Library Connections: Books make connections

Yesterday I was at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. I was picking up a book for myself and, as is often my routine, I wandered into the new releases room. As a small library, having a room just to shelve new releases is not, as they say, “in the books.” As I stood there, the woman next to me whispered, “I just want a book that reaches out to me.” That is a throw of the gauntlet to those of us in the library world. With a different lens, I scanned the shelf in front of her. One of the books from our Scratch Paper Book Club stood out: “The Librarianist” by Patrick DeWitt. I handed it to her and she remarked that a friend had told her about it. The book jacket convinced her. As I turned to leave, she asked if I knew the book where women rode horses to deliver books during the Depression. JoJo Moyes wrote “The Giver of Stars,” and “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek,” by Kim Michele Richardson, also would answer that query. From there we made a connection and found that we both live in Harpswell, having retired from careers in education. That is what books and libraries can do for you — make a connection.

On my table, I have several current reads. “Red at Night,” Jerry Farnham’s mystery about a lobsterman in Boothbay, is straightforward and one I think working waterfront readers would enjoy. “The Wager,” by David Grann, tells a tale asking, what is the truth? From the first chapter, I unexpectedly connected with his account of the 1742 shipwreck of The Wager. If you like Patrick O’Brian with a tense thriller, I think this may be your connection. In a completely different vein, I returned to a little gem called “The Book That Changed My Life,” a collection of essays compiled by a bookstore owner, R.J. Coady. In it you can select from 71 writers who tell how a connection with a book opened the world of writing and changed their lens on life. The books that inspired them include Nancy Drew’s “Mystery at Lilac Inn,” Shakespeare and everything in between.

As you walk into the library, the shelf facing you contains our new purchases. Though it is a shelf, we do purchase books monthly. Our purchases are based on our readership as well as professional reviews and other Maine library staff. Our current shelf books include “The Berry Pickers,” “The Frozen River,” “Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919,” “Northeaster,” “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder,” “Trust,” and “North Woods.”

Other books that are circulating here include those by the ever-popular Maine mystery-thriller authors Paul Doiron, Douglas Preston, and Tess Gerritsen. The “Fool” series by another Maine author, Richard Russo, is in and out, along with “The Ride of Her Life,” by Elizabeth Letts, the true story of Annie Wilkins, from Minot, Maine, who rode her horse across the country in 1954. Check our wee free library for more mystery offerings. It is in the parking lot of the Community Hall and the selections change monthly.

Our book club read “Taste,” by Stanley Tucci; “The Midnight Library,” by Matt Haig; “The River of Doubt,” by Candice Millard; the popular “Lessons in Chemistry,” by Bonnie Garmus; and “Dinner with Ruth,” by Nina Totenberg. Each brought mixed reviews, perhaps leading to new perspectives on ourselves as the readers.

We also share a light food that aligns with our books. Our opening club meeting featured Alice Swallow’s lemon sponge cake, while “River of Doubt” was served with Brazil nuts. “Lessons in Chemistry” was paired with brownies from the author’s recipe, along with beverages served in test tubes. Next month’s book is “North Woods,” set in a cabin in the woods. The menu is open for now. If you want to offer your menu choice and read the book, come join us on March 14 at 6 p.m. here at the Cundy’s Harbor Library.

“Library Connections” is a monthly column that rotates among the three libraries that serve Harpswell: Cundy’s Harbor, Orr’s Island and Curtis Memorial. Heather Logan is the director of Cundy’s Harbor Library.