Let’s Make Something Good!

staceyLeave a comment

Here we go, headed into the making-est time of the year! And even though the 2020 Holiday Season may not offer the exact same opportunities for celebration as previous years, it doesn’t mean you can’t pick and choose some favorite parts! Maybe you just want to experiment with new foods or you want to get back into crafting, this feels like a good time to change things up.

If you’re ready to start planning, why not take a look at the books available in Fall Harvest, Fall Flavors, Crafting for the Holiday Season, or Why Buy it When You Can Make it? And while you’re making new stuff, if you want a book to listen to, I just finished Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood -here’s hoping it the first in (long running) series!

-Stacey

Virtual Book Club – Beachy Reads for Winter

ShannonLeave a comment

Despite what the weather outside may be telling us, it is in fact the winter season. The dropping temperatures plus the looming threat of another lockdown may have you dreaming of warmer climes, and you’re not the only one! Thank goodness books can take us away. Try any of the authors below to be whisked away to places where the temperature is hotter – whether that’s because of a beach setting or a hot romance.

Click any of the book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available.

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole catalog link

Alyssa Cole

Alyssa Cole writes smart, steamy historical and contemporary romances featuring an array of diverse characters. Her heroines are intelligent, independent women who have rich, full lives although are a bit reluctant to open their hearts to romance. The men who ultimately win them over are strong, thoughtful partners who respect the heroines and their choices. Her rich detail and intricate plots add depth and dimension as the characters find their way to happily ever after.

Start with An Extraordinary Union. Overdrive link. Hoopla link.

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky catalog link

Barbara Delinsky

Barbara Delinsky began by writing contemporary Romances, but now writes fiction focused on contemporary women and their lives and relationships. Delinsky’s skillfully developed characters are central to her stories, as they struggle to resolve difficulties in their lives. Plots reflect universal themes, such as compromise and reconciliation, and there is a romantic tone throughout. Delinsky’s novels unfold at a leisurely pace, in part because they are set in small towns, as readers are pulled into these sensitive stories.

Start with: Sweet Salt Air. Overdrive link.

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory catalog link

Jasmine Guillory

Jasmine Guillory writes modern romantic comedies featuring smart, capable heroines who excel in their careers and lead full lives surrounded by supportive friends and families. When a romantic partner enters the picture, the protagonists view the relationship as a life enhancement rather than a requirement, and the resulting relationship stars a pair who are on equal footing intellectually and emotionally. Guillory doesn’t shy away from examining the relatable issues her multicultural couples face but never sacrifices sexiness or humor.

Start with: The Wedding Date. Overdrive link.

The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand catalog link

Elin Hilderbrand

While Elin Hilderbrand’s characters change from novel to novel, her setting remains consistent – the historic island of Nantucket. Using the island as a jumping off point, Hilderbrand’s works offer the hallmarks of an ideal summer vacation read: romance, friendship, a beautiful setting, conflict and characters facing personal challenges. While rife with tales of people living privileged lifestyle, Hilderbrand grounds her stories in topics that will feel familiar to all women – love, illness, friendship, and family relationships.

Start with: The Rumor. Overdrive link.

Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer catalog link

Nancy Thayer

Nancy Thayer’s women’s fiction revolves around women’s families and friendships, and varies in tone from her more serious first novels to her sassy and humorous Hot Flash Club series. Her characters are realistic, everyday women, and she employs a sense of humor (from snappy to gentle) in her novels. There is often an element of romance as well.

Start with: Moon Shell Beach. Overdrive link.

Author information courtesy of Novelist.

Join us next week for another installment of the virtual book club!

Reconnect@RRPL

EmmaLeave a comment

The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama

The sugar cane industry is the mainstay for the economic survival of Hilo, Hawaii. The plantations employ many of the residents who are mostly Japanese, Chinese and Portuguese. It’s 1935 when the Mauna Loa volcano erupts and lava starts moving toward civilization, namely Hilo.

Daniel Abe has returned home to Hilo after practicing medicine in Chicago for 10 years. He reconnects with family and friends including former girlfriend Maile. Koji has always been supportive of Daniel and his mother, Mariko, especially after Daniel’s father disappears. As a young man Koji wanted more of a relationship with Mariko, but she chose Franklin instead. Koji’s love and concern for Mariko never diminishes taking care of her during her fight with cancer.

Time moves back and forth between the early 1900’s and 1930’s. There are secrets uncovered along the way that greatly effect Daniel and his relationship with “Uncle” Koji. I enjoyed the historical aspects of this novel including learning about the backbreaking work on a sugar cane plantation, the attempts to unionize, and the ever present possibility of widespread disaster due to the volcano.

~Emma

Cowan Pottery Museum Needs Your Help!

GregLeave a comment


The Cowan Pottery Museum wants to hear from you! As the Museum plans its 2021 programming, we seek your feedback on how the Museum can expand its services. What type of programs would you like offered by the Museum? In what new ways can we provide more information about our collection? Please, click here to submit your feedback before December 1.

What we’re reading now-

SaraCLeave a comment

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Guest List is a psychological mystery/thriller.  The main characters are the bride, the groom, the bridesmaid, the best man, the plus-one and the wedding planner.  The novel takes place on an island off the coast of Ireland.  The story begins on the eve of the wedding, and someone ends up dead.  Many twists and turns throughout the story, and for me, a surprise ending.  The mystery/thriller genre is not my wheelhouse, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Foley did a great job of describing a breath-taking setting, peppered with a full Irish cast of characters.   The story moved at a quick pace, and I simply could not put the book down. Mary

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

I just started reading this book on the enthusiastic recommendation of a friend and am very much enjoying this weird and riveting story thus far. Written by one of Japan’s most highly regarded novelists, this book follows Toru Okada as he searches for his wife’s missing cat in a Tokyo suburb. He soon finds himself looking for his wife as well in a strange underworld that lies beneath the surface of Tokyo, full of odd and sometimes menacing people. I have no idea how this will end but look forward to getting there! Nicole

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Sydney has lived in the same historically Black neighborhood since she was a little girl, knowing the same neighbors all her life, but gentrification is coming. Over the course of a week, neighbors mysteriously ‘move out,’ the greasy-spoon bodega changes hands to become a place that sells kombucha and wraps, and real estate agents knock on her door more and more aggressively to try to force her to sell her mother’s house. Sydney will discover that garden-variety gentrification isn’t the only thing in play, and that there are darker motives under the changes. This gentrification twist on the traditional thriller is a page-turning, suspenseful read as well as a biting social commentary. Shannon

 The Last Great Road Bum by Hector Tobar

This novel is a fascinating amalgam of fiction and non-fiction featuring a real person, Joe Sanderson. Sanderson, raised in the traditional Midwest of the 1950s and expected to go to college and marry, instead became a globe-trotter, searching out locations where wars raged, so that he could experience a life of adventure and the makings of a great novel. Author Tobar acquired Sanderson’s writings and added fictionalized touches to Sanderson’s life, envisioning his childhood and why he made the choices that he did. Though his novel was never published, maybe Sanderson would see in Tobar’s work the novel that he envisioned.  Dori

The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp

I heard about this graphic novel when watching Comic-Con@Home 2020. A bunch of authors had a panel discussion about writing heroine characters in the Batman universe in the YouTube video Batgirls! Nijkamp is a writer who has lived in a wheelchair most of her life, so she brings real experience to the story of Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon’s daughter. It is about teenage Barbara going to a rehabilitation center after being shot and adjusting to her new life in a wheelchair. In comics after The Killing Joke, Barbara, in her wheelchair, is often portrayed as becoming a librarian while secretly working as Oracle, providing intel to Batman. But here she is younger and trying to solve a mystery in her new temporary home where she feels so uncomfortable and has lost her sense of self. I’m enjoying artist Manuel Preitano’s style, including the childlike creepy ghost stories, and metaphors of jumbled puzzle pieces. Byron

Jane in Love by Robin Givney 

You don’t need to be a Janeite to enjoy the story of Jane Austen traveling through time based on making an accidental wish to find her one true love. When Jane finds herself still in Bath, England but modern day, she’s stuck in a world she doesn’t understand without money or people to rely on. How did she get here and will she be stuck forever? If you want to consider the challenges of being a woman in 1803 vs. right now, or make some new fictional friends, this might be the book for you! Stacey

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman

I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on the latest by Alice Hoffman and was not disappointed. This novel is a prequel to Hoffman’s popular 1995 novel Practical Magic and is set in 17th-century in England, Salem, Massachusetts, and New York City. It follows the life of Maria Owens, a foundling child who is rescued by Hannah Owens, a kind witch who raises Maria to practice “green magic” and teaches her to only use these powers to help and heal those in need. Unfortunately, the hardships Maria faces in her life allow her lose sight of these rules of magic, and she brings a curse upon her future generations with one impulsive move. This is a book about magic, love, family, injustice, history and best of all, witches, and it makes for a riveting read. Hoffman’s writing has only improved in the last 25 years and for this reader, Magic Lessons was even better than its sequel. Prepare to be spellbound.   Carol

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg

I just checked out a copy of the new Fannie Flagg book, The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop. It’s the sequel to Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. The reviews are great and I’ve enjoyed reading other books by this author, and I look forward to reading this one. Emma

Virtual Book Club – Books to Take You to Another World

ShannonLeave a comment

The past week has been stressful and hard on all of us, so I thought I’d put together a list of books that will sweep you away to another world. There’s something for everyone below: fantasy, historical fiction, literary fiction, and more. Any one of these books will hold you tight from the first page and won’t let go until the last one. 

Click any of the book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern catalog link

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 

This enchanting fantasy novel by the bestselling author of The Night Circus features a secret underground library on the edge of a vast sea. Zachary discovers a mysterious book in his college library which leads to the secret library, where he finds pirates, castles, and magic doors. Choose Morgenstern’s book to take you away to fairy land. 

The Starless Sea Overdrive link

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell catalog link

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Dive into the world of Shakespeare with this fictionalized account of Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, and their son, Hamnet, who tragically died at 11. This lyrical and unique book will take you into the past and won’t let you go until the last page. 

Hamnet Overdrive link


A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende catalog link

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende 

Driven into exile by the Spanish Civil War, widowed, pregnant Roser and Victor, who is the brother of her deceased husband, flee to Chile on a ship. Allende’s bestselling, epic tale chronicles their lives and struggle as they wait to return to their beloved Spain. 

A Long Petal of the Sea Overdrive link

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

In Jemisin’s latest novel, New York City has just been born as a sentient entity, and for each of its five burroughs, there is a person that represents it, plus one master avatar for the whole city. When cosmic horrors threaten the newly awakened city, the six avatars must come together to New York. 

The City We Became Overdrive link

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 

Ishiguro imagines a world where certain children are kept at elite boarding schools and only allowed to see the outside world once they come of age. I don’t want to say too much about this one and spoil it – trust me when I say that you need to read it, it may make you cry, and you won’t be able to put it down. 

Never Let Me Go Overdrive link

We hope one of these books will take on a journey to a different world. Join us next week for another virtual book club!

Reconnect@RRPL – Streaming Review

Ryan DickersonLeave a comment
Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Adam Sandler, Tim Meadows, Julie Bowen, Kevin James, Maya Rudolph, Kenan Thompson, Kelli Berglund, Karan Brar, and Noah Schnapp in Hubie Halloween (2020)

I’m a fan of Halloween films and Adam Sandler Films, so Hubie Halloween was an easy choice. Adam Sandler has created several other films in the Halloween theme with the Hotel Transylvania series looking to make its fourth film. This film is targeting an older demographic with the type of humor he has in this film. This film hovers between scary and comedic throughout, with I believe it landing on the comedic side. Sandler’s character is foolish in many ways, but his ingenuity and sincerity stand out.

The film starts out at a mental health facility with Orderly Hal (Ben Stiller) discovering one of his patients has escaped. We’re then introduced to Hubie Dubois (Adam Sandler) riding his bicycle down the street. As he’s riding, various children pelt eggs at him while he deftly dodges them. Hubie then goes to work at a deli where Mr. Landolfa (Ray Liotta) and Mike Mundi (Karan Brar) scare Hubie as a prank. Officer Steve Downey (Kevin James) is alerted that there is an escaped patient from the mental health facility who may be heading towards the town. Hubie suddenly knocks on Steve’s window to tell him that there was a boy buying an abnormal amount of toilet paper and eggs. Steve isn’t interested and the boy who Hubie tried to report chases him home.

When Hubie gets home, he meets his new neighbor Walter Lambert (Steve Buscemi). Walter seems very kind; but he warns Hubie that if he hears any weird noises from his house in the middle of the night, then he should ignore them and not come inside. We’re introduced to several characters over time leading to Halloween night. Hubie is trying to keep everyone safe, and he ends up at a high school party trying to get them to obey laws and be safe. Mike Mundi decides to play a prank on Hubie by getting someone else to say there is a child lost in the corn maze. Tommy (Noah Schnapp) and Megan (Paris Berelc) leave the party deciding the prank on Hubie is mean-spirited. After Hubie learns there isn’t anyone to save in the maze, he finds Mike Mundi tied up and then Mike is abducted by something strange.

This film has a lot of characters and I had to leave out some fairly large ones in the second half of the film to get to the suspenseful part. Hubie’s character is at first seen as a fool, but we see there are other people who respect him. I enjoyed the overall humor in the film with Adam Sandler’s character diverging from many of his other comedic characters in that Hubie is afraid and he doesn’t get mad at other people. To use Sandler’s other films to categorize this one, I’d say it has the range of storylines from films like Grown Ups but Sandler is a more extreme character like in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. Overall, this film is filled with cameos and fun scenes. I think it even has some decent lessons about being kind to others. So, I’d recommend this as a fun Halloween film aimed at teens. Rated PG-13.

Ryan

Reconnect@RRPL

EmmaLeave a comment

Truths I Never Told You

by Kelly Rimmer

The story flips back and forth between the 1950’s and the 1990’s. Beth and her 3 siblings had been told that their mother, Grace, died in a car accident when they were very young. Their father, Patrick, was left to raise four young children. Decades later after their father died, Beth is cleaning out his padlocked attic when she comes across notes written by their mother that indicate something else happened.

Both Beth and her mother suffered from postpartum depression. The way the condition was treated in the 1950’s for Grace is very different than the help Beth receives. Secrets must have haunted Patrick for decades and sadly even at the end of his life he was unwilling and eventually unable to share the truth. His children were left to sort out exactly what really happened to their mother.

This is not a happy-ever-after book, but it’s a good story. It compares the roles of women and their healthcare in the mid and late 20th century. 

~Emma