Tag Archives: fiction

HPL Staff Gives Thanks

25 Nov

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I asked my colleagues at the Hoboken Public Library what books or TV shows or digital media they were thankful to find this year. Following are their favorites, which are available at the library or through interlibrary loan.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

-Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

 

graduates-in-wonderland

Photo by Shannon Campbell

Shannon Campbell, Children’s Librarian
After 19 years of education, with an astronomical amount of papers, projects, and presentations, I finally graduated this year in May. I spent the entire summer knowing that in the upcoming fall, I had no professor or class to report to, no looming deadline hanging over my head for a paper or project. It felt freeing, and absolutely scary. I didn’t have the next step all laid out like I had for the previous 19 years. I looked to everyone and everything for advice and comfort, and found it in the book Graduates in Wonderland: True Dispatches from Down the Rabbit Hole, by Jessica Pan and Rachel Kapelke-Dale. The story is constructed through a series of emails the girls send to each other the years following graduation. They talk about their successes, failures, fears, goals, dreams, people and places they have fallen in love with, and people and places they fell out of love with. It very much expressed the mindset I was in at the time. The cherry on top of the cake was my friends and I had sent the book to each other with notes in the margins reflecting our feelings on any of the topics as we read through it. It was very much like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but book-club style! Not only did I have the authors to look to for comfort, but I also had my friends through their words. That particular copy had been to NYC, Shanghai, California, and of course, Hoboken. To sum up what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving: my supportive friends, my education, and the authors of this book that perfectly express the scary (and amazing) journey of entering into adulthood.
life-on-mars
Carolyn Hartwick, Account Clerk
I am grateful for a June 24 Staff Picks – British Edition post by Clay Waters.  One of his recommendations was for the British television series Life on Mars starring the delightful John Simm.  At the time I was a bit lost with no Sherlock, Doctor Who, or Walking Dead to catch up on so I binge-watched the 16 episodes in early July and then hummed David Bowie tunes to myself for the rest of the summer.  It was a great show, delivered quickly though BCCLS interlibrary loan, and something I am glad didn’t pass me by thanks to the Hoboken Library Staff Picks blog!
wolfpack
Heidi Schwab, Emerging Technology Librarian and Program Coordinator
What I took away from the award-winning documentary The Wolfpack is that even though the brothers, their mother and sister were living in a very bad situation, there is such a sweetness and kindness to them. It is amazing how they protected their mother and were sympathetic to their mentally-ill father who kept them locked up.  After growing up basically prisoners they retained their innocence and positive look at the world. This is a perfect Thanksgiving movie because we learn that even people who grow up in terrible circumstances can grow up to be positive and relatively happy in a way.
code-name-verity
Kim Iacucci, Young Adult Librarian

This year I am thankful that I read Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I read and enjoy a lot of books every year but there are very few that live up to the phrase “page turner.” This book is so surprising that the minute I finished I wanted to start over from the beginning to see how the pieces fit together. It’s not an easy read. There’s war, torture and loss. But also friendship, love and hope. Highly recommended.

 

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Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

I’m thankful that we will be offering some great new services next month to our patrons: JobNow and HelpNow from Brainfuse.  Help Now provides students with online homework help from qualified tutors between 2 PM and 11 PM.  There are also always available video tutorials and practice tests for exams like the GED and SAT.  There is assistance for adults with skill building and who may need help with essays, business letters, or other writing.  JobNow provides assistance for job seekers with their resumes, interview coaching and more.  Check them out starting in December!

 

 

enchanted-april

Rosary Van Ingen, Adult Circulation Services Department Head

My pick for the #gratitude post is The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. This novel, set in post-WWI Europe, celebrates love, friendship and family. This book never fails to remind me of the beauty and power of friendship.

 

 

night-gardener

Sharlene Edwards, Senior Children’s Librarian

I am so happy to have recently picked up The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. When it was published last year, I put it on my mental to-read list and continued on my adult fiction kick.  My to-read list is predictably long and unrealistic, and I would have most certainly forgotten about Auxier’s juvenile fantasy novel if I hadn’t spied HPL’s Young Adult Librarian hurriedly reading the last ten pages before starting her work day.  I brought it with me on my train ride home that night, and, by the end of page one, I knew I was going to fall completely in love with Auxier’s creepy Victorian tale about two young orphans who find themselves desperate for food and shelter at the door of an infamously strange house in the woods. Quickly the children learn that there are sinister forces at work in their new residence. The occupants, an unhappy family who is burdened by a mysterious illness, are under the dark thrall of a wishing tree. After finding myself in a bit of a reading slump, Auxier’s beautifully written novel reminded me of the power of artful storytelling.

MSCR blog 11.15

Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

This year I am thankful to have founded, with Rosary, the Mile Square City Readers book club. We have a wonderful, opinionated group that brings fresh perspectives and interesting insights to the books we read. I have tried to start a few book clubs in the past that didn’t last too long, and I’m excited to have this great club to talk books with once a month.

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The Mile Square City Readers Book Club Half-Year Review

19 Oct

In addition to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club, which my colleague Aimee Harris created and facilitates, the Hoboken Public Library has the Mile Square City Readers. This book club, led by me and Rosary, reads mostly new releases and bestselling fiction, plus the occasional classic.

On March 19, 2015 the Mile Square City Readers had its first meeting. At that time, the name of the group was The Hoboken Public Library New Book Club. In September we reached our six month anniversary and decided the “New” label was, well, old. Our amazing members suggested names and voted on Mile Square City Readers.

Here is a review of the titles we have read so far this year.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

girl-on-the-train

The first book we read is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. The girl is Rachel, who finds herself involved with the disappearance of a woman whose house she passes while riding the commuter train to London. The main question of the story is: Can the reader trust Rachel as a narrator? The group enjoyed this book, and it was a great title for starting off the book club.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

to-kill-a-mockingbird

In April we read Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird ahead of the release of the prequel Go Set a Watchman. I joked that the book club was going “back to school”, as this title appears on many schools’ reading lists. Nearly all members of the group have read this book before, and are fond of the legendary characters Scout and Atticus Finch that Lee created.

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

better-than-before

We experimented with a nonfiction title in May. Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (also known for The Happiness Project) is about how we create habits, good and bad. An interesting discussion came from this book, including theories on how astrological signs can factor into our habits. However, the group wanted to return to fiction so the nonfiction experiment has been shelved.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

all-the-light-we-cannot-see

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was our June pick. We decided to read this after the announcement that it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. The Pulitzer website describes the book as “…an imaginative and intricate novel…” The group loved this book and thought it was a beautifully written work of fiction.

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

in-the-unlikely-event

In July we read Judy Blume’s In the Unlikely Event, which is based on three plane crashes that happened in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the early 1950s, and how residents were impacted. There are many characters in this book, which the group expressed some difficulty keeping track of, but they enjoyed the story overall, particularly the accurate details included by Blume.

Go Set a Watchmen by Harper Lee

go-set-a-watchman

Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, our August pick, was the most controversial book in the Mile Square City Reader’s Book Club (albeit short) history. There was intense discussion about how Atticus Finch’s character was so drastically different in To Kill a Mockingbird, and how involved Harper Lee was in this work. The group consensus was that this book was better left unpublished.

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

the-knockoff

The September meeting brought the group’s first author visit: The Knockoff co-author Jo Piazza participated in our discussion over Skype chat! We had a lot of fun talking about the real-life people the characters in The Knockoff are based on (there is an Eve out in the world, yikes!), and how women of a certain age can relate to feeling irrelevant in the workplace when technology changes daily and younger people enter every day.

Looking ahead, we are reading A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. Please join us at our next meeting on Thursday October 29 at 7:30 PM.

Oct 2015 banner

Titles for each month are announced ahead of time, and we offer copies of the book plus, depending on availability, eBooks available through eLibraryNJ and/or the library’s Technology Lending program.

To keep up with the Mile Square City Readers, send an email to reference AT hoboken DOT bccls DOT org to be added to the mailing list.

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian and Mile Square City Readers Book Club co-founder

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