Category: Books

Lena Andrews Valiant Women Book Talk

Posted on by Library User
Join us at the Library on Thursday December 7th at 1:30 pm in the Hermann Room for an author talk by Lena Andrews, reading from and discussing her book Valiant Women, about the women who served in the United States Armed Forces in World War II.
 
VALIANT WOMEN is the story of the 350,000 American women who served in uniform during World War II. These incredible women served in every service branch, in every combat theater, and in nearly two-thirds of the available military occupations at the time. They were pilots, codebreakers, ordnance experts, gunnery instructors, metalsmiths, chemists, translators, parachute riggers, truck drivers, radarmen, pigeon trainers, and much more. They were directly involved in some of the most important moments of the war, from the D-Day landings to the peace negotiations in Paris. These women—who hailed from every race, creed, and walk of life—died for their country and received the nation’s highest honors. Their work, both individually and in total, was at the heart of the Allied strategy that won World War II. Yet, until now, their stories have been relegated to the dusty shelves of military archives or a passing mention in the local paper. Often the women themselves kept their stories private, even from their own families. Valiant Women corrects the record by providing a definitive and comprehensive historical account of American servicewomen during World War II, based on new archival research, firsthand interviews with surviving veterans, and a deep professional understanding of military history and strategy.
 
Lena Andrews is the author of Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II and will join the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy as an Associate Research Professor in the spring. Lena has previously served as a military analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, and has also worked at the RAND Corporation and United States Institute of Peace. Her work has appeared on MSNBC, PBS, CNN, Today, People, and TIME, among many other outlets. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Lena received her Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specializing in international relations and security studies. 
 
This event is free and open to the public, but space may be limited so please REGISTER. Copies of the book will be available for sale courtesy of Eight Cousins. This event is presented by the Falmouth Public Library and Neighborhood Falmouth.
 
Neighborhood Falmouth is a non-profit organization that provides support services to seniors in the Falmouth community. The organization aims to help seniors live independently and maintain their quality of life by providing services such as transportation, grocery shopping, yard work, minor home repairs, and friendly visits. Neighborhood Falmouth operates on a volunteer-based model, where volunteers from the community are matched with seniors who need assistance. This allows seniors to receive personalized support while also fostering a sense of community and connection among volunteers and seniors.

 

 

Special Zoom event: bestselling Authors Tess Gerritsen & Paul Doiron!

Posted on by Sue

This Zoom event has been shared with us by the Tewksbury Public Library! It will take place online on Monday evening, November 20th from 7-8 pm (it will not be here at this library, and will take place after we are closed ). You can register on their site, and receive the Zoom link,  by clicking here. 

Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen will discuss her brand new book, The Spy Coast, in conversation with bestselling author Paul Doiron. A retired CIA operative in small-town Maine tackles the ghosts of her past in this fresh take on the spy thriller. 

A RITA Award and Nero Wolfe Award winner, Tess Gerritsen has sold over 40 million books in 40 countries, racking up number one bestsellers abroad and top-three bestsellers in the United States. Dubbed the “medical suspense queen” by Publishers Weekly, her series featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the TNT television series “Rizzoli & Isles,” starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. 

Paul Doiron is the bestselling author of the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels set in the Maine woods, and his work has received critical acclaim, receiving the Maine Literary Award twice, the New England Society’s Book Award for Fiction, the Barry Award, and the Strand Award, as well as nominations for the Edgar, Anthony and Macavity awards. His latest is Dead Man’s Wake. Doiron is the former chair of the Maine Humanities Council, Editor Emeritus of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, and a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program. 

Author Christopher Setterlund, Searching for our Lady of the Dunes

Posted on by Sue

We are excited to welcome Cape author Christopher Setterlund to the library on Tuesday, October 24th, to talk about his newest book, Searching for the Lady of the Dunes, and answer any questions! You can register by clicking here.  

For nearly fifty years, the Lady of the Dunes was Cape Cod’s most enduring mystery. Found savagely murdered and mutilated in the remote dunes of Provincetown in 1974 it seemed her identity would be forever unknown. In 2022 she was finally identified as Ruth Marie Terry.

Filmmaker Victor Franko worked tirelessly for two years attempting to give the Lady of the Dunes her name back through his documentary, Lady of the Dunes (2022). The process led to visiting rustic dune shacks, creepy cemeteries, iconic Provincetown night spots, Boston’s infamous Combat Zone, and correspondence with convicted serial killers. Over time the project became about more than just a dead girl in the dunes.

The documentary shone new light on the Lady of the Dunes case. This book pulls the curtain back on the Wild West that was Provincetown in the 1960s and 1970s thanks to those who were there at the time.”  

Christopher Setterlund is a 12th generation Cape Codder and part of a big local family. He has written three travel guides, In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide, In My Footsteps: A Traveler’s Guide to Martha’s Vineyard and In My Footsteps: A Traveler’s Guide to Nantucket. His Cape history books are Historic Restaurants of Cape Cod, Cape Cod Nights: Historic Bars, Clubs and Drinks and Iconic Hotels and Motels of Cape Cod, and he also has a new photography book, Cape Cod: the Heart and Soul beyond the Beach. He also hosts the In My Footsteps Podcast and is a certified personal trainer. Learn more about Chris by checking out his website, by clicking here!

This event is free. You can register by clicking here or by giving us a call at 50.8-457-2555 x. 7!

Maddie, Day, author of the Cozy Capers mystery series!

Posted on by Sue

We are excited to welcome back Maddie Day also known as Edith Maxwell, frequent Falmouth visitor and author of the popular Cozy Capers mysteries, for a reading, talk and book signing at the Falmouth Public Library! She will be discussing the newest book in the series, Murder at a Cape Bookstore. Eight Cousins Books will be selling books at the event. Registration is requested: you can do so by clicking here, or call us at 508-457-2555 x 7!

In the series, Mac (Mackenzie) Almeida runs a bicycle repair and rental shop in the fictional Cape Cod village of Westham, and also hosts a weekly cozy mystery book group. The gang discusses the latest fictional murder – and sometimes a real one, too.

Everyone loves a festival, but Mac has a few concerns about the Spring equinox event organized by the new Westham Chamber of Commerce director. After all, March weather on Cape Cod is unpredictable. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy, between flower-shaped candies at Salty Taffy’s, spring rolls at the Rusty Anchor, and a parade of decorated bicycles. But the festivities soon take a stormy turn. Mac glimpses conflict between the director and other locals during the festival, but it’s a shock when he’s found dead in the Book Nook, pinned beneath a toppled bookshelf. Mac and the rest of the Cozy Capers book group will have to use all their sleuthing skills to bring the killer’s story to an end.

Maddie Day is the Agatha Award and Macavity Award-winning author of the Cozy Capers Book Club Mystery series and the Country Store Mysteries, as well as other series written under the name Edith Maxwell. A member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, she is a regular contributor at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen and belongs to The Wickeds, a group of six bestselling authors who blog at WickedAuthors.com. Day lives with her beau north of Boston, though she knows both Indiana and Cape Cod intimately. She is a talented amateur chef and gardener and can be found online at edithmaxwell.com.

The Lioness of Boston – Virtual Author Talk with Emily Franklin

Posted on by Jessica O'Connor

Join the Falmouth Public Library for a virtual event via Zoom with author Emily Franklin on Tuesday, October 24th at 7pm, as we dive into her novel, The Lioness of Boston. A deeply evocative portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a daring visionary who created an inimitable legacy in American art and transformed the city of Boston itself. The Lioness of Boston is a portrait of what society expected a woman’s life to be, shattered by a courageous soul who rebelled and determined to live on her own terms.

This program will include a passage reading and Q+A with Emily, so share your questions and comments! Registration is required and please submit your questions for the author on the registration form. REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.  THIS VIRTUAL EVENT IS FULL.

Emily Franklin is the author of more than twenty books including The Lioness of Boston. Her work has been published in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Guernica among other places as well as long-listed for the London Sunday Times Short Story Award, featured on National Public Radio, and named notable by the Association of Jewish Libraries.

This event is partnered with Falmouth Public Library, Chillmark Free Public Library, Brewster Ladies’ Library, Hyannis Public Library, Yarmouth Port Library, and Centerville Public Library. Sponsored by the Falmouth Public Library Board of Trustees.

Joy of Learning, October 2023!

Posted on by Sue

Come join us in October for our ever-popular “Joy of Learning” series! We have offered Joy of Learning classes for many years, in April and October. They are taught by educators and other experts on a volunteer basis, for adults and for teens at a high school/college learning level.  Come learn something new and have fun!  All classes are free to the public and are sponsored by the Friends of the Falmouth Public Library. 

We are offering five classes this October; all will meet in person. Here are the titles, see below for descriptions and registration links!

People, Land and Climate Change with Skee Houghton, 4 Mondays, 10/2, 10/9, 10/23 & 10/30, 2-3 pm (does not meet on Indigenous Peoples’ Day 10/16)

Discussion of Station Eleven with Monica Hough (this year’s Falmouth Reads book!) 4 Tuesdays, 10/3, 10/10, 10/17 & 10/24, 4-5 pm

Poetry of Emily Dickinson with David Webb, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 &10/25, 10:30-noon

 Texture of Memory with Rae Nishi, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 & 10/25, 3-4 pm

 Written Language, Past and Present with Ryan Budnick, 4 Thursdays, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19 & 10/26 2-3 pm

Registration is required; click the link after the class title below, go to the library’s online event calendar, call the Reference Desk at 508-457-2555 x 7 or email us at info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org. Brochures are also available at the library!

People, Land and Climate Change with Skee Houlton, 4 Mondays, 10/2, 10/9, 10/23 and 10/30, 2-3 pm (does not meet on Indigenous Peoples’ Day 10/16) Register by clicking here!

The primary driver of climate change is carbon dioxide. What adds CO2 to the atmosphere? What removes it?  How has the concentration changed over the last 170 years and longer?  What can we do to slow or reverse the rise in CO2? This course will emphasize the role of land and land use in the global carbon cycle and in the management of future changes in climate. This class will meet in the Hermann Room.

Skee (R.A.) Houghton is senior scientist emeritus at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Falmouth. He was an active researcher at the Center for 35 years, studying the effects of land-use change on terrestrial carbon storage and climate change. He received a Ph.D. in ecology from Stony Brook University in 1979. He has worked at the Marine Biological Laboratory, at NASA, and has participated in numerous IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessments.

Discussion of Station Eleven with Monica Hough (this year’s Falmouth Reads book!) 4 Tuesdays, 10/3, 10/10, 10/17 and 10/24, 4-5 pm Register by clicking here!

This is also this year’s Falmouth Reads title! It depicts life after a devastating pandemic destroys most of the world’s population, and it took on new significance in 2020, reminding readers that “survival is insufficient,” and demonstrating the power of art, relationships, and maintaining humanity in an inhumane world. This discussion-based course will explore the ways in which Mandel uses structure, style and modern pop culture references to support her themes and create deeper meaning. We will investigate her incorporation of allusions ranging from Shakespeare to Sartre to Star Trek, and more. Participants should read the novel before the start of the course, as the non-linear structure plays an important role–it will be available to borrow at the Reference Desk. Limited to 20 participants; this will meet in the Bay Room. Please note that our fiction book club will read her recent book, Sea of Tranquility, for the November meeting-all are welcome!

Monica Hough has been teaching English at Falmouth Academy since 1986. She holds a B.A. in English from Yale University. Station Eleven is part of her ninth-grade English curriculum.

Poetry of Emily Dickinson with David Webb, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 and 10/25, 10:30-noon. Click here to register!

Emily Dickinson is a candidate for “The greatest American Poet” award.  While many Americans know this about her, very few have actually read much of her poetry.  In spite of her unusually limited life-style — she had modest schooling, lived at home with her family in Amherst, Massachusetts, travelled very little, never married or really had a partner– she enjoyed a rich and lively intellectual and spiritual life.  She wrote about 1775 poems, most of these secretly, and she published just seven, all anonymously.  As she said to her would-be publisher and mentor Thomas Wentworth Higginson, “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” David has chosen 32 poems for this offering, eight per session, and hopes that a few friends of the Falmouth Library will choose to read, wrestle with, and discuss these poems with him. Limited to 20 participants; this will meet in the Bay Room.

David has taught Joy of Learning classes in October on short story writers, since 2016.  David is a 1964 graduate of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, 1968 from Wesleyan, and he holds two advanced degrees from Columbia University.  He spent his entire career at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, where he taught English, mathematics, and Architectural Design and did college counseling.  He is now retired and lives with his wife in Cotuit.

Texture of Memory with Rae Nishi, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 and 10/25, 3-4 pm. Click here to register!

This course will cover how memories are formed, what happens when these processes are damaged, and how memories shape our identities, culture and history. This class will meet in the Hermann Room.

Rae is a retired neuroscientist with a PhD in Biology, and resides in Falmouth year-round. Prior to retirement, she was Director of Education at the Marine Biological Laboratory, and prior to that, she was a tenured full professor in the Neurological Sciences Department at the University of Vermont.

Written Language, Past and Present with Ryan Budnick, 4 Thursdays, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19 and 10/26 2-3 pm. Click here to register!

Writing is one of the most widespread and influential technologies in the world (that you are using right now!), and has taken many forms across space and time. This course covers the history of writing systems, from ancient Cuneiform and the recently deciphered Mayan through to modern spelling reform movements. Different types of writing systems are surveyed, demonstrating how the particular system used by a community may be the result of a combination of historical accident, political expression, and functional need. This class will meet in the Hermann Room.

Ryan Budnick has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from Princeton University and recently completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. While his research focuses on the formal modeling of language acquisition, he has a deep interest in bringing accessible linguistics education to general audiences. 

Author Alexandra Slater, Friends with Boats

Posted on by Sue

Come hear former Falmouth resident Alexandra Slater discuss her popular new beach read, Friends with Boats, on Friday afternoon, September 15th, at 2 p.m. at the Falmouth Public Library! She will read from her book and take questions from the audience. The book will be available to buy from Eight Cousins Books. Registration is requested, as space is limited; please go to falmouthpubliclibrary.org/events or call the reference department at 508-457-2555 x 7.

The book is set in Falmouth and concerns three friends in their mid-40s, all of whom have become disillusioned with life in general. Things change with the arrival in town of an eligible bachelor! Soon all three women are vying for his attention, which naturally leads to humorous complications and a few reckonings. The book contains several references to places in Falmouth and nearby towns!

Ms. Slater grew up in Cleveland. Since her father was a research scientist and had a lab at MBL, the family summered in Woods Hole. As an adult, Ms. Slater moved to the Cape year-round after living in New York City.

While living in Falmouth Ms. Slater worked as a reporter at WCAI and as the education director at the Cotuit Center for the Arts. She is an award-winning journalist and writer. She graduated from Columbia University and attended Northwestern University’s Medill Graduate School of Journalism. Since then, she has been an actor, a comedian, a reporter, a creative writing teacher, and more! She splits her time between Boston and Cleveland now.

New Narrative Nonfiction Book Club Books!

Posted on by Jessica O'Connor

Fall 2023 – Winter 2024 Book Picks

Check out the Falmouth Public Library’s new Narrative Nonfiction Book Club picks for the Fall ’23 and Winter ’24 session!  Come pick up a copy and join us to share your thoughts as we read across the genres of nonfiction, from history to adventure, memoir/biography, and beyond with books that read like a novel.

We meet on the 1st Thursday of every month from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The group will meet in the Hermann meeting room and for those who wish to join us from home, you can join us via Zoom.  Registration is required and the Zoom link will be provided upon registration.

To register, click on the date you wish to attend and fill out the registration form. If you have any questions, please contact the Adult Services department at 508-457-2555 x 7 or info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org.

October 5, 2023:
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (PAGES 1-219) by Patrick Radden Keefe 

“Presents a portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, who built their fortune on the sale of Valium and later sponsored the creation and marketing of one of the most commonly prescribed and addictive painkillers of the opioid crisis.”

 


November 2, 2023:
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (PAGES 220-434) by Patrick Radden Keefe 

“Presents a portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, who built their fortune on the sale of Valium and later sponsored the creation and marketing of one of the most commonly prescribed and addictive painkillers of the opioid crisis.”

 

 

 

December 7, 2023:
The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World by Riley Black

“Walks readers through what happened in the days, years, centuries and million years after an asteroid led to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and half of known species, and how this worst single day in the history of life on Earth allowed for evolutionary opportunities.”

 

 

January 4, 2024:
Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

“Recounts the extraordinary and harrowing true story of a young, enslaved couple who, achieving one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history, embarked on three epic journeys in one monumental bid for freedom, challenging the nation’s core precepts of life, liberty and justice for all.”

 

 

February 1, 2024:
The Pirate’s Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos

“In this incredible work of narrative nonfiction, filled with romance and high seas adventure, a historian and journalist charts the life of Sarah Kidd, who secretly aided and abetted her infamous husband, pirate Captain Kidd, from within the strictures of polite society in 17th- and 18th-century New York.”

 

 

March 7, 2024:
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People by Tracy Kidder

“This masterful work of reporting and nonfiction storytelling takes us deep into the world of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a Harvard Medical School graduate, who, following his life’s calling, serves Boston’s homeless community, facing one of American society’s most shameful problems, instead of looking away.”

 

Liz O’Donnell, author of Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning a Living

Posted on by Sue

We are pleased to welcome Liz O’Donnell, author of Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning a Living, on Saturday afternoon, September 9th, at 3 p.m. at the Falmouth Public Library. Liz will share her own experiences, both humorous and heart breaking, and pass on her lessons learned. Please register by clicking here, or call us at 508-457-2555 x 7.

Working Daughter is a revealing look at adults caring for their aging parents, and how these unpaid family caregivers are trying to manage eldercare along with raising their children, maintaining relationships, and pursuing their careers. It shares Liz’s story- she was enjoying a fast-paced career in marketing and raising two children when both of her parents were diagnosed with terminal illnesses on the same day. The book will be available for sale after the event by Eight Cousins Books.

Liz is the founder of Working Daughter, a community for women balancing eldercare, career, and more. An award-winning writer, Working Daughter is her second book, which Library Journal named one of the Best Books of 2019.

A former family caregiver, she is a recognized expert on working while caregiving and has written on the topic for many outlets including The Atlantic, Forbes, TIME, WBUR and PBS’ Next Avenue and has delivered keynotes on the topic to many audiences including Harvard University, MIT, the Marketing to Moms Conference, and the Women Leading Government Conference.

We thank the Board of Library Trustees for sponsoring this event.  

Mystery Book Group Fall 2023: Political Murder!

Posted on by Library User

I am happy to announce that the Virtual Mystery Book Club will be spending our fall sessions reading books on the theme of Political Murders. Also starting this fall, the book group will be available as a hybrid – if you love Zooming in with us, that continues, but people may also join us in the Bay Room if they prefer to be present in person for the discussion.

Mark your calendars and start reading! Murder on K Street already has print copies waiting at the Reference Desk.

Murder on K Street, by Margaret Truman, on Wednesday September 13, 4:30-5:30pm. Register. In CLAMS.

Margaret Truman (1924-2008) was the only child of President Harry Truman, so she came by her understanding of the machinations of Washington, D.C. honestly. She began her long-running Capitol Crimes series in 1981 with Death in the White House. Murder on K Street (2007) is the 23rd in the series, and taken as a whole they demonstrate that whatever we think of today’s political environment, the past wasn’t any better either.

Description: Arriving home from a fund-raising dinner, senior Illinois senator Lyle Simmons discovers his wife’s brutally bludgeoned body. And like any savvy politician with presidential aspirations, his first move is to phone his attorney. In this case, it’s his old friend and college roommate, former DA Philip Rotondi, who gamely agrees to step out of quiet retirement and into the thick of a D.C.-style political, criminal, and public relations maelstrom from which no one will escape unscathed.

The Death of a Red Heroine, by Qiu Xiaolong, on Wednesday October 11, 4:30-5:30pm. Register. In CLAMS.

Qiu Xiaolong (1953-  ) was born in Shanghai and his family was considered counter-revolutionary during the Cultural Revolution. He studied English literature in China and was a professor at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences before a job took him to St. Louis, where he stayed out of concern for his future following the Tiananmen Square protests. He has written poetry, translated English-language poetry into Chinese, and written scholarly works. He began his series of detective novels featuring Chen Cao and set in his native county in 2001, with Death of a Red Heroine.

Description: A young “national model worker,” renowned for her adherence to the principles of the Communist Party, turns up dead in a Shanghai canal. As Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Special Cases Bureau struggles to trace the hidden threads of her past, he finds himself challenging the very political forces that have guided his life since birth. Chen must tiptoe around his superiors if he wants to get to the bottom of this crime, and risk his career—perhaps even his life—to see justice done.

When Gods Die, by C. S. Harris, Wednesday November 8, 4:30-5:30pm. Register. In CLAMS.

Candice Proctor (1954- ) received a B.A. in Classics and an M.A. and Ph.D in European history. She taught history at the college level, worked as an archaeologist, and spent many years as a partner in an international business consulting firm. She has written the Sebastian St. Cyr series of mystery novels set in the British Regency period under the name C. S. Harris since 2005; When Gods Die is the second book of the series.

Description: The young wife of an aging marquis is found murdered in the arms of the Prince Regent. Around her neck lies a necklace said to have been worn by Druid priestesses – that is, until it was lost at sea with its last owner, Sebastian St. Cyr’s mother. Now Sebastian is lured into a dangerous investigation of the marchioness’s death – and his mother’s uncertain fate. As he edges closer to the truth – and one murder follows another – he confronts a conspiracy that imperils those nearest him and threatens to bring down the monarchy.