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For What’s Cookin’ next week, we really need your help.  See, we here at the library don’t like to settle for anything less than perfection.  Which is why we’ve set ourselves the task of finding the World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie!  But I don’t think a panel of just one or two judges can really declare a winner.  We need a lot more voters (i.e. taste testers) to make this official. 

Just like we did for birthday cakes in March, we’ve been sampling countless recipes and trying out techniques over the last few months to bring you some stellar, tried-and-true recipes.  And we’ve stayed up nights asking ourselves questions like, “Should I use all-purpose flour or bread flour?” “If I melt the butter, how much will that change the texture of the cookie?” and ”Is it possible to make a healthy chocolate chip cookie?”  But I’m sorry, as much as I want to share our new found knowledge with you, I can’t, at least not via this blog.  You’re going to have to come to class next Monday, May 13th at 4:30 p.m. to find out the answers to these burning questions. 

If you do come, I can promise you some really good cookies.  I’ll be sharing our family favorite, which has made my mother famous in several states.  We’ll also be bringing you the now ubiquitous, tried-by-every-food-blogger-out-there New York Times‘ chocolate chip cookie recipe by Jacques Torres.  And we’ll share some techniques and ingredients you may not have thought of before (at least they were news to me!). 

So come one, come all, and be prepared to cast your vote for the World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie!  We can’t crown a winner without you.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

I will be honest with you – as much as I loved this book, it was almost too difficult to read at times.  I wanted to shut my eyes to the fact that there are women who find life so devastatingly without hope that they drink rat poison or set themselves on fire.  I didn’t want to read about the corruption that is present at every level of government or how almost anything can be bought and sold, including someone’s virtue and integrity.  And the descriptions of the living conditions in the slum and the way supposed friends and neighbors treated each other were unbearable at times. 

Yet, you, as the reader, keep on reading because you realize this is happening, people are living these kinds of lives, and it’s important for you and the rest of the world to know about them.  Boo doesn’t offer any kind of grand solution or even a lot of hope in the end.  She is a realist and doesn’t do her interviewees the injustice of suggesting that these conditions are easily remedied.  Throwing money at the problem won’t make it go away, especially when so many of the charities that are supposed to benefit the people of Mumbai often end up exploiting them (one charity actually turns around and sells their expired goods).                 

This is why I’m so grateful to writers like Boo who expend time and talent in sharing people’s stories.  One can only hope that some good will result in the telling of them.

Here’s the idea:  Find your favorite poem, carry it in your pocket throughout the day, and share it with someone by reading it out loud.

I’m excited to share mine with you!  It’s by one of my favorite poets, William Wordsworth.  No one else captures the beauties of the natural world quite like he did.   

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
          That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
          When all at once I saw a crowd,
          A host, of golden daffodils;
          Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
          Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

          Continuous as the stars that shine
          And twinkle on the milky way,
          They stretched in never-ending line
          Along the margin of a bay:                                  10
          Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
          Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

          The waves beside them danced; but they
          Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
          A poet could not but be gay,
          In such a jocund company:
          I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
          What wealth the show to me had brought:

          For oft, when on my couch I lie
          In vacant or in pensive mood,                               20
          They flash upon that inward eye
          Which is the bliss of solitude;
          And then my heart with pleasure fills,
          And dances with the daffodils.

 So dear blog readers, what is your favorite poem?  And with whom will you share it today?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you should really consider joining the library’s Main Street Book Club!  As you might have guessed, we meet the third Tuesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in the Library Community Room. We used to meet at 6:30, but we found that we wanted even more time to talk, socialize, and, let’s face it, eat, so we now meet at 6:00 p.m. 

For our meeting Tuesday, April 16th, we’ll be discussing My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira.  This is a story about an exceptional woman determined to become a surgeon at a time when women couldn’t ask to be anything more than a midwife.  Thanks to her uncompromising spirit, Mary Sutter eventually gained acceptance on the battlefields of the Civil War, proving herself to be equal to the horrors and deprivations both the soldiers and the medical staff faced on a daily basis.  Oliveira is particularly skilled at evoking that time period with her rich descriptions and lush imagery.  This is a book that will remind you to be grateful for those pioneers, both men and women, whose passion and hard work made our current medical knowledge possible.   

Even if you don’t get a chance to read the book, please consider joining us anyway.  We might ruin the ending for you, but I think you’ll still have an enjoyable evening!

I had been stuck in the book doldrums for a week or so, trying to force myself to read a kind of “Economy for Dummies” book.  And I will finish that…at some point…I promise.  But I couldn’t stop myself from picking up Silver Linings Playbook.  And that book killed any doldrums I might have had.  I loved it!  It’s quirky and memorable (One of my favorite examples of the quirkiness factor is the fact that the main character has a major aversion to Kenny G, the jazz musician.  If he hears his music, or even any mention of the saxophonist, he goes postal).  I can easily see why it was made into a movie – there are lots of cinema worthy scenes and characters.  I finished that novel, and then, as is so often the case, I found three more that I loved and read in quick succession.

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes - A misanthropic quadraplegic becomes friends with his new caregiver/companion, who’s determined to show him that life is still worth living.  It’s a sweet love story that makes one think about how fear can keep one from living so much of life.  It also deals with the right-to-die issue, which will have you talking, and possibly suggesting this one for your next book club. 

A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy - I’m so glad I finally read a book by the famous Maeve Binchy.  Tragically, she passed away last year, so this was published posthumously.  It’s an engrossing story that discusses the lives of several people as they all spend a week one winter in a secluded inn on the windswept coast of Ireland.  It’s one of those books that leaves you wanting more after you’ve finished.  

Fever by Mary Beth Keane - This book is riveting.  I became absolutely immersed in the story about Typhoid Mary and her experiences as a cook and later a subject of ridicule.  In fact, to my utter surprise, I actually sympathized with her.  Keane is genius at this – she makes you feel for this woman.  I pictured Mary, a woman who was never sick with typhoid a day in her life, being told that she was a carrier.  And then being asked to give up the thing she was best at in the world, not to mention the fact that she loved it.  Mary is certainly flawed – usually imperious, demanding, and uncompromising and very rarely apologetic.  It’s a great illustration of how far we as humans can go in deluding ourselves and justifying our actions.   

So it’s been a good run of great books.  And luckily, all of these books are available at your local library!  Just click on the links to check out their status in our online catalog.  Happy reading!

Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

All three of these mockumentaries were written and directed by the quirky Christopher Guest (who also acts in each film). Guest, who starred in the ever popular 1987 film The Princess Bride as Count Tyrone Rugen, has a repertoire of other films, but these three remain my favorite.  The movies, which at first glance appear to be real documentaries, are entirely comical fiction. These are cult classics that will please adult viewers who enjoy subtle wit, mixed with a little oddity.

The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! (1966)

The classic, which was nominated for four Oscars, takes place in a small New England town where a German submarine has just run aground. The town goes into a frenzy as they assume that a war has begun between Russia and the United States. In reality, the Russians ran aground by accident and simply want to find a way to get back into the ocean. A chaotic and hilarious string of car chases, misunderstandings, and accidents occurs until the townspeople and Russians finally come together in harmony in the end.

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

A mother in need of money for her son’s schooling begins cleaning houses for extra income. When she realizes she is not making nearly enough money, she and her unreliable sister start an unusual new business cleaning up after crime scenes (think CSI…after the investigators have finished their work). The money is good, but the job proves to be harder than the sisters expected, and they have to learn to work together and make the best of a difficult situation. The movie has an all-star cast (Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin), but stayed under the radar due to its indie ties and low production budget.  While serious subjects are broached by this rated R film, it still manages to be heartwarming and funny as it is more about family and finding one’s true self than the crime scenes being cleaned.  

Posted by Library Director, Curren McLane

First up is the Library’s birthday extranvaganza on Monday, March 11th at 4:30 p.m. in our Community Room.  This is our monthly What’s Cookin’ class, and what else would we be talking about other than making layer cakes from scratch?  I know, I know, Duncan Heinz really has a good thing going on with their cake mixes.  I am absolutely not above using the box mix.  But I really think for something as special as a birthday, some more love and attention are required.  So we’ve been auditioning cake recipes for the last three months to find those cakes that are not only mind blowingly tasty but also gorgeous in appearance and not so difficult or time-consuming to make you swear off baking cakes from scratch forever.  We have gone through countless sticks of butter, cups of cocoa, and pounds of powdered sugar, all in the attempt to get luscious, tender, and velvety cakes.  We think we’ve finally succeeded, and we’ll be showing you three different kinds of cakes next week, so we’ll have something to please even the pickiest and discerning of eaters!  Actually, we’ll be doing a lot more than just showing - as always, we’ll have samples for you to try!  So please come prepared to eat, at the very least, three pieces of cake next week.  You know calories don’t count on birthdays, right?

We also have a display you really need to check out at the Library.  It’s a celebration of the Library’s history and showcases some of the Library’s important events and programs, complete with some wonderful pictures. 

Interested in giving the Library a birthday gift?  What better way to give than to become a Friend of the Library?  Individual annual memberships are only $5.  If you’d like more information, please inquire at the Information Desk.

The Library’s birthday is really your birthday, because you’re what makes the Library something wonderful.  We can’t thank you enough for your continued support through the years, which you have demonstrated with your generous donations of time and money and attendance at our programs.  Here’s to many more exciting years to come!

Here’s the story:  Two couples meet for dinner in Amsterdam one evening.  One of the men is expected to become the next prime minister.  The book is narrated (however unreliably) by his brother.  The story is broken up into sections based on the parts of a meal, and as we progress through the meal, we start to see the real reason for the couples’ meeting.  They have come together to discuss something their children have done.  And how the children’s actions will affect themselves, their parents, even the country.  

The author is incredibly adept at revealing the barest minimum at key points in the story, just enough to make you a bit uneasy.  I started out sympathizing with the narrator, who for the first several chapters inwardly rolls his eyes at his brother’s substantial ego and the posturing in which he so readily engages.  But then the real story emerges, which I will not share with you here.  The beauty of this book lies in the author’s ability to peel back the story, one layer at a time.  However, this is not by any stretch of the imagination a comforting read.  You will not put this book down and think the world is a better place or that human beings have evolved over time.  At least I didn’t, but it does force you to consider what it means to be a parent, how accountable people are for their actions, and how people can delude themselves into believing they are happy.

This, I’m sure, will make many a book club reading list.  I’ve added it to our own book club list at the library.  So I encourage you to read it.  It should make for some good conversation at dinner, at the very least.  But let’s hope your dinner ends differently than the one Koch envisioned.

Doesn’t it sound incredible?  If you’ve not experienced the joy of reading this classic, I highly encourage you to do so.  Especially because it’s the book we’re reading for this month’s Main Street Book Club!  We’ll be discussing it next Tuesday, February 19th at 6:00 p.m. in the Library Community Room.  We’ll also have a belated Valentine’s Day party, so we can promise you lots of chocolately goodness!

I’m so glad I did!  This suspense novel centers around a very wealthy Boston family abducted from their home in the middle of the night.  To any outsider, the family appears to be perfect:  a loving mother, a doting father who has made millions in the construction business, and a beautiful teenage daughter.  However, once several detectives and FBI agents start questioning employees and family friends, they soon discover that this family has quite a few secrets.  Could one of those secrets be the key to their abduction?  

Gardner takes the reader from one story to the other – we get to see what the family goes through during their abduction and what the detectives are doing to find them.  Some of the drama is overwrought, but for the most part, it’s just plain suspenseful.  I felt for the family as they struggled to keep it together during their captivity while dealing with some fairly traumatic personal issues (cheating, drug abuse,etc.)  The mother, Libby Denbe, is particularly likable.  She’s got a fierce maternal instinct and a strong will to survive.  She’s also recently caught her husband cheating, which makes her highly sympathetic.  It goes to show that no one is ever truly as they seem.  We all have secrets, and those secrets can often bring destruction to those we love most.

Come check out this new release or one of the others we’ve recently purchased at the library.  We’re always adding new titles to our collection!