Library News – Feb. 6, 2019
Seed Fever! Wednesday, Feb. 6, 7:00 p.m. As gardeners know, Seed Fever is an infectious condition that strikes hard…
It’s reading time
It’s nine degrees out now, two earlier this morning. A fire is roaring in the fireplace here, the sun is going down (though it seems as though it was just lunchtime), and the pug is snoring on the couch. A tea is at my elbow and the house is making creaking noises. It’s reading season. I have just ventured upstairs and gathered up a few of the books I have read since last time we spoke. I am now back at my seat by the fire (which I do not intend to leave anytime soon), ready to go.
Library News – Jan. 23, 2019
We Fed an Island Community Supper. Wednesday, Jan. 23, 5:30 p.m. Inspired by Jose Argues’ work in Puerto Rico, we’re…
Library News – Jan. 9, 2019
Pick up a good book in January! We have book conversations abounding this month!
Several good reads (and a television series) to start a new year
On Christmas Eve, 1932, in South Detroit, “Saverio Armandonada warmed his hands underneath the tin lunch pail on his lap as he rode the trolley from the Chester Street stop to the River Rouge plant.” So begins Adriana Trigiani’s new novel, Tony’s Wife, which I just, this first day of the new year, finished.
The magic of Uncle Wiggily and other wonderful stories
When I was little, my father (a big reader) had a collection of Uncle Wiggily books. They were books he’d owned as a child. We probably had 20 of these books, each containing three stories and amazing drawings.
There will be singing
Thank God for books. Books are many things…and one thing they are is an escape from the world. Not that I don’t love the world, because I do, but sometimes it all just gets to be too much. Like these past weeks.
Good, and maybe not-so-good, end-of-summer reading
A few years ago, I went on a trip with extended family and a couple of intrepid friends to the Galapagos. The trip involved two nights in Quito, Equador, and a week of travel by boat to the various islands, where khaki-clad naturalists walked us around carefully circumscribed paths, pointing out interesting phenomena: giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, sharks, sea turtles, flamingoes and all kinds of other fauna and flora and so on.
On Books
I just returned from a week in London where I visited my daughter, who had a summer internship there. We got around quite a bit in seven days: saw two plays, went to the Tate, the National Gallery, took a boat trip up the Thames and, a few days later, a train out to Brighton Beach, which doesn’t have sand but, rather, small round stones.
Upcoming at the Charlotte Library
Summer Story Time – Reading Fun at Adam’s Berry Farm – Tuesday, July 31 at 9:30 a.m. Meet us at the farm for a summer of berries, great stories, gardening and busy activities. All ages are welcome.
Good books for hot times
Wow, it’s been a hot few days. It’s very nice to have the temperatures back to a more livable range, don’t you agree? Today I hiked Camel’s Hump for the first time (I’m embarrassed to say – not that I hiked the mountain, but that it is the first time—I won’t tell you how long I’ve lived here.), and it was out-of-town friends who lured me up there. I’m a bit exhausted, but it’s time to talk once again about books, so here goes.
Charlotte Library News
Summer reading begins Tuesday, June 26, with a kick-off party at 1 p.m. Learn how raptors build their habitats in this hand-on session with Vermont Institute of Natural Science. For all ages. Full information about all summer reading programs available on our website: charlottepubliclibrary.org.
On Books
“History has failed us, but no matter. At the turn of the century, an aging fisherman and his wife decided to take in lodgers for extra money…” So begins the novel Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee, recommended to me by my friend Mary from the gym. I don’t see Mary often, and I know very little about her (including her last name), but whenever we see each other, our first question (both of us) is, “What are you reading?” or “What is that you’re reading?”
Grafton, Wolitzer and Tolstoy: Springtime suggestions for reading and listening
“For the record, my name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a private investigator, licensed by the State of California, (now) thirty-three years old, 118 pounds of female in a five-foot-six-inch frame. My hair is dark, thick, and straight. I’d been accustomed to wearing it short, but I’d been letting it grow out just to see what it would look like. My usual practice is to crop my own mop every six weeks or so with a pair of nail scissors. This I do because I’m too cheap to pay twenty-eight bucks in a beauty salon.
The tyranny of memory and the just-right book club
There is a fire in the fireplace and two dogs not so subtly reminding me that dinnertime is upon us. If they wore wristwatches, they would be glancing down at them, tapping the glass faces with their toenails. Snow is falling on the lawn outside. Easter has come and gone, and the first day of spring was weeks ago.
Charlotte Library News
Saturday, April 21, 10:30 a.m. ART IN APRIL: Poetry in Motion. Celebrate National Poetry Month by creating some interactive poetry! For families & kids 9+.
Programs for Kids of All Ages – Tuesdays, May 1–May 9, 9 a.m.: Baby Time. Meet other caregivers and the littlest ones in our area. We’ll chat, sing songs, and read to Baby.
On Books – Don’t forget your book
I am going to Florida soon, and so this afternoon I had a window in my schedule and, instead of heading back to Charlotte, decided to get a much-needed, walk-in pedicure. Luckily for me, the place wasn’t crowded (it often is), and they took me right away. In no time, my feet and ankles were happily soaking in a basin of hot water. Ahhhhh. For my color, I chose gold, something I have never done before and may never do again, but I think I quite like it. I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think it’s okay.
Moby-Dick for babies: Marvel or monster
A display at the Charlotte Public Library invites parents and others who care about young children’s literacy development to…