Introduction to the Series

Happy New Year (albeit half a month into 2024 at the time of writing this post) from your friendly librarians at MML!

This year we are partnering with Community Services (CS) and Aging in Place (AIP) to launch a year-long Wellness Series of programs geared towards our community elders while appealing to adults of all ages. In addition to programs hosted by the library and/or CS, the library will be providing bimonthly bibliographies and displays pertaining to:

• Physical Wellness in JANUARY/FEBRUARY
• Spiritual Wellness in MARCH/APRIL
• Emotional Wellness in MAY/JUN
• Social/Communal Wellness in JULY/AUGUST
• Financial, Occupational & Intellectual Wellness in SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
• Tying up loose ends & finding an all-encompassing *Sense of Purpose* in NOVEMBER/DECEMBE

First up, if you are looking for some specific recommendations for books, audiobooks, and movies (documentaries, exercise videos, etc.) pertaining to the topic of physical wellness, I’ve compiled this interactive spreadsheet with suggested titles on numerous topics inside the broader discussion of physical wellness. Read More…

Adult Summer Reading Bingo Challenge ‘23, a Deep Dive into NAUTICAL READS – “Under the Sea”

Are you working on the Adult Summer Reading Bingo Challenge ‘23? Looking for inspiration for titles that will cover the square: “Book About the Ocean”? If so, read on and let’s dive “under the sea” together! (Disney’s Little Mermaid reference 100% intended). 🙂

Feel free to also reference this earlier list, but be warned: there is some overlap…

Below is a list of 6 nautical topics/themes (in no particular order) under which I’ve categorized a number of books held here at MML and/or available through Minerva. Also, some of these categories overlap such as Sea Life and Mysteries of the Ocean: Science Writing. Just giving you a heads up!

NOTE: All lists are alphabetical by author last name!

Topics:

• Shipwrecks
• Sea Life 
• Mysteries of the Ocean: Science Writing 
• Resorts & Beach Vacations 
• Pirates
• Mermaids and Sirens

Shipwrecks: Beyond the infamous Titanic…

FICTION (3 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Stranger In the Lifeboat (2021)	ALBOM, MITCH	ALB
Life of Pi (2001)	MARTEL, YANN	MAR
The Glass Ocean (2018)	WILLIAMS, BEATRIZ	WIL

NONFICTION (3 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder (2023)	GRANN, DAVID	910.9164 GRA (New)
In the Heart of the Sea : The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex (2000)	PHILBRICK, NATHANIEL	910.9164 PHI *2 copies*
Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of the El Faro (2018)	SLADE, RACHEL	910.452 SLA

Sea Life: From coral reefs to sharks and dolphins

FICTION (3 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Mountain in the Sea (2022)	NAYLER, RAY	11 Minerva copies
The Dolphin House (2022)	SCHULMAN, AUDREY	SCH
Sharks in the Time of Saviors (2020)	WASHBURN, KAWAI STRONG	WAS (New)

NONFICTION (3 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
Life on the Rocks : Building a Future for Coral Reefs (2022)	BERWALD, JULI	333.95 BER
Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins (2015)	CASEY, SUSAN	599.53 CAS
Emperors of the Deep : Sharks– the Ocean’s Most Mysterious, Most Misunderstood, and Most Important Guardians (2019)	MCKEEVER, WILLIAM	5 Minerva copies

Mysteries of the Ocean: Science Writing*

*This category is NONFICTION only.

NONFICTION (6 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Underworld : Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean (2023)	CASEY, SUSAN	551.46 CAS (New)
Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves (2014)	NESTOR, JAMES	797.23 NES
The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea (2012)	ROBERTS, CALLUM	13 Minerva copies
The Brilliant Abyss: Exploring the Majestic Hidden Life of the Deep Ocean and the Looming Threat that Imperils It (2021)	SCALES, HELEN	20 Minerva copies
Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean (2017)	WHITE, JONATHAN	551.464 WHI
Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea (2021)	WIDDER, EDITH	18 Minerva copies

Resorts & Beach Vacations: Beyond Emily Henry and Elin Hilderbrand.

FICTION (4 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
East Coast Girls (2020)	KLETTER, KERRY	5 Minerva copies
The Celebrants (2023)	ROWLEY, STEVEN	ROW (New)
One Italian Summer (2022)	SERLE, REBECCA	SER
The Vacationers (2014)	STRAUB, EMMA	STR

NONFICTION (2 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Lure of the Beach: A Global History (2021)	RITCHIE, ROBERT C.	306.4 RIT
The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach (2022)	STODOLA, SARAH	333.784 STO

Pirates: Bring your flask and enjoy some rum!

FICTION (3 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi (2023)	CHAKRABORTY, SHANNON	CHA (New)
Djibouti (2010)	LEONARD, ELMORE	LEO
We Are Pirates (2015)	HANDLER, DAVID	HAN

NONFICTION (3 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas (2017)	DUNCOMBE, LAURA SOOK	3 Minerva copies
The Pirate’s Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd (2022)	GEANACOPOULOS, DAPHNE PALMER	910.45 GEA (New)
Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune (2022)	THOMPSON, KEITH	972.8702 THO (New)

Mermaids and Sirens: Folklore and fairy tales from the sea

FICTION (5 titles)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Mermaid’s Daughter (2017)	CLAYCOMB, ANN	5 Minerva copies
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock: A History in Three Volumes (2018)	GOWAR, IMOGEN HERMES	GOW
American Mermaid (2023)	LANGBEIN, JULIA	LAN (New)
The Deep (2019)	SOLOMON, RIVERS	SOL
Chlorine (2023)	SONG, JADE	8 Minerva copies

NONFICTION (1 title)

TITLE (Pub. Year)	AUTHOR	CALL #/LOCATION
The Penguin Book of Mermaids (2019)	BACCHILEGA, CRISTINA & MARIE ALOHALANI BROWN (eds.)	4 Minerva copies

Finally, as a bonus, if you want to read about oceans that are literally out of this world (or at least off of this planet), check out this recent scholarly publication (through Oxford University Press). This title was co-authored by a geologist and a paleobiologist about ocean worlds that may exist elsewhere in our galaxy and beyond.

Happy reading adventures!

-Courtney Kleftis

Adult Services Librarian

Intergenerational Local History Scavenger Hunt (co-hosted by MML & YHC)

Fun for ALL ages! Stop by the library anytime on Monday, August 7th to pick up this scavenger hunt guide taking you around 7 fascinating sites all within walking distance of the library. This week-long local history scavenger hunt will come to an end with a mini-presentation and local history talk by Katie Worthing, Director of the Yarmouth History Center, at Royal River Park on Friday, August 11th at 2pm.

If you want to learn more about Yarmouth’s history, check out the short bibliographies Courtney has curated for each site as well as the fantastic historical blurbs written by Katie. All of this information is available IN PRINT at the library and at each of the 7 physical sites.

Images (L-R): YHC building, 1795 map of Maine & book cover (Yarmouth Revisited)

General Guidelines:

1. First and foremost, HAVE FUN! This is an unorthodox scavenger hunt…It’s very loose and relaxed.
2. Go in any order you want, start with ANY hint you wish. (Hints on pg. 2). This is low-key and (mostly) rule free. (As you can see, I like to rhyme).

Prize:

• Pick up a Summer Reading 2023 pin at Royal River Park (or stop into the library and ask for one for having participated in this fun and educational program). 

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Adult Services Librarian, Courtney Kleftis, at ckleftis@yarmouthlibrary.org. Enjoy this adventure.

Here are the hints for each site:

SITE 1:

• Red brick building on a street corner (a few blocks away from the library) with 4 tall chimneys on both sides of the roof; a building designed for studying AND living since 1841!

SITE 2:

• A beloved natural landmark; provided shade and shelter for numerous creatures; helped humans breathe clean and fresh air; a memorial (of sorts) is on display just across the street from the library!

SITE 3:

• Get ready for a trip on the Hogwarts Express (just kidding!); get out your Word Reference and translate from Spanish to English ferrocarril for more info. about where to find this site in the scavenger hunt. 🙂 This site is close to the library and is a great place to buy some local fresh veggies during the summer months.

SITE 4:

• Pirates, beware! This is a spot you may want to hide your contraband/stolen goods. 🙂 This white 19th century Italianate style home originally belonged to a Yarmouth-based ship’s captain. It’s just a few blocks away from MML and is currently a place to learn how to jam. The building has recently been renovated and expanded! The building has a beautiful lookout on top called a belvedere!

SITE 5:

• Check out the white Federal 2-story home of one of the most prominent original benefactors of NYA just down the street. Notice the four white brick chimneys on each side and corner of the roof. This was the home of an 18th-century medical doctor.

SITE 6:

• An old (18th-century) white building up a hill off of Main Street beside land where the town’s beloved dead “sleep” and a space for people to gather together as a community. It’s a TALL building with a steeple. 🙂 

SITE 7:

• What remains of a formerly massive complex of 19th-century brick buildings overlooking falls in Royal River Park where paper was mass produced for decades here in Yarmouth. Just five years after the factory closed down it was decimated by a devastating fire.

Note: While arranged in order from the closest to the library to the most distant (more or less!), you are welcome to go in any order you wish to. This is a pretty relaxed scavenger hunt. (For instance, SITE 7 is rather out of the way no matter what order you go in!)

Capturing Indigenous Voices in Maine’s History

To supplement the Summer Reading ‘23 Local History Scavenger Hunt (intergenerational fun!), I’ve curated a short working list of materials capturing indigenous voices in Maine’s history. While I was unable to find information specific to Yarmouth, there are abundant resources available both online and in print pertaining to this topic. I’ve compiled all this information because of the importance of celebrating and honoring the lives of indigenous people. While white settler/colonizer history is generally more well-documented this does not make it more valuable. 

Indigenous History of Maine (MML resources)

TITLE (Pub. year)	AUTHOR(S)	CALL #
Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philips’ War (2018)	Brooks, Lisa Tanya	973.24 BRO
The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations (2021)	Hager, Shirley & Mawopiyane *	305.897 HAG
Wíwənikan: The Beauty We Carry (2019) The accompanying Colby College museum exhibition	Mundell, Kathleen & Jennifer Neptune	GALLERY 709.01 MUN
Unsettled Past, Unsettled Future: The Story of Maine Indians (2004)	Rolde, Neil	974.1 ROL (2 copies avail.)
Night of the Living Rez (2022)	Talty, Morgan **	TAL (8 copies avail.)

*Mawopiyane means “let us sit together” in Passamaquoddy (in this case the term is referencing a group of coauthors).

**The Talty book is a READ ME ‘23 title (sponsored by the Maine Humanities Council). Also, if you feel compelled to join, come to our library’s discussion about the book: Thursday, August 17th at 7pm.

Small Sampling of Digital Archival Resources (from Maine Memory Network):

• Waponahki Rematriation: A story by Sherri Mitchell Weh’na Ha’mu Kkwasset 
• Mali Agat (Molly Ockett) the famous Wabanaki “Doctress”: A story by Maine Historical Society from 1740-1816 
• Pauline Shay weaving a basket, Portland, 1923 
• Wabanaki participants at the Maine Centennial, Portland, 1920 
• William Neptune, Portland, 1920 
• Miniature rootclub, ca. 1850 *potentially a ceremonial club belonging to a Wabanaki shaman*
• Wabanaki beaded pouch, ca. 1860 
• Nation to Nation: Treaties and Legislation between the Wabanaki Nations and the State of Maine (Gr. 9-12 Lesson Plan)

Organizations Supporting Indigenous Mainers (Wabanaki Peoples)

• Abbe Museum (located in downtown Bar Harbor)
• Wabanaki Reach (located in Stillwater)
• YCARE (located here in Yarmouth) * Their website links to numerous others! 

MML will be hosting an event co-sponsored by YCARE and Wabanaki Reach (among others) on Tuesday, October 17th at 5:30pm. Stay tuned for more information as autumn approaches, especially in case any of the details change!

Documentaries

• Bounty (trailer avail. on website)
• Dawnland (trailer avail. on website)