Fall Reading Recommendations |
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If there is a book you would like to recommend, email us at nclibraryfriends@gmail.com.
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Carolyn Travers
Thunderstruck by Erik Larson This work of non-fiction covers one of the greatest criminal chases of all times, and the first crime solved with the aid of wireless telegraphy. The story combines a true-life murder along with the interesting history of trans-Atlantic communication. Set in Edwardian London, the coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, it tells the interwoven stories of Hawley Crippen, an American homeopathic physician, and the Italian physicist, Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the wireless. Sharon Hornstein Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline Between 1854 and 1929, trains ran regularly from cities on the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children. Their fate was pure luck: adopted by a loving family or face hard labor and servitude. This best-selling novel moves between Depression-era Minnesota and contemporary Maine, where the lives of a 91-year-old woman, who was an orphan train rider, and a young, troubled girl share hidden similarities. Lois Barth Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell The New York Times calls this tribute to Winston Churchill’s wife and closest confidante, “engrossing… the first formal biography of a woman who has heretofore been relegated to the sidelines.” Clementine Churchill stood by her husband’s side for fifty-seven turbulent years. This landmark story is long overdue. Roberta Yarker Smith The Testaments: The Sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood This 2019 sequel is a much-anticipated piece. The events occur 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale ends. The Republic of Gilead, with its patriarchal society, maintains its grip of power, but suffers signs of decay from within. The story is told in the first person by three female narrators, two of whom are young and idealistic, and one is old and cunning. Danielle Kurtzleben of NPR writes: “The book builds its social commentary on gender and power into a plot-driven page turner about these women’s machinations as they deal with their stifling circumstances.” |
It Takes a Village
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The term Book-Mobil has taken on a new face in New Castle with our library Book Bike. Introduced last May at A Day in Old New Castle, Sara Thomas, Youth Services Librarian, pedaled the library’s new acquisition to the Court House, bringing the library out to the public. Book Bikes are popular in large cities, seen on Social Media, and touted at library conferences. Nicole Ballance, Principal Library Assistant, loved the idea and asked: why not us? She applied for and received a grant from the Delaware Library Association. She then sought and received additional funds from New Castle Library Friends. Staff person, Patty O’Brien, donated the bike, and a friend of Nicole’s, Rich Worth, built the apparatus under Nicole’s direction and with her assistance.
County Executive Matt Meyer rode the Book Bike in the Separation Day parade. Starting in June, Sara Thomas took the Book Bike to Battery Park every Wednesday this summer for Story Time in the Park. For those sessions the Bike was stocked with books for youth, birth to 12 years old. In July, Nicole started riding the Book Bike on Fridays to the Senior Center to bring books to our adult patrons. The Book Bike has also been available at some of the Wednesday evening concerts in the park, thanks to other staff volunteers, including Patty O’Brien. On all of these occasions, books were available for checkout with one’s library card or id. Thank you, Nicole for taking the initiative and all the others involved in making this vision a reality. Yes, it takes a village to serve a village. |
