Librarians' Bedside Table - December 2022

OSCAR GRADY PUBLIC LIBRARY

THE LIBRARIANS’

BEDSIDE TABLE

What your friendly librarians have been listening, reading, watching & MUCH MORE!

Oscar Grady Public Library Mission Statement: The mission of the Oscar Grady Public Library is to provide high interest, high demand materials and make them readily available from the Library’s collection or through interlibrary loan. The Library supports lifelong learning, information and recreational needs for people of all ages and abilities.

Special emphasis is placed on stimulating children’s interests and appreciation for reading and learning. The integration of new technology with traditional library resources is used to expand service beyond the Library’s physical walls.

On this new issue of our “Librarians’ Bedside Table”, we compiled a list of really good titles recommended by your library friends. Each title can be accessed in electronic format for your convenience. Click or tap in the hyperlinks attached to each title that will take you right to them in the Monarch Catalog. We hope you enjoy this selection of books from your librarians at the Oscar Grady Public Library!

Emily recommends:

Know My Name by Chanel Miller Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic. —goodreads review

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

Things have been wrong with Mr. and Mrs. Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs…They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after. —goodreads review

Hope recommends :

The Circle of Three by Patricia Gaffney The Circle of Three is about three generations of women: grandmother, mother, and daughter. Dana, the grandmother, is 70 and married to George. Carrie Dana's daughter, who was with her husband Stephen in the car when he had a heart attack, lost control of the car and died. Carrie was not badly injured. Ruth, Carrie's daughter, is a sophomore in high school.

For a long time, Carrie was extremely depressed. She dressed in Stephen's old clothes, did not wear makeup and did not leave the house. As Carrie starts to come out of her depression, she and Ruth realize they both need to get jobs. Ruth quickly finds a job in an aromatherapy store. Carrie is offered a job as an assistant to the administrator at an alternative school called The Other School.

A man named Mr. Pletcher belongs to a group of people who have started their own church. This man has promised God that he would build an ark before he dies. Since he is now old and in very poor health, Jess, his son and a longtime friend of Carrie's, has agreed to build the ark for his father.

Since Jess knows that Carrie has always been good at art, he asks her to please help create the animals to go on the ark. Carrie is interested in this, but her mother thinks this is extremely foolish. Jess and Carrie had dated in high school, but Carrie always felt her mother did not approve of Jess.

Ruth was also having her own adjustment problems. Her grades had dropped significantly and on occasion she skipped classes. She is interested in young man, but does not think her mother or grandmother would approve of him.

The book is really about mother-daughter relationships. Since the entire book is written in the first person, as you start to read a chapter, you need to figure which character is the "I". I did enjoy this book and would recommend it especially to mothers and daughters.

Hope recommends:

Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting

by Kindra Neely This searing graphic memoir portrays gun violence through a fresh lens, giving it urgency, humanity, and a very personal hope Kindra Neely never expected it to happen to her… a mass shooting shattered her college campus…This empathetic and ultimately hopeful graphic memoir recounts Kindra’s journey forward from those few minutes that changed everything. —goodreads review

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas The Three Musketeers tells the story of the early adventures of the young Gascon gentleman, D'Artagnan and his three friends from the regiment of the King's Musketeers - Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Under the watchful eye of their patron M. de Treville, the four defend the honour of the regiment against the guards of Cardinal Richelieu, and the honour of the queen against the machinations of the Cardinal himself as the power struggles of seventeenth century France are vividly played out in the background. But their most dangerous encounter is with the Cardinal's spy, Milady, one of literature's most memorable female villains, and Dumas employs all his fastpaced narrative skills to bring this enthralling novel to a breathtakingly gripping and dramatic conclusion. —description from publisher

Julie recommends:

Artisan sourdough made simple : a beginner's guide to delicious handcrafted bread with minimal kneading by Emilie Raffa.

Many bakers speak of their sourdough starter as if it has a magical life of its own, so it can be intimidating to those new to the sourdough world; fortunately with Artisan Sourdough Made Simple, Emilie Raffa removes the fear and proves that baking with sourdough is easy, and can fit into even a working parent’s schedule! Any new baker is inevitably hit with question after question. Emilie has the answers.

With the continuing popularity of the whole foods movement, home cooks are returning to the ancient practice of bread baking, and sourdough is rising to the forefront. Through fermentation, sourdough bread is easier on digestion—often enough for people who are sensitive to gluten—and healthier. Artisan Sourdough Made Simple gives everyone the knowledge and confidence to join the fun, from their first rustic loaf to beyond. This book has 65 recipes and 65 photos. —goodreads review

Laura recommends:

Hail Mary by Andy Weir Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he? —goodreads review

Lynn recommends:

Dog Stories by James Herriot In this heartwarming collection of favorite stories about dogs great and small, James Herriot tells us about his own dogs and all the wonderful people and animals we have come to love so much.

Fifty memorable tales move us to both laughter and tears, and Herriot’s personal introduction and

notes make this tribute by a master storyteller to man’s best friend a book to read, re-read, and be treasured for years to come. —goodreads review

Rita recommends:

The Ultimate Motown Christmas Collection Are you feeling Grinch-y?

Have you been heard to utter bah-humbug lately? If so, listening to The Ultimate Motown Christmas Collection may just be what you need.

There are two CDs in the set, 51 songs in all, and with vocalists such as Marvin Gaye,

Diana Ross, and Smokey Robinson, this set is a holiday treasure.

Religious and secular favorites are included, along with less familiar songs, such as Marvin Gaye’s romantic Purple Snowflakes. And, perhaps the world would be a better place if we all listened to the message of the hopeful, Someday at Christmas.

There are almost 2000 Christmas CDs in the Monarch system, so if this collection is not available, listeners are sure to be able to find other holiday music to enhance the season. One nice feature of Monarch is that the track list is available for most CDs, so if there are some songs listeners thoroughly detest (12 days of Christmas? Last Christmas?), it is easy to select CDs without the offensive tunes!

NOW PLAYING! More and more albums are being added to our collection of vinyls for you to check out.

Artists in a great variety of genres await for you and your needle to enjoy music at 33 1⁄

Stephanie recommends:

The Muppet Christmas Carol Greetings, holiday movie fans and culture lovers, I am the Great Gonzo...or, as I am better known to fans of this classic motion picture -literary legend Charles Dickens. Ready to laugh, cry, sing, frolic, cavort and enjoy yourself beyond belief!? … A heartwarming and hilarious holiday classic, told as never before by yours truly! Yule love it! Happy Holidays! — description from amazon.com

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them The Lord of the Rings is made up of three books: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and the Return on the King. The Fellowship of the Rings begins where Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit ended.

It is an epic adventure of good against evil, the power of friendship and individual courage. — description from publisher

Now around town! Books for everyone.

The Oscar Grady Library with the support of The Friends of the Oscar Grady Library has purchased three Little Free Libraries, which have been installed at three convenient locations: Quade Park, The Oscar Grady Library, and Village Hall.

Check them out! Love them, enjoy them, treasure them.

Steven recommends:

Hidden (Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3) Hidden is one of the best crime dramas today. This Welsh drama isn’t like a typical crime drama, where you are trying to guess who committed the crime. Instead, the audience is introduced to the culprit within the first 15 – 20 minutes of the first episode. Each season consists of 6 episodes that are approximately 90 minutes in length. Each season (series) tackles one overarching mystery. One of my favorite things about Hidden is that it actually develops the backstories of all its characters, whether they are the main characters, secondary, or just characters for that particular season. Another reason I enjoy this show is the fact that each new season draws parallels to the previous season, whether it is a specific location or character development. In my opinion, you haven’t experienced true crime drama until you have seen Hidden.

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