy is about “taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing, because those moments are what make us who we are, and they’re the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence….This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are – the beautiful and the flawed – and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways.
Now that summer is definitely, apparently (?) upon us, it’s time once again for the Free-For-All to share with you some of our lovely staff’s selections for summer reading!
We are a staff of diverse reading/listening/viewing habits, which makes these posts so much fun. There is such a wide range of books and media that our staff enjoy that there is bound to be something in here to help make your summer that much more entertaining! And so, without further ado, here is our first round of Staff Selections:
From the West Branch:
Nancy Clue and the Not-So-Nice Nurse by Mabel Maney “A cute, tame lesbian parody of Nancy Drew and Cherry Aimes (RN). and part of a two-book series. The utter paucity of men through most of the book, the diction, the lesbian innuendos, the cluelessness of the main character Cherry, the positive portrayal of a trans woman, and the decent mystery plot make this light novel a delightful and cute read. This is the first in a series, but does just fine as a stand-alone as well.” (Note: Use the Commonwealth Catalog to access this title, or call the Library!)
From the Adult Services Department:
The Hour of Land : A Personal Topography of America’s National Parksby Terry Tempest Williams “For years, America’s national parks have provided public breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are steadily disappearing, which is why close to 300 million people visit the parks each year. Now, to honor the centennial of the National Park Service, Terry Tempest Williams, the author of the beloved memoir When Women Were Birds, returns with The Hour of Land, a literary celebration of our national parks, what they mean to us, and what we mean to them. Through twelve carefully chosen parks, from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine to Big Bend in Texas, Tempest Williams creates a series of lyrical portraits that illuminate the unique grandeur of each place while delving into what it means to shape a landscape with its own evolutionary history into something of our own making.”
From the Information Desk:
Swiss Army Man, starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe
“Hank is stranded on a deserted island, having given up all hope of ever making it home again. One day everything changes when a corpse names Manny washes up onshore. The two become fast friends, and ultimately go on an epic adventure that will bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams…supremely weird but awesome!”
Table 19, starring Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson, Stephen Merchant, Amanda Crew, Wyatt Russell “Ex-maid of honor Eloise, having been relieved of her duties after being unceremoniously dumped by the best man via text, decides to hold her head up high and attend her oldest friend’s wedding anyway. She finds herself seated at the ‘random’ table in the back of the ballroom with a disparate group of strangers. In a way, reminiscent of The Breakfast Club, and in a way a beautifully modern romance, this is nothing like you expect, and everything you needed in a movie.”
Summer may be winding down, dear readers, but, judging by the forecast, at any rate, there is still plenty of time to get out with, or hide away with, a good book or film…or come into the Library to find one to take with you on your end-of-August adventures.
We here at the Library are never tired of talking about books (I mean, goodness knows I’m not!), so here is another installment of some of our picks for summer, in the hopes that they inspire you to try a new literary or cinematic adventure soon!
From the Circulation Desk:
Sing Street: There are very, very few things in the world that make flying any easier, but I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to watch this film on a recently flight, and was utterly enthralled with it. Set in Dublin in the 1980’s, the plot centers around 14-year-old Conor, who is trying–and generally failing–to adapt to his parents’ failing marriage, his family’s increasing financial troubles, and his new ‘inner city’ parochial school, which is a haven for bullies of both the adult and child variety. But when he sees a girl sitting on the steps across the way from the school yard, nothing else matters. He convinces her that he is in a band, and that she should star in their next music video–and then is faced with the daunting prospect of actually forming a band and writing a song. Though funny and quirky in the way of some of the best independent films, this is also a really touching story. I loved that Raphina, Conor’s lady-love, wasn’t merely a coatrack on which he hung his dreams, but her own person, with faults and dreams and drive. I loved the relationship between Conor and his older brother–the fact that the film is dedicated “to brothers everywhere” will give you an idea of where the real heart of this picture lies. And the music, costumes, and references were a pitch-perfect homage to the overkill and relentless energy of the 1980’s.
Falling Glass: I have such a soft spot in my heart for Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy novels, so I decided to try out one of his stand-alone novels in order to tide myself over. This book follows Killian, a Pavee (also known as a Traveller or, more derogatorily, a ‘gypsy’), and ex-enforcer for the IRA, who is trying, very hard, to make a go at an honest living for himself–until he gets a call from Richard Coulter, a phenomenally wealthy man with a phenomenally private problem–his ex-wife Rachel has ignored their custody agreement and disappeared with Coulter’s young daughter. All signs point to Rachel being an emotionally unstable drug-addict, but it isn’t long after taking the case that Killian begins to realize that there is far more to this search than he first assumed. This book is fully of McKinty’s trademark understated emotion and subtle insight, along with some wonderful descriptions of those people whose lives are lived outside the normal spotlights of fiction. There is also a scene set in Hampton Beach that is guaranteed to make local readers chuckle for any number of reasons. PS: Killian is colleagues (friends?) with Michael Forsythe, another formidible McKinty creation, and this book ties in well with the world of those novels, though it won’t spoil much for those who haven’t got there yet.
From the Reference Desk:
The Return of the Native: The Library’s Classics Book Group selected this book as one of our reads earlier this year, and became a novel that inspired a very healthy amount of discussion, debate, and opinion. This novel, which remains among Thomas Hardy’s most well-known, is both a tribute to the people of Cornwall–as evidenced by his very heavy use of local dialects, slang–and to its traditions. The book opens with the arrival of Diggory Venn, a reddleman (someone who sells the dye with which shepherds mark their sheep), a man whose presence sets in progress a series of tragedies, farces, and cunning deceits, which are all told in a wonderfully human way. Though Hardy was writing during the Victorian period, you don’t get the same preachy moralizing here that you do with so many other writers of the time. His characters are selfish and mean-spirited and downright cruel at times–but they also have the ability to grow and to change, for better and for worse. And it’s the way in which they all interact and influence each other’s lives that makes this book so compelling–and, sometimes, so challenging.
From The Offices Upstairs:
Fire of the Raging Dragon: Political thriller master Don Brown’s 2012 novel not only features “ripped from the headlines” kind of drama, but also explores family ties and issues of loyalty in this pulse-pounding adventure on the high, and very, very treacherous, seas. In the world of Brown’s Pacific Rim series, the Chinese government is attempting to control the contested waters around the Spratly Islands, leading to an escalation in America’s involvement in a naval war in the South China Sea. But when fictional U.S. President Douglas Surber realizes his daughter is stationed aboard a submarine tender in the same area, he must choose between his professional duty, his national loyalty, and his familial devotion in a choice that will have worldwide implications. Brown’s books read like the best kind of summer blockbuster, with plenty of high-stakes tension and epic scope that will make a summer day fly by.
For those who are familiar with their Friendly South Branch Librarian, you won’t be surprised at all that this post has nothing to do with soccer, hockey, the Olympics or anything pertaining to sports. For those of you who were hoping for a sports-related post, you have my apologies, but you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Instead, I’d like to talk a bit about the amazing kids we have here at the South Branch. While I’m fairly biased, we have some truly awesome kids who participated in this year’s “Galaxy of Reading” summer reading program. We had over 20 kids read over 1,000 minutes this summer (with one particularly exceptional child reading over 6,000 minutes!) and, I’m extremely proud to say that the kids collectively reached the South Branch’s minutes goal of 100,000 minutes with a week still to spare before school starts (hence the post title).
Lest you think this Librarian is a slave driver, this goal was based on last year’s summer reading numbers which came so close to 100,000 minutes, that I couldn’t help but see if, with a little encouragement, the kids could cap that mark on their own. Mission accomplished! And I am so proud of these kids that I felt a simple Facebook post just wasn’t enough to celebrate their achievement.
Kids’ couldn’t get enough of “Tidepools Alive” when the New England Aquarium came to visit the South Branch.
For those of you who are thinking back when summer reading wasn’t a Big Thing (it wasn’t when I was a kid), allow me to fill you in on how things have changed. All of the Peabody Library’s locations put together exciting (free!) programs designed to engage and inspire kids to take advantage of their library privileges beyond school work and assigned reading. Plus, the Topsfield Fair is incredibly generous in offering free prize packs (including an admission ticket to kids who don’t already get in for free) and Chipotle offers free kids meal coupons to kids who reach the library’s set goal. This year, to be consistent with the schools, we requested that each child read 500 minutes over the summer.
Our “Read to Lydia” program was very popular among dog lovers.
These summer reading programs and incentives aren’t just a way to help kids from falling into the “summer slide” but are ways to enrich a child’s experience with the library, showing them how reading can be fun and not just something that’s assigned, that the library is a place to come to enjoy themselves, beat the heat and connect with their friends and community. There are a LOT more benefits to the library than just checking in and out books, and I hope that we’re instilling this into the young’ns so that they can grow to continue to take advantage of all of the amazing programs, project and information the library has to offer throughout their lives. Summer reading doesn’t just get kids reading. Hopefully, if it’s done right, it creates lifelong library users, and that’s always something to celebrate.
We are in the Dog Days of Summer, my friends….but do we know what that actually means?
According to The Farmer’s Almanac, which is one of the most remarkably founts of helpful, random, and utterly bizarre trivia, the “dog days of summer” are not just those days when we’re all too hot and weary and sluggish to get going–nor is it that it is so hot that dogs go crazy, which was a rumor I had never heard until now. The phrase actually describes the period of time when the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth. Sirius, which is part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog, is also known as the Dog Star. As The Farmer’s Almanac explains:
In the summer, Sirius rises and sets with the Sun. On July 23rd, specifically, it is in conjunction with the Sun, and because the star is so bright, the ancient Romans believed it actually gave off heat and added to the Sun’s warmth, accounting for the long stretch of sultry weather. They referred to this time as diēs caniculārēs, or “dog days.”
Thus, the term “Dog Days of Summer” came to mean the 20 days before and 20 days after this alignment of Sirius with the Sun — July 3 to Aug. 11.
Those same ancient Romans believed that it was the combination of Sirius and the Sun which made this particular period of time so scorchingly hot–the truth is that the Earth is tilted in such a way that the Northern Hemisphere receives more direct rays from the Sun.
Regardless, however, it’s hot. And do you know some excellent ways to deal with said heat? First of all, drink lots and lots of water, and wear sunscreen. Second, come on into the Library, absorb some of our fantastic and aggressive AC, and pick out some new books! Seriously, it’s like a Book Refrigerator in here….
And here, to get you started, here are some selections from our staff!
From Upstairs at the Main:
The Dark Fields: Alan Glynn’s 2011 debut is a heady combination of techno-thriller, science fiction adventure, and cautionary tale about a wonder drug that makes the human brain function at perfect capacity. One dose allows a person to access not only all the information they have ever learned, but the tools to put that information to use, making the user not only intelligent and cunning, but attractive and charming. Eddie Spinola is just such a user, and the drug is known as MDT-48. But the more addicted Eddie gets (and his stash continues to dwindle), the more he is hampered by side effects; blackouts, violent episodes, and crippling outbreaks. If he has any hope of surviving, he’s going to have to find more MDT-48…but the journey into the drug’s dark past will turn up far more revelations than Eddie is prepared to find. If this plot sounds familiar, it was made into the blockbuster film Limitless starring Bradley Cooper, as well as a TV show.
Mine Till Midnight: We’re on something of a Lisa Kleypas kick this week–and with good reason. As one of the living legends of the historical romance, Kleypas’ books remain some of the most well-known and best loved books in the genre. In this book, the first in her stellar Hathaways series, Amelia Hathaway has risked a visit to a notorious gentleman’s gaming club in order to entreat the club’s owner, Cam Rohan, to help locate her wastrel brother, Leo. Cam, who is Romani, has no time or patience for English society, or for the milksops who frequent his gaming hell–but one look at Amelia, and Cam knows that he has found his match. The connection between these two protagonists is electric, and their chemistry is utterly delicious. But what makes this book such a success is that the emotional bond that forms between Cam and Amelia is stronger than anything else, and their love is real and tangible throughout this story. Better yet, if you enjoy this book, then be sure to check out all the tales of the Hathaways (particularly Leo’s book, Married by Morning!)
From the Circulation Desk:
In A Dark, Dark, Wood: Ruth Ware’s debut novel has been getting plenty of attention–and with good reason. This tale is taut, creepy, and weirdly haunting, even for those who figure out what is going on before the protagonist. When reclusive crime-writer Leonora (known by some as Lee and by others as Nora) is invited to a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend bachelorette party, her initial reaction is to refuse–not only because she hardly knows anyone on the guest list, but also because the bachelorette in question is a friend she hasn’t seen or spoken to since she was a teenager. Forty-eight hours later, Leonora is in the hospital, alone. She knows something horrible has happened, but she can’t remember all the details–or what her own involvement in the horror might be. Though the final revelations of this book might not be difficult for some to discern, what I found particularly wonderful about this book was the tone that Ware sets. I stayed up until 3am to finish this book, because I couldn’t bear not to know what was going on. When I finally did finish, I was so hyped up that an unexpected noise coming from the air conditioner had me leaping out of bed and running into the wall. I wish I was kidding.
Check back soon for more summer reading picks from your friendly Library staff!
Summertime is a super time for scaring yourself silly!
Last summer, I talked about my love of scary stories and horror novels, and specifically how I always tend to read them in the summertime. As I mentioned then, maybe it has something to do with the abundance of sunshine in the summertime, and the stark contrast between the darkness inside the book and the brightness outside. Maybe because I have the time to really sink into the atmosphere and sensations of a book in the summer, more than I do over the school year. But, as I continue my summertime horror-binge, I had few more thoughts about The Scary Stuff and (naturally), some recommendations to pass on.
First off, horror novels, the really good horror novels that nestle under your skin, that stain your hands, that linger in your dreams, take a heck of a lot of work. A lot of writers do the gory stuff, and, frankly, I don’t find those things too scary. Stomach-churning? Absolutely. But the kind of horror that floats my boat really aren’t that gory or explicit at all. My favorite horror novels are the ones that create a fully-immersive world for me to believe in, and characters who are real enough for me to feel for them, and the plight into which they fall. When my heart and mind are engaged (instead of my stomach), it’s a lot easier to scare me. This takes a lot of work, and no considerable amount of talent, over and above a knowledge of the human anatomy and how to take it apart. As a result, some horror novels feature some of the most beautiful, descriptive, and insightful writing I’ve come across, precisely because they need to build that emotional and imaginative bond in order to have the proper effect on the reader.
Secondly, as a reader with anxiety–and book anxiety, to boot–scary stories are actually really helpful. My mind really loves jumping to the worst case scenario, to the ‘what-ifs’, to all the things that could go wrong–and I spend a lot of time and energy trying to ignore those thoughts, or silence those worries, and it’s really tiring. Horror novels provide a safe space to explore those fears, by not only presenting you with a worst-case scenario (sometimes its realistic, sometimes its supernatural or extraterrestrial), but also by reveling in it. A lot of these books also leave a lot of room for the reader to insert their own thoughts and fears into the story. I’m thinking of the scene in ‘Salem’s Lot where the Glick boys are in the woods, and Danny Glick says he sees “it”. We, as readers, are never really told what it is, or what it looks like…which gives us plenty of room to place our own bogeymen into that space. Good horror books let us take our fears and worries and concerns out of the shadows and explore them, an act which takes a lot of power away from those fears.
So, if you’re looking to explore the world of scary stuff for the first time, or searching around for a new fix, here are a few of my recent favorite horror selections to give you some summertime shivers…
A Head Full of Ghosts: When Stephen King says a story scared him, we should sit up and pay attention, but I wasn’t sold on it until about the last 50 pages. But oh, those last fifty pages made this book one of the best I have read in a really, really long time. Fifteen years ago, the Barrett family (of Beverly, Massachusetts) were the subject of an enormously popular reality show called The Possession, that allegedly documented fourteen-year-old Marjorie’s struggle with demonic possession. Now, Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry, is telling her side of the story to a journalist who is hoping to get behind the now-famous scenes of the show to what really happened. This is a heartbreaking, and ultimately horrifying, intoxicating story of familial relations and the fragile ties that bind us, about the desperation and despair of failure, and asks a lot of questions that are impossible to accurately answer. This is a very tricky book to describe without giving things away, so….just read it. Then we can talk.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things: This book falls very squarely into the category of cerebral horror, where the reader is given just enough information to follow the plot, but not nearly enough information to feel comfortable. What we know is that the narrator (who is not named, despite a number of summaries that state the contrary, grr….) is driving with her boyfriend to meet his parents. But there are so many weird, off-putting, seemingly incongruous events and conversations taking place in the course of this story that it becomes very clear there is far more going on beneath the surface. Add to this the snippets of conversation we overhear throughout this book, and the stage is set for a book that will play around with your mind for everyone of its 200 pages. Though the ending of this book was a little too psuedo-deep/intellectual for my tastes, if you like narrative tricks and literary conjuring tricks, along with a thick, increasingly tense and inexplicably hostile atmosphere in your reading, this book is definitely for you.
Security: We recently featured Gina Wohlsdorf’s debut in a recent post, and, since then, and I am here to tell you that All The Reviews are right–this is a remarkably told, viscously creative, and expertly-balanced story that keeps readers on edge by telling them everything….except ‘why’. Manderley has been billed as the most luxurious, and the most secure hotel in the world. But, days before its opening, a Killer is stalking the halls and rooms of Manderley, killing off its staff one by one. The story is narrated by an anonymous member of Manderley’s security staff, who watches all the action from the totally isolated security room on the hotel’s top floor…with less impartiality than one might expect. There are times when the narrative diverges, sometimes visibly on the page, as we watch characters going up and down the elevators, entering different rooms on different floors, allowing us to keep tabs on them at all times–but never quite sure what is going to happen next. Though there is a more gruesomeness in this book than most, Wohlsdorf handles it with grown-up discretion, and tempers it by offering insights into her characters and their relationships…and even providing a pitch-perfect love story in the midst of everything that balances this book perfectly and makes it one that is impossible to put down.
There will definitely be more scary stuff to come readers, but for now–enjoy!
And, all at once, summer is here with a vengeance, dear readers. For those of you looking for a place to cool off for a bit, please know that our A/C is happily droning away. Please feel free to come in and beat the heat–and while you’re here, you can avail yourself of our long list of events, which includes book groups, activities for kids and young adults, and programs to help you stay active in a safe (and cool!) setting.
We also have thousands of materials to keep you busy while you are soaking up the A/C, too–and our staff continues to come up with some phenomenal selections of their favorite summer reading for you to try! Here are just a few more that have been added to our lists. You can find these (and many more) on the new Free For All Display on the shelves across from the Circulation Desk!
From Upstairs At The Main:
A Man Called Ove: Swedish author Fredrik Backman has earned rave reviews around the world for his unexpectedly charming and touching novel about the curmudgeonly Ove, an elderly man who has been ignored by his neighbors for years. But when a new young couple moves in next door, and inadvertently flattens Ove’s mailbox, they begin to see that beneath the grumpy, sharp exterior is a man with many stories to tell, and plenty of love still to give. Backman’s unique sense of humor makes this story into something truly original, and makes for a story that is heartwarming, quirky, and will most certainly change the way you look at the world around you.
Uprooted: Naomi Novik is quickly becoming a household name in the world of fantasy, and this stunning novel has been a huge success with critics and readers alike. Agnieszka loves her home in her quiet valley with her friends and relations. But their peace is maintained at a terrible cost. Her people rely on the maniacle wizard known as the Dragon to keep the evil in the woods at bay. The Dragon requires that one young woman be handed over to serve him for ten years, and the time for the next sacrifice is fast approaching. Agnieszka is convinced that her best friend will be the Dragon’s next choice, and is heartbroken over her powerlessness to save her–but when the Dragon comes, it’s Agnieszka he has in his sights…This blend of fairytale and coming-of-age novel was nominated for a Hugo Award (one of the most prestigious awards in the fantasy genre), and was named among the best books of last years by a number of outlets, making it an ideal place to start for those looking to add a little more fantasy to their lives!
From the Reference Desk:
Shirley I Jest! A Storied Life: Cindy Williams, half of the comedic duo of Laverne & Shirley, has had a wild and lively career in show business. This book is an engaging and heartfelt journey from Williams s blue collar roots to unexpected stardom from being pranked by Jim Morrison while waiting tables at Whisky a Go Go to starring in one of the most iconic shows on television. Even for those who didn’t watch her show, Williams writes with a comic flair that is simply infectious, and her tales of rubbing elbows with the talented, the famous, and the infamous, are totally fascinating, especially because she never loses the common sense and insight that came from a childhood outside of Hollywood’s glitz and facades, bringing the reader on her wild ride with heart and humor.
From the Circulation Desk:
The Luminaries: I think I’ve mentioned Eleanor Catton’s magnificent debut novel in the past, but it deserves to be mentioned again (and again, and again). This is a fascinating story about a strong, enigmatic, and resolute woman, and the many lives that come within her sphere. Walter Moody has arrived in New Zealand hoping to make his fortune, but his trip has been marked thus far by nothing but disaster. But when he stumbles on twelve men holding a secret meeting, he finds himself drawn into a tale of gold and opium, of trust and lies, of truth and fictions, that will ultimately change each and every man involved…and re-define the woman at the center of each of their tales. Catton based the structure of her book on the Zodiac (as it appeared in the late 19th century), making this book as striking in its set-up and premise as it is in its use of language. Moreover, I cannot recommend the audiobook of this novel more highly. Mark Meadows’ narration is spellbinding, and his ability to do All The Voices blew me away!
Until next time, dear readers–safe travels, and good books!
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." ~Frederick Douglass
Sing Street
Falling Glass:
The Return of the Native
Fire of the Raging Dragon
