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Staff Picks

Adult Summer Reading Bingo

posted on - June 22, 2023

June 21st – September 21st (Solstice to Equinox)

Are you gearing up for the summer months eager to expand your reading horizons? In addition to diving into feel-good beach reads (those can be found interspersed throughout this list), I encourage adult patrons to read about topics that may challenge them and their worldviews. This summer’s Adult Summer Reading Bingo Challenge has been inspired at least in part by prominent Iranian-American writer and intellectual, Azar Nafisi’s recent manifesto Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times (2022). (You can request this from any library in the Minerva consortium; at the time of writing this blog post MML doesn’t own a copy).

While Nafisi’s argument is about the subversive power of reading fiction, especially by and about marginalized communities, MML’s bingo challenge includes nonfiction and memoir as well as novels. Nafisi compellingly writes that literature humanizes the enemy or “other”, combating our increasingly polarized society’s tendency to do the exact opposite: dehumanize anyone and everyone who thinks and lives differently from us. In her own words, “[w]ar, by nature, dehumanizes the enemy. Story gives the enemy a voice, forcing us to confront him as a human being, to look him in the eye. And through this process, we restore our own humanity” (Nafisi p. 101). Nonfiction and memoir also tell stories and have the capacity to humanize people who are all too often dehumanized and disempowered; hence this summer reading challenge.

If you, like me, the librarian writing this post, are a self-avowed “nerd,” feel free to watch Nafisi discussing her own book in this Youtube video recording of a talk she gave at the Newburyport Literary Festival a year ago. There are numerous other videos of her discussing her book available on Youtube; it is a rabbit hole that you may find yourself lost in much like our beloved Alice in Wonderland.

In any case, get ready to dive into our bingo challenge! As an extra incentive, we have prizes, including MML swag. The grand prize will be 1 free book and a $30 gift card to Royal River Books just down the street. To be eligible for this, as soon as you’ve completed the entire bingo sheet, enter your name in a raffle! For info about the other prizes, see the pamphlet available at the circ desk! (This info is also printed on the back of the bingo sheet itself).

You can view or print the Bingo Sheet here.

Too many books, too little time? No need to feel too overwhelmed! To lighten your reading load and make the challenge more manageable, here are some suggestions to hit the ground running when starting your Bingo Sheet:

  • One square per row of five involves something other than reading a book!
  • Partner up with someone and complete the challenge together. This could even lead to mini book discussions with a friend, partner or spouse, child, etc…
  • Read 1 book for up to 2 categories. Several titles in the Banned/Challenged Books category also fall under the LGBTQ+ Memoirs square.

Pick up your bingo square at the circulation desk OR information desk at MML anytime this summer. For inspiration and reading suggestions, check out these lists. 

Enjoy your reading, “dangerous” and otherwise!

-Courtney Kleftis (Adult Services Librarian)

“Hello Beautiful” Read-a-likes

posted on - June 9, 2023

Still waiting to get your hands on Ann Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful?

Consider reading one (or more) of the following books while you wait! MML owns several, but not all, of these titles. If it’s one we don’t have, you can request it from another library in the Minerva consortium and likely still get it before Hello Beautiful is available.

Most of the books listed below fall under the category of domestic fiction – family drama, mothers and daughters, etc. The other recurring theme is coming of age. The fancy literary term for this, in German, is Bildungsroman, in case you were curious. A classic Bildungsroman included in this list of readalikes is Louisa May Alcott’s iconic Little Women (serialized between 1868 and 1869). This beloved American classic would pair well with Napolitano’s latest book.

See recommended titles…

Mom & Me: Mother’s Day Book & Film Recommendations

posted on - May 12, 2023

Overview

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, as I am sure everyone is well aware; likely facing near constant bombardment with advertisements promoting “gifts for mom.” For many this is a celebratory time of year, for others (including myself) it can be deeply triggering. 

This blog post will provide book and film recommendations for this holiday, addressing mothers and motherhood from numerous angles. Whether you have a close and loving relationship with your mom or, on the other end of the spectrum, an abusive (or at the very least) conflicted and complicated relationship, you should be able to find something from this list that resonates with you and your own lived experience. 

For those of you who have lost your mothers or maternal figures, this blog post contains material that can speak to your loss and grief. To be completely transparent, I lost my mom very suddenly nearly 11 years ago, and while this post has been difficult to write, it feels like a sort of tribute to her. I hope it can serve the same cathartic purpose for those of you whose mothers are also no longer living, celebrating them both in life and in death.

See recommended titles…

“Lessons in Chemistry” Read-a-likes

posted on - April 26, 2023

Still waiting to get your hands on Bonnie Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry?

Consider reading one (or more) of the following books while you wait! MML owns several, but not all, of these titles. If it’s one we don’t have, you can request it from another library in the Minerva consortium and likely still get it before Lessons in Chemistry is available.

See recommended titles…

Efficiency Maine

posted on - April 14, 2023

April 22 is Earth Day 2023 and as such, it seems appropriate that we here at the library offer up some resources that might be of use to folks looking for ways to increase the amount of green in their lives.

One such resource is Efficiency Maine, which is, according to their website “an independent quasi-state agency that is governed by a board of trustees with oversight by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.” Their website, efficiencymaine.com, features information on how to reduce your carbon footprint via incentives for everything from clothes washers to heat pumps to electric cars. In the event that you feel overwhelmed by choice, the site even has articles with helpful tips on how best to put energy efficient tools into service.

When I was shopping for an electric car, Efficiency Maine was a straightforward, marketing-free, source of guidance that helped me with my purchasing decision and with developing an understanding of the available tax credits. Years later, when I was shopping for a heat pump solution, my first stop for information was, again, efficiencymaine.com.

-Mike

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