The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy

I first discovered Pat Conroy this past May when I stood on line at Book Expo with his legions of fans to get an advanced copy of South of Broad.  I loved the book and went on to read Prince of Tides, which was also wonderful.

I stumbled on The Water is Wide and decided to give his non-fiction a try.  Although the prose are not as wonderful and descriptive as the two fiction books I read, they are still good and the story is gripping.

In 1969, a young, idealistic Conroy decides to teach on Yamacraw Island, a forgotten island off the coast of South Carolina. The school is a two room schoolhouse.  Conroy teaches 4th-8th grade, while Ms. Brown, a disciplinarian (vs. a teacher) teaches the lower grades.   An island inhabited primarily by Black families, the children are neglected by school administration.

The Water is Wide describes Conroy’s efforts to teach the children (many of whom do not know the alphabet, let alone what country they live in), expose them to the outside world and give them a feeling of self-worth.  His battles with the old ways of the inhabitants, the indifferent administrators and the childrens’ ignorance and fears makes for compelling reading.

I highly recommend Pat Conroy in any form.

-posted by Ed G., Reference Librarian

New on DVD

Angels and Demons - Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican. (imdb.com) Also available in Blu-ray.

Four Christmases - A couple struggles to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day. (imdb.com)

Funny People - When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship causes him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act. (imdb.com)

Gomorrah - …a stark, shocking vision of contemporary gangsterdom, [linking] five disparate tales in which men and children are caught up in a corrupt system that extends from the housing projects to the world of haute couture.  (Amazon.com)

New museum pass available

The Syosset Public Library is pleased to announced that we have added the Morgan Library & Museum to its Museum Pass Program.  The Morgan Library & Museum is located at 225 Madison Avenue in New York City.  Founded by financier Pierpont Morgan, the Morgan houses one of the worlds greatest collections of artistic, literary & musical works from Ancient Times to the Medieval & Renaissance periods to the present day.

For more information regarding the Morgan please visit their website. The Museum pass for the Morgan admits 2 adults and 2 children age 18 and under.  To reserve your pass to this museum or any other museums available through our Museum Pass Program, please contact the Readers Services Dept. at (516) 921-7161 ext. 239 or stop by the Readers Services desk on the 2nd floor.”

- posted by Lisa J.,  Readers Services

5 Questions about Books

This week “5 Questions” were answered by Jackie Ranaldo, Readers’ Services librarian.

On your nightstand now:

I am always reading and listening to more than one book at a time.  That seems to be the trend with many of us at the library.  Maybe it’s a “Librarian” thing …

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (Contemporary Fiction/Ghost Story)

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (Historical Fiction)

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain (Mystery/Suspense)

I Love You Like a Tomato by Marie Giordano (Italian-American Fiction)

Favorite Childhood book:

Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina – A fantastic little children’s book about a peddler who carried large stacks of men’s caps to sell.  One day a monkey in a tree started stealing all his caps.  I used to love reading this book with my mother.  Most kids would point to the tree and try and tell the peddler about the monkey … not me … like a child watching Blues Clues, I used to think characters in books could hear me … I would never tell the peddler about the clever, little monkey …it was like our own little secret.

Favorite Author of All Time –

Would have to be a toss up between John Steinbeck and John  Cheever.

However, in terms of contemporary fiction, I am a huge Adriana Trigiani fan.

Book you feel you should read but haven’t yet  —

There are two that I know I should read but haven’t quite gotten to yet—

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Favorite line from a book –

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view–until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” ~ Atticus Finch character from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Interestingly enough, I strongly believe that is what reading is all about.  Books give the reader a unique opportunity to “climb inside someone else’s skin” and see the world from another point of view.  I believe great literature has an amazing opportunity to teach tolerance and compassion, simply by experiencing another’s story through words.

 

How was that last book you read?

Did it have your fingers earning tiny little paper cuts as you anxiously turned to the next page, desperate to know what was going to happen next?  Did it give you a headache from banging your head against a desk in frustration (Why am I reading this book, why)?

Spread the word!

Submit a review for a book you’ve read and let the whole library know how fantastic or awful it was.  How do I do this, you ask?  It’s easy.

1. Find the book in the library catalog.
2. Under the title/author/publication information is a line for User Reviews.
3. Click where it says, “add a review.”
4. Click “Review this yourself.”
5. Create a review account by entering a user name, password, and if you’d like, an email address.  Prefer to post an anonymous review?  No problem – just create a wacky user name; no real identity required.
6. Click “Submit.”
7. Type your review!

You can review any of the library materials that appear in the catalog, not just  books – the more reviews, the merrier – so add yours now!

- posted by Megan, Reference Services

Recently Added Staff Picks

Against Medical Advice by James Patterson

“The heart-rending drama of one family’s courage, heartbreak, sacrifice, and triumph in confronting an agonizing medical condition, written by two master storytellers”. (From the Publisher)

Recommended By: Jill Jacobson, Readers’ Services Librarian

American Shaolin by Matthew Polly

“The raucously funny story of one young American’s quest to become the baddest dude on the planet and possibly find inner peace along the way”. (From the Publisher)

Recommended By: Megan Kass, Reference Librarian Trainee

Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh

“An elegant, elegiac multigenerational saga about a small coal-mining community in western Pennsylvania (Kirkus Reviews).”

Recommended By: Jackie Ranaldo, Readers’ Services Librarian

In My Brother’s Image by Eugene Pogany

“The extraordinary story of identical twin brothers born in Hungary of Jewish parents but raised as devout Catholic converts until the Second World War unraveled their family.” (From the Publisher)

Recommended By:  Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk

Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman

“In knitting the minutiae of individual lives into the fabric of community, she produces a vibrant story of good people accommodating their spiritual and temporal needs to the realities of contemporary life”.  (Publishers Weekly)

Recommended by: Sonia Grgas, Librarian Trainee

- posted by Jackie,  Readers’ Services

New in DVD this week

Lemon Tree (Etz Limon) - The story of a Palestinian widow who must defend her lemontree field when a new Israeli Defense Minister moves next to her and threatens to have her lemon grove torn down.

 

 

 

My Sister’s Keeper - Anna Fitzgerald looks to earn medical emancipation from her parents who until now have relied on their youngest child to help their leukemia-stricken daughter Kate remain alive. (also available in Blu-Ray)

 

 

Star Trek - A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. (also available in Blu-Ray)

 

 

 

 

Thirst (Bakjwi) - A failed medical experiment turns a man of faith into a vampire.

Mysteries from Across the Pond and Beyond

The Distant Echo by Val McDermid
1978 four friends leave a college party-heading back to the dorms via the quickest route possible and stumble onto the body of a dying girl.  The friends quickly become the prime suspects in the crime, but protest their innocence.  How do you prove that you haven’t done something for which you are accused?  The police believe they did the deed, the family of the dead girl agrees, and the townspeople and college classmates concur.  No solid evidence is found to prove the presumption, so they are never charged with the crime.  Everyone thinks they’ve gotten away with murder.  Flash forward to 2003 and with the advent of DNA the cold case is re-opened, but someone isn’t waiting for the police to botch the investigation again he/she has decided to punish the guilty.

Never read Val McDermid, but now I’m hooked.  This is a well written page turner.

I also highly recommend:
In the Woods and The Likeness by Tana French (Ireland)
One Good Turn and When Will There be Good News by Kate Atkinson (Scotland)
The Calling by Inger Ash Wolf (Canada)
The Broken Shore by Peter Temple (Australia)
And the Inspector Devlin Series (Borderlands and Gallows Lane) by Brian McGilloway (Ireland)

What ties them together (other than my fondness for them)?  Intelligent writing, great characters, a page turning storyline, and yes, of course, they are all set across the pond and beyond.

- posted by Susan, Readers’ Services