libraries

Summer Reading Plan

/ nagneberg48 / 7 Comments

June 20, 2024

Here’s the plan:

  • Finish reading the books I’ve requested from the library.
  • Request no books from the library till fall.
  • Focus on books on my own bookshelves waiting to be read.
  • Choose one shelf at the library and read any of the books that appeal to me.

It is now three weeks into June. How am I doing so far?

Library Holds

It has taken me most of this month to complete my library “hold” list. I wrote in an earlier post https://wordpress.com/post/livingonlifeslabyrinth.com/3634 about three of those books, Long Island by Colm Toibin, The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez and Family Family by Laurie Frankel. All three are winners. The last book on the “hold” list was Lucky by Jane Smiley, and I liked that very much, too. I will write about that in my June Summary post on July 4th.

So far I am sticking to my intentions and have not added any titles to my library hold list. This is NOT easy for me, especially as I read about new releases like This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud, Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley and….

I know when I begin to create a hold list in the fall, there will be a long waiting list for each of these books. Sigh. And I know my TBR list will continue to grow, as well, but I tend to be obsessed with reading what is new–perhaps that relates to working in an independent bookstore decades ago–and I think it is time to lighten up! Now that being said, I am not opposed to adding new titles to my own bookshelf. After all, summer includes visiting some favorite bookstores, and purchases will be made! Top of my list, by the way, is Sandwich by Catherine Newman.

My Bookshelves

So far this month I have read just one of my own books: The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson, and I will write about it in my June Summary. Simonson is the author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, by the way, which I own and liked very much. I can imagine reading it again, but first there are other delights awaiting me. I am going to start with the latest (and, alas, last) Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear, The Comfort of Ghosts and then I will read Forgotten Sunday by Valerie Perrin who wrote one of my all-time favorite books, Fresh Water for Flowers.

Trust me, I have more than enough books both in the snug and the garret, let alone the living room and the lower level, to keep me happy and engaged for a long time. And did I mention there will be trips this summer to bookstores where it will be impossible not to add to my collection?

A Wild Card Library Bookshelf

How fondly I remember browsing the library shelves when I was a child. There was the thrill of discovering an author or a title unfamiliar to me. I didn’t have a TBR list, but rather was simply open to possibilities, bringing home piles of books. Library trips were a kind of pilgrimage, leading me on new paths and introducing me to new companions.

I realized I rarely browse in the library these days. I go to the library to pick up a requested book when it is available, and I usually check the Lucky Day shelf, but that’s it.

I admit I fear going down the deep rabbit hole of library stacks these day, so instead decided to adopt one shelf; a shelf I will browse in this summer. I decided to focus on Fiction Shelf #14 (I was born on April 14). My intention is not to read all the books on that shelf nor is it to start at the beginning of the shelf and move towards the end. Instead, I will read whatever I want to on the chosen shelf, and if I exhaust what I want to read on that shelf, I will select another one.

My only rule for the Wild Card Shelf is that I will check out only one book at a time.

On #14 are several titles and authors totally unfamiliar to me, including several books by Sebastian Barry. And there is an old book I read many years ago that I think I will enjoy reading again, Love for Lydia by H.E. Bates (1952). But I was most delighted to see three books by Erica Bauermeister. In April I read a nonfiction book by her, which I loved, House Lessons, Renovating a Life (2020) and in 2023 I read one of the novels on this shelf, No Two Persons, another enjoyable read. I decided to start with one of the Bauermeister books.

Wild Card Shelf, Book #1: The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister (2013) is engaging and insightful, a perfect kind of summer reading experience, whether the day is rainy or too hot and steamy for movement. The book introduces us to a variety of characters who in some way are connected to Lillian, a restaurant owner. Al is the accountant who has a surprising avocation; Chloe, a budding chef lives with Isabelle, who is slipping into dementia. Finnegan is tall and steady as a tree, but almost unseen. And others, each examples of shadow and light in their characters and their lives. A few quotes, and trust me, I could include many others:

Lillian was a woman in love with a kitchen. It was not the love of an architect, the deep satisfaction in a lay-out of counters and cabinets designed to make the act of cooking effortless. Nor was it the love of a grown-up  for the kitchen of her childhood, nostalgia soaked into every surface. Lillian's love for her kitchen was the radiant gratitude of an artist for a space where imagination moves without obstacles, the small quiet happiness of finding a home, even if the other people in it are passing through--maybe even a bit because of that. p 68

Isabelle was used to surprises these days, to playing hide-and-seek with the world. She didn't even need to count before words and ideas, faces and memories would scatter off into corners where she couldn't find them. Sometimes they came back; other times they were simply gone. Isabelle liked to think that perhaps some of them had found each other, had struck up friendships and gone out for coffee, or were hidden behind the couch making love. It was better than thinking they were never coming back. p. 132

It was intriguing how people came at their stories, Finnegan thought as he listened to Isabelle. He had learned to watch the gap between question and answer, having realized that the less obvious the connection the more interesting the material left unsaid. Diving into the gap yourself was rarely productive, but if allowed to talk uninterrupted, the storyteller would eventually build bridges across it, bridges made of memories that felt safe and familiar, anecdotes that had turned solid and durable with the retelling. After a while, you could go fishing. p. 241.

An Invitation

Do you have a summer reading plan? I would love to know.

NOTE: Garage Sale This Weekend

Many of you have shopped my husband’s annual garage sale in the past and know what magic he creates by painting old unwanted furniture. He transforms chairs and dressers and tables and whatever gets in his way!!! (See pictures on Tuesday’s post.) This year’s sale is Friday and Saturday, June 21-22 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. 2025 Wellesley Ave, St Paul.

All proceeds go to benefit Lutheran Social Services programs for youth experiencing homelessness.

Access to the sale is through the alley only (between Wellesley and Stanford).

Home Away From Home: Door County, WI

/ nagneberg48 / 6 Comments

April 18, 2023

In order to have this–cherry coffee cake–
first, there must be this.

We spent this past weekend in Door County, WI, a place that over the years has become a home away from home, even though we rarely stay at the same place. At breakfast one morning at our favorite place, The White Gull Inn in Fish Creek, we tried to remember all the times Door County has been our vacation, get-away destination. We listed at least 20 times, and I’m sure we missed a few.

For those of you who don’t know, Door County is a peninsula with Green Bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. Many have referred to it as the Cape Cod of the Midwest. That’s fine, but I don’t think it needs to be compared to anything–it is its own kind of time-out haven.

My husband planned the trip this time to celebrate my 75th birthday, which seems like a logical time in itself to reminisce and honor the past without neglecting the present or denying the realities of the future. We roamed favorite routes, as we always do, staying alert for sandhill cranes and turkeys, glimpses of spectacular water views, and the pink haze on the cherry trees, moving steadily towards blossom time. We noted what stores and restaurants were still alive and hopefully well, and kept saying, “Remember when…”

A kind of life review of our adult years.

Neither of us could remember how we learned about Door County or when we had first visited, but we obviously fell in love with it and kept returning–sometimes just the two of us, but also family times when our children were little. And later when our children were grown. The summer of 2010, when we lived in Madison, we rented a house for a month. Bruce came for the weekends, and our daughter and family came for a few days, too.

I spent my alone time reading and writing. (No surprise!)

When I was growing up and my family moved frequently, we always went to the same resort in northern Minnesota for a week or two before moving to our new home. That time served as transition time, easing us from one place to another. Whether my parents realized they were doing that or not, that week offered a touchstone, making what was changing and what was ahead and what was left behind not quite so daunting.

Door County has become a similar touchstone–a place where I mark the changes in our lives, not just as memories, precious though they are, but as a timeline of growth and development. I recall many leisurely dinners, lingering over what we came to think of as “daiquiri talk,” dreaming and imagining what our future might hold, could hold. In fact, Door County was where we realized that we wanted to retire back to St Paul and put a plan to do just that into motion.

This past weekend was quiet, for the spring/summer season has not yet begun, and I realized how much less I need “to do,” “to see,” “to visit,” in this stage of my life. How content we were to spend more time reading in our pretty room or on the balcony.

Note the cherry wallpaper! Cherries are a definite theme in Door County.

We have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries in Door County and have been there each season. We have each had alone time there plus been there with friends and family. I don’t need everything to be the same with each visit there, although I would be crushed if the White Gull Inn closed, but instead enjoy seeing the mix of old and new. We’ve been young there, and now we are old there. I feel the span of time there, and it is a good feeling.

Perhaps if we were still living in the home where we raised our family, a home where we lived for decades, I might prefer to vacation always in new places, to cultivate new places, new experiences, but instead, Door County has become the place of returning. The place where time is measured. It is the place where each time we leave, I think about when we might return to our home away from home.

One More Thing:

As we often do, when we are out roaming, we visit a library. I think if I were living in Door County, I would spend a good chunk of time in Egg Harbor’s library–with its water view and comfortable places to sit and read.

Not only were there books, but a charming seed library too.

An Invitation

Do you have a home away from home? A place that is an emotional tug? I would love to know.

Book Report: My Love Affair with Public Libraries

/ nagneberg48 / 14 Comments

January 26, 2023

My last trip to the library was a bonanza of books. A pile I had placed on hold were waiting for me, and I returned home eager to determine which one I would read first. (Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton won, by the way–and it is a gem.)

I knew that more than likely I would decide not to read each one. I would at least read the first few pages of each one, but not more than a few pages if what I read didn’t appeal, didn’t spark interest in the characters, the writing, or the plot to come. I no longer feel obligated to read something because it is on my list or someone has recommended it or because I think it is a book I “should” read. I have a long TBR list and even though I am a fast reader and dedicate parts of everyday for reading, I know I will never read every title I want to read. (An aside: I hope when I die I have a book in my hand.)

How grateful I am for the library. I request books knowing I can test the temperature, dip my toe in, but then I can retreat to shore if the book is too cold or too warm. And then I can return the book to the library for someone else’s pleasure.

Public libraries will always be on the top of my favorites list, so when I heard about what lawmakers in North Dakota are trying to do, I could feel my own temperature begin to boil.

A bill has been proposed by the House Majority Leader of Dickinson, ND to ban books with sexually explicit material and books that depict gender identity from PUBLIC libraries. Librarians who refuse to remove banned titles could face up to 30 days in prison. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/north-dakota-weighs-ban-sexually-explicit-library-books-rcna66271

This proposed bill is not about protecting children or anyone else, but it is about censorship.

If you live in North Dakota or have ties to North Dakota, it is time to speak up and support the gift of freedom that public libraries offer. Wherever you live, support your public libraries and librarians.

An Invitation

What do you love about your public library? I would love to know.

Book Report: Library Field Trips

/ nagneberg48 / 8 Comments

October 27, 2022

Public Library, St Peter, Minnesota

My husband and I love to roam. “Roaming,” I think is a bit different than traveling. No tickets are involved or reservations. There is no need to stop the mail, board the dog, if you have one, or hire the neighbor kid to shovel your walk it if snows. Nope, all we do is pick a destination, make sure the car is filled with gas, the plat book is handy, and off we go.

This fall we decided to include in our casual itinerary the libraries in the towns we visit. Because it has been such a busy fall, we have only explored two Minnesota towns so far, St Peter and New Ulm. At some point I intend to write about what we learned about each of these towns, but since it is Book Report Thursday, I will focus just on the libraries.

The St Peter library is a new structure–not particularly inviting from the outside, but the inside was an entirely different experience.

I immediately felt welcomed and uplifted without feeling overwhelmed. Even though the limestone could have felt cold and unapproachable, the light pouring in from above and the entire perimeter of the building added to the hospitality of the space. And it was busy. Not noisy, but buzzing with people of all ages.

I know libraries these days are not just places for books and readers, but are an integral part of the community, responding to community needs and interests, and that was evident in the St Peter library.

Along with bags of books for book groups, we spotted these Memory Kit bags. Clever, creative, helpful, innovative, and accessible. Good job, St Peter.

We visited New Ulm on a Friday and the downtown was active and bustling, but that was not the case in the library, even though it is located not far from the downtown area. In fact, Bruce and I were the only people in the library other than the librarians who quizzed us about why we were there. Did they think we were state library officials on a surprise inspection?

That isn’t quite fair, for I think the library staff have done the best they could do with an extremely unattractive building in the Brutalist style of architecture.

Brutalism dates from the 1950’s and is characterized by minimalist constructions showcasing bare building materials and structural elements over decorative designs. Cold concrete, and I ask you is that the look you want in a library!

As I said, however, they have done the best they could do with what they have, and I loved the sculpture of children’s writer/illustrator Wanda Gag (Millions of Cats) outside. We had hoped to tour the house where she grew up, but it wasn’t open.

The saving grace of this library was the spacious and bright children’s space. This was the old Carnegie Library and is attached to the newer facility. The space was filled with art work and areas for creative activities. I hope on other days and times the space is alive with children and their excitement for books and reading.

We intend to continue our library tours, including ones in our own area. One summer when our grandson who is now fourteen was nine, he and I visited a few St Paul libraries, and, of course, came home with stacks of books. Obviously, we don’t do that when we visit libraries in other parts of the state.

How grateful I am for the public libraries and urge you to use and support them in your community. In fact, I am about to head to my library where a stack of books I have placed on hold is waiting for me. Happy reading!

An Invitation

What do you appreciate about your library? I would love to know.

Note:

Next week I will share my October round-up of books read in the past month.