An Oldie But a Goodie

Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull (2000)

I can't say enough about this book, only that everyone should read it. This is a novel about love and loss, youth and old age, war and peace, and everything in between.

Patrick Delaney is an 81 year old World War I vet in a nursing home in California. He is old and dying, and he's none too ready to "go gentle into that good night." The novel takes the form of Patrick's diary as he muses over his aging body and looks back on his life - at the nightmare of the War, at the loss of his best friend, Daniel, in the War, and at the brief love affair he had ten years after the war with Daniel's grieving lover, Julia.

Hull's descriptions of the War are breathtakingly realistic, and Patrick is one of the most charming, humorous, and unflinchingly honest narrators you'll ever find in fiction.

Losing Julia can be found in the Fiction section of Chicopee Public Library.

Great Series

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith (2010)

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith is the 11th book in the series that began with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. In this installment, Grace Makutsi, the assistant detective, has her own personal crisis while the agency is asked to resolve several cases. The cases include a woman who wants proof that her husband is cheating, a government biologist who has regretfully deeded his house over to a greedy, conniving girlfriend (and wants it back), and a request to find the beneficiary of $3000 bequest. These stories take their time getting to know characters and moving to their conclusion to make for a leisurely read. The first three books in the series are The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe and Morality for Beautiful Girls.

The Double Comfort Safari Club is available in the New Fiction Section of Chicopee Library.

Book 1: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is available in the Fiction Section of Chicopee Library.

Book 2: Tears of the Giraffe is available in the Fiction Section of Chicopee Library.

Book 3: Morality for Beautiful Girls is available in the Fiction Section of Chicopee Library.

Sign Ups have begun!

GO GREEN!
The Adult Summer Reading Program is underway and sign-ups have started.  Some of the highlights include a full schedule of Thursday evening concerts, Friday afternoon movies, a BookSwap Table, a discount on fines for using a re-usable bag, and raffle prizes!
Come to the library today to sign up and start reading!  The more you read, the bigger chance you have to win!

The first 100 people to sign up get a free re-usable library tote bag!

Hot New Title

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum (2010)

This nonfiction title is as fascinating and absorbing as a murder mystery.

Blum has used her discussions of various types of poisons (like carbon monoxide, arsenic, nicotine, mercury, and cyanide) to tell the story of the very beginnings of what we now know as forensic science. Set in New York City from about 1918 to 1936, a period that included Prohibition, the book centers on two unassuming but incredible men, Dr. Charles Norris, Manhattan's first trained chief medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, New York's first toxicologist. Between them, these two men essentially invented forensic science.

This book is very well-written and fast-paced - It's chock full of anecdotes about notorious cases, facts about the Jazz Age in New York, and information about the terrible effects of Prohibition.

The Poisoner's Handbook can be found at the Chicopee Public Library in the New Nonfiction section: 614.1309 BLUM.

Hot New Title

31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan (2010)

This is the book I ended up taking on my vacation, and it was perfect!

This debut novel is both a well-researched historical study of New York City in the pre-Civil War era and a fine legal thriller. Based on an actual murder, the story centers around Emma Cunningham, put on trial for the murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell in 1857. The murder was brutal, the trial sensational, and Horan's fictionalized account of what may have actually happened compelling.

If you were a fan of Caleb Carr's novel The Alienist you'll enjoy this impressive novel.

31 Bond Street is available in the Fiction section of the Chicopee Public Library.

Two Years in Mali

Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway (2007)

This riveting memoir covers the two years Holloway spent as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa starting in 1989. While there, Holloway developed a deep friendship with Monique, the village midwife. Monique, who was only 24 with very little education, worked without electricity or running water and was solely responsible for all births in her village and some surrounding villages. She worked every day with malnourished and overworked pregnant women in her run-down birthing clinic. Holloway's story relates the consequences of not having adequate prenatal and infant health care, as well as the everyday interactions of the small village where she lived.

Monique and the Mango Rains is available in the Nonfiction Section of Chicopee Library.

Hot New Title

The Burning Wire by Jeffrey Deaver (2010)

I was supposed to bring this book with me on my vacation tomorrow but I couldn't stop reading and finished it this morning. Oops! But that should give you an indication of just how good this new installment in the Lincoln Rhyme series is.

Rhyme is a quadraplegic who can move only one finger - but he's also a highly skilled forensic scientist. In this new novel, he and his crew of police, FBI, and forensic investigators are on the trail of a criminal who uses the electrical grid in New York City to kill his victims. The murderer keeps making demands, and innocent people keep dying.

The Burning Wire is available in the Fiction Section of Chicopee Library.

If you haven't read any of the Lincoln Rhyme novels, you can start with the first in the series, The Bone Collector, also available here at the library.

An Oldie But a Goodie

Booked to Die by John Dunning (1995)

This is the first book in one of my favorite mystery series. The series features Cliff Janeway, a Denver cop who leaves the force in disgrace. Having been a life-long book collector, he naturally opens up a used bookstore. And having been a cop, he naturally starts working a case on his own time.

Dunning is a great writer - his books are well-plotted and engaging and his characters are complex and believable. The fact the Janeway novels also feature a peek into the world of rare books is a wonderful bonus.

Booked to Die can be found in the Fiction section of the Chicopee Public Library.

You'll also want to check out the next book in the series, The Bookman's Wake, also available here at the library. Two other books in the series are available here at Chicopee Public Library in Large Print: The Sign of the Book and The Bookwoman's Last Fling. We're happy to get the remaining books in the series for you through Interlibrary Loan - It's easy, it's free, and it takes just a week or two!

Great Book: "As Good as Gold"

As Good As Gold by Kathryn Bertine

As Good as Gold is a great true story about Kathryn's two year journey to make it to the Olympics. Kathyn is a 30 year old athlete with modest athletic talents when ESPN contacts her with a challenge, EPSN will pay for her training and expenses if she dedicates the next two years to making it to the Olympics. Kathryn tries a whole host of sports including Modern Pentathalon, team Handball, and cycling. This is a quick read that is sure to entertain and inspire. I know I got on my bike just after reading this book for what would be for Kathryn a short 20 mile ride, but for me was the longest I had biked!

As Good as Gold is available at the Chicopee Public Library in the New Non-Fiction area: 796 BERTINE.