“YOU ARE OPEN … Got Anything Good to Read for me? Patron Requests are always welcomed … Either call, email or come in and sign the clipboard to request new books
How has this year flown so fast! I was in the midst of an October book review as things suddenly sped up here at the library building. Attention shifted to clearing the back for the view, the installing of Live Camera for our fishing community, and the surprise of donations. One such donation included book sets for children ages 5 to 12 and wonderful nonfiction series of all genres. Other donations were mysteries and thrillers by popular authors and lighter fare. David and the volunteers sorted, catalogued and made available these books and we donated others. Here in Maine, libraries send out lists of give away books or respond to requests. Books travel in search of readers and we hope many have added their stories up and down the entire state.
Now it is December and I have some time to browse and reflect on books that you may want to add to your list this year.
I want to start with Will Schwalbe. Don’t let the title throw you, The End of Your Life Book Club was an unexpectedly warm and comforting memoir of a mother and son whose love of a “good book” allowed them to grow, converse and let go. If you read a lot you will find yourself joining them as you reflect on your reactions to these books. Personally, my mother who just turned 100 and I find this allows us to keep connecting. Tough conversations and situations remind me that often a book helps us relate.
Other books that were jewels that were a chance encounter were; the Helene Thursten’s Elderly Lady series, Beneficence by Meredith Hall set in Alstead, Maine, Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia and The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides) and soon to be published Three Plays by Monica Wood (Includes her recent Portland Stage hit “Saint Dad”. Though different from character to length or plot to conclusion all these have me returning to their stories.
For children I have begun to revisit the myriad of books we have shelved over the years. I pick a theme and see what our shelves have to offer. The month of December and January’s theme was, “ children’s books about rural winters. The result was more than I had estimated so here is a sample:
- Animals in the Snow
- Christmas at Long Pond
- No Two Alike
- Twelve Kinds of Ice
- Winter Friends
- Winter Poems
- Time to Sleep
Book Club November 10 at 6:30 pm. The book is River of Doubt by Candace Miller. This is the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s “harrowing 1914 expedition into the unchartered waters of the Amazon.
We have Book Club August 10th at 6:30 pm. The book is Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict. We have some books available for checkout.
July’s book club discussion is about Dinners With Ruth by Nina Totenberg. This book is about Nina’s reporting in the world of NPR when women like Nina, RGB, Cokie Roberts, Sandra Day O’Connor were making their mark. Yet these women always made time to step away and enjoy dinners that included love of music, art, and tennis.
March 2023
Winter is winding down and as the spring brings us more daylight and warmer temperatures, we are planning. Our plans include a monthly book discussion where unlike our Scratch Paper Book Club, people will come in and enjoy time together. Thursdays evenings once a month, the library will host a discussion from a book pick. Our first is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
Recently I have been reading several genres of books that have a library as its central theme. Several I enjoyed were: The Library Book (2018) by Susan Orlean which is a fascinating chronical of the LA Library which includes arson, mystery, famous people and how a library shapes a community and a lighter fare, The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis. This is a mystery as well as another glimpse into a famous NYC landmark library. Of course there are the recent novels based on the pack horse librarians of the depression who brought books to rural communities; The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, The Giver of Stars and Down Cut Shin Creek.
September 2022
It is so hard to believe the summer is starting to enter the shorter days, crisp breezes and of course return to school and fall routines. Here at the library we are shelving new books that represent local Maine authors and Maine publishing.
The Thomaston based Maine Authors Publishing was our first stop for their Literary Festival. With musical background, tents sheltered the dozens of authors who publish here in Maine. The library purchased all ages of books both fiction and nonfiction. If you like mysteries we added the Geoffrey Cooper series along with the Oxbow Gang for young readers. Picture books and local authors including Martha to the Rescue by Janet Bonney (Neils Point Rd.) Please come check out all the new items …
We also have the latest Paul Dorian and have preordered the latest Elizabeth Strout finding Lucy Barton riding out her “lockdown” with William in a tiny house in Maine. Lucy By The Sea should be another great check out for Elizabeth Strout fans.
April 2022
Blustery spring is here. As we head out to enjoy the sunshine and see the budding trees and popping crocuses and trailing arbutus, it is still nice to return home and curl up with another book. Here at the library we have books from Curtis as well as new additions. Maine based books are always well received. This month the nonfiction books of interest are:
the soil that will save us Kristin Olsen
Still They Remember Me Penobscot Transformer Tales
Maine Oysters: Stories of Resilience and Innovation PermaContent
Out of the Office Working from Home Warzel and Petersen
The latest discovery for fiction is a light mystery series by Maggie Robinson, a Maine writer who uses the winter months to create The Lady Adelaide Mysteries. Based in 1920’s England, the recently widowed Addie is visited by the ghost of her husband who helps discover the truth of “who dun it” in hopes of making amends in order to pass over.
February 2022
January brought cold, snow and freezing rain. February despite the gray skies bring promise. I have been reading several books and listening to audiobooks while I assemble jig saw puzzles. Several books on my list were also several of Maine libraries’ most borrowed books:
- The Four Winds Kristin Hannah
- Dead By Dawn Paul Dorion (I have preordered his next one for June 2022)
- The Midnight Library Matt Haig
- All the Devils Are Here Louise Penny
- Mill Town: Reckoning With What Remains Kerri Arsenault
- Greenlights Matthew McConaughey
- Downeast: Five Maine Girls Gigi Georges
- Wintering: The Power of Rest & Retreat Katherine May
This month’s selections include books from Curtis that dip into history
- Ice Ghosts Paul Weston’s account of the lost Franklin Expedition
- Amber Room Catherine Scott-Clark & Adrian Levy’s search into the fate of the Amber Panels “lost” in WWII
- Madhouse at the End of the Earth Julian Sanction book about the Belgica’s in the Antarctic
October 2021
This month is national seafood month and cookbook month. The library has added several new Maine authored cookbooks. As you prepare or head out to order your seafood; come check out our cookbooks with recipes for the usual favorites like lobster, scallops, haddock and cod. But you can also broaden your palate with new recipes using your favorites or even add a new lesser known fish dish.
Two books with the title Landslide were requested: The first is by a local Maine author Susan Conley, explores life of a fishing family while the second is a biography of Trump’s final days as President. We have those and many others added to our Maine mysteries and the latest Erin Hildbrand “Golden Girl”.
My latest questions have centered on historical books about the Harpswell area.The latest is one written by local contributers. Undeterred by the cancellation of the Maine Bicentennial Celebration, a book was created. Have you wondered about the earliest settlers of Harpswell? Edward Coffin’s book, The Early Settlers of Harpswell has the names, occupations (cordwainer caulker, rigger, and shipwright) where theyand family members lived plus more. Alexander, Dunning, Haskell, Pinkham, Sinnett, Snow, Ewing, and Coombs and Webber are listed in this easy to read Who’s Who of Harpswell. Another book by Elsa Martz, Cundy’s Harbor Voices is a look back at her community. Another great book with short stories that include this area is The Romance of Casco Bay by Edward Rowe Snow. This features ship wrecks, priates and lost treasure.
This long hiatus of “closed to browsing” is over. It has been hard on us all. Today as I put out the open flag, a family arrived. Donning my nautical mask. I greeted them and escorted them up our stairs. These were children and a mother whom I have not seen in over a year! But as library staff know, you remember your readers. In February I had been reviewing books for young adults and I had remembered this teens favorite genre. Set in the Maine woods, this thriller had her elements of a Good Read. Thriller yes, and both she and I were thrilled.
This new section of the Cundy’s Harbor website focuses on book questions you have posed to us. This week I am going research out a request about Maine Mystery Series. Specifically who are the authors, what is there series overall theme (main character, occupation, elements like recipes or knots), and lastly, do you need to read them in order?
Maine Mystery Authors Who is in our Maine collection? Probably there are differences between libraries as to who is designated as a Maine author. Here at our library, a Maine mystery author CAN BE someone who is a native, lives here now, or lives elsewhere but has roots in Maine with Maine as a major element to their series.
