Another St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, and while for some of you that might mean having a Guinness at the Burren and listening to Irish folk music, you might consider passing the time with a good book. I assume you’re all familiar with at least the names of the classic Irish writers such as Swift, Joyce, Shaw and Yeats, so I’m going to focus on contemporary Irish books and authors.
Let’s start with arguably the most important Irish writer of our time: John Banville (left). He won... Read Post
The Great American Read, the 8-part series in which PBS attempted to determine which novel is America's favorite, is over. On October 23rd the network announced (to no one's surprise) that the winner was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
To Kill a Mockingbird was on my list of favorites too, as were many of the other titles on the list of 100 novels which were selected for inclusion in the contest. Continuing in the spirit of competition, I hereby announce that all of my best-... Read Post
If you're a knitter the Library has so much to offer you!
Drop in knitting evenings (Mondays at the West Branch, Thursdays at the East Branch.) Socialize with fellow knitters, work on your current project, maybe get some advice on the tricky parts. Community Scarf Projects at all three SPL locations - sit down, relax, and add a row or two! Get Cozy at the Library! Enjoy the coziness, cocoa, and company at this winter program in which you can choose to make the craft of the day or... Read PostI read so many books in 2017 most of them seem to have run together in my head. But four absolutely stand out in my memory. The first one is a re-read. The other three were new discoveries.
Absalom! Absalom! by William Faulkner.
Every time I read this novel I am astounded and moved, often by passages I don’t recall from previous readings. For those who haven’t read Absalom, Absalom!, it’s a novel within a novel. For his entire life, young Quentin Compson has heard vague,... Read Post
On the evening of October 30, 1938, CBS radio broadcast an adaptation of H. G. Well's War of the Worlds, the 1898 novel about a Martian invasion of Earth, as part of the radio drama series Mercury Theatre on the Air. Written and directed by Orson Welles (left), the program was mostly in the form of simulated news bulletins. For decades stories have been told about the panic that ensued when many listeners jumped to the conclusion they were listening to an actual news broadcast.
The... Read Post
It's the time of year when many readers indulge in books about the supernatural, so here's a review/recommendation of the Pamela Dean novel Tam Lin, courtesy of our excellent substitute librarian, Annie Schapira:
October is a time of cool nights, warm sweaters, and scary stories, and I am a fan of all of the above. However, my favorite book to revisit this season, Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin (1991), is not what I would consider a horror story, although its final reckoning takes place on... Read Post
Happy pride month, Somerville! We are always looking for new and diverse books to read and and recommend.This month, we asked Autostraddle contributor, medical resident, and comic book enthusiast Lizz Rubin for some recommendations. Here’s a list of her favorite queer books right now:
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn't sure if her mom will ever speak to... Read Post
This day in 1999 was a sad day for children of all ages worldwide: Shel Silverstein died at age 67. He's best known as an author of poetry for children (most famously Where the Sidewalk Ends), but he was also a singer-songwriter, cartoonist and profilic playwright.
The author of Silverstein's New York Times obituary called his children's poems "goofy, gross and macabre yet always enchanting" and compared them to the work of Dr. Seuss and A.A. Milne.
At the website of the... Read Post
First time novelist Angie Thomas has made a big splash with her young adult novel, The Hate U Give. Released last month, the novel has already topped the New York Times's Best Seller List for Young Adult Hardcover Books, been optioned for a Hollywood film, and been acclaimed by critics and in numerous articles, such as this one in New York Magazine, this one on Fusion.net, and this one in the New York Times. It is also currently one of the most requested books in the Minuteman Library... Read Post
On this day in 1778, King Louis XVI of France recieved at court two representatives of the newly declared United States, Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin. Their reception by an absolute monarch was an astonishing coup for a fledgling nation rejecting the very notion of monarchy, but Louis' hatred of Great Britain trumped concerns about encouraging rebellion againts kings. The fact that one of the emissaries was Benjamin Franklin made Louis' decision easier: Franklin was the equivalent of a... Read Post
Many of us will remember 2016 as the year the world lost so many vibrant talents and wonderful minds: the novelist Umberto Eco, the comedic actor Gene Wilder, the singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and completely wonderful actor and human being Alan Rickman, to name only a few. But I was perhaps most moved by the death of the multitalented Carrie Fisher, the actress and author most of us remember as the fearless, defiant Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films. She had other film roles,... Read Post
After just returning from Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, where it was hot and humid, this New England weather is killing me. I would love to return to a sunny vacation where the authentic food was amazing, Buddhist temples await, adventures on rivers and massages at every turn. If you’re looking to take a trip to get out of this cold and dreary weather, come take a look at Somerville library’s travel books, starting in the 914 section on the second floor of the main library, you can find a... Read Post
Today is Halloween, a day for tricking or treating and dressing up, the annual celebration of all things scary. They day is believed to have pagan roots, originating from the Celtic harvest festival Samhain.
Even though Halloween will be over at midnight, you can still indulge your taste for the scary (if you have a taste for the scary). A couple of options at SPL: The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales or Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. You could also search the catalog... Read Post
The Massachusetts Center for the Book has announced the 2016 Massachusetts Book Awards. You can see the list of winners and runners-up here.
You can request any of these titles by logging in here or by calling any branch of the Somerville Public Library: 617.623.5000.
Yesterday the New York Times ran a two-part column discussing whether or not there is a "wrong way" to read a book. The best part was this quote from Doris Lessing:
“There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping the parts that drag — and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement. Remember that... Read Post
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