My LINKcat AccountIf you are reading this on what should be the publication, i.e., Friday, that means that there are only 5 -- count them-- 5 days until the Harry Potter Birthday Party on July 31st. And yes, that is a Wednesday. “Why?”,I hear you ask, “Is the party on a Wednesday instead of on the weekend ?” “That is because, July 31st is Harry Potter’s birthday (Please cf. the books. It is clearly stated as such.) and who doesn’t want to celebrate their birthday on the actual day?” I reply. It is also a long-standing tradition. The library has been celebrating Harry Potter’s Birthday for over two decades now. Admittedly, Harry would be well into adulthood at this point and should be able to deal with the delayed gratification of having to have his birthday celebration a few days after the actual natal event, but, the party is for the young readers of the books who know those books backwards and forwards. To make it easy to plan the party because it’s always the same day (weather-permitting) and to not disappoint those young readers, the party is planned for the 31st. It is from 10 a.m. to noon. There are lots of activities and some treats. Dementors, potions, a costume contest, and a slug eating contest (no slugs are harmed or, indeed used, in this contest) are just some of the highlights of the party. Plan on stopping by and wear your best hat, gown, and wand. While you’re eagerly anticipating this party, why not consider reading some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Those titles are listed below. Enjoy!
Jan's Column 2024
If you want to reserve any of these titles, give us a call at 846-5482 and have your library card handy!
Can't make it in when we're open? Call and ask about our electronic locker system.
New Non-Fiction:
“When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day” by Garrett Graff. The New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist for Watergate turns his attention to D-Day, one of history’s greatest and most unbelievable miliary and human triumphs, exploring the full impact of this world-changing event and offering a fitting tribute to the men and women of the Greatest Generation.
“What This Comedian Said Will Shock You” by Bill Maher. Inspired by the “editorial” he delivers at the end of each episode of Real Time, this hilarious work of commentary about American life speaks exactly to the moment we’re in, covering free speech, cops, drugs, race, religion, cancel culture, the media, show biz, romance, health and more.
New Fiction:
“A Happier Life” by Kristy Woodson Harvey. A young woman discovers the family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer in North Carolina.
“The Love Shack” by Lori Foster. When the universe conspires to bring them together, will animal-shelter owner Berkley Carr and formerly impoverished Lawson Salder let past hurts go and embrace the love they deserve?
“Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books” by Kirsten Miller. A satiric novel looks at a small Southern town, a pitched battle over banned books and a little lending library that changes everything.
“Malas” by Marcela Fuentes. When her beloved grandmother passes away, 14-year-old Lulu is drawn to the glamorous stranger who crashed the funeral and their unexpected kinship picks at the secrets of Lulu’s family and a curse that reverberates across generation as one woman must make peace with the past and one girl must embrace her future.
“The Summer Escape (Sunrise Cove)” by Jill Shalvis. Secrets are revealed and forbidden sparks ignited in this sizzling Sunrise Cove tale of enemies to lovers, redemption, missing treasures and love.
“The Sons of El Rey” by Alex Espinoza. A timeless, epic novel about a family of luchadores contending with forbidden love and secrets in Mexico City, Los Angeles and beyond.
“Swift River” by Essie Chambers. A sweeping family saga about the complicated bond between mothers and daughters, the disappearance of a father and the long-hidden history of a declining New England mill town.
“The Year of What If” by Phaedra Patrick. A bride-to-be is told by a fortune teller that the love of her life is not her fiancé, but instead someone she met over 20 years ago while traveling during a gap year, prompting her to visit old flames to gain closure before her wedding day.
“The Glassmaker” by Tracy Chevalier. From the height of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day, this spellbinding novel follows Orsola Rosso and her family of glassblowers as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, and how through every era, the Rosso women ensure their work, and their bonds, endure.
“The Last Twelve Miles” by Erika Robuck. During the Prohibition Rum Wars, which created a booming smuggling economy, two women masterminds—Elizebeth Friedman, the inventor of cryptanalysis working for the government, and Marie Waite, on the rise to rumrunner royalty to save her family—will go to any lengths to rule the Gulf Coast.
“Shelterwood” by Lisa Wingate. In 1990 Oklahoma, Valerie, a Law Enforcement Ranger reporting for duty at Horsethief Trail National Park, is immediately faced with the long-hidden burial site of three children, and working with the neighboring Choctaw Tribal Police, unearths old secrets and the tragic and deadly history of the land itself.
“Resurrection” by Danielle Steel. A successful influencer and one part of a power couple on the international stage, 42-year-old Darcy Gray, after her perfect life comes crashing down, must stay indefinitely in France during an escalating worldwide health crisis and, through her newfound friendships with others who are stranded, begins to see glimpses of new possibilities.
Wow! The countdown to the Annual Harry Potter Birthday Party is nearing single digits. In a dozen days, that’s 12 days, the Harry Potter Party will be upon us. “When is the birthday party?” I hear you ask. “It’s on his birthday, July 31st.” I reply. The party starts at 10 a.m. and runs to noon. Games, prizes, treats will all be happening. Checkout our website for more details and plan to attend.
The Harry Potter Birthday Party puts us right on the doorstep of August which means there are only 17 days left in the Summer Reading Program which ends on August 17th. The 17th is the last day to log your books. You can redeem your dragon dollars in the store through August 28th.
The last on our Concerts on Market Street shall have occurred by the time the Harry Potter Birthday Party is done. But as of this reading you still have two more concerts you can attend. On Tuesday, July 23rd, the Low Czars shall be performing at 6:30 p.m. They do cover songs from the 50s onward. You’re bound to recognize a lot of the music they play. On July 30th, Harmonious Wail will be performing. They bill themselves are Americana flavored Gypsy Jazz. It’s sure to be a treat.
While you’re waiting for all these great programs to occur, why not settle back with a good book to read? Below you will find some of the recently-arrived titles at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction:
“Boymom: Reimaging Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity” by Ruth Whippman. This deep dive into the complexities of raising boys in the face of the many cultural messages they face leave them anxious, emotionally repressed and socially isolated offers ways to help them overcome the confines of masculine expectations.
“The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi” by Boyce Upholt. A sweeping history of the Mississippi River looks at the centuries of human meddling that have transformed both it and America.
“Sing Like a Fish: How Sound Rules Life Underwater” by Amorina Kingdon. Synthesizing historical discoveries with the latest scientific research, an award-winning science journalist takes us beneath the surface of the ocean to show the repercussions of human-made sound on the marine world’s delicate acoustic ecosystems, issuing a clarion call for humans to address the ways we invade these critical soundscapes.
“The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions” by Amanda Bellows. Told through the stories of a diverse group of ten extraordinary, yet often overlooked, adventurers, including Sacagawea, James Beckwourth, Harriet Chalmers Adams and Sally Ride, this exhilarating new history of American exploration brings to life the people who took on great risk in unfamiliar territory to exercise personal freedom.
New Fiction:
“The Stardust Grail” by Yume Kitasei. From the acclaimed author of The Deep Sky comes a thrilling anti-colonial space heist to save an alien civilization.
“Bear” by Julia Phillips. Trapped on a remote Washington island with their dreams seemingly out of reach, two sisters clash when a mysterious bear arrives swimming in the channel, forcing them to confront their conflicting desires for escape and connection.
“Brat” by Gabriel Smith. Mourning the death of his father, Gabriel moves into his parents' house to clear it out but is instead taken on a surreal and mysterious journey where he finds unfinished manuscripts that change and a video hinting at long-buried secrets.
“Caledonian Road” by Andrew O’Hagan. A biting portrait of British class, politics and money is told through five interconnected families and their rising—and declining—fortunes.
“Dad Camp” by Evan Porter. Desperate to hold on to his little girl as she approaches her eye-rolling teen years, a dad organizes a father-daughter camping retreat, but instead finds toxic dads, cringe-worthy forced bonding activities and the inexplicable ire of the camp director.
“God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer” by Joseph Earl Thomas. An ex-Army grad student, Joseph, navigates PTSD, single fatherhood and strained family ties while confronting the complexities of race, love, and justice in modern Philadelphia in the new novel by the author of “Sink”.
“Fire Exit” by Morgan Talty. From the porch of his home, Charles Lamosway has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation, and, on the far bank, he caught brief moments of his neighbor Elizabeth’s life—from the day she came home from the hospital to her early twenties; but there’s always been something deeper and more dangerous than the river that divides him from her and the rest of the tribal community: it’s the secret that Elizabeth is his daughter, a secret Charles is no longer willing to keep.
“In the Hour of Crows” by Dana Elmendorf. In the wilds of Appalachia, young Weatherly Wilder uses her unique gift to solve her cousin’s mysterious murder and prove her own innocence.
“Sandwich” by Catherine Newman. From the beloved author of “We All Want Impossible Things” comes a moving, humorous story of a family summer vacation full of secrets, lunch and learning to let go.
“The Seaside Sisters” by Pamela Kelley. Two sisters, both book lovers, explore a summer of second chances and new beginnings in a new novel from a USA Today best-selling author.
As of today’s date, July 12th, we are precisely half-way through the Summer Reading Program. There are 72 days between June 6th, when the reading program began, and August 17th, when the program ends. Which means, among other things, that you still have plenty of time to read, earn Dragon Dollars, and advance reading program participants towards meeting a number of different challenges. There is a community challenge that will earn a special end-of-summer read program party if all the program participants read 25,000 books – as of this writing, 8,206 books have been read. Other challenges include: 1) An Elementary School Challenge – which of the elementary schools will read the most? Right now Yahara leads with 1,069 followed by Windsor with 699 and Eagle Point coming in at 622. 2) A Village Department Challenge with the Library leading the way (go figure!) with 156, followed by the Village Hall with 106, the Police are third with 21 followed by Public Works. The Teen Challenge will end with an after-hours party for all participating teens if they read 800 books. Right now they have read 233. With all these challenges going on, your reading can help. Make sure to record what you read so the community can earn that big party at the end of the Summer Reading Program. A quick reminder that we are also counting down to the big Harry Potter Birthday Party on July 31st. That is only 18 days from now! Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Read, record them, and most of all, enjoy them!
New Non-Fiction:
“American Diva: Extraordinary, Unruly, Fabulous” by Deborah Paredez. This passionate homage to the powerful women that have challenged American ideas about feminism, performance and freedom such as Tina Turner, Rita Morena and Venus and Serena Williams examines how the concept of diva has evolved over the years.
“Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World” by Craig Foster. One of the world’s leading natural history filmmakers shows how we can reinvigorate our lives by developing a deep connection to the Earth, nurture our individual wildness and deepen our love for all living things.
“The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier” by Kasley Killam. A redefinition of health and wellbeing emphasizes the need for social health—a sense of belonging or social connection—to achieve true wellness, braiding together new science, mindset shifts and practical wisdom for cultivating strong relationships in our own lives.
“The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi” by Boyce Upholt. A sweeping history of the Mississippi River looks at the centuries of human meddling that have transformed both it and America.
New Fiction:
“Enlightenment” by Sarah Perry. Two unlikely best friends in Aldleigh, England investigate the mystery of a vanished nineteenth century explorer uncovering a devastating tale of love and scientific pursuit in the new novel from the author of “The Essex Serpent”.
“Mirrored Heaven, No. 3 (Between Earth and Sky Trilogy)” by Rebecca Roanhorse. The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in a conclusion to the New York Times best-selling author’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.
“Moonbound” by Robin Sloan. Expands the Penumbraverse to new reaches of time and space in a rollicking far-future adventure.
“15 Summers Later: A Feel Good Beach Read” by RaeAnne Thayne. With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison Howell have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet, and, as they attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.
“A Is for Amish” by Shelley Shepard Gray. With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison Howell have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet, and, as they attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.
“All the Summers In Between” by Brooke Lea Foster. Two estranged friends have an unexpected reconnection in the Hamptons, which forces them to finally confront the terrible event that drove them apart.
“For the Love of Summer” by Susan Mallery. Fearing she's losing her teen daughter to her "other family" a Seattle salon owner is shocked when her ex-husband is arrested and her daughter convinces her to take in her stepmother, desperate for a friend.
“How the Light Gets in” by Joyce Maynard. A complex story of three generations of a family focuses especially on its remarkable, resilient, indomitable matriarch, Eleanor.
“Swan Song” by Elin Hilderbrand. When a 22-million-dollar summer home is purchased by the mysterious and overly extravagant Richardsons, social mayhem ensues in the tight-knit Nantucket community, but when their house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island must save the day—and their way of life.
“Eruption” by Micahel Crihton & James Patterson. Two of the world's most popular and prolific modern authors team up for a thriller about a history-making eruption in Hawaii that threatens to reveal a huge secret the US military has been hiding for decades.
What with all the fireworks that have been going off this past week in various neighborhoods and what with the big extravaganza on July 3rd, it’s been a little hard to pick out the sounds of nature that are occurring all around us. The tree frogs have been merrily singing in between rain storms and the crickets have been chirping away. The crickets we are hearing now aren’t the fall crickets which predict the first frost if you pay attention to the old weather lore (and you all know that I do). As we all know – or as you will soon know—there are not only fall crickets, but there are also spring crickets. These spring crickets survive the winter in a juvenile form and as the weather warms, they mature and start chirping. They will die off any time now, and then the fall crickets, who started their post-winter life as eggs, will finally be mature and start chirping by the end of July or early August. When these fall crickets start singing, that is when the countdown to the first frost occurs. I’ll keep you posted on those first frost warnings, but for now, there is still a whole lot of summer yet to come. And there are still a whole lot of summer books to be read and enjoyed. Below you will find some of the new titles that have arrived recently. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction:
“The Call to Serve: The Life of an American President, George Herbert Walker Bush: A Visual Biography” by Jon Meacham. Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of his birth, this intimate portrait of the 41st U.S. President visually documents his life with over 450+ photographs, celebrating the legacy of a man whose strong values of integrity and respect for others led to a life of leadership viewed as a call to serve.
“Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People” by Tiya Miles, edited by Henry Louis Gates. Written with her characteristic tenderness and imaginative genius, a National Book Award-winning author weaves Tubman’s life into the fabric of her world, probing the ecological reality of Tubman’s surroundings and examining her kindship with other enslaved women, revealing a story of powerful inspiration for our own time of troubles.
“On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service” by Anthony Fauci. A memoir by the doctor who became a beacon of hope for millions through the COVID pandemic, and whose six-decade career in high-level public service put him in the room with seven presidents.
“Roctognearians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs” by Mo Rocca & Jonathan Greenberg. Celebrating the triumphs of people who made their biggest marks late in life, this entertaining and unexpected collection stars an amazing cast of characters—some long gone and some very much still living, including John Goodenough, who scored a Nobel Prize at 97 for inventing the lithium-ion battery.
New Fiction:
“Tom Clancy Act of Defiance, No. 24 (Jack Ryan)” by Brian Andrews & Jeffry Wilson. When U.S. intelligence reports there’s something going on in Russia, President Jack Ryan and his youngest daughter, Katie, determine the Russians are about to launch a super missile submarine, and the race is on to find its location and decide if it poses a threat to the continental U.S.
“Very Bad Company” by Emma Rosenblum. A team of wealthy and powerful executives are on retreat in Miami when one of them goes missing.
“Westport” by James Comey. A suspenseful and intriguing tale of high finance and murder, Westport features the characters first introduced in James Comey’s debut novel Central Park West but can also be read on its own. It further establishes Comey, a former FBI Director, as a bold new talent in the mystery genre.
“When We Were Silent” by Fiona Mcphillips. An outsider threatens to expose the secrets at an elite private school. A first novel.
“If Something Happens to Me” by Alex Finley. As Ryan Richardson races from the rolling hills of Tuscany, to a rural village in the U.K., to the glittering streets of Paris in search of the truth behind his missing girlfriend, he has no idea that his salvation may lie with a young sheriff’s deputy in Kansas working her first case, and a mobster in Philadelphia who’s experienced tragedy of his own.
“The Instruments of Darkness (Charlie Parker)” by John Connolly. In Maine, Colleen Clark stands accused of the worst crime a mother can commit: the abduction and possible murder of her child; and soon enough, Charlie Parker is on the case.
“The Return of Ellie Black” by Emiko Jean. Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.
“I Will Ruin You” by Linwood Barclay. A teacher’s act of heroism inadvertently makes him the target of a dangerous blackmailer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
“Southern Man (Penn Cage)” by Greg Iles. A man—and a town—are rocked by anarchy and tragedy, but he's unbowed in the fight to save those he loves.
“The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands” by Sarah Brooks. A historical fantasy novel set on a grand express train follows a group of passengers on a dangerous journey across a magical landscape. A first novel.
We have past the summer solstice, so summer is officially here. Now we are counting down to that big holiday that is almost smack dab in the middle of the three holidays that occur during the summer months. The 4th of July is just around the corner. Borrowing heavily from a post in a BBC newsletter, I thought I would share some words that go with the summer season. The first is “apricate” which means to bask in the sun or to sun bathe. This fun word comes from the Latin word apricus, meaning exposed to the sun. Then we have the word “gongoozling” the activity of watching boats and activities on canals for pleasure. I think you can watch activity on any body of water and still qualify as a “gongoozler”. This activity has been compared to trainspotting. Then there is “philocaly” which means “loving beauty” but it implies being focused on things that should be loved such as family, friends, and picnics. How can we ignore “kalopsia” which in a way goes hand-in-hand with the previous word? “Kalopsia” means the delusion that things are more beautiful than they are. In summer, doesn’t the whole world seem more beautiful – the blue skies, the green grass, the flowers and butterflies abounding. The final word I’ll throw out today is “mubble-fubbles”. It is defined as the doldrums; the blahs; a downer; a mood of depression, dejection, or melancholy. I for one know that I experience the mubble-fubbles when there is more rain in the forecast. (I mean really! Haven’t we had enough to last us the summer?). With that, I shall leave you until next week. Below are the titles of some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction:
“Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space” by Adam Higginbotham. Based on fascinating new archival research and deep reporting, this gripping and riveting narrative provides the definitive story of the 1986 “Challenger” disaster and how it led to America changing its view of itself.
“American Civil War: A Continental History, 1850-1873” by Alan Taylor. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner provides a masterful historical account of the twenty-year period from 18501873 during which the United States, Mexico and Canada underwent significant transformations and evolved into the nations we know today.
“Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs” by Johann Hari. To answer questions about the new drugs transforming weight loss—from his personal experience on Ozempic, a journalist embarks on a journey from Iceland to Minneapolis to Tokyo to interview the leading experts in the world to answer those questions, in this essential guide to the revolution that’s already begun.
New Fiction:
“Summers at the Saint” by Mary Kay Andrews. The widowed owner of the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel, Traci Eddings has one summer season to restore it to its former glory, but when a tragic death changes everything, she must put wrongs to right, put guilty parties in their place and maybe even find a new romance along the way.
“Clive Cussler’s the Heist, No.14 (Isaac Bell Adventures)” by Jack Du Brul. Detective Isaac Bell investigates an attack on the Federal Reserve being led by a master thief and his assassin accomplice in 1914 Washington, D.C. in the fourteenth novel of the series following “The Sea Wolves”.
“Phantom Orbit” by David Ignatius. Working in secret for years to solve the puzzle in the writings of the 17thcentury astronomer Johannes Kepler, Ivan Volkov, after the loss of his son and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, makes the fraught decision to contact the CIA, risking his life to help stop the Doomsday clock.
“Death Behind Every Door, No.1 (Blackbird Files)” by Heather Graham. Posing as a tourist, an FBI special agent visits a Scottish castle that's been turned into a bed and breakfast to infiltrate a society of twisted killers named after the man believed to be America's first serial killer.
“Return to Blood (Hana Westerman Thrillers)” by Michael Bennett. When her daughter finds a young women’s skeleton in the sand dunes of New Zealand, which is linked to a long ago murder, former Auckland CIB detective Hana Westerman is drawn into the case and risks compromising her own peace and relationships if justice is to be served.
“I Want Your More” by Swan Huntley. An aspiring author accepts a job ghostwriting the memoir of a hit cooking show host and the pair grow close until an unexpected incident makes them question just how much they really know about each other.
“The Last Murder at the End of the World” by Stuart Turton. On an isolated island where 122 villagers and three scientists live in peaceful harmony, one of the scientists is found brutally murdered, which triggers a security system, giving the islanders only 107 hours to solve the murder or be smothered by the fog that destroyed the planet.
“The 24th Hour, no. 24 (Women’s Murder Club)” by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro. While celebrating Cindy’s engagement at one of San Francisco’s finest restaurants, a woman is assaulted and Lindsay, Claire and Yuki spring into action, but when the victim’s story keeps changing, Lindsay must expose a high-society killer before the Women’s Murder Club is short a bridesmaid…or two.
“One Perfect Couple” by Ruth Ware. Landing on a tropical paradise where they’ll compete against four other couples to win a cash prize, Lyla and Nico, starring on the new reality TV show, “One Perfect Couple”, find themselves trapped on a storm-swept island where they all must band together for survival as a killer walks among them.
“Red Sky Mourning” by Jack Carr. When three seemingly disconnected events are about to ignite a power grab unlike anything the world has seen, Navy SEAL sniper James Reece, to save America, must reconnect to a quantum computer called “Alice” who is positioned to act as either the county’s greatest savior or its worst enemy.
“You Like it Darker: Stories” by Stephen King. Delving into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal, the legendary storyteller and expert in short fiction presents this exhilarating collection of 12 tales, many never-before-published, about fate, mortality, luck and the folds in reality where anything can happen.