LIBRARY CORNER | 10/14/22

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Here are a few things to look forward to this month:

  • Tuesday, October 18—Paws to Read. Call and sign your child up to read with one of our sweet pups.
  • Thursday, October 20—Family Night Nerf Battle. Show up at 6 p.m. and join the fun!
  • Thursday, October 27—Book Club 6 p.m. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

If you’re familiar with “Sean of the South,” you may have read Will the Circle Be Unbroken. Sean Dietrich was twelve years old when he scattered his father’s ashes. Sean’s father lived for baseball and was a steel worker with a ready wink. He loved his family. He was also the stranger who tried to kidnap and kill Sean’s mother before pulling the trigger on himself. This is the story of what happens after the unthinkable, and a journey made to heal and lay claim to a future. Sean dropped out of school in the seventh grade to take odd jobs so that the family could eat. Even though he described himself as a “nobody with a sad story behind him,” Sean still caught glimmers of life’s goodness. This story will stay with you long after you put it down.

Sean Dietrich’s latest book is You Are My Sunshine. It’s a laugh-out-loud and touching story of a promise that Sean made to his wife. After a cancer diagnosis, Sean’s wife began planning a big adventure. They embarked on a bike ride. At least Sean’s wife was on a bike. Sean rode a tricycle. Their goal was to travel the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath trail. This is a feel-good read. You’ll still be laughing as it ends and will also be touched by what’s most important in this life.

Joanna Quinn’s newest book, Whalebone Theatre, is a Today Show Pick. In 1928 a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel and twelve-year-old Cristabel Seagrave has plans. The giant skeletal rib cage becomes a theatre for childhood imagination. As World War II begins, Cristabel has grown into a strong young woman. She and her brother, Digby, become British secret agents, which is far more serious than any of their childhood plays. This book is both thrilling and magical.

Fredrik Backman takes us back to Beartown in his latest, The Winners. Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left town in search of a life from away, come home and happily reunite with their closest childhood friends. Everyone has tried to move on from the devasting events that happened two years before in Beartown, but something hangs over them all. While the book centers around a hockey team, it is far more than a sport’s read.

In The Hero of This Book, Elizabeth McCracken tracks a daughter’s relationship with her larger-than-life mother. After the death of her mother, McCracken visits London and feels her mother’s presence everywhere. She is reminded of all that made her complicated mother extraordinary. The Hero of This Book is an examination of grief and renewal. This beautifully written book is often funny and heartbreaking and reminds us of what remains after those we love leave us.

I just downloaded a preview copy of Marie Benedict’s The Mitford Sisters. While I had no idea who they were, Kim filled me in on their history. The Mitfords were a very wealthy British family. This story is about their six daughters and is set in Great Britain before and during World War II. You have probably read some of Benedict’s other historical novels such as Carnegie’s Maid and The Personal Librarian. While her books are fiction, she does a great job researching the people in her books and the time period. This one won’t be out for a few months, but it’s one I think you’ll enjoy.

I’m actually sitting here wearing a sweater. I love it! The weather is beautiful and perfect for hot tea or coffee and a good book. We’ll look for you I the library.

Helen Thompson, Director – Mount Pleasant Public Library