Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent

So Many Books, So Little Time

Working at the library we are obviously surrounded by books. With many returned books come book suggestions. With book suggestions come more book suggestions and sometimes even movie suggestions. Many times patrons tell us,

 “You have to read this book. It’s the best I’ve ever read!”

If I have read the book and enjoyed it, a lively discussion ensues. If I read the book and did not care for it, I invoke my two favorite comments:

1.) It’s well written :) Hopefully his/her next novel’s material will be more to my liking.
2.) I wanted to like the book but…

Just ask my book club friends they will tell you I use the first comment frequently during our monthly discussions.

If I have not read the book and it sounds appealing, I place it on my Goodreads app. Currently I have 172 books on my ToRead list within the app. I just need 172 weeks to read them all! So really I shouldn’t be looking for additional books to read, but I just can’t help myself.
Sometimes a book is quietly returned without any fanfare. I wonder if the book was finished, liked, disliked…

Last Thursday, Dinner with Edward: the Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent (2016) was returned. As I went to reshelve this new nonfiction book, I read the back cover: a memoir of food, NYC, and friendship - what could be better? I had to give it a try. Ignoring my reading lists, I took the book home. During the course of my busy weekend, I read the book with the not-too-long and not-too-short chapters and fell in love with the book and with Edward. Each chapter begins with a menu for their weekly dinner that will be consumed when Isabel visits her friend Edward on Roosevelt Island. Each menu sounds wonderful. My only wish would be that the author had included recipes as so many of my favorite cozy mystery writers do. A cocktail and “catching up” discussion are always part of each chapter as well as some background allowing us to understand Edward and Isabel's current discussion.

Although fiction, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson remind me of this sweet story. When asked for my current favorite, I will suggest Dinner with Edward.

~ Ann-Marie Sieczka
August 10, 2016

Buried Treasure: medical & health books you might enjoy

Buried treasure – Occasionally while sorting through our collections, we stumble upon some hidden gems. Most recently we have been organizing our Health and Medicine collection – lots of books on diet and wellness including low carb, low cholesterol, and vegetarian (New Year’s Resolutions, anyone?).  We have loads of books and DVDs on a wide variety of exercise programs – pilates, yoga, tai chi and many more. Plus, tons of informational books on a variety of specific issues  – heart disease, autism, diabetes, and back pain - just to name a few.

A few hidden gems we discovered recently:

The ACL Solution: Prevention and Recovery for Sports’ Most Devastating Knee Injury by Robert G. Marx, MD. A “must-read” for athletes, coaches and soccer moms. Includes prevention strategies, surgical options, and exercises to help recovery.

Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery by Christopher Kennedy Lawford. A member of the famous Kennedy clan, Lawford fought his own demons of drug and alcohol abuse before becoming sober. Here, he has collected more than 40 stories, mostly from celebrities, who tell of the moment they realized that their life had to change and outline their journey to sobriety. Included are Alec Baldwin, Judy Collins, Richard Dreyfuss, Jamie Lee Curtis, Katey Sagal, and Martin Sheen.

Stand by Her: A breast cancer guide for men by John W. Anderson. More than a million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer and need the support of family and friends, but particularly their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers. Based on the author’s personal experiences and research, the book offers strategies from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.

Doctor, Your patient will see you now by Steven Z. Kussin. A serious car accident ended this author’s 30-year career as a physician. His experience as a patient gave him a unique perspective on  how to choose a doctor and hospital and negotiate the ins and outs of the health care system.

My beef with meat: the Healthiest Argument for Eating a Plant-Strong Diet by Rip Esselstyn. – A former national champion swimmer and firefighter makes the case for a plant-based diet. Lots of recipes included.

Macular Disease: Practical Strategies for Living with Vision Loss by Peggy R. Wolfe – Living well with vision loss - Filled with tips on how to organize and adjust your living space, how technology can help, and advice on how to handle social interactions and emotional well-being. Beneficial to anyone experiencing vision loss, not only those with macular degeneration.

     Look for these and other medical and health books in Dewey numbers 610 - 619 in the library's non-fiction collection. Or ask at the Reference Desk for consumer health information, books, articles and best health websites to use.

-Jennifer Manns

Growing old: The Best Exotic Quartet, er Marigold Hotel-like Movies and TV Shows

I've been borrowing lots of DVD's from the library for the last few weeks, probably because the TV shows I watch are between seasons so there's not too much to watch if you like scripted comedy/dramas like me. I noticed a trend lately in my borrowing habits. The trend could be called:

If you liked 'The Best, Exotic Marigold Hotel' (2012), try these DVD's:

'Quartet' (2013), like 'Best Exotic MH', features lots of famous, older British actors. In 'Quartet' they play retired showbiz types and opera singers who are now in a home for retired musicians and the setting is a country house-turned-nursing-home set in the English countryside. The hotel in 'Best Exotic etc' was a dilapidated hotel in India run by an idealistic, but somewhat impractical, young Indian man played by Dev Patel, the star of 'Slumdog Millionaire.' You might also like 'Slumdog' if you haven't already caught that Academy Award-winning 2008 hit, although it has nothing to do with the aging British actor in bittersweet film theme that I'm enumerating here. In any case, 'Quartet" and 'Marigold' are often mentioned in the same breath because they are so similar in theme and casting as well as being released within a year of each other. The other title often confused with 'Quartet' is 'A Late Quartet' (2013) also about aging musicians. Patrons often come to the Reference Desk and ask for the 'Quartet' movie or the 'Marigold' movie so we know the three movies get confused very easily.
Continuing the theme, 'Waiting for God' is an early 1990's UK series about two feisty old people in a retirement home who question the authority of the youngish bean-counters who run the home for profit. Each episode is less than an hour and I'm enjoying the first season now.
'New Tricks' is a current BBC TV series about an unsolved crimes unit made up of old, retired police detectives who are curmudgeonly and eccentric, but always get their man.

By searching our catalog for the subject heading 'Retirees -- Drama', I see in the catalog that we have a British TV series called 'One Foot in the Grave' and a movie 'Is Anyone There?' both involving retirement or retirement homes. I have not yet taken either of those out, but I am really sensing this is a big trend in movies at least in the U.K.

Related subject headings to use in our catalog are...

Older people.

Eccentrics and eccentricities.

Retirement communities.

Television comedies -- Great Britain.

Video recordings for the hearing impaired.

DVDs.

England.

Retirees -- Drama.
Musicians -- Drama.