Library News - Page 24 of 134 - Gardiner Public Library

Summer Season

June 8, 2019 by Ann Russell, Technology Librarian

Summer is really, yes REALLY, beginning this month! We have had a very long stretch of odd? Unusual? Strange? Wet? (you choose) weather this Spring, and I for one am ready for the new season.

Here in Gardiner we bring in the summer season with the Greater Gardiner River Festival. This year the festival happens on June 22^nd, the second official day of summer.

There will be many activities that day – from Ice Cream for Breakfast, to Face Painting, to the Arts and Crafts Fair on Water Street.

For us, here at the library, one of the most important events is our Annual Book Sale. The book sale takes place here at the library, mainly in the historic Hazzard Reading Room. The library doors open at 9:00, and the sale runs until 3:00.

You never know what you might find – books (of course), movies – both DVD & Blu-Ray, perhaps some music, we’ve had games at times, . . . Best of all? Prices start at $.50, and might be as much as $2.00 on a few items. All proceeds benefit the Gardiner Public Library, but WHAT A BARGAIN!!!

Join us here at the library, show your support of the library and enjoy a day filled with fun, treasures, and laughter.

New Items ~ June 2019

June 1, 2019 by Ann Russell, Technology Librarian

FICTION

The A list by J.A. Jance. An imprisoned fertility doctor seeks revenge.

Anna of Kleve, the princess in the portrait by Alison Weir. The surprising life of the least known of King Henry VIII’s wives is illuminated in this volume of the Six Tudor Queens series.

At Briarwood School for Girls by Michael Knight. It’s 1994 and Leonore is a junior at Briarwood. She plays basketball. She hates her roommate. History is her favorite subject. She has told no one that she’s pregnant. Everything, in other words, is under control. Right. Sure it is.

The better sister by Alafair Burke. When a Manhattan lawyer is murdered, two estranged sisters – one the dead man’s widow and the other his ex – must set aside mistrust and old resentments. But can they escape the past?

The book woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Richardson. Basically about the power of reading and libraries, this also explores the extreme rural poverty of 1930s Appalachia and labor unrest among coal miners.

The bookshop of the broken hearted by Robert Hillman. A tender novel about love and forgiveness in 1960s Australia, in which a lonely farmer finds his life turned upside down by the arrival of a vibrant librarian who is many years his senior.

A boy and his dog at the end of the world by C.A. Fletcher. When a beloved family dog is stolen, her owner sets out on a life-changing journey through the ruins of our world to bring her back in this tale of survival, courage, and hope.

The bride test by Helen Hoang. A superior romance in which a young Vietnamese woman seizes an opportunity to travel to America in hopes of finding a husband and a better life.

The Cornwalls are gone by James Patterson. An Army intelligence officer must commit a crime or lose her kidnapped husband and daughter.

The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz. 10 writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another.

A dream of death by Connie Berry. On a remote Scottish island, an American antiques dealer wrestles with her own past while sleuthing a killing, staged to recreate a 200 year old unsolved murder.

The farm by Joanne Ramos. At a luxurious secret facility in upstate New York, women who need money bear children for wealthy would-be mothers. Excellent – both as a reproductive dystopian narrative and as a social novel about women and class.

If she wakes by Michael Koryta. Slowly emerging from the coma she’s been in since a black cargo van rammed the car she was using to transport a visiting professor who was thus killed, Maine college senior Tara is targeted by a ruthless young hit man.

Lost roses by Martha Kelly. In 1914, the New York socialite Eliza Ferriday works to help White Russian families escape from the revolution.

Mr. Gandy’s grand tour by Alan Titchmarsh. Free with no responsibilities, Mr. Gandy sets off for a grand tour of the type popular in the 18^th century. Paris certainly, and Italy. After that, who knows? It’s sure to be either an ugly midlife disaster or an opportunity for growth.

Naamah by Sarah Blake. A retelling of Noah’s ark centered around his wife, Naamah – the woman who helped reshape the world with her hands.

Normal people by Sally Rooney. The connection between a high school star athlete and a loner ebbs and flows when they go to Trinity College in Dublin.

Rabbits for food by Binnie Kirshenbaum. A laugh-out-loud funny story of a writer’s slide into depression and institutionalization.

Someone knows by Lisa Scottoline. A novel about how a single decision can undo a family, how our past can derail our present, and how not guilty doesn’t always mean innocent.

They all fall down by Rachel Hall. Seven sinners arrive on a private island for a reckoning that will leave you breathless.

Triple jeopardy by Anne Perry. Young lawyer Daniel Pitt must defend a British diplomat accused of a theft that may cover up a deadly crime.

Two weeks by Karen Kingsbury. A pregnant 18 year old has limited time to change her mind about giving her baby up for adoption.

A wonderful stroke of luck by Ann Beattie. Set in a boarding school in New Hampshire, this is about the complicated relationship between a charismatic teacher and his students, and the secrets we keep from those we love.

Wunderland by Jennifer Epstein. This is a vividly written and stark chronicle of Nazism and its legacies. An absorbing exploration of friendship, betrayal, and coming to terms with the past.

DVDs

Fantastic beasts: the crimes of Grindelwald (2018) starring Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp

RBG (2018) starring Ruth Bader Ginsburg

NONFICTION

The accidental veterinarian by Philipp Schott. For all animal lovers, tales that are always amusing, amazing, and – once in a while – sad.

The art of happy moving by Ali Wenzke. An upbeat guide to help you survive the moving process from start to finish, filled with strategies and checklists for timing and supplies.

Auschwitz: not long ago, not far away by Robert Jan van Pelt. This tells a story to shake the conscience of the world. It is the catalogue of the first-ever traveling exhibition about the Auschwitz concentration camp, where 1.1 million people lost their lives.

Down from the mountain by Bryce Andrews. The story of a grizzly bear named Millie: her life, death, and cubs, and what they reveal about the changing character of the American West today.

A Florida state of mind by James Wright. An unnatural history of our weirdest state that’s always in the news for everything from alligator attacks to zany crimes.

Life will be the death of me…and you too! by Chelsea Handler. The comedian chronicles going into therapy and becoming an advocate for change.

Losing Earth by Nathaniel Rich. By 1979, we knew nearly everything we understand today about climate change – including how to stop it. Over the next decade, a handful risked their careers in a desperate campaign to convince the world to act before it was too late. This is their story and ours.

The man they wanted me to be by Jared Sexton. Deeply personal, this examines how we teach boys what’s expected of men in America and the long-term effects of that socialization – which include depression, shorter lives, misogyny, and suicide.

The matriarch: Barbara Bush and the making of an American dynasty by Susan Page. A vivid bio of the former First Lady, one of the most influential and under-appreciated women in American political history.

The Mueller report. The special counsel’s investigation looms as a turning point in American history.

Playing back the 80s by Jim Beviglia. For those who didn’t grow up in the 80s, this endlessly funny book will show them what the fuss was all about with the music and maybe reveal a few surprises along the way.

Out East by John Glynn. A gripping portrait of life in a Montauk summer house – a debut memoir of first love, identity and the self-discovery among a group of friends who became family.

The pioneers by David McCullough. The settling of the Northwest Territory by dauntless pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would come to define our country.

A woman of no importance by Sonia Purnell. The true story of a Baltimore socialite who joined a spy organization during World War II and became essential to the French Resistance.

New Children’s Books for June 2019

PICTURE BOOKS

Babymoon by Hayley Barrett

Diggersaurs by Michael Whaite

Ernestine’s milky way by Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Grumpy monkey by Suzanne Lang

Hello, I’m here by Helen Frost

I love you all year through by Stephanie Stansbie

Karate Kakapo by Loredana Cunti

The night flower by Lara Hawthorne

Raj and the best day ever by Sebastien Braun

The unbudgeable curmudgeon by Matthew Burgess

Wake up, color pup by Taia Morley

Wordy birdy by Tammi Sauer

CHAPTER BOOKS

The adventures of a girl called Bicycle by Christina Uss

Arlo Finch in the valley of fire by John August

The benefits of being an octopus by Ann Braden

Class action by Steven B. Frank

Forgotten city by Michael Ford

Game changer by Tommy Greenwald

The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee

Journey of the pale bear by Susan Fletcher

Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood

The night diary by Veera Hiranandani

Nightbooks by J.A. White

Ra the mighty: cat cetective by A.B. Greenfield

Skylark and Wallcreeper by Anne O’Brien Carelli

Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley

NON-FICTION

Beware of the crocodile by Martin Jenkins

Caterpillar and Bean by Martin Jenkins

Dog days of history: the incredible story of our best friends by Sarah Albee

Inside outside by Anne-Margot Ramstein

Like a lizard by April Pulley Sayre

Map and track rain forests by Heather C. Hudak

Pass go and collect $200: the real story of how monopoly was invented by Tanya Lee Stone

The proper way to meet a hedgehog and other how-to poems by Paul B. Janeczko

Shawn Mendes by Robin Johnson

MOVIES

Frozen by Disney

Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries Season One with Shaun Cassidy

The kid who would be king with Patrick Stewart

The LEGO movie 2 with Chris Pratt

Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.

Memorial Day

May 25, 2019 by Scott Handville, Assistant Director

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

It is now observed in almost every state on the last Monday in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363). This helped ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays, though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19th in Texas; April 26th in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10th in South Carolina; and June 3rd (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Red Poppies

In 1915, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms. Michael. When she returned to France she made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children’s League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help.

Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their “Buddy” Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms. Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.

National Moment of Remembrance

The “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

This is from the web address – http://www.usmemorialday.org/?page_id=2