Earn Prizes!

Miss the pizza coupons and pencils from your childhood summer reading program? Many local libraries now have summer reading programs for adults! For example, here’s the Book Bingo card from the SPL and their list of reading suggestions.

Here are a few suggestions of my own that explore relationships on set, on the stage, and in the great outdoors:

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

The Friendship List by Susan Mallery

They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

And I’m looking forward to these new releases coming out later this summer:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

What are you looking forward to reading this season?

Bookmobiles

The other day I came across a notice that our local library has an outreach service to deliver books to the homebound. This reminded me of a previous post from 2018 about other librarians going to great lengths to ensure their neighbors have books to read. 

Way back in September, this story caught my ear. It was about a group of librarians who ventured into the mountains of Kentucky to deliver books to families on horseback during the 1930s.  

Wanting to read more, I went to my local library (by car) and found three informative picture books, not only about those librarians in Kentucky, but about people all over the world dedicated to delivering books to those without easy access to a library.

My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs

From Australia to Zimbabwe, this 2005 book pairs photographs and maps with descriptions of books being delivered by boat, mail, bicycle, and elephant to remote areas.

That Book Woman by Heather Henson, pictures by David Small

Told from the perspective of an Appalachian teenager, this book shows how his attitude changes from cynical bemusement to gratitude for the passel of books the book lady brings.  

Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown, illustrations by John Parra

Also based on a true story, this book magically captures one little girl’s excitement when she sees two burros carrying “so many cuentos!” to her isolated village.

Banned Books Week

This week I look back at posts of books that were once banned. Click on the titles to read the original post.

Beloved

“He licked his lips. ‘Well, if you want my opinion-‘

‘I don’t,' She said. ‘I have my own.'”

Better Nate than Ever

“It turns out that custard can taste really, really depressing when you're not in the mood for it.”

George

“She’s always going on about how we’re not supposed to let people’s expectations limit our choices.”

The Giver

“Even trained for years as they all had been in precision of language, what words could you use which would give another the experience of sunshine?”

The Handmaid’s Tale

 “As the architects of Gilead knew, to institute an effective totalitarian system or indeed any system at all you must offer some benefits and freedoms, at least to a privileged few, in return for those you remove.”

 The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“It's strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book.”

Where there's smoke

 

With wildfires raging, the air quality has made it too dangerous to be outside. Luckily, I had picked up a second batch of books curbside before it all started. What better way to escape from the tragedies of reality than to dive into those of fiction?

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

A plane crashes. Only one young boy survives. As we watch Edward struggle with his recovery, newfound fame, and the pain of achieving milestones his older brother never will, we also live through the hours of the plane ride.  Intermittently, we meet some of his fellow passengers and slowly discover what went wrong that day. The suspense of this novel lies not only in the mundane minutes of the plane ride that lead up to the crash, but in those everyday moments in the years that follow when Edward begins to hurt a little bit less.

A Death in Harlem by Karla F.C. Holloway

This lyrically written mystery set in Harlem in the 1920s features Weldon Thomas. As the novel opens, Thomas, the area’s first Black police officer, is expecting a quiet night working a literary awards banquet. By the end of the evening, two women from different social classes end up dead. After some weeks pass without an investigation, the women of the community approach Thomas to look into the matter. In the end, he discovers not only the culprit, but a host of secrets that those with enough wealth can conceal.

Curbside

This week I went to the library for the first time since early March. This visit, as you might have expected, was a little different than usual. This was no spontaneous trip on my way home, but a scheduled appointment I made the day before. Instead of making a beeline to the new releases section, I sat in my car and waited for my order. Rather than perusing covers and reading plot summaries, I opted for the "Grab Bag (surprise me!)" option.   

Here’s what my local librarians picked out for me:

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

I probably wouldn’t have picked this book based on either the title or cover, so I was pleasantly surprised by both the unique story and character development. Anna is an artist chosen to paint a post office mural during  the early 1940s. Morgan is an art student chosen to restore the mural eight decades later. Despite their different circumstances, art becomes the outlet with which they wrestle with their personal demons.

Moral Compass by Danielle Steel

Despite, or perhaps to spite, her popularity, Danielle Steel hasn’t been an author I’ve ever read. Although I don’t regret the afternoon I spent with this book, I probably won’t seek out others she’s written unless I happen to be in an airport or doctor’s office waiting room.

Treason by Stuart Woods

I have to admit, I enjoyed the snappy dialogue. It was also mildly entertaining to read how one goes about buying a private jet. But the endless Caesar salad lunches and objectification of women got tiresome. By the third phone call (of roughly 300) in the novel, we understood it would be scrambled, but were told again anyway. 

"She wishes for new stories to read"

Way back in September, this story caught my ear. It was about a group of librarians who ventured into the mountains of Kentucky to deliver books to families on horseback during the 1930s.  

Wanting to read more, I went to my local library (by car) and found three informative picture books, not only about those librarians in Kentucky, but about people all over the world dedicated to delivering books to those without easy access to a library.

My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs

From Australia to Zimbabwe, this 2005 book pairs photographs and maps with descriptions of books being delivered by boat, mail, bicycle, and elephant to remote areas.

That Book Woman by Heather Henson, pictures by David Small

Told from the perspective of an Appalachian teenager, this book shows how his attitude changes from cynical bemusement to gratitude for the passel of books the book lady brings.  

Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown, illustrations by John Parra

Also based on a true story, this book magically captures one little girl’s excitement when she sees two burros carrying “so many cuentos!” to her isolated village.

“I made endless vows according to their lights, for I believed them”

When you read a book once every thirty years, you’re bound to notice different things with each reading.

During that first read of An American Childhood by Annie Dillard all those years ago, I remember being fascinated by her introduction to the natural world, broken open by her discovery of the library.

“The Field Book of Ponds and Streams was a shocker form beginning to end,” she writes. “Where – short of robbing a museum – might a fifth-grade student at the Ellis School on Fifth Avenue obtain such a legendary item as a wooden bucket?”

This time around I was more attuned to Dillard’s awareness of the spiritual.

“It was not surprising, really, that I alone in this church knew what the barefoot Christ, if there had been such a person, would think about things –grape juice, tailcoats, British vowels, sable stoles.”

As she looks around the congregation of her 1960s Pittsburgh Presbyterian church, Dillard wonders if people are just pretending to pray. Aptly, she evokes her experience of the natural world to describe some new stirring within.

“I was alert enough now to feel, despite myself, some faint, thin stream of spirit braiding forward from the pews. Its flawed and fragile rivulets pooled far beyond me at the altar.”

As for the next reading thirty years from now?

I imagine the scenes featuring her grandmother Oma will resonate the most: “the expression on her thin lips was sometimes peevish, sometimes doting.”

I heart libraries

Looking for a new series for my third grader, I headed to the reference desk.  The librarian directed me to an online database called NoveList Plus. (note: This is a subscription service, but your library might offer it as well.) We did a search for his current favorite, The BFG, and a list of “Read-alikes” popped up in the margin. 

A search for my pre-teen resulted in these “Read-alikes”...

Once I had found books for my kids, I headed over to the shelf labeled “Lucky Day.” On it sit copies of current bestsellers and popular titles (you know, the ones with 87 people on the waiting list). If you happen to be in the library on your lucky day, as I was, you can check out anything on the shelf. The one caveat: no renewals. I checked out copies of Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth and Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible:A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. 

Swoon.  

Picture This

Coral Reefs by Jason Chin

The title page shows a young girl taking a book called Coral Reefs off the library shelf. Beginning to read about the structure of corals, the girl wanders around the library while coral reefs spring up behind her leaving pools of water on the table. Soon ocean water is pouring in the windows and the girl is swimming in the reef. At the end of the book, the girl leaves the library. With wet hair and dripping flip-flops, she runs over to share the book with her friends.

Titanic: Eyewitness Books by Simon Adams

We only have Mary Pope Osborne to blame. After listening to Tonight on the Titanic, the kids had a million more questions about the great ship. This book has plenty of graphics, photographs, and informative captions to read multiple times. Days later, E. is still reminding us that the ship was the length of 22 buses. And he is convinced that he would have definitely had one of the first-class tickets.

Affectionately, Mr. Hair Shirt

Most summers in high school found me shelving books as a volunteer at the library. One afternoon in the midst of the H's, I stumbled across 84, Charing Cross Road. Working at a bookstore in college, I was introduced to Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine books. Most recently I was entranced to find that the somewhat unwieldy titled The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is also an epistolary novel.

Add to the list, then, Frances and Bernard by Carlene Bauer. Two writers meet at a writing colony (like this one) and start a correspondence. Bernard is an established poet who flirts from teaching post to teaching post. Frances, working on her first novel, lands a job in New York and moves into the infamous Barbizon. Both are Catholic, and much of their early ruminations center around faith. 

As their friendship grows, they also write letters confiding doubt, fear, and elation to their best friends. With references from Augustine to Weegee, the letters are crafted with humor, wit, and insight. You'll sigh at the romance, nod knowingly at the insecurity, and cringe at the hurtful. And just as eagerly as one used to open a letter, you'll turn the page to find out if they remain "ever yours."

Kindling

I've been resistant to eReaders. This semester I've been teaching an online writing class that requires hours of screen time editing and critiquing student work. When I'm done, I'd rather curl up on the couch with a blanket, a mug of cereal, and a hardcover library book. Sure, I may splatter a little milk on page 15 or lose my place when the book falls on the floor when I nod off on page 136, but each page turn tells me how close I'm getting to the end.

However, one night while using my computer, my husband downloaded a free app. Since I hadn't made it to the library for a new real book, I decided to give it a try. I went to the library's list of eBooks. As someone who regularly comes home from the library with more than five titles, I was a little put out that I could only check out three. Accustomed to browsing, I browsed. Many books that looked interesting had a waiting list. I finally found three that said "use on Kindles and free Kindle apps" and not "use on Kindle devices via USB only." Here's what I ended up with:

Aftertaste Meredith Mileti

Girls in White Dresses Jennifer Close

The Writing Circle Corinne Demas

Once I got the things to transfer from the library to my Amazon account, I clicked on the first title. The font reminded me of large print books and I thought,"uh oh." I persisted and was soon engrossed in the story of a chef who has to attend anger management classes after she discovers her husband is having an affair. Then I discovered a passage that another reader had highlighted on page 162:

"My first assignment is to buy a “Life Notebook,” in which I’m to record my assignments, the first of which is to write down five things that would make me happy and to do at least two of them before next week."

"Hmmm," I thought. One thing that would make me happy would be to buy a portable Kindle. And a new box of cereal.

Skimming the Stacks

So it seems I’ve fallen out of favor with the librarians. Somebody shelved the books I had on reserve leaving me no recourse but to quickly browse the shelves for something (anything) to read.

That’s how I found these three. As usual I have a knack for picking out the funny, the lyrical, and the heartbreaking.

We Are All Fine Here by Mary Guterson

Julia & Ray & Jim & Patricia. Julia is married to Jim, sleeps with Ray, and is jealous of Jim’s infatuation with Patricia. One pregnancy at 39 later, Julia‘s frank, funny observations of her mid-life predicament make you wish you said it first.


The Sky Below by Stacey D'Erasmo

A portrait of an artist as a young man pining for the time when his mother read him Ovid morphs into a day job at 39 writing obituaries of former Rockettes. At night, he spies on the owners of his dream house, ghost-writes a best selling pulp series, and creates assemblage boxes of found objects. After being diagnosed with cancer, he travels to Mexico and falls into a camp of misfits led by an indigo child. Winged but somewhat unhinged, he begins another transformation. More Marquez than New Agez, D’Erasmo’s prose pulls it off.


The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson

Zephyr marries Zipper. Zephyr greets the neighbors on Sundays. Zipper writes for a fashion magazine. Zephyr finds out he has 30 days to live. Zipper accompanies him on an alphabetical last-days tour…Amsterdam, Berlin, Chartres. Poignant characters carry this slim novella though the conceit loses steam around LMNOP.

Library Valet

In the weeks leading up to E’s birth I requested several books on toddlers and babies through our library’s website. Since our library is part of a system of nearly 30 branches, it is much easier to go online and request that a certain book be transferred to my branch rather than try to browse or seek out call numbers with an active three-year-old. I usually go to the library once or twice a week to pick up the books I’ve reserved and to let P pick out books or DVDs.

After I had E, it was at least 10 days before I could get it together to go pick up my latest requests. Eager to show off the new baby – all the library ladies took an interest in my pregnancy - I went up to the desk. Before I could even find my library card, the librarians were already making trips to the back room to haul out my reserves. Turns out I had more than 15 books to pick up. As I cradled E in one arm and tried to prevent P from running back to the children’s section or going home with one of the non-mainstream Internet users, the librarians proceeded to fill up my bag with heavy parenting books, novels, and DVDs. While I carried E and held P’s hand, one of the librarians picked up my bag and carried it out to the car for me. She even buckled P into her car seat.

Since then I’ve broken my request record. One morning I had 17 children’s books to pick up. However, as I only had E that day, I managed not to need the library’s personal valet service.