Spring!

It is finally spring, even in New Hampshire! That makes it the perfect time to go to a library book sale, plant a garden (or just read about one), count the days to ice out, attend a baseball game, cook something seasonal, or attend Jazzmouth, the seacoast poetry & jazz festival.

Book of the Week #17

Strawbery Banke: A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making by J. Dennis Robinson (Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2007)

This book tells the stories of 400 years of history along the Piscataqua River and of the controversial founding of Strawbery Banke Museum. The author is a resident of Portsmouth and the editor and owner of SeacoastNH.com

"Cities and towns have distinct voices, I'm convinced. Their neighborhoods, houses, and rooms tell tales; they hold deep impressions of their makers and their keepers. Like the kid in the movie who sees dead people, I hear buildings. You could call me a house whisperer. The stories are what
interest me. The buildings are the stage on which the drama is enacted." (p. xvii)

Book of the Week #16

Heart-shaped Box: A Novel by Joe Hill (William Morrow, 2007)

This first novel by New Hampshire resident Joe Hill was dedicated to his Dad. According to Hill's blog he has some NH appearances scheduled in the coming months.

In a blurb for this novel Neil Gaiman said it was "a genuinely scary novel filled with people you care about; the kind of book that still stays in your mind after you've turned over the final page. I love it unreservedly."

Celebrating 175 Years in Peterborough

Governor Lynch proclaimed yesterday, April 9, 2008, as Peterborough Town Library Day in recognition of the founding, 175 years ago, of the Peterborough Town Library, making it the first publicly funded library. I got to attend the birthday celebration at the library yesterday which included a display about the library's history, speeches, readings and entertainment, a luncheon, a tea, and of course birthday cake. The Ledger Transcript supported the celebration with a special insert about the library in Tuesday's paper (4/8/2008).

In his remarks Library Director Michael Price (pictured at right) explained that the Town of Peterborough distinguished itself at town meeting in 1833 by recognizing that the public library, like the public school, deserves to be supported by the town.

2008 Dublin Shortlist Announced

The shortlist of titles being considered for the 2008 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has been announced. None of the titles nominated by the NH Dublin Committee were included in the shortlist this time. This award is presented annually for a novel written in English or translated into English. The objective of the award is to promote excellence in world literature and nominations are submitted by library systems from major cities throughout the world.

The winner will be announced June 12, 2008 and will be one of these titles:

• The Speed of Light by Javier Cercas
• The Sweet & Simple Kind by Yasmine Gooneratne
• De Niro's Game by Rawi Hage
• Dreams of Speaking by Gail Jones
• Let it be Morning by Sayed Kashua
• The Attack by Yasmina Khadra
• Winterwood by Patrick McCabe
• The Woman Who Waited by Andrei Makine

Book of the Week #15

Richard Eberhart: Selected Poems 1930-1965. (New Directions, 1965.)

In honor of National Poetry Month I selected a volume of poetry for this weeks' book. Richard Eberhart, who was born on April 5, 1904, lived many of his 101 years in New Hampshire. He won the Pulitzer Prize for this book.

From the Foreword, written by Richard Eberhart:

"If some wound in the soul were healed there would be no need to write poems. Poetry is continuously aggravating perception into expressing life. It evaluates our unique passage through time. The compulsion to create comes from awareness of being. It is ultimately a recognition of man's estate and of his fate, and ultimately poetry is praise."

Book of the Week #14

Wildflowers of the White Mountains: A Field Guide to New Hampshire's Wildflowers, from Valley to Summit by John Hession and Valerie Michaud. (Burlington, Vt.: Huntington Graphics, 2003)

If it is ever actually spring around here, this handy little book (about the size of a large index card) will help you to identify the more than 250 wildflowers you might find when visiting the White Mountains. The book is arranged by the color of the flower -- handy for on-the-spot identification -- and includes a little background info and identifying characteristics of each flower along with a beautiful color photograph. There is also an index, a glossary and some drawings to illustrate flower structures and leaf arrangements. The authors, John Hession and Valerie Michaud live in central New Hampshire.