Anne Davis, LibraryDirector, Author at Gardiner Public Library

Many of our favorite movies are based on even better books. Though I am happy that one of my favorite authors manages to have many of his titles made into pretty good movies, I really hope that folks continue to read Dennis Lehane. Once you read one of his books, you will wonder what took you so long to find him.

I first discovered Lehane when our library book discussion group read Mystic River. The opening pages grab you instantly as you become acquainted with the characters that meet as children and reconnect after a terrible tragedy sets them along a path that will change their lives forever. Lehane’s narrative never flinches although, as the reader, you really hope that the outcome could be different. This is a perfect novel and Clint Eastwood adapted it to the movie that garnered Academy awards for both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins. Please, watch the movie, but be sure to read the book first!

Shutter Island begins with a boat ride in the Boston Harbor and by the time the author returns you to the mainland, you will feel as if you have been put through the wringer. Everything that you thought you knew or figured out gets twisted and the ending is so unexpected that you will go back and re-read a few pages to be sure that you understand the outcome. Martin Scorsese must have known that he was working with gold when he adapted the novel into a movie.

Dennis Lehane loves to revisit his characters along the way. Gone Baby Gone ends so unexpectedly, you wish you could call the author and just ask “why?” He addresses the ending in the sequel, Moonlight Mile, without any trite answers and tired wrap ups, just realism.

I couldn’t wait to read his newest novel, Live by Night, and I had checked it out of the library as soon as I could. I must have missed a title though, as this has the same families he introduced in The Given Day, one novel that slipped by me. I simply cannot read books out of order, so now, I am absorbed by this book that has one of THE BEST baseball scenes ever written, and I really am not a baseball fanatic!

So there you have it, I cannot get enough of Dennis Lehane’s writing and I know that the next author that I read will fall short for me…why can’t everyone write as well as Lehane? As you may imagine, all of Lehane’s titles are available at the Gardiner Public Library, so check one out soon!

Anne Davis, Library Director

Do you think that you are smarter than a 5th grader? I am not so sure this is a true statement for me anymore. I am a judge for the Battle of the Book over at Pittston Consolidated School and part of my duty as judge is to read 5 YA titles. Okay, what is YA? YA is a fairly new genre to the publishing world that concentrates on the teen and pre-teen audience. Please think of the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series…. very large audiences and huge profits for the publishers. Though these blockbusters are not titles for the battle, I did read books I never would have read if not for my responsibilities.

I took my duties very seriously, judges are well respected entities and I did not want to besmirch anyone. I thought I had the titles down pat, but the teens could answer any trivia, tidbit, and theme question we threw at them, all in 30 seconds! These students read, studied, dissected, and reviewed each title until the event. I am so proud of the young adults that joined in on the fun. Their teachers should be our heroes because they accomplished a very difficult feat…. they made reading fun and they made readers champions. So, I challenge our library readers to pick up a YA title soon, these books are worlds away from my days of reading the Nancy Drew series and dreaming of the time that I would be able to drive around town in a roadster!