Literacy Librarians Make a Difference

In the more than 25 years since the program began, the lives of more than 1,000 people have been enriched. They include immigrant families who learned English and started their own businesses, a learning disabled electrician who needed to pass a test to become licensed, a foreign born quadriplegic whose dream was to attend college, a retired public employee who was in an accident and never learned to read due to a brain injury, and a young girl who achieved her GED after dropping out of school to take care of her ill parents. Tina Blood, Literacy Librarian

Read the entire column: From the Library: Literacy volunteers make a difference - Norwood, MA - Norwood Bulletin

Nothin' But a Voice and a Microphone

Miss Marion. “Lida Rose.” Think “Music Man,” the wonderful 1957 Broadway play and 1962 smash movie. Who could forget Miss Marion, River City’s lovely “Madame Librarian.” Or “Lida Rose,” the song sung by four cranky, argumentative school board members who made up a perfect barbershop quartet. Four handlebar moustaches, four straw hats, four voices and a simple way to bring four points of view together. Ah, harmony. And so what’s all this got to do with the Morrill Memorial Library? Read on. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript.

Between the Covers

One of my all time favorite books, one of the very few I have read twice, going on three times, is Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” I remember very clearly a co-worker of mine at the Boston Public Library was reading “The Two Towers.” I picked it up and started it and he said, “Oh you must start with the first volume, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring.” Ace had released an unauthorized version in the United States. The covers in order were red, yellow, and blue with illustrations of the characters. I should have kept those unauthorized editions as they are now scarce and worth money. Margot Sullivan, Reference Librarian

Read the entire article in the From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript.

Are You Kidding Me?

A few weeks back I confessed in this column that I am not a technological geek. This week I have yet another personal confession: I am not a sportswoman. Oh, yes, I did climb Mount Washington under extreme duress many years ago, I spent countless summers camping with my family, and I watched them ice skate, race, swim and ski, joining in until I was outclassed. I cheer my adult triathlete daughter on along with the best of parents.

I often get caught up in the World Series Mania in the fall and Superbowl Fever in January. But, yes, I sometimes have to ask dumb questions as I watch. I am, therefore, sadly never to be confused with a true sports fanatic.

So, you might ask, “Are you kidding me? Why is this librarian purchasing the sports books in the library?’”

And I will answer, “It’s a fun job and somebody has to do it.” This spring is especially enjoyable as a plethora of books hit the market and our library shelves and I get to order them. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

A few weeks back I confessed in this column that I am not a technological geek. This week I have yet another personal confession:  I am not a sportswoman.  Oh, yes, I did climb Mount Washington under extreme duress many years ago, I spent countless summers camping with my family, and I watched them ice skate, race, swim and ski, joining in until I was outclassed.  I cheer my adult triathlete daughter on along with the best of parents.  I often get caught up in the World Series Mania in the fall and Superbowl Fever in January.  But, yes, I sometimes have to ask dumb questions as I watch.  I am, therefore, sadly never to be confused with a true sports fanatic.

So, you might ask, “Are you kidding me? Why is this librarian purchasing the sports books in the library?’ 

And I will answer, ‘It’s a fun job and somebody has to do it.’ This spring is especially enjoyable as a plethora of books hit the market and our library shelves and I get to order them.

I do admit, I recently become a pro golf spectator and for a few practical reasons … the main one being that in 2007 I married a longtime golfer and avid tournament watcher.  I was an “I can’t watch!” witness to that dramatic showdown at Torrey Pines last June  between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, glued the television that Father’s Day weekend. I watched the next day’s play – for a total of 91 count’em holes – on my computer laptop and bit my nails along with the best of you, peaking through my fingers at Tiger’s last nervewracking putt in sudden death. So when I read that Are You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle with Tiger Woods at the US Open would be published this May, I smiled in nostalgic remembrance of that unexpected and unbelievably dramatic fight on the greens in San Diego. 

More golfing books about this spring.  Roland Merullo, local author of bestsellers Golfing With God and Breakfast With Buddha, publishes a new travel memoir on April 28.  The Italian Summer: Golf, Food, and Family at Lake Como has been described as “connecting all those who love Italy, wine, food, family outings, and golf” and Merullo will certainly enchant his audience. What better combination for the Italian golfer (think Canelli) that I know especially well. 

D. J. Gregory, born with cerebral palsy, learned to live passionately loving golf.  In Walking with Friends: An Inspirational Year on the PGA Tour, published this May, DJ will recount ‘a sports fantasy unlike any other’ as he traveled from Maui to Disneyworld and walked every course with the professional golfers.  This is a story of a feat, a fantasy and a fellowship with pros, with life and with golf.   

The range of books published this spring cover wrestling to falconry, car racing to cycling and basketball to mountain climbing.  Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend by Bill Russell will be published on May 5^th.  Yes, it’s a basketball story, but it is also a memoir of a friendship of two men, Bill Russell and Red Auerback, and a story for all of us.  Halfway to Heaven: My White-knuckled--and Knuckleheaded--Quest for the Rocky Mountain High by Mark Obmascik will thrill anyone challenged by the near impossible.  Obmascik takes on the near-crazy quest of climbing all 54 of Colorado’s Fourteeners – those incredible peaks over 14,000 feet. Out-of-shape and perhaps out-of-his mind, the author of the 2005 book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, proves that commitment is often what it takes to journey a thousand steps or in this case, fifty-four peaks.

But it’s baseball that comes to us at a fever pitch this spring.  Bruce Weber’s As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires, Bill Reynold’s '78: The Boston Red Sox, A Historic Game, and a Divided City  and Jean Rhodes’ Becoming Manny: Inside the Life of Baseball's Most Enigmatic Slugger  were all published last month in March. Peter Golenbeck’s  George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire hits the shelves April 13.  Bottom of the Ninth: Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel, and the Daring Scheme to Save Baseball from Itself by Michael Shapiro will be published May 12.  Miracle Ball : My Hunt for the Shot Heard 'round the World  by Brian Beigel, published May 12, may read somewhat like a novel but it is a work of non-fiction.  It is the story of a father and son and a trip across the country proving the authenticity of a baseball found in a thrift shop. 

This non-sportwoman/librarian wants you to know that we have all the books you want to read about sports.  You can stop in, email or call to suggest a book for our sports collection any time  - 781-769-0200.  Be sure to call the library to sign up for all your reading needs.