Memoirs of an Underdog – 3 Dog Tales

Hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since “doggy memoir” Marley & Me came out. The runaway popularity of this dog tale spawned several spinoff books (Marley: A Dog Like No Other, Bad Dog, Marley!A Very Marley Christmas, to name a few), and a very successful movie (Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston). I cried like a baby, you know you did, too!

Suddenly, book deals for dogs became a regular thing. Stories of how animals make a difference in so many lives can make for some pretty compelling reading, especially if you’re an animal lover to begin with. Here are a few more dog tales that will tug at your heartstrings:

1A Dog Named Boo by Lisa J. Edwards. Boo was found by Lisa in a cardboard box outside a pet store. Lisa, a professional dog trainer, felt drawn to the runt of the litter, and decided to take him home and train him to be a companion animal for her terminally ill brother, who was becoming more physically restricted by the day. Unfortunately, Boo turned out to be the class dunce. Boo’s apparent failure to live up to Lisa’s expectations was followed shortly by the loss of the family member she loved most. It was when things were at their worst, however, that Boo’s exceptional talent for giving love and comfort showed.

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2Wallace by Jim Gorant. Today, Wallace is a champion; but in the summer of 2005, he was living in a shelter, a refugee from a suspicious pit-bull breeding operation. Then Andrew “Roo” Yori entered the picture. A scientist and shelter volunteer, Roo could immediately see that Wallace was something special. When Roo learned that Wallace was about to be put down, he and his wife frantically fought to keep Wallace alive until they could adopt him. Overcoming everything from injuries to prejudice against the breed, the unlikely pair persevered to become world champions.
                                                                 
3Until Tuesday by Luis Carlos Montalván. Captain Luis Montalvan never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, however, the pressures of his physical wounds, traumatic brain injury, and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. Then Luis met Tuesday, a beautiful and sensitive golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. A unique story about the love between a man and a dog, and how they healed each other’s souls.

 

 

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Some other wonderful stories about the bonds between humans and dogs include:
A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home : Lessons in the Good Life From an Unlikely Teacher by Sue Halpern
You Had Me at Woof : How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness by Julie Klam
Oogy : The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
Dogs Never Lie About Love : Reflections on the Emotional World of Dogs by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Good Dog. Stay. by Anna Quindlen
Pure Joy : The Dogs We Love by Danielle Steel
   

Adult Non Fiction about Librarians and Libraries

libworkI was inspired by the new series of posts about the work that goes on behind the scenes in our library to gather some of the best books about working in a library and the history of libraries to share. If you want to know a little more about life behind the desk, and some history of our little corner of the world and beyond, you might want to take a look at these titles.

I Work at a Public Library: a Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks by Gina Sheridanlibquiet
Collects strange-but-true anecdotes, heartwarming stories, and humorous interactions with patrons from a public librarian.

Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas
An autobiography set in a Southern California public library offers a quirky description of life as a caretaker of modern literature and furnishes an account of the history of libraries from the Gilded Age to the present day.libstrongest

The World’s Strongest Librarian: a Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne
Traces the public librarian author’s inspiring story as a Mormon youth with Tourette’s Syndrome who after a sequence of radical and ineffective treatments overcame nightmarish tics through education, military service and strength training.liboverdue

This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
In a celebration of libraries and the dedicated people who staff them, the author argues that librarians are more important than ever, and discusses a new breed of visionary professionals who use the Web to link people and information.

libbreedDear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference by Joanne Oppenheim
Provides the story of life in a Japanese internment camp during World War II through the correspondence of the children in the camp to their librarian, Miss Clara Breed, who worked on their behalf to show the injustice of their imprisonment.

Library: an Unquiet History by Matthew Battleslibunquiet
Provides an intriguing historical study of libraries and books, their preservation, and destruction, from the U.S. to Europe and Asia, from medieval monasteries and Vatican collections to the ever-changing information highway of today.

For further reading about the history of libraries and what it can be like on the other side of the counter check out: Running the Books: the Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg, Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don libhistoryBorchert, Dewey: the Small-town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter, The Library: an Illustrated History by Stuart A.P. Murray, Library: the Drama Within photographs by Diane Asséo Griliches ; essay by Daniel J. Boorstin, The Librarian’s Book of Quotes compiled by Tatyana Eckstrand, and Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out edited by Katia Roberto and Jessamyn West.

Oprah’s Summer Reading – 2015

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O, The Oprah Magazine has listed their favorite books for the upcoming summer season.  Below is the short version.  You can see the full list in the July 2015 issue of the magazine.

Ladies on the move

paris, he saidParis, He Said – Christine Sneed – Aspiring painter Jayne is questioning the choices she has made in the years since college and is struggling to pay her bills in Manhattan when she is given the opportunity to move to Paris with her wealthy lover and benefactor, Laurent Moller, who owns and operates two art galleries.enlightenment of nina

The Enlightenment of Nina Findlay Andrea Gillies – Seeking refuge on a tiny Greek island after an estrangement from two brothers with whom she was in a long-time love triangle, Nina discovers in the wake of an accident the influence of her parents’ marriage on her own.

re janeRe Jane – Patricia Park – Jane Re, a half-Korean, half-American orphan, escapes to Seoul where she reconnects with her family while struggling to learn the ways of modern-day Korea, and wonders if the man she loves is really the man for her as she tries to find balance between two cultures and accept who she really is.

 

Mysteries and Thrillers

the ice twinsThe Ice Twins – S.K. Tremayne – Moving to a tiny Scottish island a year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah are shattered when their surviving daughter claims they have mistaken her identity and that she is actually the twin they believed dead.hyacinth girls

Hyacinth Girls – Lauren Frankel – When her 13-year-old daughter Callie begins receiving suicidal notes from Robyn, the girl she supposedly bullied, Rebecca is determined to save the unbalanced Robyn, refusing to let the school stand in her way, but in doing so, unknowingly places her own daughter’s life in great danger.

jack of spadesJack of Spades – Joyce Carol Oates – Enjoying his successful career and devoted family, a best-selling writer secretly authors a masochist-themed series that threatens his respectable community standing and becomes subject to a plagiarism lawsuit.

 

Biography and Memoir

pawnbrokerThe Pawnbroker’s Daughter – Maxine Kumin – A new collection of work from the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet depicts her childhood during the Depression in Philadelphia, her education at Radcliffe College, her rural New England farm and the changing tone and subject matter of her poetry over her lifetime.my generation

My Generation – William Styron – collection of work spanning the career of the author includes complex pieces on race as well as extracts describing his daily walks with his beloved dog.

something must be doneSomething Must Be Done About Prince Edward County – Kristen Green – A reporter, combining hard-hitting investigative journalism with a sweeping family narrative, exposes a little-known chapter of American History, revealing her hometown’s shameful legacy of refusing to integrate after the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education.

 

Literary Fiction

our souls at nightOur Souls at Night – Kent Haruf – A senior-aged widow and widower forge a loving bond over shared loneliness and respective histories, provoking local gossip and the disapproval of their grown children in ways that are further complicated by an extended visit by a sad young grandchild.death and mr

Death and Mr. Pickwick – Stephen Jarvis – A novel based on the life of artist Robert Seymour describes the birth of “The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club,” a series of whimsical sketches by Seymour that were paired with stories by a young Charles Dickens, using the pen name Boz.

sunlit nightThe Sunlit Night – Rebecca Dinerstein – In the barren landscape of the Far North, under the ever-present midnight sun, Frances, who lives in an isolated artist colony, and Yasha, who arrives from Brooklyn to fulfill his beloved father’s last wish, form a bond that offers them solace amidst great uncertainty.

 

 

Happy Summer Reading!

Guest Post: Download FREE Audiobooks May Through August!

Children’s librarian Nicole is an avid audiobook listener. Today, she’s taking to the blog to pass along a great opportunity to listen to some free audiobooks this summer!

 

For its sixth year running, AudioFile is making free downloadable audiobooks available for children, teens and adults. The program is geared towards inspiring teens to discover new books and authors, but the books themselves have great crossover appeal for adults (and some children) as well. Starting in May, two free audiobooks are available each week for downloading. The audiobook pairings are “listen-alikes” – a classic and a popular contemporary titled paired by theme.

A detailed list of the free audiobooks (along with listening clips) is available online at http://www.audiobooksync.com/. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any of the titles, you can also choose to receive text prompts when new audiobooks are available by sending the text message “syncya” to 25827.

Whether you’re new to audiobooks, or you’re a long-time fan, this is definitely an annual event that you don’t want to miss out on! And if you’re new to downloading audiobooks, have no fear – staff members at Cheshire Public Library are available for personal one-on-one tutorial sessions to help you along the way. Call Cheshire Library at 203-272-2245 to make an appointment.

 

Check out the great titles that AudioFile is making available to the masses this season!

 

 

May 21-27

X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz & Kekla Magoon (read by Dion Graham)

Here in Harlem by Walter Dean Myers (read by Muhammad Cunningham, et al.)

 

May 28-June 3

The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz (read by Jennifer Ikeda)

Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (read by Eloise Oxer & Paul English)

 

June 4-10

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty (read by Fiona Hardingham et al.)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (read by David Horovitch and a full cast)

 

June 11-17

The Living by Matt de la Pena (read by Henry Leyva)

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger (read by Richard M. Davidson)

 

June 18-24

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (read by Sasha Pick)

Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies & Alison Leslie Gold (read by Barbara Rosenblat)

 

June 25-July 1

Monster by Walter Dean Myers (read by a full cast)

Lord of the Flies by William Golding (read by William Golding)

 

July 2-July 8

Echoes of an Angel by Aquanetta Gordon & Chris Macias (read by Robin Miles)

Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja (read by Spencer Murphy and a full cast)

 

July 9-15

The Explorers Club by Neil Benjamin (read by Carson Elrod et al.)

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (read by Michael Prichard)

 

July 16-22

Crows & Cards by Joseph Helgerson (read by MacLeod Andrews)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (read by Robin Field)

 

July 23-29

March by Geraldine Brooks (read by Richard Easton)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (read by Christina Ricci)

 

July 30-August 5

Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles by Tanya Lee Stone (read by JD Jackson)

John Ball’s In the Heat of the Night by Matt Pelfrey (adapt.) (read by Ryan Vincent Anderson et al.)

 

August 6-12

Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliot (read by Elizabeth Wiley)

The Old Brown Suitcase by Lillian Boraks-Nemetz (read by Sofia Newman)

Book Club Picks – Politics and Social Sciences

book club

Pick up one of these books for a lively discussion at your next book club meeting.

carry onCarry On, Warrior: thoughts of a life unarmed by Glennon Doyle Melton – A New York Times essayist shares her journey from a self-destructive college student to a devoted family woman and teacher while illuminating the importance of trusting in a higher power and being truthful about life’s challenges.tibetan

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinopche – A discussion of teachings on which the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” is based examines the possibility for healing that can occur when death is viewed as another chapter of life.

five daysFive Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink – A Pulitzer Prize-winning doctor, reporter and author of War Hospital reconstructs five days at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina destroyed its generators to reveal how caregivers were forced to make life-and-death decisions without essential resources, an experience that raised key issues about practitioner responsibilities and end-of-life care.magic

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins – Addresses key scientific questions previously explained by rich mythologies, from the evolution of the first humans and the life cycle of stars to the principles of a rainbow and the origins of the universe.

presidentsThe President’s Club by Nancy Gibbs – Traces the history of the presidential fraternity conceived by Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover during Eisenhower’s inauguration, exploring the ways in which the nation’s Presidents depended on, sabotaged and formed alliances that had world-changing impacts.unwinding

 

The Unwinding – by George Packer – Paints a picture of the last thirty years of life in America by following several citizens, including the son of tobacco farmers in the rural south, a Washington insider who denies his idealism for riches, and a Silicon Valley billionaire.

glitterGlitter and Glue: A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan – Presents an account of the author’s perspectives on motherhood, which have been shaped by her job as a nanny for a grieving Australian family and her character-testing experiences with her daughters.saturday

Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman – Describes the author’s experiences as a young widow and the pivotal relationships she forged with five other widows, recounting the stories of their losses and bravery as exchanged throughout a year of monthly Saturday night meetings, during which the author met and fell in love with her current husband.