May 2016 Staff Book Recommendations

All the Birds in the Sky 
by Charlie Jane Anders 

Despite the two frequently being conflated, science-fiction and fantasy are two different genres of books. Often, the genres have completely different themes and perspectives on storytelling. However, many authors attempt to write books merging the two genres. While not every effort is successful, All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders succeeds brilliantly. 

All the Birds in the Sky tells the story of Patricia and Laurence, a young witch and genius inventor, respectively. The book follows the two over a period of years from childhood to adulthood as their lives intersect multiple times. The two also must contend with a world-changing threat and a mysterious assassin, but much of the conflict of the novel comes simply from the two character’s clashing world-views and ideals. Anders has clearly thought a lot about the interplay between science-fiction and fantasy, and in many ways, Laurence and Patricia’s relationship is a mirror to that. The two main characters are very well-defined, as well as the supporting cast. Anders has also clearly put a lot of thought into her world-building, and while I’m not sure if a sequel is planned, I would love to see her return to this setting for future books. 

As the former editor-in-chief of the nerd culture website io9, Anders clearly understands the conventions and tropes of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, but puts her own spin on them.  If you’ve read science fiction and fantasy before, you’ve likely seen many of the elements of the book before, but never mixed together quite like this. As a result, the book feels both familiar and extremely unique at the same time. All the Birds in the Sky is funny, heartfelt, and above all else, a celebration of both science-fiction and fantasy. I would highly recommend this one. 

--Alex

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What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
by Anne Bernays & Pamela Painter 

The Lie That Tells a Truth
by John Dufresne 

Escaping Into the Open: The Art of Writing True
by Elizabeth Berg 

Survival Writing by Claire Scrivener
 
If there’s one thing that Worcester does well, it’s produce writers. Elizabeth Bishop, Stanley Kunitz, John Dufresne...just to name a few. If that's your destiny too, here are a few books to consider for those days when focus and motivation are in short supply. 

What If? is full of exercises designed to prepare you for writing fabulous fiction, heavily interspersed with inspiring quotes and examples of work from well-known writers. This book could be used as a textbook for writing class, a writer needing a fresh perspective, or any fan of fiction writing, as it's a fascinating compilation of the best in the business. Exercises range from “Create an intriguing first sentence” to “You’re in the shower and you hear the front door (which you thought was locked), open. Write two pages.” 

John Dufresne’s The Lie that Tells a Truth also includes rousing quotes from famous writers and suggests helpful exercises, but his story is also very personal. Part memoir, part instruction manual, Dufresne generously shares his unique and humorous worldview, as well as  his writing history and habits with the reader. Having grown up on Grafton Hill in Worcester as a French Canadian Catholic, parts of his account will be very familiar to some locals, not to mention parts of the city. (If you’ve never read Dufresne before, do yourself a favor and read Requiem, Mass. for a real homegrown treat.) His book also contains also kinds of tricks to stimulate the imagination and unleash the emotions, i.e. "List all the pets you've ever had.  List all the things you are ashamed of."

Similarly, Elizabeth Berg provides her thoughts on writing in Escaping into the Open. She is well-known for her character-driven novels, but this book explains more about the nuts-and-bolts of accomplishing the act of writing and then getting published. For example, she provides a list of ideas for submissions to magazines for those wishing to break into the freelance biz, which was how she started her career. Berg concludes her book with recipes because “it’s important to nourish yourself when you’re working.”



And finally, a word on practical matters: to learn how to write letters, resumes, pitches, invoices, emails, articles, or reports, try Survival Writing by Claire Scrivener, a handbook designed to help readers navigate the business side of life successfully. She covers it all with the simple goal of transferring one's thoughts onto the page. Her tone is informal and light-hearted while being direct and informative.  Perfect for readers embarking on a new career and ESL students. 

--Christina

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Reform Your Inner Mean Girl: 7 Steps to Stop Bullying Yourself and Start Loving Yourself
By Amy Ahlers and Christine Arylo

Do you have a bully living inside of you?

Is she relentless in her demands that you be more, do more, or give more? Does she taunt you with lies that you’ll never reach your goals or be successful? If so, you may be dealing with a nasty little pest in the form of an Inner Mean Girl (IMG).

In their thought-provoking book Reform Your Inner Mean Girl:7 Steps to Stop Bullying Yourself and Start Loving Yourself, authors Amy Ahlers and Christine Arylo discuss the painful aspect of self-bullying, a hardship from which many women suffer. In ReformYour Inner Mean Girl Ahlers and Arylo introduce readers to thirteen different Inner Mean Girls including: The Achievement Junkie, The Comparison Queen, The Doing Addict, The Drama Queen, The Fixer and Rescuer, The Good Girl, The Head Tripper, The Invincible Superwoman, The Martyr, The Overly Optimistic Partying Cheerleader, The Perfectionist, The Rejection Queen, and The Worrywart. Along with each of these IMG profiles, Ahlers and Arylo discuss the “weapons,” “toxic habits,” and “big fat lies” of each Inner Mean Girl to help readers get to know these powerful pests. Ahlers and Arylo also include a detailed assessment so readers can identify the kind of IMG that resides inside themselves, as well as a chapter on understanding each kind of IMG’s motivations and triggers.

In the second part of ReformYour Inner Mean Girl, Ahlers and Arylo encourage readers to overcome self-bullying for good in their chapter “Meet Your Inner Wisdom.” Ahlers and Arylo define Inner Wisdom as a “voice more powerful than even the most lethal of Inner Mean Girls” and “the part of you that knows who you really are. The loving presence that loves you unconditionally and as a result can offer compassion and care to you no matter what” (p. 119). Some features of this part of the book include: “Telling the difference between your Inner Mean Girl and Your Inner Wisdom,” “Love Mantras,” and “How to Strengthen Your Inner Wisdom.”

This book is chock full of revelations and inspiration that will help readers strengthen their own self-worth and take the power back from their inner critic so that they can redefine their own lives. 

--Cara

Read All About It at WPL!

The Periodicals Department a.k.a. the Quiet Zone is located on the 3^rd floor of the Main Branch, and it's the perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee and catch up on the latest news. In addition to popular magazines and journals, a puzzle table, and study rooms, WPL offers twenty-two newspapers available for perusal. Sixteen newspapers are displayed on A-frames and six (Investor’s Business Weekly, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and the Telegram & Gazette) are given out at the service desk. To view additional holdings in the Local History and Genealogy department, click here.

We also carry foreign language newspapers Armenian Weekly, Illyria, Nowy Dziennik, and Shih Chieh Jih Pao.  These are located in the World Language section on the 1^st Floor. Keep current at WPL!

Worcester Public Library’s Health Reference Center

Come see the Worcester Public Library’s Health Resource Center on the 2nd floor. The Health Resource Center provides patrons with a space to browse our health reference books, monthly newsletters, pamphlets, and brochures.

Take advantage of our newsletter subscriptions:

These newsletters focus on current health issues such as consumer health, nutrition, aging, women’s health, heart disease, medical care decisions, eating healthy, exercise, and more.

Please help yourself to our growing collection of pamphlets on topics such as Medline, MassHealth One Care, chronic diseases like Asthma, HIV, healthy eating, and more in a variety of languages.

Our health reference books cover a variety of health topics ranging from medical history, vitamins and minerals, diseases and disorders, and homeopathy. If there is a topic you seek which is not covered, please suggest it to the librarian at the desk. 

  

WPL’s Health Reference Center is a growing knowledge base for your health information needs. Come utilize our resources today!

Welcome to the NEW Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Remember the Encyclopedia Britannica, that burgundy-colored multi-volume set in your school or public library? Good news, researchers: It’s now online and accessible to anyone with a WPL card! 

Look up any topic and the results list will include articles of varying lengths and levels of academic import, videos, vetted websites, and more. Once an item is viewed and selected, it can be printed or emailed, and citations in MLA, APA, Harvard or Chicago Manual of Style format are available at the click of the mouse. Each article can be translated into seventy languages, and many are available in read-aloud audio mode. The database is loaded with graphics, charts and statistics, and also suggested reading lists that include primary source e-books. 

The next time you have a project or paper due, don’t forget this valuable resource, conveniently located at mywpl.org. Click on Research, select Online Databases, and Encyclopedia Britannica is listed alphabetically under Encyclopedias and Reference Titles. Suitable for elementary school-age children on up. 

April 2016 Staff Book Recommendations

Tinkers
By Paul Harding

For readers interested in nonlinear stories with beautiful and descriptive language, Tinkers should be on your to-read list. Tinkers is a 2010 Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Massachusetts author Paul Harding. Based on Harding’s own family history, the novel focuses on the lives and relationships of three generations of New England men whose stories are infused throughout the novel. 

We first meet George, an antique clock repairer surrounded by family in his living room during his last days of life, as he streams in and out of reality, arousing past memories of his childhood in Northern Maine and his strained relationship with his father, Howard. Howard made his living as a tinker, traveling around with his donkey-drawn cart selling mops, tobacco and the like trying to provide for his family. We see glimpses into Howard’s childhood and his shortened relationship with his own father, a Methodist preacher. Their lives are plagued with poverty, mental illness, and epilepsy which affect their relationships with their families, causing rifts with lasting effects. 

George’s life was spent tinkering with time mechanisms, surrounded by clocks in his repair shop, in the basement of his house. The familial memories we are shown through George’s final days are his attempts to mend and repair the relationship with his father through his last thoughts and memories. It is ironic that George was an antique clock repairer focused on fixing time while Harding offers George’s story to us at the end of his time without regard for chronology of the story, but rather like a clock whose hands are at one o’clock, then eleven o’clock, to seven o’clock and on and on.

This novel’s examination into loss, time, and memory offers the reader a heartbreaking and beautiful story full of amazing imagery such as this passage, in which Harding describes Howard’s thoughts on the winter survival methods of the local hermit he supplies once a year at the beginning of spring: 

He liked to think of some fold in the woods, some seam that only the hermit could sense and slip into, where the frozen forest itself would accept him and he would no longer need fire or wool blankets, but instead flourish wreathed in snow, spun in frost,with limbs like cold wood and blood like frigid sap. (p. 37) 

It is hard to believe Harding’s novel was initially overlooked and ignored by publishing companies. Lucky for us, Bellevue Literary Press scooped it up from the desk drawer to be read by those who appreciate a beautifully written and pensive novel.

--Jen

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Murder at Hatfield House
By Amanda Carmack

If you are looking for a new mystery series, how about a historical mystery that is suspenseful and intricately detailed with a strong sense of place and memorable characters? Look no further than Amanda Carmack’s Elizabethan Mysteries series. 

In the series opener Murder at Hatfield House, we meet Kate Haywood and her father, musicians employed by and living in the home of Princess Elizabeth (you know, the daughter of dearly departed and beheaded Queen Anne Boleyn), when all of a sudden, someone discovers a dead body outside their home. Queen (Bloody) Mary rules the land and has her spies and minions everywhere, but somehow, amid a great deal of political scandal and intrigue, a murderer is lurking. Also, a strange ghostly woman has been creeping around Kate as she tries to figure out the identity of the killer and protect Princess Elizabeth from harm. 

Although this series is not for the faint of heart (there are detailed descriptions of those who have been murdered and one scene in particular is a bit disturbing), it is very enjoyable and has all that one might expect in an atmospheric mystery series. Grab your mug of tea, get cozy, and delve into this fun new historical mystery series! 

The rest of the series available at WPL or surrounding libraries :

Murder at Westminster Abbey - Book 2
Murder in the Queen’s Garden - Book 3
Murder at Whitehall - Book 4
Murder at Fontainebleau (coming out in June 2016) - Book 5

--Cara

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The Heart Goes Last 
By Margaret Atwood 

Margaret Atwood’s latest novel, The Heart Goes Last, has a lot going on. Following a major economic collapse, Charmaine and Stan find themselves living in their car in constant fear from the threat of roving gangs. When Charmaine sees an ad for a new work program in a town called Consilience, the couple is seduced by the promise of white picket fences, friendly neighbors and guaranteed employment. In the bleak landscape of Atwood’s alternative America this promise is too good to be true. Once Stan and Charmaine have signed their names on the dotted line they’re oriented to their new lives at Consilience. They’ll be given a beautiful house and steady jobs. For six months of every year they will live idyllic lives. Every other month they will serve as prisoners at Positron Prison. 

The arrangement goes well at first. But as Stan and Charmaine are each tempted to stray from their marriage vows, the truth about their perfect community is gradually revealed to them. The basic premise of this novel sounds a little run of the mill—but this is Margaret Atwood, so you know there is more to it. Elvis sex robots, brain surgery that transforms people into willing sex slaves, strange perversions involving blue knit teddy bears. This book can be bleak—but there were definitely some moments of hilarity as well. I particularly enjoyed the narration of Mark Deakins, who reads Stan’s chapters. His reactions to the more insane elements of this story can be described as a kind of casual outrage. 

Though the characters are unlikeable, the story is engaging. Once you get going you won’t be able to stop until you find out how everything turns out. And along the way you’ll find yourself pondering uncomfortable assertions about the nature of love and what it can endure. 

--Chelsea

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The Fifth Wave

By Tom Yancey

Are we alone in this world or are there others out there? No, we are not alone and, yes, there are others out there.  Next question: Are they friendly? what do they want? If they have not attacked us, then they must not want war, right? These are the thoughts running through Cassie’s mind as she is on her way to school.

The others, those beings in the sky hovering above the earth, have not done anything but sit in the sky, so why not go on acting like everything is right in this world? There are two options: continue to live your life like nothing is wrong and the sky is blue, or flee--but is fleeing really an option? Where can you go where they cannot see you, and is it really going to help save you if these creatures in the sky strike at us? What would you do if aliens where in the sky? Well, Cassie and her family do nothing, they just continue with their daily lives (as do several others) and that is when it all begins.

The first wave takes place while Cassie is at school. Everything electrical no longer works--no cell phone, no lights, no cars. If you were lucky enough to survive the first wave, then you had to deal with the second wave, the third, and then by the time the fourth wave hits, you no longer trust anyone. Everyone you see is your enemy and that is just what they want.

To keep on breathing is to be alone, but when Cassie's brother is taken, how will she keep her promise to find him? Who will she trust, who will help her, and how will she defeat an alien force that looks just like the people she grew up with?

You are alone, no one to confide in, no one to trust, no one to turn to; the fifth wave is upon you.

--Jess  

Need to do some market research? Try AtoZ Databases

AtoZ Databases is a top-tier job search, reference & mailing list database, which includes 30 million business and executive profiles, and 220 million residents. Ideal for creating sales leads mailing lists, conducting market research, finding employment opportunities, locating friends, relatives and businesses. Content is available in Spanish.

Additionally, AtoZ offers free training. Sign up for "Principles of How to Find New Customers & Grow Your Business," and you will learn how to increase your client list and even generate more foot traffic within your business. Also covered is emailing data, creating matrices, and figuring out who your competition is. Register here for a 30-minute session.

All that is necessary to avail yourself of this wealth of information is your WPL library card. Go to mywpl.org, select Online Databases, and locate AtoZ at the top of Business & Finance. Happy hunting! 

Proquest Newsstand: Full-text Access to Local, National and Worldwide News

Attention all researchers and genealogists:  If you are looking for an article or obituary, ProQuest Newsstand is the database for you! It provides access to the full text of over 1300 newspapers, news websites and blogs from leading publishers throughout the world, including a backfile for most newspapers. Detailed indexing helps users quickly find the news information they need by providing access to not only top news stories, but also the information featured in various sections of the papers. 

Major newspapers include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, The Guardian and many other national and regional titles. Locally, the Telegram & Gazette is covered in full-text from Jan 16, 1989 to the present. All that is required to get started is a WPL library card. Visit mywpl.org, Click Research, select Online Databases, and Proquest is listed alphabetically.  

The Next Session of the Worcester Talking Book Library’s Winter/Spring 2016 series

The next session of the Worcester Talking Book Library’s Winter/Spring 2016 series of free adaptive technology training workshops will take place on Saturday, April 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm in the 3rd Floor Computer Lab at the Worcester Public Library.

This session will cover a potpourri (or, as JAWS says, “poe pooree”) of tools and tricks in several areas that have either been requested by participants or are useful tools and tricks recently picked up by the instructor. These will include, but not necessarily be limited to: searching and playing YouTube videos, as well as an introduction to another accessible site drawing on YouTube; changing reading order and placemarker insertion for PDF files; and using Cortana in Windows 10.

To register for this workshop, as well as to seek any additional information, please contact Jim Izatt or call the Worcester Talking Book Library at 1-800-762-0085 or 1-508-799-1730.

The only prerequisite for participation is a minimum typing skill level of approximately 20 words per minute. Please remember to bring a pair of personal headphones so you can work on one of the lab computers. 

March 2016 Staff Book Recommendations

The Silence of the Sea
By Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s atmospheric thriller The Silence of the Sea crept along like a wraith in the night and snatched away my breath. The book took mercy on me towards the end and gave me back my breath, but then it broke my heart. 

The Silence of the Sea first grabbed me when I read the following lines at the end of the book’s prologue: “Mommy dead… Dadda dead…Adda dead…Bygga dead…All dead” (p. 6), uttered by two year-old Sigga Dögg, who, with her grandparents, discovers that the yacht that is supposed to be carrying home her parents and her eight year-old twin sisters, arrives with no one on board. 

Yrsa brings along those brave enough on a journey with her to solve this unusual and harrowing mystery of how a boat could arrive without its passengers. We meet Thóra, the lawyer hired by Sigga Dögg’s grandparents Margeir and Sigrídur, who fear that Sigga Dögg’s prophecy that her family is dead is true. Margeir and Sigrídur have no money, their health is failing, and the news that their loved ones may, in fact, be dead has given them one less reason to wake up in the morning. However, in spite of their frailty in mind, body, and spirit, they know they may be all that Sigga Dögg has left and, if they can, they will fight for custody of her. 

Thóra, taking on the case, sets out to discover if Sigga Dögg’s family is really dead. In one eerie scene as Thóra is investigating the abandoned yacht, she finds a lone Hello Kitty sock on the floor of the twins’ room. As she peers under the bed to grab the other sock she bangs her head on the bed frame in shock from what she sees: 

There was no denying the atmosphere on board was a little creepy, but that was only natural given recent events. Unsolved mysteries were grist to the imagination’s mill, she knew that. It had been nothing but her mind playing tricks on her. What else could explain the little feet she thought she’d seen on the other side of the bed, in Hello Kitty socks? (p. 43) 

While we learn about the spine-chilling case in the aftermath of the boat’s arrival, Yrsa takes us back in time to Lisbon, Portugal, where the family is about to board the yacht that will take them home to Iceland. Twins, Arna and Bylgja are lagging behind their parents, Lára and Ӕgir, who are rushing to get on the yacht. In a disturbing foreshadowing of events, Ӕgir is second-guessing his decision to travel home to Iceland by boat, a hasty arrangement that he has worked out as a favor to his boss. Towards the end of the chapter, Ӕgir is sitting with his sensitive and observant daughter Bylgja who notices with trepidation as they begin to sail away, that the statue of Christ who stretches out his arms to protect the city of Lisbon is “rapidly receding into the distance” (p. 29). Ӕgir tries to calm Bylgja’s fears by saying that Jesus will protect them no matter where they are. Nevertheless, Bylgja, sensing her father’s uncertainty, presses on, insistent that Jesus will not protect them at sea because he is watching over the city. Ӕgir quickly reassures Bylgja again but then as he stares into the unfathomable depths of the sea we hear his private thoughts: “Who would watch over them at sea?” (p. 29) 

As Yrsa takes her readers back and forth from the present to the past, the mystery and the clues become as confounding as the sea that holds all of the yacht’s secrets. Did someone fall overboard into the sea or was someone pushed overboard? If there was evil on board, was it supernatural or human? And why is there a cloying smell of perfume in places where the scent of perfume should not belong? 

To find out how this will all end, check out The Silence of the Sea (Book 6 in Yrsa’s Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series), which also does very well as a standalone. 

--Cara

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The Guest Room 
By Chris Bohjalian 

This novel is so good, I read it in one sitting. But if you need more convincing, how about this book-jacket quote from Geraldine Brooks, author of another great page-turner March: “Bohjalian's deftness as a story teller is on full display here, as he couples the urgency of a compulsively readable crime thriller with a quiet meditation on the meaning of family and relationships.” 

Here’s the premise: In a gesture of big brotherliness, married father, investment banker and all-around good guy Richard offers to host a bachelor party for his puerile younger brother--at his well-appointed Bronxville home. He realizes at the last minute there will likely be a stripper hired for entertainment by one of his brother’s frat boy friends, but despite his disapproval, goes along with it to be a good sport. This turns out to be a life-changing mistake, when not one, but two prostitutes arrive with armed bodyguards, and chaos ensues. Without giving away too much, it becomes clear that the “talent” is actually underage victims of sex trafficking fighting to survive the night under the close watch of their captors. Unfortunately for Richard, this clarity comes far too late to avoid major collateral damage to his marriage, his career, his reputation, and his conscience (not to mention his house!) 

All that I just described happens in the first chapter. From there, the plot twists, turns, and tells the tale from the point of view of Richard, his shell-shocked wife, and Alexandra, one of the sex slaves. Through Alexandra we learn how a young Armenian girl with dreams of becoming a ballerina ends up abducted and forced into a life of prostitution on another continent. Her story resonates with the stories of so many others, a luckless set of circumstances setting up vulnerable prey to be picked off by an opportunistic predator, and the author does a masterful job of portraying the necessary mindset to survive such a fate. Meanwhile, Richard struggles to regain normalcy and right his moral compass, while his wife and daughter struggle to forgive him for his part in the disastrous evening. Like Bohjalian’s Midwives, the motives and impact on all the members of this little family are rendered with spot-on insight, and you will find yourself immersed in their world until the bitter end. 

--Christina

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Gold Fame Citrus 
By Claire Vaye Watkins 

A glowing hot addition to the expanding category of “dystopia lit," Gold Fame Citrus is on fire. It’s the debut novel from Watkins, whose short story collection Battleborn garnered critical praise and public admiration from writers Annie Proulx, Karen Russell, Louise Erdrich, Ruth Ozeki and Smith Henderson, among others. If the work of any of these writers appeals to you, this book probably will too. 

Drought is the culprit in this tale, having decimated civilization throughout Southern California and the Southwest. Diehards Luz and Ray are subsisting on rationed cola and crackers in an abandoned manse in LA when they encounter a feral child named Ig. Sudden parental responsibility changes the focus of the couple’s life from one of mere survival to include ambition and domestic sustainability, not to mention long-lost hope. In search of a better life for Ig, a road trip ensues and its results change the trio forever.

Stylistically reminiscent of Edan Lepucki’s 2014 debut California, the subject matter and tone of this novel is dire. However, GFC is striking, more poetically rendered than its peers in this genre, with sometimes fragmented imagery and a feverish feel. The ruthlessness of drought, brought into high relief by the sweet love of makeshift family, is unrelenting as Watkins describes a world without water with frightening intensity. 

 --Christina

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Me Before You 
By Jojo Moyes

I’ve heard from many a reader that they wept at the end of this novel.  And while I did shed a few quiet tears I must admit that I didn’t feel quite the same level of upset that others have felt.  Is it that I just don’t care that much about humans?  I will sob uncontrollably at the end of Merle’s Door by Ted Kerasote every time I read it no matter how familiar I am with the story.  So, is that it? I mean, yes dogs are clearly superior to people—what was the question again?  I actually think the reason I didn’t have quite the sob fest that I was expecting was that I was prepared.  This is a book that prepares you for what’s coming almost from the very beginning.  Sure, like Louisa, you hope that Will will find a way to accept his new life…but deep down you know.  Also, the sequel is called After You, so…

Will Traynor was once the CEO of a high stakes financial company.  He was once an extreme sports enthusiast.  He was once a ladies’ man.  Once.  But ever since his accident he has been defined by his disability--he is a quadriplegic.  Louisa Clark, recently laid off from her job as a café waitress, is in desperate need of a job to help make ends meet at home.  She’s never gone anywhere or done much of anything.  She has a safe, dull relationship with her boyfriend Patrick.  She’s hired by Camilla Traynor to attempt the impossible: try and convince Will that there is still a reason to live.  Will she succeed?

The brightest point of this novel is the sassy, quirky heroine, Louisa.  Everything from her name to her taste in shoes is whimsical.  In fact, now that I think about it, she’s sort of the anti-Manic Pixie Dream Girl.  Sure, she’s weird and beautiful and she’ll do whatever it takes to change Will’s life.  But she also has a life of her own: a dark past with painful secrets, a desire to better herself and strike out on her own, and family relationships that matter to her.  This book isn’t just a romance (although it is that), it’s also a coming of age story.  Louisa starts out content to work in a café for the rest of her life, but she ends up growing into her own, traveling and starting a whole new life.  So read this one for the bittersweet romance, sure.  But also read it for the dynamic characters, the hilarity, and the adventure.

--Chelsea

Worcester Talking Book Library’s Winter/Spring 2016 Series of Free Adaptive Technology Training Workshops

Worcester Public Library is happy to announce that the next session of the Worcester Talking Book Library’s Winter/Spring 2016 series of free adaptive technology training workshops will take place on Saturday, March 12, from 1:30 to 3:30 PM in the 3rd Floor Computer Lab of the Main Branch.

This session will be a continuation of the last session on headings and styles in Word. The styles menu is a potentially powerful tool for formatting and navigating through Word documents. Hands-on exercises, inserting headings and other format-related elements via the styles menu, as well as related topics such as creating a table of contents and inserting page numbers in longer documents, will be covered.  Also on the agenda is the quick access toolbar, a valuable tool for defining shortcut keys for frequently-used Microsoft Office commands.

Topics for future sessions will be based on popular demand of participants. Dates and times for the remaining spring sessions are as follows.

·       Saturday April 9 - 1:30 to 3:30 pm

·       Saturday May 14 - 9:45 to 11:45 am

The only prerequisite for participation is a minimum typing skill level of approximately 20 words per minute. Please remember to bring a pair of personal headphones so you can work on one of the lab computers.

Reminders and registration requests for subsequent workshops will be sent out shortly before each of those workshops.

To register for the March 12 workshop, as well as to seek any additional information, please contact Jim Izatt or call the Worcester Talking Book Library at 1-800-762-0085 or 1-508-799-1730.

February 2016 Staff Book Recommendations

February 29, 2016

Shelter Me 
By Catherine Mann 

This is a special kind of book about how a family copes with grief, loss, and the trials of everyday life. It centers on the family of Allen McDaniel, a Commander in the Iraq war who is killed by a roadside bomb while protecting five of his charges (including his daughter Sierra’s ex- boyfriend, Mike Kowalski); and Trooper, a stray dog who bonds with Allen and the members of his troop in Iraq and later comes to live with the McDaniel family. 

After learning of Allen’s death, the reader is immediately thrown into the lives of Allen’s family who are all dealing with their grief in unhealthy yet wholly natural ways. Sierra, Allen’s daughter is juggling multiple roles of student, teacher, and caretaker to both the members of her family and the abused and rescued animals on her mother’s Second Chance Ranch Animal Rescue. Sierra is fighting a multitude of feelings including the unfairness of her father’s death, and her conflicting emotions for her ex- boyfriend Mike Kowalski. Lacey, Allen’s widow and mother of his two children, is overworking herself, caring for her rescued animals and relying on alcohol to help dull her pain in thinking about life without her husband. Lacey is also concerned about her angry and confused teen son, Nathan, and her father-in-law, General Joshua McDaniel, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. In addition to learning about the story through Lacey and Sierra’s perspectives, the reader also gets to experience the inner worlds of Mike Kowalski, who is still head-over-heels for Sierra, and Trooper. 

Aside from the painful effects of grief, Catherine Mann does not shy away from other difficulties the characters experience, such as: Mike having to unload his gun once he returns home from war for fear that he will shoot at a car if it should suddenly backfire or honk its horn; the effects of Alzheimer’s and war on individuals, as well as family members; and, the abuse and abandonment that many rescue dogs have experienced. However, even though Shelter Me is tough to read at times, Catherine Mann always leaves her readers with a glimmer of hope and a reminder of the power of family to always be able to provide a second chance to their loved ones. 

Note to the reader: If you’re looking for a lighter read that still has some similarities to Shelter Me, try Rachel Lacey’s Love to the Rescue series beginning with Unleashed. It tells the story of Cara Medlen, who, like Sierra, has complicated feelings about how grief can often put a hold on living. She has no problem loving the dogs she fosters from Triangle Boxer Rescue but she can’t commit to adopting an animal of her own. Likewise, she loves taking photos of the dogs from the rescue to help increase their likelihood of adoption, but she’s not quite ready to turn her passion for photography into a career. Can her hunky neighbor Matt who has fears of his own help her learn to live again? 

Both Shelter Me and Unleashed include heartfelt romance, strongly developed characters, and a host of lovable, furry, four-legged creatures. Find them both, as well as other books in the two series, in the Romance section: 

Second Chance Ranch Romance: Rescue Me (Book 2) 

Love to the Rescue: For Keeps (Book 2), and Ever After (Book 3).

--Cara

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February 23, 2016

Burial Rites
By Hannah Kent 

As I read Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites the one thought that repeated itself in my head was, “Is this really her first novel!?” This was thought with a mixture of awe and envy. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Kent’s debut is a home run. I was impressed by her use of the Icelandic landscape to create a haunted, gloomy tone for the story. From the stark coast of Illugastadir to the decaying state of the Kornsá croft to the ominous presence of ravens throughout, Kent paints a bleak, moribund picture for the reader. And it’s only appropriate given her subject: the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to ever be executed for a crime in Iceland. 

Set in the late 1820s, this novel is an interpretation of the true events surrounding Agnes’s execution. She’s accused of murder along with two other individuals. History tells us that Agnes was found guilty and eventually faced the death penalty but Kent lets Agnes to tell her own story. Interspersed with translations from real government documents pertaining to the case, the novel allows Agnes to slowly reveal the details of both her life and the murders. She speaks with her spiritual advisor, Toti, as well as the woman in whose home she is quartered to await her death. Agnes has an extended internal monologue which permeates the book and her thoughts are both melancholy and poetic. It takes time for her to open up to the other characters and this gradual eking out details keeps the reader engaged. Even though the final outcome is known, you will remain on the edge of your seat through those final pages. 

Recommended for fans of leisurely paced historical fiction and literary thrillers. 

--Chelsea

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February 10, 2015 

The Invaders: A Novel 
By Karolina Waclawiak 

According to author Tom Perrotta, the follow-up to Waclawiak’s excellent debut How to Get Into the Twin Palms, is a “gut punch of a novel—a scathing look at privilege.” This sums it up nicely. Like the work of Perrotta, Kate Chopin, John Updike and countless others, The Invaders unflinchingly examines the underbelly of wealthy suburbia and the results are not pretty. If you’re looking for an uplifting read, keep looking. 

That said, between Waclawiak’s incisive writing and the plot itself, there’s much to appreciate here, especially for readers who don’t mind inhabiting a less than perfect world for a while. The setting is Little Neck Cove, Connecticut, an affluent beachside community. The story is conveyed through the voices of alternating protagonists: 44-year-old Cheryl, trophy wife turned desperate housewife, and her stepson, 22-year-old unemployed college grad Teddy. Having projected all her life’s escapist dreams onto her womanizing husband, the only thing keeping disappointed Cheryl tethered to reality is keeping an eye on pill-popping Teddy. Meanwhile, the once idyllic neighborhood has turned unpleasantly political as wealthy residents take sides for or against the fishermen and other working class “invaders” whose appearance in the once nearly-private enclave has precipitated the building of a border fence. 

It is within this atmosphere of public and private unrest that Cheryl realizes the price she must pay for the choices she has made, and Teddy, more or less an innocent bystander, must find new meaning for the word “home.” Waclawiak has created a believable tale of modern classism and domestic despair. Recommended for literary fiction readers. 

--Christina

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February 1, 2016

Lord and Lady Spy
By Shana Galen

Shana Galen’s Lord and Lady Spy is a fast-paced, fun, and gripping Regency romance romp.

I knew this book was a keeper when I read the first scene and laughed so loudly that my husband said he could hear me from another room. The scene involves a “rider” and a “horse” neighing loudly behind closed doors, beginning when Agent Saint, a spy on a mission to find and interrogate Napoleon Bonaparte’s advisor, is investigating the quarters of the advisor’s mistress. Saint barely has a chance to finish surveying her surroundings when suddenly the mistress and a different lover burst in the room and begin to engage in roleplay, leaving Saint no other choice but to hide in the nearest closet.  As Agent Saint crouches in the cramped closet awaiting the advisor, she hopes for two things: one, that her fellow spy and competitor Agent Wolf won’t find a way to get to the advisor first; and two, that she will be able to escape the closet before the “horse is…stabled."

Early on in the story we learn that Agent Saint and Agent Wolf have been unknowingly living together under the same roof for years as husband and wife (Lord Adrian and Lady Sophia, respectfully) when they are summoned by their boss to hunt down a murderer. Lord Adrian has no idea that the impassive woman to whom he is married is actually the fearless and brave Agent Saint, while Lady Sophia has no idea that her staid husband Adrian is actually the strong, strapping Agent Wolf who she greatly admires. Together, these two strangers discover and reveal their true selves to each other while facing danger at every turn and slowly falling in love.

A side note to the reader: this book is steamy. Steamy, as in melt the snow right under your boots in a Nor’easter. Steamy, as in even your mama will know why you’re blushing. As Adrian and Sophia try to track down the murderer, they spend a lot of time “getting to know each other” including on a garden bench (splinters anyone?), inside a fast-moving carriage while pursuing enemies, and during a night cap in their living room as an armed assassin tries to catch them off guard. However, there is no such thing as being caught off guard for these two--they excel at multitasking…a lot.  

Aside from the steaminess though, this story also has a lot of heart and the reader comes to care very deeply for the characters, and the pains and struggles they each face. Lord and Lady Spy delivers romance, intrigue, and comedy, and you won’t be able to put this book down. Currently available in Overdrive as an eBook and other CWMars libraries, Lord and Lady Spy will soon be found in WPL’s romance stacks! 

--Cara