National Poetry Month, which takes place each April, is a celebration of poetry introduced in 1996 and organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. The Academy of American Poets’ website Poets.org serves as a hub for information about local poetry events during the month. National Poetry […]
The library is hosting a program, Queens of the Adriatic on Sunday, April 10, about traveling to two beautiful European destinations nestled along the Adriatic Sea: the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, thought by some to be the next Riviera, and Venice, Italy. (Click here for details and to register.) I have been dreaming of a trip to Croatia to see the beautiful […]
Thanks to on-demand services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, binge watching television series (X-Files is my current binge) has become a cultural phenomenon. Immersing yourself within the world of your favorite characters for hours and days at a time is the ultimate form of escapism. Of course, this is nothing really new to book lovers. The hazards of book binging […]
Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, “the Day of the Festival of Patrick”), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates […]
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson“Fans of Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand have reason to rejoice. She has created another engaging novel full of winsome characters, this time set during the summer before the outbreak of World War I. Follow the story of headstrong, independent Beatrice Nash and kind but stuffy surgeon-in-training Hugh Grange along with his formidable […]
Not able to watch the Oscars Sunday night? No problem. Just read them! While it is not unusual for Oscar nominees to come from book adaptations, this year is unprecedented. Six of the eight Best Picture Nominees got their start on the printed (or downloaded) page: The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, The Martian, The Revenant and Room. You shouldn’t […]
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys“Titanic. Lusitania. Wilhelm Gustloff. All major maritime disasters, yet the last is virtually unknown. Ruta Sepetys changes that in her gripping historical novel. Told in short snippets, Salt to the Sea rotates between four narrators attempting to escape various tragedies in 1945 Europe. Powerful and haunting, heartbreaking and hopeful–a must read.”- Jennifer Asimakopoulos, Indian […]
Don’t forget to tune in to CBS at 7pm on February 15th to watch the 58th Annual Grammy Awards! Must-see performances include James Bay, Tori Kelly, Andra Day, Sam Hunt, and my favorites, Carrie Underwood and Ellie Goulding! For a full list of this years Grammy Nominees, go to https://www.grammy.com/nominees
My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel by Elizabeth Strout“Set in the mid-1980s, Lucy Barton, hospitalized for nine weeks, is surprised when her estranged mother shows up at her bedside. Her mother talks of local gossip, but underneath the banalities, Lucy senses the love that cannot be expressed. This is the story that Lucy must write about, the one story […]
The Japanese Lover: A Novel by Isabel Allende“Irina is a young Moldavian immigrant with a troubled past. She works at an assisted living home where she meets Alma, a Holocaust survivor. Alma falls in love with Ichi, a young Japanese gardener, who survived Topaz, the Japanese internment camp. Despite man’s inhumanity to man, love, art and beauty can exist, as […]
