The Librarians' Bedside Table, May 26th

OSCAR GRADY PUBLIC LIBRARY

THE LIBRARIANS’

BEDSIDE TABLE

Summer is coming !

Join us this year for a fun SUMMER READING PROGRAMS for all ages!

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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!

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Jen Gerber, our Library Director, would like to recommend the following title:

Demystifying Disability: what to know, what to say and how to become an ally.

by Emily Ladau An approachable guide to being a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people, with actionable steps for what to say and do (and what not to do) and how you can help make the world a more inclusive place .

Authored by celebrated disability rights advocate, speaker, and writer Emily Ladau, this practical, intersectional guide offers all readers a welcoming place to understand disability as part of the human experience.

Description provided by publisher.

Debra Jo, would like to recommend the following title:

The Buddha in the Attic

by Julie Otsuka Julie Otsuka's long awaited follow-up to When the Emperor Was Divine ("To watch Emperor catching on with teachers and students in vast numbers is to grasp what must have happened at the outset for novels like Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird " -The New York Times ) is a tour de force of economy and precision, a novel that tells the story of a group of young women brought over from Japan to San Francisco as 'picture brides' nearly a century ago.

In eight incantatory sections, The Buddha in the Attic traces their extraordinary lives, from their arduous journey by boat, where they exchange photographs of their husbands, imagining uncertain futures in an unknown land; to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; to their backbreaking work picking fruit in the fields and scrubbing the floors of white women; to their struggles to master a new language and a new culture; to their experiences in childbirth, and then as mothers, raising children who will ultimately reject their heritage and their history; to the deracinating arrival of war. In language that has the force and the fury of poetry, Julie Otsuka has written a singularly spellbinding novel about the American dream. From publisher.

Wanting to learn a new language?

Transparent Language Online provides a fun, effective, and engaging experience for learners of all levels looking to build their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in a foreign language. All you need is your library card barcode number and an e-mail address.

Hope H-M. would like to recommend this title:

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke If you like murder mysteries and baking, this is the book for you. Not only did I enjoy this very easy read, but I copied 8 of the 22 recipes. So far, I have tried 2 of these recipes and am happy to say the results were as delicious as I had hoped they would be.

Hannah Swensen is a self-made detective who also co-owns “The Cookie Jar”. Hannah and Michelle, one of her sisters, are driving in bad weather to deliver an order of cookies when the road condition worsens. They turn off to avoid what looks like a terrible accident ahead. As they come to a stop, they see an overturned bus in the ditch below.

Hearing sirens coming to the other accident sight, they realize they must check on the bus as rescuers will not get this far for quite a long time. They find most of the passengers to have minor or no injuries, but the driver of the bus is dead. The thinking of the group is the death of the driver caused the bus to crash.

The bus belonged to a band called the “Cinnamon Roll Six”. Buddy Neiman, the keyboard player for the band suffered a wrist injury in the accident, but while in the hospital is murdered. Hannah’s mother, Delores Swensen, discovers his body. Doc Knight cannot understand how or who would kill someone in his hospital. Now, Hannah, her mother, and two sisters swing in to action.

To add to the confusion, Hannah’s former boyfriend, a dentist named Norman, is set to marry Doctor Bev, another dentist. Hannah and her sisters think Doctor Bev has been lying to Norman tricking him in to marriage. How to prove this.?

In addition to solving the murder and trying to expose Doctor Bev, Joanne Fluke includes her recipes for the dishes mentioned in the story. You can easily read this book in one afternoon. Who knows, you may also find new cooking/ baking ideas.

Hope L., would like to recommend this title:

Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters by Mallory Ortberg Hilariously imagined text conversations―the passive aggressive, the clever, and the strange―from classic and modern literary figures, from Scarlett O'Hara to Jessica Wakefield.

Mallory Ortberg, the co-creator of the cult-favorite website The Toast, presents this whimsical collection of hysterical text conversations from your favorite literary characters. Everyone knows that if Scarlett O'Hara had an unlimited text-and-data plan, she'd constantly try to tempt Ashley away from Melanie with suggestive messages. If Mr. Rochester could text Jane Eyre, his ardent missives would obviously be in all-caps. And Daisy Buchanan would not only text while driving, she'd text you to pick her up after she totaled her car. Based on the popular webfeature, Texts from Jane Eyre is a witty, irreverent mashup that brings the characters from your favorite books into the twenty-first century.

The Good Place TV series (4 seasons) DVD Due to an error, self-absorbed Eleanor Shellstrop arrives at the Good Place after her death. Determined to stay, she tries to become a better person.

Created by Michael Schur. Kristen Bell and Ted Danson star in this wacky afterlife comedy that won a Critics' Choice TV Award.

Miss Julie would like to recommend these titles:

Lizzy and the Cloud by The Fan Brothers From the critically acclaimed, award-winning creators of Ocean Meets Sky and The Night Gardener comes a whimsical and sweet tale of a young girl who cares for her pet cloud as it grows.

It’s a little out of fashion to buy a pet cloud, but Lizzy doesn’t mind. She’s not looking for a big one or a fancy one, just one that’s right for her. And she finds it in Milo.

Soon, she’s taking Milo out on walks with her family, watering Milo right on schedule, and seeing Milo grow and grow. But what happens when her pet cloud gets too big for Lizzy to handle?

Description from publisher

Lynn would like to recommend this title:

In Vegetable Gardening Wisdom, Master Gardener Kelly Smith Trimble shares her tried-and -true ideas and guidance for finding success and enjoyment in every aspect of vegetable gardening. Woven in among her tips are helpful and inspiring quotes from other plantloving folks, ranging from novelist Jamaica Kincaid to vegetable gardening guru Ed Smith and renowned chef Sean Brock.

Description from publisher.

Miss Julie would like to recommend these titles:

Every week new books get added to our collections for your enjoyment.

To see them and request them, click on the following:

Miss Julie’s BOOKSHELF and click/tap on each title to learn more about them.

Check it out!

SUMMER JUNE CA OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT JUNE 11TH AT 9pm

MORNING OUTDOOR STORYTIME Starts JUNE 14th/ 10.30AM

EVENING O

STORY

Starts June 15

FOR MOR

ON THESE P

VIS

WWW

OSCARGRAD The Lincoln Highway

Get Wild in Wisconsin

(Book Discussion)

MPM on the Move

June 21st/ 6.30PM

JUNE 23rd/ 2 & 3.30PM

.OR

OR SIMPLY

NEXT TIME YO

R of 22 ALENDAR

OUTDOOR

YTIME

5th/ 6.30PM

Oscar Grady Public Library

A Short History of

Wisconsin

Hey Diddle, Diddle!

(Book Discussion)

June 16th 2 pm

June 20th/ 6PM

RE INFO

PROGRAMS

SIT

W.

DYLIBRARY

RG

Y ASK US

OU VISIT US!

OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT

JUNE 25TH AT 9PM

Ms. Kim’s

Amazing Animals JUNE 30TH/ 2 & 5PM

Did you know we have an excellent literacy program for the little readers in the community?

Next time you visit us, inquire about our 1000 BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN. This ongoing early literacy program encourages families and caregivers to read 1,000 books aloud with their young children before they enter Kindergarten. Any child from birth until he/ she starts Kindergarten is eligible to register.

Reading together helps your child develop important pre-reading skills that provide a solid reading foundation – a key to scholastic and learning success.

Martin would like to recommend this title:

Geiger by Gustaf Skördeman ; translated by Ian Giles.

In this debut novel by Gustaf Skördeman we are taken to Sweden where nothing is at it seems and it shows from the beginning: as we start reading the book we get introduced to the Broman family sharing a typical family catch up kind of weekend; but all that is about to change when in less than fifteen minutes a phone will ring, someone will be dead, and someone else will be missing, taking us readers on a rollercoaster through the landscape of a Cold War that did not end when the Berlin Wall came down.

Interesting character development, surprising twists all along and a story that while it may fall on what has become a little of a repeated cliche as it is the use of the “Soviet sleeping agent” in the narrative, it still manages to deliver a fast paced thriller. Not a Nordic Noir but still you’ll feel the cold!

Rita would like to recommend these titles:

The novel, The Women of Pearl Island (2021)

by Polly Crosby, is a story that takes place on a small island off the British coast. Marianne, an elderly female lepidopterist, has hired a young woman, Tartelin, to be her assistant and to catch butterflies for her studies. Tartelin is grieving the passing of her mother and is looking for a change of scenery and human connection. At first, Marianne is gruff and secretive, and Tartelin has a hard time adjusting to life without phone service and electricity (not to mention internet access!). As the two women get to know and trust each other, Marianne begins to reveal her family’s story and her suspicions of what happened after the British commandeered the island during WWII. This is not an edge-of-your-seat mystery, but it is an enjoyable read with independent female characters, a love story, family secrets, and a bit of fantasy.

Readers who like Sue Monk Kidd’s books might want to give The Women of Pearl Island a try.

The Women of Pearl Island is available through Monarch in large and regular print formats and through Libby in digital print format.

Sharyn would like to recommend this title:

The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins All aboard! In this action-packed New York Times bestselling psychological chiller, established British author Paula Hawkins tries her hand for the first time at suspenseful fiction and knocks it out of the park! Hang on for the ride as horror lurks around every bend, while you race towards a climactic conclusion with only one certaintythat the light at the end of the tunnel may actually be another train!

People-watcher Rachel Watson rides the commuter train to and from London every day, dreaming about a life that could be, should be, but never was... In an effort to escape a tragic and violent alcohol-fuelled past that haunts her with hazy memories of a failed marriage, cheating husband and her longed-for, but never-to-be, family, her dream visions are reserved for others' lives, no longer her own. When the perceived perfect family she has created ultimately and violently falls apart, however, Rachel has a front row seat to a murder she is not even sure she actually saw. Is she the witness to a horrific crime, an active participant, or simply the author of a story of a victim that never truly existed at all?

Written from the perspective of three vastly different women at different junctures in their lives, The Girl on the Train additionally includes a more thought provoking realistic side story of the relationships in our lives and the expectations that result- both real and imagined, which may keep you thinking long after the nightmares have faded.

Steven would like to recommend this title:

As we near Memorial Day, I would like to take a moment to remember those who served our country during WWII. Especially the woman, who fought the war by not actually picking up a gun, but they still contributed in their own unique ways. In Flying Angels, the reader is introduced to the RAF and US Army Airborne nurses unit, whose mission was to fly to the front line, or even behind enemy lines , to pick up wounded allied soldiers and then fly them back to England for medical treatment. In Girls of Flight City, the reader is told a small town in Texas, where RAF pilots were trained on how to fly an airplane and a small group of woman who took it upon themselves to prove to everyone that a woman can be just as good of a flight instructor as their male counterparts. Both of these books are well written, real page turners, and give us a glimpse into the impact that war can have on a family, friends, a community, a nation, and on the whole world.

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.

www.oscargradylibrary.org