Umbrella Day

 

Celebrating a long and ancient history, February 10th is National Umbrella Day. They work to keep us dry in the rain but also, help to block the sun on hot days.  I love the idea of owning cute umbrellas with different patterns but in reality, I have two umbrellas that live in my car that have never actually been exposed to the rain or sun.  I have them safely tucked into the little storage area on my passenger side door.  I refuse to let them anywhere near my children as they seem to be the ones behind the horrible maulings my previous umbrellas suffered.  I still haven't quite got over the death of my long-handled bright pink brolly that was somehow destroyed before it even left the umbrella stand. Now that I think of it, I'm fairly certain that even the umbrella stand/bucket suffered an unfortunate end...

Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature by Rankine, Marion

"A fun illustrated history of the umbrella's surprising place in life and literature. Humans have been making, using, perfecting, and decorating umbrellas for millennia--holding them over the heads of rulers, signaling class distinctions, and exploring their full imaginative potential in folk tales and novels. In the spirit of the best literary gift books, Brolliology is a beautifully designed and illustrated tour through literature and history. It surprises us with the crucial role that the oft-overlooked umbrella has played over centuries--and not just in keeping us dry. Marion Rankine elevates umbrellas to their rightful place as an object worthy of philosophical inquiry. As Rankine points out, many others have tried. Derrida sought to find the meaning (or lack thereof) behind an umbrella mentioned in Nietzsche's notes, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote essays on the handy object, and Dickens used umbrellas as a narrative device for just about everything. She tackles the gender, class, and social connotations of carrying an umbrella and helps us realize our deep connection to this most forgettable everyday object--which we only think of when we don't have one"-- Provided by publisher.

Someone Perfect: a Westcott novel by Balogh, Mary

"The latest novel in the enchanting Westcott series from New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh. As a young man, Justin Wiley was banished by his father for mysterious reasons, but now his father is dead, and Justin has been Earl of Brandon for six years. A dark, dour man, he nonetheless takes it as his responsibility to care for his half-sister Maria when her mother dies. He travels to her home to fetch her back to the family seat at Everleigh Park. Although she adored him once, Maria now loathes Justin, and her friend Lady Estelle Lamar can see immediately how his very name distresses her. When Justin arrives and invites Estelle and her brother to accompany Maria to Everleigh Park to help with her distress, she begrudgingly agrees for Maria's sake. As family secrets unravel in Maria's homecoming, Justin, too, uncovers his desire for a countess. And, while he may believe he's found an obvious candidate in the beautiful 25-year-old Lady Estelle, she is most certain that they could never make a match.."--. Provided by publisher.

The Umbrella Lady by Andrews, V. C.

"Left on the train platform of some strange village, eight-year-old Saffron Faith Anders is certain her father will return shortly, just like he promised. She holds out hope as the hour grows late and the station sets to close. She clings to her suitcase like a life raft. When a peculiar old woman carrying a large umbrella approaches and inquires about her situation, Saffron doesn't immediately trust the imposing do-gooder but eventually does agree to rest at her house while they wait for her father together. Saffron's stay was supposed to be for a few minutes, hours at most. But confined to a house, not unlike one Hansel and Gretel might have encountered, Saffron will undergo months-and then years-of transformation at the hands of the Umbrella Lady. One minute grandmotherly and the next a scolding schoolmarm, the woman cuts Saffron's hair to the nub, burns the clothes in her suitcase, and pretends that the photo of a young girl hanging on her bedroom wall is just a stock image that came with the frame. When mysterious letters arrive from Saffron's father, saying he has started a new family and will send for her shortly, hope returns to her heart. Still, as is the fate of all young protagonists in the world of V.C. Andrews, Saffron will learn that those who most claim to care for you will often hurt you the worst..."-- Provided by publisher.

The Buddha in the Attic by Otsuka, Julie

Presents the stories of six Japanese mail-order brides whose new lives in early twentieth-century San Francisco are marked by backbreaking migrant work, cultural struggles, children who reject their heritage, and the prospect of wartime internment.

Soulless by Carriger, Gail

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia is responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Maisie Dobbs: a novel by Winspear, Jacqueline

Maisie Dobbs entered domestic service in 1910 at thirteen, working for Lady Rowan Compton. When her remarkable intelligence is discovered by her employer, Maisie becomes the pupil of Maurice Blanche, a learned friend of the Comptons. In 1929, following an apprenticeship with Blanche, Maisie hangs out her shingle: "M. Dobbs, trade and personal investigations." She soon becomes enmeshed in a mystery surrounding The Retreat, a reclusive community of wounded WWI veterans. At first, Maisie only suspects foul play, but she must act quickly when Lady Rowan's son decides to sign away his fortune and take refuge there. Maisie hurriedly investigates, uncovering a disturbing mystery, which, in an astonishing denouement, gives Maisie the courage to confront a ghost that has haunted her for years.

The Nanny Diaries: a novel by McLaughlin, Emma

A graduate from New York University takes a position caring for the only son of a wealthy Manhattan family. She rapidly learns the work and time involved to ensure that the Park Avenue wife doesn't work, cook, clean or raise her own child. A satirical and comical look at the upper class of Manhattan.

My Most Excellent Year: a novel of love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park by Kluger, Steve

Three teenagers in Boston narrate their experiences of a year of new friendships, first loves, and coming into their own.

Umbrella Summer by Graff, Lisa

Annie Richards knows there are a million things to look out for--bicycle accidents, chickenpox, runaway zoo animals. That's why being careful is so important, even if it does mean giving up some of her favorite things, like bike races with her best friend and hot dogs on the Fourth of July. Everyone keeps telling Annie not to worry so much, that she's just fine. But they thought her brother, Jared, was just fine too, and Jared died.

It takes a new neighbor to make Annie realize that her plans for being careful aren't working out as well as she'd hoped. And with a lot of help from those around her, Annie just may find a way to close her umbrella of sadness and step back into the sunshine.

Mary Poppins by Novesky, Amy

Singin' in the Rain [videorecording]

Celebrating Black Authors

One of the ways to observe and celebrate Black History month

is to read books by Black Authors.  Here is a list of books that were published in 2021.  

The Prophets by Jones, Robert

"Isaiah was Samuel's and Samuel was Isaiah's. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. When an older fellow slave seeks to gain favor by preaching the master's gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel's love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation's harmony. -- adapted from jacket"

 

Black Buck by Askaripour, Mateo

For fans of Sorry to Bother You and The Wolf of Wall Street - a blazing, satirical debut novel about a young man given a shot at stardom as the lone Black salesman at a mysterious, cultlike, and wildly successful startup where nothing is as it seems. An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother's home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC's hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor. After enduring a "hell week" of training, Darren, the only Black person in the company, reimagines himself as "Buck," a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he's hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America's sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game. Black Buck is a hilarious, razor-sharp skewering of America's workforce; it is a propulsive, crackling debut that explores ambition and race, and makes way for a necessary new vision of the American dream. --. From dust jacket.

Yellow Wife : a novel by Johnson, Sadeqa

Born on a plantation but set apart from the others by her mother's position as a medicine woman, a young slave is forced to leave home at eighteen and unexpectedly finds herself in an infamously cruel jail.

The Kindest Lie : a novel by Johnson, Nancy

It's 2008, and the rise of Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy-League educated black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He's eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to, and abandoned, when she was a teenager. She had promised her family she'd never look back, but Ruth knows that to move forward, she must make peace with the past. Returning home, Ruth discovers the Indiana factory town of her youth is plagued by unemployment, racism, and despair. Determined, Ruth begins digging into the past. As she uncovers burning secrets her family desperately wants to hide, she unexpectedly befriends Midnight, a young white boy who is also adrift and looking for connection. When a traumatic incident strains the town's already searing racial tensions, Ruth and Midnight find themselves on a collision course that could upend both their lives.

Libertie : a novel by Greenidge, Kaitlyn

"Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson is all too aware that her mother, a physician, has a vision for their future together: Libertie will go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie feels stifled by her mother's choices and is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother, Libertie has skin that is too dark. When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it-for herself and for generations to come"--. Provided by publisher.

Caul Baby : a novel by Jerkins, Morgan

"Laila desperately wants to become a mother, but each of her previous pregnancies has ended in heartbreak. This time has to be different, so she turns to the Melancons, an old and powerful Harlem family known for their caul, a precious layer of skin that is the secret source of their healing power. When a deal for Laila to acquire a piece of caul falls through, she is heartbroken, but when the child is stillborn, she is overcome with grief and rage. What she doesn't know is that a baby will soon be delivered in her family--by her niece, Amara, an ambitious college student--and delivered to the Melancons to raise as one of their own. Hallow is special: she's born with a caul, and their matriarch, Maman, predicts the girl will restore the family's prosperity. Growing up, Hallow feels that something in her life is not right. Did Josephine, the woman she calls mother, really bring her into the world? Why does her cousin Helena get to go to school and roam the streets of New York freely while she's confined to the family's decrepit brownstone? As the Melancons' thirst to maintain their status grows, Amara, now a successful lawyer running for district attorney, looks for a way to avenge her longstanding grudge against the family. When mother and daughter cross paths, Hallow will be forced to decide where she truly belongs."--. Publisher's description.

Happily Ever Afters by Bryant, Elise

Sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson has never felt like the protagonist in her own life. She's rarely seen herself reflected in the pages of the romance novels she loves. The only place she's a true leading lady is in her own writing--in the swoony love stories she shares only with Caroline, her best friend and #1 devoted reader. When Tessa is accepted into the creative writing program of a prestigious art school, she's excited to finally let her stories shine. But when she goes to her first workshop, the words are just...gone. Fortunately, Caroline has a solution: Tessa just needs to find some inspiration in a real-life love story of her own. And she's ready with a list of romance novel-inspired steps to a happily ever after. Nico, the brooding artist who looks like he walked out of one of Tessa's stories, is cast as the perfect Prince Charming. But as Tessa checks each item off Caroline's list, she gets further and further away from herself. She risks losing everything she cares about--including the surprising bond she develops with sweet Sam, who lives across the street. She's well on her way to having her own real-life love story, but is it the one she wants, after all?

Concrete Rose by Thomas, Angie

Maverick feels strongly about family ties, making choices he feels necessary to help support his mom while his King father serves time, and leave him literally holding his son in a doctor's waiting room after he gets paternity test results back and his babymomma ghosts. Now the child he's raising is impacting the lives of his family and his girlfriend, and the gang life he led to support them all financially could leave them all bearing his responsibilities since it endangers his life. It looks like he may have been offered a chance to go straight, but leaving the King Lords won't be easy, and a "real" job has high demand for low return.

Remote Control by Okorafor, Nnedi

"The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From here on in she would be known as Sankofa--a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past. Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks-alone, except for her fox companion-searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers. But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?"-- Provided by publisher.

Wings of Ebony by Elle, J.

When her mother is shot dead on her doorstep, life for Rue and her sister Tasha changes forever. Taken from her neighborhood by the father she never knew, Rue is forced to leave her little sister behind, and whisked away to Ghizon-- a hidden island of magic wielders. Rue is the only half-god, half-human there, where leaders protect their magical powers at all costs and thrive on human suffering. Desperate to see Tasha on the anniversary of their mother's death, Rue breaks Ghizon's sacred Do Not Leave Law and returns to Houston, only to discover that Black kids are being forced into crime and violence. And her sister, Tasha, is in danger of falling sway to the very forces that claimed their mother's life. -- adapted from jacket

The Gilded Ones. by Forna, Namina.

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.

Honey Girl by Rogers, Morgan

"With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, 28-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls' trip to Vegas to celebrate. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn't know, until she does exactly that. This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father's plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn't feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her parent's expectations, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows. In New York, she's able to ignore all the constant questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she's been running from all along, the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood."--Publisher's description.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev : a novel by Walton, Dawnie

"Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, Afro-punk before that term existed. Coming of age in Detroit, she can't imagine settling for a 9-to-5 job--despite her unusual looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her at a bar's amateur night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together for the fledgling Rivington Records. In early seventies New York City, just as she's finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal's bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves, but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially black women, who dare to speak their truth. Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols. Sunny thought she knew most of the stories leading up to the cult duo's most politicized chapter. But as her interviews dig deeper, a nasty new allegation from an unexpected source threatens to blow up everything."--. Provided by publisher.

Witches Steeped in Gold by Smart, Ciannon

This Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut about two enemy witches who must enter into a deadly alliance to take down a common enemy has the twisted cat-and-mouse of Killing Eve with the richly imagined fantasy world of Furyborn and Ember in the Ashes.

Divided by their order. United by their vengeance.

Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom--and vengeance.

Jazmyne is the Queen's daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother's power.

Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But power is intoxicating, revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain--except the lengths they will go to win this game.

Groundhog Day

 

The best part of Groundhog Day? The movie of course, (Groundhog Day [videorecording]), not just because Bill Murray is in it, it was also directed by the late great Harold Ramis. I would go on about my love for these two, but I covered that in the Ghostbusters post, (Afterlife was amazing, incredible, and perfect by the way).

In celebration of what I consider cinematic greatness in all its repetitive glory, let's take a look at some books that incorporate time travel/time loops.

The Midnight Library by Haig, Matt

"'Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?' A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time. Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place"--. Provided by publisher.

Neverworld Wake by Pessl, Marisha

It's been one year since graduation, and Beatrice Hartley has mixed feelings about joining her friends at a weekend reunion.

She's right to be worried. After a night out, they narrowly avoid a collision with a car on a deserted road. Or so they believe.

Back at the mansion where they are staying, a mysterious man knocks on the door during a raging storm. He tells them that they must make a choice: one of them will live, and the rest will die. And the decision must be unanimous.

Soon time backbends. Beatrice and her friends are forced to repeat that dreadful day so many times they lose count. With each replay, events twist and fears come alive in horrifying ways.

This nightmare, this nothingness . . . this is the Neverworld Wake.

To escape, they have to vote. But how do you choose who to kill? And then how do you live with yourself?

Before I fall by Oliver, Lauren

After she dies in a car crash, teenaged Samantha relives the day of her death over and over again until, on the seventh day, she finally discovers a way to save herself.

The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Turton, Stuart

Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden Bishop must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle in order to escape the curse in a world filled with enemies where nothing and no one is quite what they seem.

11/22/63: a novel by King, Stephen

On November 22, 1963, three shots changed the world. What if it never happened? Jake Epping is a 35-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. Jake's friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane - and insanely impossible - mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

The Time Traveler's Wife: a novel by Niffenegger, Audrey

Clare and Henry, deeply in love, try desperately to maintain normal lives even though he has been diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition in which his genetic clock periodically resets, pulling him through time to the past or future.

The time traveler's wife [videorecording]

Life after Life: a novel by Atkinson, Kate

"What if you could live again and again until you got it right? On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war. Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can -- will she? Darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly original -- this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best"-- Provided by publisher.

 

In A Holidaze by Lauren, Christina 

"Love Actually meets Groundhog Day in the quintessential holiday romance by the New York Times bestselling author of The Honey-Don't List"-- Provided by publisher.

Maelyn Jones is living with her parents, hates her job, and just messed up her love life. She is dreading the family's last Christmas at their Utah cabin, but one random wish and she may just get a do-over.

Opposite of Always by Reynolds, Justin A.

After falling for Kate, her unexpected death sends Jack back in time to the moment they first met. He soon learns that his actions have consequences when someone else close to him dies.

Recursion by Crouch, Blake

Investigating a suicide, New York City police officer Barry Sutton finds a connection to the outbreak of a memory-altering disease and a controversial neuroscientist working to preserve precious memories.

National Curmudgeons Day

 

January 29th is National Curmudgeons Day.   I find it fitting for this day to be in January because if any month is going to make me a cantankerous, crotchety, irascible grouch, it's January.   Let's face it, the month lasts forever; it's dark and then it gets darker because all the holiday lights get taken down; there is the fallout from holiday spending, and then, if you are like me, you will 100% get sick with something.  Just thinking about it is making me feel cross.

 

When compiling this list, I realized that I seem to have a soft spot for curmudgeons as I have a lot of favorites here, starting with A Man Called Ove by Backman, Fredrik

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon; the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him 'the bitter neighbor from hell'. But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time? Behind the cranky exterior, there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

Britt-Marie Was Here by Backman, Fredrik

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg--of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it--she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she's given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children's soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Semple, Maria

When her notorious, hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled, and agoraphobic mother goes missing, teenage Bee begins a trip that takes her to the ends of the earth to find her.

The 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared by Jonasson, Jonas

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant). It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle.

Olive Kitteridge

and

Olive, Again

by Elizabeth Strout

The Storied Life of A.J . Frikry by Zevin, Gabrielleby

When his most prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, is stolen, bookstore owner A. J. Fikry begins isolating himself from his friends, family, and associates before receiving a mysterious package that compels him to remake his life.

Florence Gordon by Morton, Brian

"Meet Florence Gordon: blunt, brilliant, cantankerous and passionate, a feminist icon to young women, invisible and underappreciated by most everyone else. At seventy-five, Florence has earned her right to set down the burdens of family and work and shape her legacy at long last. But just as she is beginning to write her long-deferred memoir, her son Daniel returns to New York from Seattle with his wife and daughter, and they embroil Florence in their dramas, clouding the clarity of her days with the frustrations of middle-age and the confusions of youth"-- Provided by publisher.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: a novel by Simonson, Helen

Catwad: by Benton, Jim

DVD:

Grumpy Old Men Grumpier Old Men

Up - DVD

Bad News Bears - DVD

The Lady in the Van -DVD