“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” wrote Leo Tolstoy at the beginning of his novel ANNA KARENINA. On the book show this month Dennis Minsky joined us, as we shared books about both happy and unhappy families. From a classic book of photography created by Edward Steichen to the LETTERS OF SHIRLEY JACKSON to the story behind the classic children’s book ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY by Sydney Taylor. Feel free to leave a comment below with your favorite book about fictional or real families! If you missed the show, you’ll be able to listen on CAI’s website. And if you would like to join me for Cathy Prendergast’s talk about her new book The Gilded Edge: two audacious women and the cyanide love triangle that shook America on Tuesday, October 5th, at 7:00 PM, you can sign up for her Zoom talk here.

Dennis’s Picks

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
A Death In the Family by James Agee
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Naked by David Sedaris

Jill’s Picks

The Family of Man with an introduction by Edward Steichen and a prologue by Carl Sandburg
The Gilded Edge by Catherine Prendergast
The Letters of Shirley Jackson edited by Laurence Jackson Hyman
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
From Sarah to Sydney: the woman behind All-of-a-Kind Family by June Cummins with Alexandra Dunietz

Listener Pick

Defending Jacob by William Landay
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa
Wild Swans: three daughters of China by Jung Chang

We are delighted to welcome local author Christopher Setterlund for Zoom presentations on two Tuesday evenings, July 20th and July 27^th at 7 pm! He will be discussing his book, Historical Restaurants of Cape Cod, on July 20^th.  He will also be back the following week, on, July 27^th, for a presentation about historical hotels and night spots, from his books Iconic Hotels and Motels of Cape Cod and Cape Cod Nights: Historic Bars, Clubs and Drinks, where he will emphasize historical Falmouth spots including the Dome, Terrace Gables and Brothers Four.

Christopher is a 12th generation Cape Codder –his family is the Doane Family that helped to settle Eastham.  He currently has 6 published books, including several of the “In my Footsteps” Cape and Islands travel books, and he produces a podcast called the “In My Footsteps Podcast” which covers everything from New England history and travel to lifestyle and 1980’s nostalgia. Also, visit Christopher’s page, christophersetterlund.com, for more information about him and his work!

Both events are free and appropriate for adults and teens. Postcards from Falmouth Series is a Falmouth Public Library local history project made possible through a Library Services and Technology Act grant, and administered through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.  Registration is required before the events, to receive the Zoom link. Please register online for the July 20th event by clicking here, and the July 27th event here, or contact the reference department at 508-457-2555 x 7.

We are delighted to welcome Ken Gloss, rare book specialist and owner of the internationally known Brattle Book Shop in Boston’s Downtown Crossing area for a Zoom presentation on Tuesday evening, July 6th at 6:30 pm! Please register online to receive the link by clicking here or contact the reference department at 508-457-2555 x 7.

Ken will discuss the value of old and rare books, and even do an appraisal or two as time permits! Ken, a rare book specialist and appraiser who is frequently on national TV and WGBH radio, will talk in part about the history of his historic bookshop, which goes back to circa 1825. He is a second-generation owner.

He will describe and exhibit some of his favorite finds and relate some of the joys of the “hunt,” as well as explain what makes a book go up in value. He has many fascinating anecdotes to share as well as guidelines for what to look for when starting a collection. There is also a Q&A session before the conclusion of his talk.  If you would like a book of yours appraised, email the information beforehand, with a couple of photos, to info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org (subject line: Appraisal). Ken will give free verbal appraisals of a couple of these at the end, and can do so for others at a later date. For more information about Ken and future talks, call the store toll-free at 800-447-9595, or visit their website, www.brattlebookshop.com!

This event is free and appropriate for adults and teens.  

We are pleased to welcome mystery author Peter Colt on Wednesday evening, June 16th, at 7 p.m., for a Zoom presentation by the Falmouth Public Library! He will talk about his writing process, and his two P.I. Andy Roark novels, The Off-Islander and Back Bay Blues, one of which takes place on Nantucket. You can register to get the Zoom link by clicking here, or contact the Reference Department at 

As Publishers’ Weekly wrote about Back Bay Blues: “Colt’s excellent second hard-boiled mystery featuring Boston PI Andy Roark (after 2019’s The Off-Islander) finds Roark, a Vietnam War vet still traumatized by his combat experiences… Colt makes his wounded lead sympathetic, and balances a gripping plot with further development of Roark’s character.” 

Peter Colt is an Iraq War veteran, a New England law enforcement officer and an FBI certified Crisis Negotiator. He spent over twenty years in the Army reserve and was deployed to Kosovo in 2000 and to Iraq in 2003 and again in 2008, and has had the fortune of knowing many Vietnam vets and U.S. Army Special forces soldiers. Born in Boston, he grew up on Nantucket and lived there in the 1970’s and 80’s. He currently lives in Rhode Island.