Executive Director Jenny Emery Davidson recommends The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. A young woman leaned at the windowsill of her sixth-floor apartment. She looked at the traffic and the crowds along the street just beyond the dead-end one where her apartment stood. A pigeon flew past her, and “[s]he placed her dreams on the back of the bird and fantasized that it would glide forever in transparent silver circles until it ascended to the center of the universe and was swallowed … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Women of Brewster Place
Library Book Club Reviews
Book Review: The God of the Woods
Director of Library Operations Pam Parker recommends The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. In the 1970s, summer was synonymous with camp for some of us. My fondest memories of summer camp are full of firsts, like sleeping away from home on iron cots and learning traditional campfire songs from teen counselors. Yet, when the flames faded to coals, the bedside stories between campers often turned to dark tales that kept us awake late into the night! Could there be a more perfect setting for a … [Read more...] about Book Review: The God of the Woods
Book Review: The Mighty Red
Information Systems Manager Will Duke recommends The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich. One of the many things I enjoy about the Erdrich universe is the way she shifts between characters from book to book, each presenting unique and often opposing points of view. For the past few decades, she has bounced around the communities of Argus, Pluto, and Hoopdance, generally with the Turtle Mountain Reservation as a backdrop. Her novels explore these towns through the eyes of different … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Mighty Red
Book Review: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Director of programs and education Martha Williams recommends The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. I have found this little memoir to be the perfect companion on days that keep me indoors. It’s a quiet book that invites us to observe what’s right around us, even as we dream about the wide world beyond our window. In her mid-thirties, Elisabeth Tova Bailey finds herself struck with a mysterious illness that damages her nervous system, sending her into years of … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Book Review: Atomic Habits
Communications Manager Kyla Merwin recommends Atomic Habits by James Clear. Sooner or later, anyone who spends much time with me will see a Diet Coke in my hand. I’m a self-confessed “Coke” addict. I love the stuff. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. According to James Clear in his best-selling book, Atomic Habits, the first question I need to ask myself is this: Do I want to be the type of person who drinks Diet Coke all day every day? Answer: Yes. Yes, I do. Ergo, I will fail at any … [Read more...] about Book Review: Atomic Habits
Book Review: North Woods
Librarian Andrea Nelson recommends North Woods by Daniel Mason. …And now for something completely different.~Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 1971 It’s difficult to capture the essence of Daniel Mason’s North Woods in a single book review. Never before have I read a book as impossible to pigeonhole as this brilliant, multi centennial saga inspired by the crumbling stone remains of a long-gone New England house. When North Woods arrived at our library in 2023, the first thing … [Read more...] about Book Review: North Woods
