Book Lists for Days

Dear Worcester Readers,

Looking for something to read?  Library staff has compiled a few book lists on varied topics for your browsing pleasure. Click on any link below to see what's checked in, what's check out, and what looks good to you!

Funny, Punny Titles

It's cold! Which makes it a perfect time to curl up with a cozy mystery! Click on the link above for funny, punny titles

Penny Dreadful Read Alikes

No more episodes of Penny Dreadful? Here’s what to read next!

World Stories for the Community

A wide-ranging list of novels, biographies, memoirs and short story collections to promote understanding of other cultures.

Spiritual Matters

A collection of thoughtful items that encourage self-reflection and peace.

Un-Common Cinema Presents: From Nothing, Something

Saturday, April 15

2:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Saxe Room

Join us for a monthly screening

of thought provoking film, followed

by a lively discussion of

the issues presented.

Have you ever wondered about the creative process??

About where ideas come from?

And how creatives manage to find these ideas 

over and over as they work?  

On April 15th, 2017, the Worcester Public Library will be showing the documentary "From Nothing, Something."

We will be screening the film and discussing it. 

The film will bring many interesting questions to explore. 

Treasures From the Worcester Room: A Pre-War Playbill

As the United States prepares to commemorate the one hundred year anniversary of America's entry into World War I this year, it is interesting to note that the United States entered the war relatively late.  As such, the war was a subject of fascination to many Americans for years, without Americans having declared a side.  Along those lines, it is interesting to look at at a play that was performed in Worcester 101 years ago this month in February of 1916.  That play was Under Fire written by Roi Cooper Megrue.

The Worcester Room's collection of theater programs has always been one of the collections that has interested me the most.  Not only does it demonstrate how Worcester has long been a home for the arts, it also helps to demonstrate the opinions and culture of the city at the time.  This particular program has a few interesting features worth highlighting.  The program insists that the production is "new and neutral" and promises a show free from "noise, horror and atrocities" and featuring "thrills, comedy and romance". This shows a country and a city that could still look at the First World War through the eyes of a third-party observer.  In fact, when researching the history of the production, I found one article from the time that mentioned that when the show was running on Broadway, the director hired reservists from the German army who were living in America to play German soldiers.  This was mere months before the United States would be battling the German army in Europe.  Just another great example of the treasures that can be found in the library's Worcester Room.

Winter Reading Challege: Last Chance for Submitting Reviews!

Here are a few more fiction book reviews by patrons who participated in our Winter Reading Challenge. Our Winter Reading Challenge will end on February 28 (so if you're going to participate, hurry up and read!). You may even win a Bundle of Books Basket! Want your book review to be featured on our social media? Take the challenge and write a review of the books you read! Sign up and log the books you read here! Good luck and happy reading!

Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of Baskervilles 

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 We all know who the famous character Sherlock Holmes is, but I never actually read about him until now. I'm not a big fan of mystery novels in general, but I found this book very entertaining. I appreciate how wonderfully short and to the point it was since many Brit Lit novels are very verbose. This murder mystery involves a historically cursed family that is "hounded" by an evil dog-like creature. Is it a real dog? Is it a demon? Is it operating on its own? Why is the family being murdered? How can it be stopped? Holmes and Watson crack this multi-layered case in under 300 pages, and the ending will most likely surprise you. It is written from Dr. Watson's point of view, often through diary entries or letters. If you are a (murder) detective/mystery fan, this is definitely the godfather of all mystery books that you must read. Despite not being much of a mystery fan myself, I plan on reading all his Sherlock Holmes books.

Lex P.

Homegoing 

by Yaa Gayasi

Homegoing deserves the attention and best-seller status it has acquired -- riveting story by a first-time novelist of two sisters whose lives in 18th century Ghana go very different directions. Wonderfully depicts the different regions of Ghana and in turn, the U.S.

Highly recommended!

Allison H.

Coyote 

by Allen Steele

Alan Steele, Massachusetts resident and former writer for the weekly news journal Worcester Magazine, is the author of the science fiction novel "Coyote". Coyote is the story of why the first extrasolar human colony is founded and how the colonists are challenged by the alien ecology and their own human mistakes and frailties. The colony is on the moon of a ringed planet a few hundred light-years from Earth - the planet is named "Bear" and one of its moons is the titular "Coyote". During the 230 year-long voyage the humans are kept asleep - until one is "accidentally" awakened. The novel is divided into sections, with each section having its own protagonist. The first section takes place on Earth, where the crew and colonists are assembled. The next part is told from the point of view of the man who tries to remain sane after discovering he is the sole conscious person on board. There's a section told by Wendy, a teenager, who is one of the colonists, and another section which follows the misadventures of a teenage boy. Coyote will appeal to readers that enjoy grand adventure, hard science fiction, and the works of Robert Heinlein. But I think the first section, in particular, will draw the interest of politically-aware readers: How did this hugely expensive space mission come to be funded? Why is there only 1 star on the flag? How does ship's captain Robert E Lee modify his orders? And what secret is Wendy's father hiding from both her and Captain Lee?

Melody F.

The Hanging Tree 

by Ben Aaronovitch 

The Hanging Tree is a fun, fast-paced mystery that will remind you of Doctor Who and Percy Jackson for grown-ups. Peter Grant is a policeman in London who specializes in supernatural occurrences -- and London is full of them. This is the latest installment in the series "The Rivers of London". In the Hanging Tree the world of the super-rich collides with the "demi-monde" of fae, river goddesses and elves. The result is murder most foul.

Maryagnes R.

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo’s name first broke the scene when Madonna heavily invested in her art. Kahlo was a Mexican painter whose art did not fit any convenient movement of the time; not even the current Surrealism.  No one was like Kahlo. She  had a sad story as a physically challenged woman. She broke her back and was confined to her bed for years. She continued to paint in her reclined position. Instead of the pitiful invalid, Kahlo’s self-portraits show her strength, her sense of humor and her pain. She was married to the famous muralist and philanderer, Diego Rivera, whose murals thematically included the power of the people and political uprisings.

Frida Kahlo: the painter and her work

Prignitz-Poda, Helga.

759.972 KAHLO, F. PRIGNITZ

Frida Kahlo: the paintings

Herrera, Hayden.

759.972 K12h 1993

The letters of Frida Kahlo: cartas apasionadas

Kahlo, Frida.

759.972 KAHLO

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection & 20th century Mexican art from the Stanley and Pearl Goodman Collection

759.972 KAHLO, F. PRIGNITZ

Winter Reading Challenge: Even More Book Reviews by You!

Here are a selection of nonfiction book reviews by patrons who participated in our Winter Reading Challenge. Our Winter Reading Challenge will end on February 28 and all adults are welcome to participate. You may even win a Bundle of Books Basket! Want your book review to be featured on our social media? Take the challenge and write a review of the books you read! Sign up and log the books you read here! Good luck and happy reading!

The Perfect Horse: The Daring US Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts is a real life thriller about how the Nazis tried to apply their eugenics theories to horse breeding by using the Lipizzaners and other thoroughbred horses to breed the perfect war horse and how the Americans acted to save the horses trapped ahead of the advancing starving Russian army. Fascinating reading for horse fans and World War II fans.

Maryagnes R.

Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow. I found it extremely interesting to read about the early years of this country in the context of current events. I didn't realize how divided and tumultuous things were back then, with frequent talk of civil war, fears about reverting back to monarchy, major personal animosity among the founding fathers. It's a long book, but written very engagingly so it goes quickly. Highly recommended.

Jeanne G.

Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay is sharp, introspective, and witty. She provides a much-needed intersectional discussion of race, gender, and sexuality.

Caitlin S.

Treasures from the Worcester Room--Worcester's MVP: Most Valuable Printer!

As Boston Celtics fans are well aware, Isaiah Thomas is having an MVP-caliber season.  What Celtics fans may not know however, is that the City of Worcester was home to another famous Isaiah Thomas who resided here in the 1700 and 1800s.  This Isaiah Thomas was a different kind of MVP: a Most Valuable Printer!

Isaiah Thomas first came to Worcester just before the start of the Revolutionary War, as the British authorities were suspicious of his newspaper, the Massachusetts Spy.  Shortly after, his paper was the first paper in New England to publish a copy of the Declaration of Independence.  After the war, his fortunes expanded.  As the book Forty Immortals of Worcester County states, "He printed the first folio Bible in America, and became the largest publisher in the country."  He would later pass his business off to his son and become a writer himself, writing the book A History of Printing in America.  He would also go on to become one of the founders of Worcester's American Antiquarian Society.

An example of the work that Isaiah Thomas's shop produced can be found in the book History of the Heathen Gods, which he printed in the early 1800s.  In fact, our library has a number of books published by Isaiah Thomas and his son Isaiah Thomas, Jr.  It is easy to see the quality of the printing and the detail of the illustration.  Just one more example of the kind of treasure that can be found in the library's Worcester Room Collection.

Winter Reading Challenge: More Reviews by You!

Here are a few more book reviews by WPL patrons who participated in our Winter Reading Challenge. Our Winter Reading Challenge will end on February 28 and all adults are welcome to participate. You may even win a Bundle of Books Basket! Want your book review to be featured on our social media? Take the challenge and write a review of the books you read! Sign up and log the books you read here! Good luck and happy reading!

The Bookshop on the Corner
by Jenny Colgan

If you're looking for a cozy and adorable novel to warm you up on a cold winter day, "The Bookshop on the Corner" by Jenny Colgan is the book for you. For fans of libraries, books, and rural Scotland. 

-Amy K.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand 

by Helen Simonson

The English village novel isn't necessarily my cup of tea (pun intended.) However, I picked this up based on a recommendation from the library's winter reading list and was pleasantly surprised. Author Helen Simonson had some interesting things to say about the role of tradition and the pervasiveness of xenophobia. Plus, it was nice to read something on the lighter and cozier side in the tail end of 2016. I would recommend this one. - Alex L.

Winter Reading Challege: Book Reviews by You!

Here are a few book reviews by WPL patrons who participated in our Winter Reading Challenge. Our Winter Reading Challenge will end on February 28 and all adults are welcome to participate. You may even win a Bundle of Books Basket! Want your book review to be featured on our social media? Take the challenge and write a review of the books you read! Sign up and log the books you read here! Good luck and happy reading!

The Opposite of Everyone 

by Joshilyn Jackson

I read Joshilyn Jackson's The Opposite of Everyone. I love everything Joshilyn Jackson writes, and this was no exception. Well written, loved the characters. The only hitch for me was the myths and stories interwoven within the story - for me, they broke up the narrative and I just skimmed over them. But overall, this was a great book.

Melissa C.

Forward: A Memoir 

by Abby Wambach

Abby Wambach's story is an incredible one for soccer fans or not. It tells the real story of a celebrity. It shows a side that is often hidden from the public eye. It reminds one that Famous People are human just like the rest of us. It inspires one to never give up. It reminds us to embrace our imperfections.

Michelle B.

Books I *should* be reading

Everyone has that list of books you are going to get around to when you have the time and feel ambitious. Here are mine. 

• Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• The Golden Bough, by George Frazer James
• Ulysses, by James Joyce
• Anything by Dave Eggers
• The Complete Works of Shakespeare
• Foucault’s pendulum, by Umberto Eco
• Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
• Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid 1st Editionby Douglas R. Hofstadter 

Reminder: Open Enrollment for Health Insurance Ends January 31st

Open Enrollment for Health Insurance 

Ends January 31, 2017 

• Visit the Health Connector website to buy a commercial health plan and receive financial assistance if you qualify
• Information you will need before you start your application:
• Social Security numbers for all people who are applying (if they have one).
• Immigration documents for all non-U.S. citizens who are applying (if they have one).
• A copy of your federal tax return from last year. If you did not file taxes last year, or your income has changed since last year, have information about your current income ready (such as recent pay stubs or an unemployment award letter).
• Home address or mailing address (if applicable) for everyone in your household who needs insurance, unless they are homeless.
• If you are found eligible for coverage through the Health Connector and you plan to make a payment online, you will need your banking institution routing number and account number for either your checking or savings account (if you have a premium).
• If you are found eligible for coverage through the Health Connector and you plan to make a payment by mail or in-person, you will need a personal check or money order to make a payment for your first month’s premium (if you have one).
• If your employer offers health insurance, ask your employer these questions:
• Do any of the health plans that the employer offers meet the “minimum value” standard?
• What is the employee contribution to the lowest-cost health plan offered by your employer for an individual?
• How often?
• Weekly
• Every 2 weeks
• Twice a month
• Monthly

___________________________________________

Below is a list of trained and certified Enrollment Assisters in Worcester who can help you from the application through the enrollment into a new health insurance plan. Call ahead to make an appointment.

Health Connector Walk-in Center 146 Main Street Worcester, MA 01608 Family Health Center of Worcester 26 Queens Street Worcester, MA 01610 508-860-7700 Spectrum Health Systems 10 Mechanic Street, Suite 302 Worcester, MA 01608 Margaret Milani 508-752-2590 ext. 5341 Rebecca B. Asare, Independent Broker 340 Main Street Suite 511-512 Worcester, MA 01608 508-981-3318 Saint Vincent Hospital 123 Summer Street Worcester, MA 01608 508-363-5000 Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center 631 Lincoln Street Worcester, MA 01605 508-854-3260 Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center 19 Tacoma Street Worcester, MA 01605 1-800-853-2288 Trang Pharmacy Inc. 456 Park Avenue Worcester, MA 01610 508-799-7979

Community Healthlink 72 Jacques Avenue Worcester, MA 01610 508-373-7818 Community Healthlink Outpatient Clinic Thayer Building 12 Queen Street Worcester, MA 01610 508-860-1260 Community Healthlink 162 Chandler Street Worcester, MA 016107 74-312-2727 UMass Memorial Medical Center Memorial Campus 119 Belmont Street Worcester, MA 01605 508-334-1000 UMass Memorial Medical Center Hahnemann Campus 281 Lincoln Street Worcester, MA 01605 508-334-1000 UMass Memorial Medical Center 55 Lake Avenue North Worcester, MA 01605 508-334-1000

* information adapted from https://www.mahealthconnector.org/

January 2017 Staff Book Recommendations

American Girls
By Alison Umminger

Alison Umminger’s debut YA novel American Girls, begins with a fantasy of many 15-year-olds: stealing your stepmother’s credit card. Anna is fed up with her self-centered, borderline insane mother, who recently left her dad for another woman (a woman whose snobby attitude and insistence on organic-only products eases any guilt about “borrowing” her credit card). Anna joins her older sister Delia in L.A., who begrudgingly puts her up in her lavish apartment that she can’t afford as a beautiful but struggling actress. Anna splits her time between mildly flirting with teen heartthrobs (if she can’t be as beautiful as her sister, she can make up for it with banter and brains) on the set of a ridiculously unfunny kid’s sitcom, and working for Delia’s ex-boyfriend Roger. 

To put it bluntly, Roger’s a real weirdo. He’s clearly still infatuated with Delia (and may very well be stalking her) and his obsession with the Manson murders is disconcerting, even if he claims he’s doing it all for a film. At least it’s lucrative for Anna – by researching the Manson girls, she’s able to reimburse her stepmom for the flight. But she gets more than she bargains for when she realizes she’s got more in common with Manson girls than she once thought… 

Emma Cline’s recent NYT bestseller The Girls was released during the same week as Umminger’s American Girls. Both forgo analyzing Charles Manson, whose manipulative tactics, “charming” personality (*eye roll*), misinterpretations of Beatles lyrics, and unconventional ideas (read: entirely racist rhetoric disguised as soulful musings) have always given him more credit than he truly deserved. What’s more fascinating is understanding why adolescent girls would succumb to actually murdering innocent (and pregnant!) victims. And why would they gravitate toward a cult like the Manson family ranch in the first place? Were they brainwashed? Totally smitten? Or simply confused, lost, trying to escape their realities…? 

These are the questions Anna tries to answer for herself – at first, just to pass the time in a long, sticky, grimy L.A. summer with tantalizing narratives of the twisted and the macabre. But eventually it's because she sees a little bit of herself in those girls. And who wouldn’t lean toward an opportunity to feel beautiful, loved, or just noticed? The difference between Anna and The Girls protagonist Evie is that Anna’s snarky, deadpan sense of humor makes her a lot more likeable. The following excerpt is somewhat of a non-sequitur, but it had your reader actually laugh out loud (and as a fellow former snarky teenager, this is definitely an accomplishment):

Trying to assassinate the president should not be funny. It really shouldn’t. It’s not like I was cracking up when we read about Lincoln or JFK. But let’s face it, they were real presidents. Gerald Ford ranks right up there with Millard Fillmore and Bush the First on the list of unexciting white men who have run this country, made their way into history books, and otherwise been human sleeping pills. If all the presidents had been television shows, Gerald Ford would probably have been a PBS fund drive. So I’d bet the fact that anyone would try to kill Gerald Ford, Gerald Rudolph Ford, was kind of hard to get excited about, even back in the day. And Fromme sounded like something out of Monty Python, dressed all in red with a sawed-off shotgun under her sister-wife dress and fake-nun robe, muttering “He is not a public servant” before not firing her gigantic gun at the president. “It didn’t go off” was her great defense as the Secret Service took her out of commission in Sacramento. Sic semper tyrannis it was not. 

Umminger doesn’t disappoint. If you were captivated by Emma Cline’s The Girls, this is certainly also worth your time. But at its core, American Girls is a reflection on the delectable travesty of being young, American, and female. Highly recommended for ages 13+.

--Helen

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Circling the Sun
By Paula McLain

“I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills.”—Isak Dinesen, Out of Africa 

This first line of Karen Blixen’s memoir of colonial life in Kenya near the end of the British Empire could also begin Circling the Sun, a fictionalized account of the childhood and early adulthood of Beryl Markham neé Clutterbuck, the famed female aviator and author of West With the Night. 

Like Blixen, Markham was born into an upper-middle class European family, but when her family of origin fulfills her father’s dream of owning and training horses on a farm in Kenya, the trajectory of her life is changed irrevocably. It doesn’t take too long before Beryl’s mother abandons her and her father on the farm to return to a more sedate life in England, and henceforth Beryl is more or less raised by the neighboring Kipsigis tribe, resulting in a free-spirited, precocious child who loves animals, nature and all things wild. What she doesn’t love is conformity, which becomes problematic as she matures and is expected to enter into “society,” such as it is, in 1920s Kenya Colony. After a few bumps in the road, including a disastrous first marriage and a couple of other scandalous relationships, Markham emerges as an esteemed horse trainer in her own right. Eventually, her love of adventure leads her to embrace flying and she becomes one of the first women to make a living as a professional pilot. 

McLain’s prose is eminently readable and she is expert at describing the emotional timbre that Markham was likely experiencing at a time and place in history in which her progressive choices were almost uniformly discouraged. Also, for those of us familiar with love affair of Karen Blixen and fellow expatriate Denys Finch-Hatton, let’s just say there’s a lot more to the story than was portrayed either on film or in Blixen’s memoir. 

A must-read for Out of Africa fans, and a solid choice for readers who enjoy historical novels with strong characters. Armchair travelers, buckle up, you’re going to Kenya in a biplane! 

--Christina

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The Paper Magician
By Charlie N. Holmberg

The Paper Magician is a spell-binding, quirky, and beautifully written genre bender that includes elements of fantasy and mystery with a touch of romance. In The Paper Magician, author Charlie Holmberg creates a world in which select humans (magicians) can learn how to master man-made materials such as metal, glass, paper, or rubber, and, with them, create extraordinary magic.

Apprentice and magician-in-training Ceony Twill has long coveted the opportunity to become a Smelter Magician in which she would be able to bend and manipulate metal to her will. All students, especially those who graduate at the top of their class can choose any material they want to master, so Ceony is convinced she will get her first choice. However, instead of continuing her daydreams to fashion guns with the flick of her finger, Ceony is blindsided by the news that she has to be a Folder where she will be bonded for life to the most lackluster, uninspiring, “How in the world can this even have magical properties?” material: paper.

Throughout the story we meet a charming cast of characters, including Ceony’s kind and mysterious teacher Folder Magician Emery Thane, Jonto, the skeleton butler, and Fennel, the paper dog who helps to teach Ceony all about the beauty of paper. When an evil Magician threatens to destroy Ceony and her loved ones, Ceony discovers that paper is not only way cooler than metal, but it is also more powerful than she could have ever imagined. In this turning point of the story, Ceony must gather all of her courage to face her own self-doubt, and recognize that within the layers of humanity’s darkness resides points of light are as numerous as the stars. 

Check out the Paper Magician trilogy at WPL today!

Book 1: The Paper Magician

Book 2: The Glass Magician

Book 3: The Master Magician

--Cara

Madame X

This painting, Madame X, has always appealed to me. John Singer Sargent has simultaneously captured studied elegance and privileged disdain. The model, Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, was a notorious socialite, known for her indiscretions. She was part of a new generation of sophisticates. Her beauty was intense, and there were many artists wanting to paint her. She and Sargent had a bond, both ex-patriots looking to augment their reputations by painting and posing.  

Sargent captured her singularity by contrasting her stunning alabaster skin against a dark background and black dress. He was able to articulate her hourglass figure. The essence of her snobisme is the tip of her perfectly pointed nose. 

While French society was shocked at the married woman who encouraged the gaze of men, I find her bold, unapologetic; an "in your face" beauty. The poor girl married into the French upper class by wedding a man twice her age. She managed to keep her independence and even her bravado in a claustrophobic situation.

Madame X elicits debate and heated argument to this day. Sargent found the image he knew was in her and that image made his reputation.

Strapless : John Singer Sargent and the fall of Madame X

Davis, Deborah, 1952-

759.1 SARGENT DAVIS 2004

Icons of beauty : art, culture, and the image of women

Mancoff, Debra N., 1950-

704.942409 MANCOFF V.1

John Singer Sargent

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925.

759.1 SARGENT, J.

John Singer Sargent: paintings, drawings, watercolors.

Ormond, Richard. 

759.1 S245o

John Singer Sargent and his muse: painting love and loss

Corsano, Karen.

759.1 SARGENT, J. CORSANO

Rothko Forever

Collage of works by Mark Rothko

As a kid, I spent long hours in the museum of the Harry Ransom Center staring at their Rothko; part of their permanent collection. My mom worked as a librarian at the University of Texas, and I often roamed the 40 acres, finding myself drawn to the Rothko over and over. I found peace there; and transcendence.

Many years later, as an Art History student, I participated in a field trip: we were off to see the holdings of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. As  part of our journey, we were shown the Rothko Chapel. The architecture is  based on a church, and there are fourteen floor to ceiling dark to black Rothko paintings. The space is open to worship of any denominations, or just to peaceful contemplation. You can definitely feel the spiritual charge by entering the place.  

Mark Rothko's designs are deceptively simple, but convey a depth of emotion and philosophical thought behind his rich colors. If you have the opportunity, take the time to get lost in a painting. It will change your life forever. 

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Visit the works of Mark Rothko on the third floor of the library by enjoying these books: 

Ashton, D. (2003). About Rothko. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo.

759.1 ROTHKO, M. ASHTON 2003

Baal-Teshuva, J. (2015). Mark Rothko, 1903-1970: Pictures as drama. Koln: Taschen

709.0404 BAAL-TESHUVA

Breslin, J. E. (1993). Mark Rothko: a biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

759.1 R846b