The Widower’s Tale – by Julia Glass

Percy Darling, retired from Widener Library, lives in a historic, suburban Boston home. He is witty, opinionated and cantankerous. An astute, insightful story of family ties and friendship, interwoven with ecoterrorism, immigration issues, old and young love, a spectrum of issues. Well written and truly enjoyable. ~ Maud

Linda’s staff pick for August is a book by Eva Hoffman entitled Appassionata. Here’s Linda’s review:

Isabel Merton is a gifted concert pianist who, while on European tour, meets a political exile from a war-torn country who throws her into a creative crisis. This, juxtaposed with her reading of her recently deceased mentor makes for a well-crafter, emotionally charged book.

When I was in high school, the term “summer reading” meant books like Pride and Prejudice, or A Separate Peace, or The Chosen - weighty classics that my teachers wanted us to have under our belts before the year began. I remember plowing rather begrudgingly through the required reading list, usually in the last two weeks of summer when I wanted only to be with my friends, enjoying the last few beach days of August!

What does “summer reading” mean to you? I hope it brings tantalizing visions of the many books you’ve been meaning to get to all year, whether meaty literature like Kingsolver’s The Lacuna, page-turning history like Zuckoff’s Lost in Shangri-La, or lighter fare like Tina Fey’s Bossypants. I’m about to dive into the massive Ken Follett tome, Pillars of the Earth, but with the release of the final (?) Harry Potter film, I’m wondering if I should instead try to read all seven books before the end of summer (I haven’t read any). Whatever your literary palate craves, we have a summer reading book for you at the Bookstall!

Ann’s latest staff pick is The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith. Here’s her review:

Fans of Precious Ramotswe and her detecting abilities will not be disappointed with the latest entry in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. She takes on murdered cattle, a pregnant girlfriend of one of the apprentices, and on a happier note, a much awaited wedding. I’m always sad when the story ends.

I suspect that I am not the only one who feels that my “to-do” list is far longer than the time I have to accomplish everything on it! I always have a few urgent items, a lot of very important items, and many, many items to tend to when I get a minute – not to mention all of the books I want to read! But I’m pretty sure that even if we don’t think we HAVE time, we can (dare I say, should?) always MAKE time for an activity that will refresh us and give us the energy to tackle the omnipresent list. Reading, for me, is one of those activities. Just slowing down enough to drink deeply of a well-written essay by Barbara Kingsolver can affect the way I view the rest of my day. A passage from the latest book by Anne LaMott may inspire me, or make me laugh – usually both simultaneously! A vivid description of the coastline can relax me as I picture myself on a favorite beach walk, and any novel by Geraldine Brooks is bound to captivate and teach me. Our lives may be hectic and our list of tasks never-ending – but making the time to enjoy a good book slows our pace so that we can savor our lives and not simply rush through them.