Library Staff Directory
Posted Mar 20, 2015
Spring is officially here, and we’ve managed to read our way through the winter blues. This week’s #FridayReads feature a few more of our fabulous patron picks- both recommended titles and one not recommended (which can be just as important!).
We’ve had a great turn out to our inaugural adult winter reading program with over 90 reading logs completed and returned. The books chosen were across the board, and most of the reviews were thought-provoking and well-written. To see what everyone read, check out our fiction and non-fiction book lists and expect a display soon!
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach; recommended by Jennifer W.
This book is an unexpected, compelling, hilarious read about what happens to bodies donated to science. Each chapter covers a different topic, such as human crash test dummies, head transplants, and composting bodies. I was surprised and amused by the detached, humorous, compassionate way Roach describes her encounters. Definitely a must-read on a topic not often discussed.
Transhuman by Ben Bova; recommended by Aoife M.
Transhuman by Ben Bova is a science fiction tale. A cellular biologist who has been working on a fountain of youth drug kidnaps his terminally ill granddaughter and attempts to cure her cancer and elude both her parents and the authorities. It was a nice story, and I would recommend it to others who might enjoy a light science fiction novel.
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell; recommended by Joseph K.
“If you take away the gift of reading, you create the gift of listening. If you take away a mother or a father, you cause suffering and despair. But one time in ten, out of that despair rises an indomitable force.” - Malcolm Gladwell from David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.
To say this book is about underdogs is an understatement.
Gladwell starts by retelling the story of David’s famous victory over Goliath as if David should’ve won. Throughout, Gladwell digs through the surface of perceptions to shine a brilliant light on the truth: he does this by examining historical evidence of extraordinary triumph achieved not only by overcoming adversity, but by transforming that adversity into an advantage.
Gladwell’s deft story-telling and analysis allow the reader to view the perils and toil of human suffering through an unexpectedly beautiful and inspiring lens, forever changing the way we view adversity.
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton; NOT recommended by Darcie K.
The Miniaturist is about a young woman in 17th century Amsterdam who is married off to an older gentleman, a successful merchant, who has secrets. They live together with his sister and two servants in a grand house. I liked the writing and followed the story easily until the end, when things took a turn. I didn’t think the author laid the groundwork for such a radical transformation of the main character. I don’t know if I would recommend it—probably not especially if I could steer someone toward Old Filth instead!
The Bird Skinner by Alice Greenway; recommended by Lorraine J.
This is a story about the deeply embedded, long lasting effects of war on soldiers, their families, friends and colleagues. James Kennoway, a well-respected ornithologist and cataloger of specimens at the Museum of Natural History in New York, leaves his distinguished career through forced retirement due to a leg amputation caused by ill health and neglect. He moves to a remote island of Maine to live in a cabin that was his family summer home. He seeks solitude, in anger and resentment. He plans to simply spend his days drinking and smoking.
Surprises arrive when a young woman, Cadillac, arrives to stay with Jim before she must report to an East Coast Medical School. She is the daughter of Jim’s friend from a Pacific Island, where he spent much of his war time as a “coast watcher,” reporting the actions of Japanese war whips and troops during WWII. Jim and his Pacific friend, Tosca, share a secret from those harrowing days and Cadillac’s visit brings memories and human connection, forcing him to experience frightening memories.
I highly recommend this book, but be sure you are in the right, strong frame of mind to journey with Jim through his tragic memories. There is goodness and love, renewal and hope, in the life that continue beyond the Maine Island.
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