The Sane in Maine

Whenever I go over the Piscataquis Bridge from New Hampshire to Maine everyone in the car with me must open their windows and let the “clean Maine air” fill the car no matter what time of the year. Then I wave my arms out the window and yell, “Yippee, I am in Maine!”

I always wonder what the people think in the cars behind us. My family smiles and humors me. Now I have my library friends doing the same thing!

I love Maine. Most of you head to Cape Cod and, yes, it is a shorter drive, it is nice off season, and the water is warmer, but the rocky coast of Maine is beautiful; and there are a multitude of unexplored places to enjoy down many of the peninsulas. Margot Sullivan, Reference Librarian

Read Margot Sullivan's entire article this week in the Daily News Transcript.

It's All In a Name

Near the turn of the 20th Century, and on the eve of the first Centennial of the library building, the Committee of One Hundred Names was formed in time for the celebration. The mission of this committee of seven was to find eleven more names. What a daunting task! A century of writers had been born since the building had been built. Some of the original names were hidden or lost during the ensuing years and the two additions. The committee noted that only four women’s names now graced the building and that most of the authors carved on its walls were writers for adults.
For three months the public was asked to nominate. Names came from elementary schools, from library users, and from the general public and 144 names were received. The file of nominations is several inches thick and includes testimony and heartfelt letters from an enthusiastic public. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read my entire article this week in the Daily News Transcript.

Frankly, My Dear

Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to remember back half a day let alone nearly a half-century. After our visit to the Margaret Mitchell House last Saturday we rented the 226-minute epic movie in all its glorious color. Watching it brought back memories of Kleenex-fisted hours mourning Scarlett’s mother, father, and daughter and the epic and historically conjured scenes of Atlanta and Civil War.
Viewing it again after many years I realized that I’d somehow forgotten some of the details of the book and the momentous movie. I did remember, however, exactly where I’d shelved the book at home and wondered if I will pick it up now that I know where Margaret Mitchell sat in her apartment and where she placed the many editions of the varying manuscripts. Frankly, my dear reader, I just might. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read my entire article this week in the Daily News Transcript.

Summertime and the Reading Should Be Easy

My eldest daughter spent her whole summers reading from first grade on. What always amazed me was the fact that she brought many of her elementary favorites along with her everywhere we traveled even into high school. Roald Dahl’s “BFG” (or known as Big Friendly Giant) hung on among her summer reading collection that included Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” and Stephen King’s “Carrie.” I must admit my raised eyebrows annoyed her but she, as usual, knew what she was doing. Today she is an educational consultant, and not surprisingly, an extremely prolific reader who actually reads while she is walking to her ride on the T in Boston.

She learned the best lesson there is: that reading could be easy and fun, especially in the good old summertime. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read my entire article this week in the Daily News Transcript.

Travel Adventures With April

I couldn’t have planned a trip to Paris without going to the library first. Since I work there, admittedly all it took was a detour to the 914s on the Morrill Memorial Library’s second floor and I was good to go. I’m a travel book junkie. For me, half the fun of going anywhere is to read about it first, then point to the passage in the guidebook and say (to myself), “I’ve been there,” or “I did that,” even if it wasn’t all that great.

I’ve never set foot in Seattle or Siena but I’ve been to the City of Light three times. Three of my four daughters have spent at least a semester there, and three times I’ve crammed my carry-on with travel guides from Fodor, Frommer, and Rick Steves. April Cushing, Adult Services Librarian

Read the entire article by April Cushing, Adult Services Library at the Morrill Memorial Librarian, in the Daily News Transcript.

It's Historical

It is our nature as humans to identify with the brick and mortar, the clapboard and granite of our lives. Many of us leave memories behind in the houses we leave as we move on in life. Yet, we expect that our places of worship, education, recreation, and culture will be there when we return to them. This must be especially so in Norwood, a town of deep familial and community roots. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire article in the Daily News Transcript.

Reading With the Lunch Crowd

Working with children is always one of the best jobs around and my years as youth services librarian in the Peterborough, N.H., community left me with some of the very best memories. My “customers” there were the area’s children between the ages of a few days to 18 years. I’ll never forget the delight and pride in the eyes of singing toddlers, reading kindergartners, after-school visitors, and graduating seniors.

A Chinese philosopher has been credited with saying, “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius certainly got that right and librarians are here to prove it. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire article in the Daily News Transcript.

Global Distress

"My wanderings having ceased, my children having grown, the Sunday Globe is more than just an informing, leisurely weekend read; it is a sign of my permanence in the area. It’s a time I relish – those easy, thoughtful morning hours I spend decorating the carpet with newsprint and ads. I have lovingly made reading the Globe’s Ideas section and the Globe Magazine my ritual on the weekends." From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript and Norwood Bulletin.

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. 

Library Expands Its Offerings

Growing up, one of my favorite memories was waiting for the evening newspaper to arrive at the door, especially when I was supposed to be practicing piano. The first thing we did in our house after we got ready for school was to read the morning newspaper, as we were lucky enough to have two papers. In college, one of my favorite things to do, when I was supposedly at the library studying, was to read the local Chicago newspapers and take little “study breaks” in the stacks to read old bound copies of “Life,” “Look,” “Time,” and “Newsweek.” Today, we would say that I needed to get a life. Marie Lydon, Reference Librarian

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

Animal, Vegetable ... Kindle?

A Kindle? If you haven’t heard, the Kindle is Amazon.com’s very popular e-reader or electronic book. There are many amazing things about the Kindle – the lightweight design, the easy-to-read text, the text-to-speech capability, and wireless capability to download books in seconds, anytime and anywhere. I was recently at a friend’s mountain ski house where to get cell service we need to stand very close to a window on the second floor leaning over a balcony (you’ve got the “Can you hear me now” picture?). Yet, I downloaded a Kindle book sitting at a kitchen chair using Amazon’s Whispernet wireless. In just seconds. (The Kindle version of most books costs between $8 and $12 and is delivered free from Amazon.com’s Web site.) From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

Read the entire From the Library column in the Daily News Transcript. Read or listen to some other opinions about the Kindle: How the Kindle Changed the World at Salon.com, A Kind Society Can Be Literate at NPR, Kindle e-Reader, A Trojan Horse For Free Thought in the Christian Science Monitor.

What's All the Fuss About Blogs?

What is a blog, anyway? Why read them, why write them. In short, why care?

Online definitions of the word “blog” differ. Marketingterms.com defines a blog simply as “a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.” Another online definition defines a blog as a “personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption.” Well, consume we do. Blogs can be found on all newspaper and magazine Web sites, conference and political Web sites; there are millions of them and they are everywhere and can be used for all types of purposes. From the Daily News Transcript, From the Library, Charlotte Canelli, columnist

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