This Week at the Library - January 30th - February 5th, 2022

 Wow! Wasn’t last weekend something weather-wise?! Take a look at the brave-hearted readers that ventured out to the library on Saturday!! 

Jim and I watched, for hours, wild, unstopping winds with snow moving in every direction. Half of our driveway ended up clear and the other part was packed solid…not easy shoveling as our snow blower continues to be on the fritz. And then came Sunday… beautiful blue sky, everything else perfectly white, frigid wind chills and it is still January. We are so looking forward to this coming week which brings the month of February… Groundhog Day, Valentines Day, Presidents Day and a slew of birthdays to celebrate.

Open Hours this Week – Monday 10-1, Wednesday 12-4 and Saturday 10-1

Monday, January 31  10 -12  Family Fun – Come join us for a few planned activities plus a lot of spontaneity for the younger set and their Moms and Dads. This takes place downstairs in Merrill Hall and we ask that you park behind the library. Everyone had a good time last week!

Wednesday and Saturday – Jane will be setting out materials for making Valentines. You are invited to stop by and make a Valentine or two for your special someone.

Thursday, February 3^rd 1-3 – The Obiters and Scrap Bookers will be meeting in Merrill Hall. This week we will be finishing up the “Genealogy” binders and working on 2021 events. You are invited.

New Display - We are in full gear to celebrate Valentine Month… Our Valentine Tree is decorated with loving quotes, our windows are filled with hearts, and all our red covered books are front and center. Do stop by to take it all in!

Winman, Sarah – Still Life (2021) has just been added to our collection and I am including a review written by Carin Pratt at the Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, Vermont, that I thought you might enjoy. . .

The sometimes perilous holidays are behind us, but February looms, as only February can in New England. To get you through – it’s a short month, it pays to remember, I’ve got the book.

Still Life by Sarah Winman takes place in London and Florence and spans four decades, beginning in Italy during WWII. It is an incredibly charming, beautifully written, and somewhat meandering tale of a set of, well, eccentrics, who form a family of sorts.

Turns out that sometimes a cobbled-together family works better than an inherited one, though of course there are complications. Wouldn’t be a true family without complications. These include: unusual inheritances, complicated love lives, memorable characters; and a talking parrot – but don’t let that put you off. Or better yet if you like that sort of thing. Somehow it works. Winman holds one leg over the cliff of sentimentality, but never quite plunges.

Still Life is a story about love, the criticality of art to humans and society, war, family, and the floods in Florence. A novel to get lost in – one of the rare ones you read slower to prolong the finishing. It is, as the mother of a longtime patron to whom I recommended the book said “Delicious.”

The Norwich Bookstore, right around the corner from King Arthur, is well worth the drive and one always feels good supporting independent bookstores.

Something Looks different -When you visit the library this week you will notice some items in strange places. We are beginning to move everything from our attic to the main floor in preparation for the start of our “Button Up” project by Shakes and Shingles. This project, which is scheduled to begin on February 21^st, will involve removing and replacing the insulation in the attic and making us feel warmer!

With a visit to your favorite library where you will feel the Valentine love and go home ready to spread the fun of this holiday throughout your home. We are a jolly group!

Wishing you all a good week!  Susan and the Library Ladies