Author: Library User

Books About the Sea on The Point with Steve Junker

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This morning on The Point book show, we had a visiting host, and a new book talker! You can listen to it here! Steve Junker, Managing Editor of  News at WCAI, sat in for Mindy Todd and Jayne Iafrate joined us for the first, but I am sure not the last, book talk. Our topic was nautical books. Below is the list of all the titles we mentioned, and if you want to add your favorite to the list, just send us an email at info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org. 

 

Jayne’s Picks

 

Jill’s Picks

Adventurers Afloat: a nautical bibliography by Ernest W. Toy, Jr.  The sub-title is: “A Comprehensive Guide to Books in English Recounting the Adventures of Amateur Sailors upon the Waters of the World in Yachts, Boats, and Other Devices and Including Works on the Arts and Sciences of Cruising, Racing, Seamanship, Navigation, Design, Building, etc. from the Earliest Writings Through 1986.” While this is a reference book, and usually non-circulating, I have made it circulating for the time being should anyone want to take a closer look.

The Riddle of the Sands: a record of secret service recently achieved by Erskine Childers

Moby-Dick In Pictures: one drawing for every page by Matt Kish

Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian. Article from the New York Times: “An Author I’d Walk the Plank For” by Richard Snow

Lobscouse & Spotted Dog by Anne Chotzinoff Grossman and Lisa Grossman Thomas. And the Paris Review article “Cooking with Patrick O’Brian” by Valerie Stivers

“The Fog Horn” by Ray Bradbury in Stories of the Sea.

The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett

“The Sea and the Wind that Blows” in Essays of E.B. White

Stuart Little by E. B. White

Little Pig Saves the Ship by David Hyde Costello

Dare the Wind by Tracey Fern. Pictures by Emily Arnold McCully

 

Listener Picks

Thomas Kydd novels by Julian Stockwin

Green Shadows, White Whale by Ray Bradbury

 

 

 

 

 

Books Featuring Islands on The Point with Mindy Todd

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This morning on the monthly book show we discussed books that featured islands. If you missed the show, you can always listen online. Mindy and Jill were joined this morning by Stefanie Corbin, owner of Footprints Cafe LLC Bookstore located in Buzzards Bay. What is your favorite book that is set on an island?

Stefanie’s Picks

Summer On the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin with Veronica Chambers
Whaling Captains of Color: America’s first meritocracy by Skip Finley
The Wampanoag Tribe of Martha’s Vineyard: colonization to recognition by Thomas Dresser
Island Queen by Vanessa Riley

Jill’s Picks

The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard. Here is a link to Weisgard’s Caldecott Acceptance Speech.
Island Boy by Barbara Cooney 
Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands: a guide to the city’s hidden shores by Christopher Klein
African-Americans on Martha’s Vineyard & Nantucket: a history of people, places and events by Robert & Karen Hayden
Island Zombie Iceland Writings by Roni Horn
Archipelago: An Atlas of Imagined Islands edited by Huw Lewis-Jones
Atlas of Remote Islands: fifty islands I have never set foot on and never will by Judith Schalansky
The Un-Discovered Islands: an archipelago of myths and mysteries, phantoms and fakes by Malachy Tallack, illustrated by Katie Scott
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Listener Picks

Small Island by Andrea Levy
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
Mysteries featuring Detective William Gibson by Kathy Garthwaite
Away Off Shore by Nathaniel Philbrick
Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey

Writing Stories From Postcards

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Writing Stories From Postcards

via Zoom on September 9th, 16th, 23rd, & 30th from 10:00 AM – Noon for a short story writing workshop.
 
 
A short story writing workshop that begins with the Falmouth Public Library historic postcard collection.
Every postcard tells a story! Sometimes it is just the need for a peanut butter sandwich or what a swell time they are having in Falmouth Heights. 
 
 
As Miciah writes  … “let strange, tender, wild, and bittersweet stories unfold, all inspired by the ‘Postcards from Falmouth’ project and its glimpses into the past.”  
 
 
 
Space limited, sign up today at falmouthpubliclibrary.org/events/
 
 
Postcards from Falmouth is a Falmouth Public Library local history project, made possible by a Library Services Technology Act grant & administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.  
 
Support also from the Trustees of the Falmouth Public Library.

A Book Show About Beverages

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This morning on The Point with Mindy Todd on WCAI we discussed books that feature beverages. Joining us this month was Kellie Porter of the Woods Hole Library. If you missed the show you can listen online, or send us your suggestion for great books about beverages. If you would like to read the full review of Cape Cod’s Way by Scott Corbett, reviewed by the Falmouth ENTERPRISE on June 3, 1955, just head over to falmouthpubliclibrary.org and click on the box that says digital archive, the ENTERPRISE. A review in which they note: “Thrice the author misspells the name of the author of ‘American the Beautiful’, the Falmouth-born Katharine Lee Bates.”

Kellie’s Picks

Craft Coffee: a manual by Jessica Easto
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Kombucha, Kefir, and Beyond by Alex Lewin and Raquel Guajardo
Homegrown Tea by Cassie Liversidge
Homemade Soda by Andrew Schloss
 
Jill’s Picks
 
Beach Cocktails: favorite surfside sips and bar snacks. Published by Coastal Living
It Began With Lemonade by Gideon Sterer and illustrated by Lian Cho
Mr. Pudgins by Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, illustrated by Margaret Bradfield
 
Listener Picks 
 
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery … and to go along with that, Jill suggested The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook by Kate Macdonald
“tear-water tea” as described in Owl At Home by Arnold Lobel

Books featuring water on The Point with Mindy Todd

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This was a particularly delightful book show for us today, as it was the FIRST time we have actually been in the WCAI studios since February 2020! Yes, the first show I did from my living room couch was in March 2020. The joy and silliness in today’s episode was the joy at being in the studio, and actually being able to see Mindy and Vicky as we spoke!  Our topic today was water, and below you will find all the books that were mentioned. If you weren’t able to listen this morning, you can listen online anytime!

Vicky’s Picks

Swimming to the Top of the Tide: Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet by Patricia Hanlon
Waterlog: A Swimmers Journey Through Britain by Roger Deakin
Waves and Beaches: The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast (3RD ed.) by Willard Bascomb and Kim McCoy
Shearwater: A Bird, an Ocean and a Long Way Home by Roger Morgan-Grenville 
Outer Beach: A Thousand Mile Walk on Cape Cod’s Atlantic Shore by Robert Finch 
Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton
Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson 
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Water Bugs and Dragonflies: explaining death to young children by Doris Stickney

Jill’s Picks

Hey, Water by Antoinette Portis
Peter Spier’s Rain by Peter Spier
How To Read Water: clues and patterns from puddles to the sea by Tristan Gooley
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
Rain: a natural and cultural history by  Cynthia Barnett
Brolliology: a history of the umbrella in life and literature by Marion Rankine
Plainwater: essays and poetry by Anne Carson
New England Waterfalls by Greg Parsons & Kate B. Watson
The Crying Book by Heather Christle

Listener Picks

One, Two, Three by Laurie Frankel
Outerbridge Reach by Robert Stone
Salt:  A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Wave by Susan Casey
Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox
Grayson by Lynne Cox

 

It’s Little Free Library Week

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May 3rd-7th is Little Free Library Week!

Falmouth takes reading seriously and we are so very lucky to have many ways to get books, ranging from the expansive collections at our public libraries and their Friends group’s book sales to our wonderful local book store, Eight Cousins. Falmouth is also home to several Little Free Libraries.

Little Free Libraries are small, weatherproof boxes with books (and sometimes other items) free to take and are usually maintained by a dedicated volunteer or several working together. They are fun to stumble upon, but also fun to visit as a destination. You can find Little Free Libraries in Falmouth in several locations.

Little Free Libraries registered at littlefreelibrary.org

  • Gus Canty Community Center (inside lobby)
  • 15 Depot Avenue
  • 134 King Street
  • 24 Gilbert Lane
  • 120 Bay Shore Drive
  • 196 Ocean View Avenue
  • 65 Wild Harbor Road
  • 456 Locustfield Road (Look for the red, old-style newspaper box.)
  • 12 Mast Road

Others around town

  • Worcester Court
  • 526 Hatchville Road

Let us know about others. And happy reading!

New Mystery Book Group Meets May 19th

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Mysteries of all kinds are an extremely popular fiction genre at the Falmouth Public Library and we have a new book group dedicated reading and talking solely about these stories. The first meeting of the group is Wednesday, May 19 from 4:30-5:30 on Zoom. Held as a three-part series with a new theme each series, the group will meet 9 times per year. The book group will remain a virtual book group hosted by Jennifer Woodward, FPL’s Assistant Director.

Our first theme is “Firsts & Lasts” and for each meeting we will read both (yes, both) the first and last books in a completed series.

On May 19th, we’ll read Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series. The first is The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1921) and the last is Curtain (1975). Both books take place in the same county house and joins together Hercule Poirot with his sidekick Captain Arthur Hastings to solve the murder of the days. Curtain was written 30 years before its publication during World War II and saved in a vault. Intended by Agatha Christie to be published after her death, but published shortly before it, the title – Curtain – hints at the author’s intentions.  Please be sure to register to receive a Zoom link.

On June 9th, we’ll read Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon Series. The first is Track of the Cat (1993) and the last is Boar Island (2016).  

On July 14th, we’ll read Philip R. Craig’s Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries. The first is A Beautiful Place to Die (1989) and the last is Vineyard Chill (2008).

Upcoming Themes:
Beyond the Bridge: Set in distinctive locales not on Cape Cod
2021: September 8, October 13 & November 10

Short Stories: Short stories by one or more authors collected in one book.
2022: January 12, February 9 & March 9

ACORN TV Ends on May 14th

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AcornTV will no longer be available as a streaming service through the library. Unfortunately, RBdigital, the current carrier of AcornTV, was unable to negotiate a new service agreement with AcornTV. If you have a 7-day token/pass that might still have time after May 14th, we have been advised that RBdigital will continue to honor the time remaining. If you have any questions please email us at info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org or call us at 508-457-2555.

THIS IS A ROBBERY: the world’s biggest art heist. Read All About It!

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“She is not a woman, she is a locomotive — with a Pullman car attached.” — Henry James on Isabella Stewart Gardner

Many of you have no doubt already binge watched the new Netflix documentary This Is A Robbery: the world’s biggest art heist, which focuses on the 1990 theft of art from the Gardner Museum in Boston. Or you might have heard Jim Braude interview the filmmakers on WGBH. This got me to thinking of all the books that have already been written on the theft, on the museum, and on the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner. Thus, here is a reading list of all the titles in the library connected to the Gardner Museum in one way or another. I should mention that I have been devoted to the Gardner Museum ever since I first stepped through the doors when I was a high school student, long, long ago. When I was getting my library degree at Simmons College, I would often stop by the Gardner before heading to a class. There is really nothing that gives me more pleasure than seeing the annual hanging nasturtiums display which continues an annual tradition started by Isabella Stewart Gardner. 

If you would like to dive into the world of Isabella Stewart Gardner, her life, her museum, and the biggest art heist in Boston’s history, here is a collection of titles that covers it all. We’ve got a display up right now of all these titles, so stop by and take a look! (We even have a book club kit of The Art Forger, so your entire book club can read together!) And did I mention, we also have Museum Passes to the Gardner! (Be sure to call the library regarding the new way to redeem our museum passes if you are interested.)

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: daring by design 
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: a guide 
Eye of the Beholder: masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Memory Palace of Isabella Stewart Gardner by Patricia Vigderman
Boston’s Apollo by Thomas McKeller and John Singer Sargent
Anders Zorn: a European artist seduces America edited by Oliver Tostmann (The first place I ever saw the art of Anders Zorn was at the Gardner, and I fell in love!)
Master Thieves: the Boston gangsters who pulled off the world’s greatest art heist by Stephen Kurkjian (Also available as an e-book via the Libby app.)
Stealing Rembrandts: the untold stories of notorious art heists by Anthony M. Amore and Tom Mashberg
The Gardner Heist: the true story of the world’s largest unsolved art theft by Ulrich Boser
Mrs. Jack: a biography of Isabella Stewart Gardner by Louise Hall Tharp
Sargent’s Women: four lives behind the canvas by Donna M. Lucey. Also available on CD.
The Art of Scandal: the life and times of Isabella Stewart Gardner by Douglass Shand-Tucci
Gondola Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle by Elizabeth Anne McCauley, Alan Chong, Rosella Mamoli Zorzi, and Richard LIngner
Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia by Alan Chong and Noriko Murai

And a couple of novels involving the Gardner Museum Heist:

The Therapist by William Nolan
The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro (Also available on CD, and via the Libby app.)
The Docent by Tom Kenny

 

Short Reads on The Point With Mindy Todd

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Today on the monthly book show with Mindy Todd on WCAI, we were trying to offer short reads for short attention spans. Joining us this month was Nelson Ritschel, a Professor in the Department of Humanities at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Having trouble concentrating this year? Our book topic this month is short fiction, or as we like to think of them One-Night Reads. We shared short novels and short stories.

UPDATE: I have only just realized that during the course of our conversation I was talking about Laurie Colwin’s books being reissued, but managed to confuse her with Lorrie Moore, who is the author of the book I was actually talking about called Self-Help: stories. And I dearly love Laurie Colwin’s stories and novels, as well as her book Home Cooking: a writer in the kitchen. By all means you should read BOTH Laurie Colwin and Lorrie Moore! Pandemic brain strikes again!

Nelson’s Picks

“The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” by Stephen Crane,  https://public.wsu.edu/campbelld/crane/bride.htm

“The Dead” by James Joyce, Dubliners. London: Grant Richards, 1914—and http://online-literautre.com/

“A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, The Best American Short Stories of the Century, John Updike, ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

“Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, The Garden Party and Other Stories. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1922—and https://katherinemansfield.org

“The Adventure of ‘The Western Star’” by Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories, New York: William Morrow, 2013.

Jill’s Picks

The Virgin In the Garden by A. S. Byatt (A LONG book, which  made me realize I needed to read short books!)

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

Self-Help by Lorrie Moore (or really anything by Lorrie Moore)

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

High Rising by Angela Thirkell

Nothing Much Happens: cozy and calming stories to soothe  your mind and help you sleep by Kathryn Nicolai

Desperate Characters by Paula Fox

Margaret The First by Danielle Dutton (Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s essay on Margaret the First.)

Listener Picks

Roughing It by Mark Twain
The Opposite of Loneliness: essays and stories by Marina Keegan
I Love Everybody (and other atrocious lies) by Laurie Notaro