Book of the Week #8

Trailerpark by Russell Banks (Houghton Mifflin, 1981)

This series of related short stories gives us a glimpse into the lives of the residents of the Granite State Trailer Park. Through these individuals Russell Banks paints a portrait of New England life that is dark and witty as well as revealing. This book was part of NHPR's 2006 Granite State Stories.

Book of the Week #7

Flavors from Far and Near: A Second Helping: A Collection of Recipes from the Friends of the Rollinsford Public Library. (2007?)

This cookbook was created as a fundraiser for the Rollinsford Public Library and it contains recipes from community members as well as from authors (like Tomie dePaola), and Governors, and Senators, and Presidents. It even includes a recipe (for linguine with sun-dried tomatoes) from a Senator who became President. Among the recipes are New England classics like Whoopie Pies and Grapenut Custard.

In 2003 Rollinsford, New Hampshire did not have a library. A 10-year-old boy named RJ decided this needed to change. This book includes the story of how he brought the community together to create the Rollinsford Public Library (from whom you can purchase this book).

Book of the Week #6

Murder on Mount Monadnock by J. S. Winter (Keene, NH: Surry Cottage Books, 2008)

This is a novel that crosses genres. It is historical fiction (set in 1910 with appearances by Franklin Roosevelt, Robert Frost, Lillie Langtry, Willa Cather, and Mark Twain); it is a murder mystery wherein Boston detective Robert de La Tour searches for the killer of the lovely young Marie Langtry; and it is a tour of various places on New Hampshire's Mount Monadnock.

In the interest of improving her story, the author takes considerable artistic licence with history, but she admits to, and apologizes for this at the end of the book.

Author J. S. Winter is a world traveller, a language teacher at a New Hampshire middle school, and a graduate of both Columbia University and NYU. This is Ms. Winter's first novel.

Saturday is Kids ♥ Authors Day

Over 40 independent bookstores and 170 authors and/or illustrators are teaming up to make Valentine's Day 2009 an unforgettable one here in New England with Kids ♥ Authors Day.

Join the fun here in New Hampshire and meet some of New Hampshire's favorite authors and illustrators at The Country Bookseller (Wolfeboro), Fox Tale Books (New Durham), Gibson's Bookstore (Concord), Toadstool Bookshop (Milford), and RiverRun Bookstore (Portsmouth).

Book of the Week #5

Lilacs: The Genus Syringa by Fr. John L. Fiala (Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1988)

New Hampshire continues to be covered in ice and snow -- with no real hope of a reprive for several more months. So, what better book to look at this week than one about New Hampshire's harbinger of spring, the lilac.

There is a newer edition of this book, but this is the one the NH State Library has and, because of where it is shelved, I walk past it every time I come into the library headed for my office. Today -- when the "hot spot" in the state is Portsmouth at 20 degrees -- it drew my attention. It is filled with history, botanical and planting information, and beautiful photographs. The author is very opinionated about lilacs -- and occasionally quite funny.

At the very beginning of the book there is reassurance for us about our northern New England climate -- which does support fabulous lilacs:

"Lilacs, to the botanists called Syringa, have a fascinating history when one considers thier origins, their great variety and the migrations that have made them at home in all the colder regions of the earth. They are not the children of the very warm climates nor of the tropical sun. They are natives, mountain dwellers, of the colder regions requiring a length of cold weather to set their fat buds for bloom. Recent experiments show that they will grow in some of the southerly regions where frost and drought are minimal. They are best where winters are cold but not arctic." (p. 5)