BOOK LOVERS

July 2009

by Karin Hagan

Technical Services Supervisor

The OBOT (One Book, One Town, Sharon Reads Together) program was a big success again this year, with the book, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.  Thanks to a grant, great programming and some clever searching and lateral thinking by the materials selectors at your library, our collections benefitted happily from the event.

For readers of true crime, of course, the benefit is somewhat transparent, in that Mr. Larson’s book is about a serial killer.  But unlike others of his kind, he chose to operate during an event of international consequence: The World’s Columbian Exposition, in Chicago in 1893.  That meant that items in a variety of formats were added about the Exposition, including its planning and construction, architecture and the architects and planners, Chicago, and so forth.

America at the Fair: the World’s Columbian Exhibition offers a history of the fair, and information about the exhibits.  There are also copies of menus, posters, and information about renting a Kodak camera. 

The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893: a Photographic Rrecord is certainly that.  The buildings, the whiteness of which inspired the reference to “alabaster cities” in America the Beautiful, are stunningly beautiful.  Then take into account that they were all constructed in about 2 years (no Big Dig boondoggle there), and true amazement sets in rather quickly.  

We also have Women at an Exhibition, a Collection of Music Composed and Performed by Women at the Fair.  The recording was done in 1991, however, as the technology of recording sound had barely begun in 1893. 

Boston’s own Frederick Law Olmsted was one of the primary planners of the grounds.  We appreciate him for our Emerald Necklace parks, but he’s the designer of New York’s Central Park, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and was a major figure in the movement to create national parks.  His legacy includes Yosemite and Niagara Falls. 

Even more local than Boston, Sharon’s own Jack Levin, sociologist and criminologist at Northeastern gave a very well attended program at the Library.  His latest book, Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers: Up Close and Personal, is, of course, in our collection, along with his others.

Beyond the specifics of the Columbian Exposition, but related to it generally, we’ve added some excellent books like A World History of Architecture and Detail in Contemporary Landscape Architecture. These reside in our reference collection, but on a hot day (and I’m sure we’ll get some – eventually), it could be very nice to sit at a table, or in a comfy chair in the magazine or reading area and wander the world through space and time.  And yes, you may bring your iced coffee or tea.   On our shelves, we have lots of books of house-plans, remodeling ideas, and gardening in our part of the world.  (Or, if summer never comes, check out our books on making soups and stews.)

Your library’s collections aren’t just about serial killers, architecture, gardening and soup.  In addition to the popular authors and movies we get regularly, keep an eye out for intriguing new authors – or the offbeat.

A lot of the staff of the library are reading this one and loving it.  I don’t think it’s my cup of tea, but it makes for an interesting shift from the slew of novels being written about Jane Austen, or taking her characters beyond where she left them.  I’ll let you decide.

I just love the name Tarquin Hall; I’ve not read anything of his, but for his first foray into fiction, the reviews convince me that I won’t be disappointed.  Vish Puri, head of Delhi’s Most Private Investigators, Ltd., knows his city and its people.  The critics say the book is witty and graceful; I say it’s on my list.

So many books have been, are being, and will be written about the war in Iraq.  This one, most likely a very tough read, is about one of the many who return home with traumatic brain injuries and metal plates replacing parts of their skulls.  It’s a thriller, but certainly from a very different point of view.

The name Henry David Thoreau conjures up images of Walden Pond, nature in all its wonder, solitude, and quiet – certainly not the horrific roar of a forest fire.  Did you know that he and a friend accidently set a fire that burned 300 acres?  Mr. Pipkin did, and has written a novel about the event and its impact on Thoreau and others.  The year of the fire was 1844, but the place is just up the road.  Read the book, then go for a drive.

In the large print collection, look for Ian Rankin’s latest mystery staring John Rebus of Edinburgh.  He’s not debonair like Elizabeth George’s Thomas Lynley, eccentrically scruffy like R. D. Wingfield’s Jack Frost.  No, Rebus is an unpleasant, cantankerous soul who takes little interest in his health or appearance, to say the least.  Now he is also dealing with the vicissitudes of age and staring retirement in the face.  But then a poet dies. 

Mary Balogh has been around for a long time, but for lovers of Regency novels (remember Marion Chesney?), there’s the Huxtable series, beginning with First Comes Marriage. We have the others, too.

The audiobook collection is growing in two directions.  We have books on CD, all unabridged, and are also always expanding the number of available Playaways.  We’re buying them, and Kari Mofford, our part-time reference librarian, just won 15 new titles for us. Have you tried them yet?

Would you like to learn breathing and relaxation exercises without having to change a tape or CD?   Playaways are about the size of one of the smallest, coolest, cell-phones.  All you need is a AAA battery and a pair of headphones or earbuds. 

If you missed reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and the 18-disc audiobook was daunting, we’ve got the Playaway of that, too.  Same small size, same convenience.  The picture is of the book because I couldn’t find a picture of the Playaway that was any bigger than life-sized, so it didn’t transfer well. 

Our DVD collection is pleasantly eclectic, offering a variety of mainstream, indie and foreign films plus television series from US and the UK.  You'll find the television shows between the nonfiction and the film sections. 

Having two of my favorite actors Emma Thompson and and Dustin Hoffman in the same movie made it irresistible. And you know what?  We liked it.  It's ridiculously improbable, but the performances are charming to watch.

Henning Mankell is a Swedish author whose series featuring Kurt Wallander has been around for nearly 20 years, and in English for 12.  And now three of the stories have been made for television with Kenneth Branagh.  They are good.  He is good. 

Those are the highlights I've chosen for this edition, but I can't close without mentioning that cookbooks featuring soups and stews are at 641.813, card games are at 795.4 and knitting patterns are at 746.43 -- just in case summer isn't happening this year.