Books
May 26th 2013
Today is the day the nation remembers those who have died serving in the armed forces. Originally called Decoration Day, the holiday began to honor those men who had died for the Union in the Civil War. Time has a brief history of the holiday here.
If you're interested in learning more about the grim realities of military service, I recommend War by Sebastian Junger. The award-winning author of A Perfect Storm and A Death in Belmont accompanied a platoon during a fifteenth-month tour of... Read Post
May 20th 2013
During lunch I was reading a book industry newsletter and came across this marvelous quote from Sarah McNally, a NYC bookshop owner:
"Never forget the wonks, and the weirdos, and the people who will be delighted by this book that they never could even have imagined could exist and they will find on your shelf."
I love that. And it sums up my philosophy of library collections. Not every book on a shelf has to be popular. An individual book doesn't take up that much space. So what if it doesn't... Read Post
March 4th 2013
The Somerville Public Library is introducing a new collection, Muslim Journeys, which is currently available for browsing and checkout at the Central Branch of the library. This bookshelf collection aims to familiarize residents and visitors with the places, history, faith and cultures of Muslims in the U.S. and around the world. It is intended to address both the need and desire of the American public for trustworthy and accessible resources about Muslim beliefs and practices and the cultural... Read Post
October 25th 2012
A friend read the earlier post about therapeutic reading and wrote to me that The Divine Comedy had helped him through a very difficult time (he thinks it was either Mark Musa's translation or John Ciardi's).* He has also found comfort in Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Terrible Sonnets" (an example here) and the poetry of George Herbert. He added that in a crisis he often turns to books he knows will make him laugh, such as the works of David Sedaris (he specifically mentioned Me Talk Pretty One Day... Read Post
October 15th 2012
Recently someone wrote to the editors of The Paris Review for reading recommendations. The person in question was suffering from severe depression. As a result he had already lost his job and relationship. He wrote that he was in therapy, but wondered if the editors could recommend books that would help him recover.
Sadie Stein responded with a thoughtful and lengthy list of reading suggestions. She began with books by people who have suffered from depression, on the grounds that whatever you... Read Post
July 18th 2012
I am working at the library because, first of all, I wanted a summer job. Many of my friends decided to participate in the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program and my older sister has done it last year. Based on all that, I decided to participate as well since it looks good on a resume, is good for college, and a good introduction to the working world.
On the application, there were 5 categories of jobs and you had to rank them in order of what you would like to do most.... Read Post
March 26th 2012
A patron once told me that she never goes upstairs to look for books. She picks all her reading material from the return carts near the circulation desk. I told her that would never have occurred to me. She said, "Well, it lets me know what other people are interested in. It's like anonymous book recommendations."
Since that conversation Ive taken to looking at the cart where circulation staff put the most recently returned books. It provides a sample of the diverse tastes of Somerville... Read Post
August 19th 2011
An SPL blog reader recently suggested to me that I write about "crazy books in the collection." With over 200,000 volumes SPL definitely has its share of those (among my favorites are a slim little volume on the guys who figured out how to embalm Lenin and a book about the first scientific studies of the duck-billed platypus*)
However, one of the best places to seek out unusual reading material is the Local History Room at the Central Library. It's used primarily by genealogists, historic... Read Post
February 28th 2011
There's no doubt about it: we're fascinated by organized crime. Whether it's The Godfather, Goodfellas or The Sopranos, we can't get enough of books and dramas that claim to show us the mob from the inside, an alternative underground world with its own laws and loyalties.
Citizen Somerville is the genuine article: the memoir of Bobby Martini, who grew up during the Irish Gang Wars of the 1960s. He describes what it was like to live in the crossfire of the violence that claimed 60 lives before... Read Post
July 30th 2008
Enter Somerville, a city packed with stories larger than itself, to salute a heritage that justifies the fierce pride of its citizens. Share a perch on one of Somerville's celebrated hills with Dee Morris and Dora St. Martin and watch the raising of America's first flag and the stringing of its first telephone line. Strolling from neighborhood to neighborhood, this brief history knocks on the doors of everyone from the father of Fenway Park to Missy LeHand, Franklin D. Roosevelt's private... Read Post