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Remarkably Bright Creatures: PPL Pet Picks

posted: , by Elizabeth
tags: Library Collections | Recommended Reads | Adults | Seniors | Readers Writers

We share our lives with peopleand sometimes also dogs and cats and ferrets and honeybees, remarkable creatures with personalities and dreams of their own. (Vito loves the beach. Raven is a devoted birdwatcher. Ori is a fuzzy genius, intent on escape!)

In January we take a break from our regularly scheduled Staff Picks to delve into the minds and potential picks of our pets (and other animals around us). Here’s to furry friends everywhere and all the library books we think they’d love.

 

P’s Picks 

Hi, I’m P. That’s right, my name is just the letter P. My pick is the Free Speech Handbook, a graphic novel in the World Citizen Comics series! I noticed that my mom is always reading comics. I like the corners of hardcover books like this because it feels good to rub my face on them. My mom likes this book because it answers FAQ about the First Amendment through comics illustrating important court cases and historical events. Personally, I like to exercise my First Amendment right to protest every night when it’s time for my wet food. —P (and Kelley)

 

Vito’s Picks 

Are we going to the beach??? I’m Vito. Kathleen takes me on all my beach walks. Beach dog picture books are good for beach dogs! Try Fetch, Hoppy and Joe, or Shark Dog. —Vito (and Kathleen)

 

Petey’s Picks 

Salutations, kind readers!  My name is Petey, and I have been trying to get my human, Cindy, to read the most wonderful book, Fearless Felines: 30 True Tales of Courageous Cats by Kimberlie Hamilton.  I mean, how could you NOT want to run to the library and check out such an exciting book?  

Not only does this amazing book tell the pawsitively riveting stories of 30 different brave cats, but at the end, you get to learn why we cats do what we do.  My favorite question is: Why do cats like boxes?  “They’re a safe hiding place.  Cats like places that make them feel protected, especially when they can see out.  This explains why cats LOVE boxes with a few holes cut out of them.”  

I haven’t read the entire book, but I’m hoping that somewhere it recommends giving your cat as many fishy treats as they want and always making time to pet your cat every day.  Because sometimes, it seems like Cindy feels that she has other things she needs to do instead, like folding clothes and going to work.  Clearly, she needs to re-evaluate her priorities! —Petey (and Cindy)

 

Rose’s Pick 

Where the Wild Things Are! This is Rose studying for her nightly wild rumpus.  —Sarah S. (and Rose)

 

Argos’ Pick 

Just like in The Odyssey, Argos is a loyal and ever-faithful companion! —Milo (and Argos)

 

Hector’s Pick 

Hector saw my copy of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury go in my suitcase … and he wanted to finish reading it first! I promised to leave him with Shirley Hazzard’s The Great Fire, but there was no compromise! — Zoë (and Hector)

 

Trixie’s Pick 

Hi, my name is Trixie, I own my home and my human mom, Nina. My favorite place to hang is in her ukulele case. She hates that, says my fur is all over her uke, and I say back, “And the problem with that is??…” I digress. My favorite time of day (and night) is when mom sits and reads…she doesn’t move…for hours. That’s heaven. One of her favorite books is titled Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat by Gwen Cooper. She read it to me—we laughed, we cried, we fell in love with “fearless” Homer. I hope you have a chance to read it during this long, cold winter. It will warm your heart! —Trixie (and Nina)

 

Mine and Arrow’s Pick 

We have selected Patricia Wants to Cuddle as our January pick. Our Auntie Becca loves this humorous tale of Bachelor-style antics, queerness, and cryptids…but we want to remind you that we also want cuddles. We get NO CUDDLES from our family, as well as no food and no treats and no toys. Our family NEVER lets us lie directly on top of them and stick our pointy elbows directly into their most sensitive people parts. If you cuddle us, we will NOT get hair all over your clothes. And, if you stop cuddling us, we will absolutely NEVER whine incessantly and repeatedly lick your face. Don’t believe the slander! Anyway…what were we saying? Something about a book? —Mine and Arrow (and Becca)

 

Finlay’s Pick 

Finlay recommends curling up in a nice patch of sunshine with a good book to keep you company — and A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo is perfect for the job. It’s a compelling companion book to Last Night at the Telegraph Club, but contemporary this time. Finlay can confirm that Emily flew right through it, but fair warning, she definitely cried. As an added bonus, it does contain a Very Good Dog with an intriguing name, Analemma. — Finlay (and Emily)

 

Raven’s Picks 

Prrrrrrrrt? I’m Raven. I’m fierce and serious, like an ornithologist. My humans love the magical cat Jiji of Kiki’s Delivery Service and all the cats of Istanbul in the documentary Kedi, but I never watch movies:  I’m having Conversations with Birds.

All day I’m Slow Birding. I peer out the winter window. I ponder Sparrow Envy. I chirp at cardinals, chickadees, and crows. I follow Vesper Flights through the sky. I dream of Birds, Art, and Life.  And then when the sun sets, and the stars come out, and the owls call in the woods, I play pounce-on-the-yarn and blink at my humans and get face scratches and close my eyes and purr. —Raven (and Elizabeth)

 

Vince and Curly’s Pick 

Vince and Curly enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures: “Reading a book partly narrated by a fellow genius animal was refreshing.” —Vince and Curly (and Lisa)

 

Ori’s Pick 

Ori here! I picked Crooked Kingdom because it’s a book about people who commit crimes and I, too, commit crimes. When I wake up in my hammock all I want to do is commit crimes and wreak chaos. Sometimes, I commit so many crimes that the person I live with locks me up. The first book in this series, Six of Crows, is about a group of people who need to break out of a highly secure place. I relate to this, as I have come up with a lot of different ways to get out of the office to explore the entire house. The person I live with says I am a “scarily genius” ferret, but that’s just because of my co-ferret Ahri, who is not as smart as me. She ruins a lot of my criminal activity by getting in the way, which makes the humans notice our shenanigans. They also call me a “crime bean,” and I’m not entirely sure what that means, but if that’s what I am then this book is full of crime beans. Highly recommend. —Ori (and Arwyn)

 

A Honey Bee’s Pick 

Reading-schmeading. Who has time to read? I don’t even have time to have a name. If you want to read, though, I hear that The Way of the Hive combines amazingly accurate bee facts with a surprisingly funny and moving story. —A Honey Bee (and Vicky)

 

Cabbage’s Pick 

I have a name! It’s Cabbage! I don’t know how to read, but I love walks! My boss listens to books when we walk, and she couldn’t shut up about The City & the City—kept telling my other boss how “cool” and “weird” and “mind-bending” it is and how great the narration was. I don’t know about that, but we took extra walks, so I think it’s great too! —Cabbage (and Vicky)

 

Watson’s Picks

My name is Watson. I love to eat, play, bark in my backyard, and lounge around. You can often find me on the couch with a stack of picture books. The Harry books by Gene Zion and illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham are some of my favorites. Harry often gets himself into unexpected situations, but he always finds his way back home. He’s a family dog, just like me. I also love the Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen.  It’s fun to see my name on the cover of a book! —Watson (and Rose Ann)

 

Gigi’s Pick 

Recommended by Gigi, 12-year-old blue-eyed strawberry-blonde domestic shorthair.  Originally found orphaned on the New Hampshire/Vermont border, more recently a Mainer.  Likes to sit by the wood stove & watch snow fall from the roof in winter.  Summer interests include windowsill naps & eating bugs.  She reads a couple of pages of many books year-round: 

“In the interest of complete transparency, I have never made it to the end of How to Relax by the late (and great) Thich Nhat Hanh, but I am certain that if I didn’t go all boneless and sleepy-eyed a couple of pages in, I would love it. 

Eileen assures me that there are many wise words contained therein, very helpful if you are tightly wound.  Which, if I am being honest with you, she would know.  I guess I can be tightly wound, too, like when I am playing handball with the folks, tracking a bug across the floor, or pointing out that one of my meals is due in the next couple of hours.  But once those obligations are out of the way, relaxing is not a problem.  I settle in, watch my wheezy breaths go out… in… out… in… out… in… and then I am totally out. 

If you are not so lucky and need some coaching to achieve a bit of peace, this is a great little book.  Trust me.  Eileen wouldn’t lie to me and I wouldn’t lie to you.” —Gigi (and Eileen)

 


 

As ever, thanks for reading! You can find all the books that pets and people talk about here in the booklist Remarkably Bright Creatures: PPL Pet Picks.

If you’re looking for more reading ideas, that is our very favorite thing! Check out our Your Next Great Read service for readers of all ages, or simply reach out to our staff at readersadvisory@portlib.org for your own personalized booklist of reading suggestions.


TEEN LIBRARY ARTWORK HAS US LOOKING UP

posted: , by Heather Wasklewicz
tags: Adults | Teens | Teen Reads | Teen Events | Parents & Teachers | Art & Culture | English Language Literacy | Readers Writers

If our Teen Library feels extra larger-than-life lately, you can credit the lofty creative talents of Teen Library Intern and Portland High School sophomore Rylee Knight—also known as the Captain of Colors!

Teen artist Rylee Knight, wearing their own handmade jacket, poses in front of two of several characters they have painted in the Teen Library.

Indefinitely, the space has been transformed into a vibrant art exhibit featuring a selection of gigantesque comic book and Manga characters painted on the glass doors.

For those who might not be familiar, Manga is defined as comics or graphic novels originating from Japan featuring characters characterized by often having “big, expressive eyes to help to convey the characters’ emotions in a powerful way”. According to Wikipedia, “the medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action, adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, drama, historical, horror, mystery, romance, erotica, science fiction, and fantasy, sports and games, and suspense, among others.” In other words, there is truly something for everyone!

On the staff office door you’ll find Teen Librarian Sara Fiorenza’s favorite character, DC Comic’s Star Sapphire, “whose superpowers allow her to form solid constructs from energy including shields, force beams, and a full-body field that enables her to fly and travel through deep space”…not so unlike the magical and inspirational literary powers of our Teen Librarians!

Teen Librarian Sara Fiorenza’s favorite character, DC Comic’s Star Sapphire, has found a home at the entrance to the Teen Staff Ofiice.

Rylee estimates the project took roughly 80 hours to complete.

Rylee has their creative goals set on a future career as a comic book illustrator at DC Comics. In addition to their ability to create large-scale murals, they are a skilled seamstress – an art they learned from their grandmother. Creating their own clothes to highlight their personality and style has inspired Rylee to pass on this skill to others including leading workshops at the Teen Library where participants learn a variety of stitches.

 

If you would like to explore the Manga genre, check out the newest graphics at PPL Teen including LGBTQ Teen Reads Graphic Reads and Manga.  For a deeper dive, the Teen Library has books, movies, and games for teens to borrow and take home. The cloudLibrary app offers the latest eBooks and audiobooks to borrow for free on your phone or tablet. The Comics Plus app lets you read a variety of comics for free!

Need even more suggestions? We invite you to Ask a Librarian.

To see more of Rylee’s work check out their Instagram account.


The World We Make: December Staff Picks

posted: , by Elizabeth
tags: Library Collections | Recommended Reads | Adults | Seniors | Art & Culture | Readers Writers

 

Wishing everyone in our community a peaceful New Year—and stacks of books to enjoy on long winter nights. This December we share our Top 2 in 2022 Staff Picks from the library. Read on for elves, adventures, audiobooks, local authors, and more! Hope to see you at the library soon. 

 

Cindy’s (Top 2 Holiday!) Picks 

One of my absolute favorite holiday movies is Elf, with Will Ferrell.  IMDB describes it best: “Raised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn’t know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.” 

It’s a wonderful feel-good, laugh fest that ticks off all the emotion boxes AND delivers some great lines such as, “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup,” “I’m a cotton-headed Ninnymuggins!” and “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Put this holiday gem on hold today!  

Another great holiday title is an old family favorite since 1983 when this movie came out: A Christmas Story with Peter Billingsley as the main character.  “In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.” A couple of great quotes from this touching but hilariously funny movie are: “I can’t put my arms down!” and “I triple dog dare ya!”  Ralphie and his little brother will leave you pining for the days of yore. 

 


Julia’s Picks 

I spent much of this year diving into PPL’s incredible Teen and Children’s collections as well as CloudLibrary, so it’s no surprise that my two favorite finds of 2022 were both YA audiobooks (though they are available in print form as well). 

Before reading the Simon Snow trilogy by Rainbow Rowell, I would have said I wasn’t into romance, especially when it involved vampires. I was gloriously wrong. This is a clever, funny, emotional series that upends fantasy tropes left and right. The final book, Any Way the Wind Blows, tore my heart out with its depiction of what comes after “happily ever after.” But definitely start with Book 1, Carry On! The audiobooks, narrated by Euan Morton, are top notch. 

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater, is an atmospheric, character-driven fantasy rooted in Celtic legend. Each November on the small island of Thisby, riders race the island’s famous horses along the shore. But these are no ordinary horses! They are capaill uisce: fierce, carnivorous water horses that lure their riders into the sea. The story centers on reigning race champion Sean Kendrick and fiery, determined Puck Connolly, two young islanders with their own reasons for needing to win. Stiefvater’s subtly lovely prose captures both the magic and the hardship of island life. Perfect listening for a chilly day, with a cup of tea and a pile of blankets. 

 


Emily’s Picks 

Two of my most anticipated books of the year came out in November, and I was completely absorbed in the breathtaking storytelling found in each.  

Bloodmarked is Tracy Deonn’s captivating sequel to Legendborn, which follows the story of a grieving girl who grows into incredible powers, steeped in Arthurian legends, set at UNC Chapel Hill. The magic and action are intense, the character and world building are impressive, and I can’t wait to see what happens next for Bree! (And how the love triangle is resolved!)  

The World We Make is another excellent book from N.K. Jemisin, and it’s best heard as an audiobook — Robin Miles narrates this and its previous chapter, The City We Became, with her whole heart, plus a slew of accents and characterizations. Sound and voice effects complete the creepy atmosphere as aliens come to Earth to change New York City as we know it. 

 


Vicky’s Picks 

My two top books of the year? It’s an agonizing assignment, and the titles I consider change from day to day. Commit I must, so here’s two. 

This past spring, Newbery honoree and Sibert winner Christina Soontornvat brought us The Last Mapmaker, a middle-grade adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world. Sai is lowborn, but she pretends to be upper-class in order to secure a position as apprentice to Mangkon’s Master Mapmaker. The clock is ticking on her deception, so when her master is tapped to join an expedition to the unexplored Sunderlands, she sees in it her opportunity to strike out and establish herself. The voyage raises penetrating questions into colonialism and the problematic nature of exploration and discovery. That Soontornvat weaves these difficult questions into a 100-percent satisfying rip-roaring maritime adventure establishes her as a master in her own right. 

And for adults, Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah reaches back into Tanzanian history to offer up Afterlives, a generational saga set in what begins as Deutsch-Ostafrika, becomes a British protectorate after World War I, and eventually achieves independence as Tanzania by the end of the book. Sweeping though the historical setting may be, the novel holds at its heart its characters: Khalifa, the merchant’s rascally bookkeeper; Asha, his angrily devout wife; Afiya, their ward who comes to them as a child; and Hamza, the young man who joins the German Schutztruppe and finds refuge with Afiya after. Their lives are all touched in some degree by colonialism and its brutalities, but they nevertheless live on, and Gurnah’s careful, loving exploration of each fully three-dimensional character folds readers in. I listened to the audio edition, and Damian Lynch’s narration is as loving as Gurnah’s writing. 

Ask me on another day, and I might mention two different titles. But these have stayed with me for months as two of my favorite reads of 2022. 

 


Becca’s Picks 

2022 was filled with amazing books. My favorite 2022 release is Babel, by R.F. Kuang. Since I’ve already sung its praises in another Staff Picks post, I figured I would highlight my second-favorite books published this year: 

Fiona and Jane (Jean Chen Ho) follows the trajectories of best friends as they graduate from college and become geographically separated. Told in alternating narrations, the book follows Fiona and Jane as individuals, navigating the tragedy and beauty in their separate lives and the ebb and flow of their friendship. I loved this meditation on friendship, love, and loneliness; it’s been a while since a book has made me cry, but this one did the trick! 

I love books where a story folds in on itself, where every chapter provides a new glimpse of our characters’ internal lives. In Lungfish (Meghan Gilliss), we receive glimpses of the present and past of Tuck, a woman who is trying to support her husband (who is detoxing from opioids) and young daughter while isolated on a coastal Maine island with no money and no food. This book is visceral; while reading, I found myself eating constantly, as if to send the food through the pages and into the bellies of Tuck and her family. I also read this book in record time, voraciously hoping they were able to leave the island before winter descends. Don’t miss out on this gem by a great local author! 

 


Janice’s Picks 

In The Swimmers, award-winning author Julia Otsuka has written a novel exploring both ordinary and extraordinary dimensions of daily life. The pool is routine, refuge and subculture. “Up above there are wildfires, smog alerts, epic droughts, paper jams, teachers’ strikes, insurrections, revolutions, blisteringly hot days that never seem to let up (Massive “Heat Dome” Permanently Stalled over Entire West Coast), but down below, at the pool, it is always a comfortable eighty-one degrees.” Regular lap swimmers might easily recognize themselves somewhere in Otsuka’s descriptions of rigid pool routines, such as rigorously counting laps, marking swim time to the minute, unvarying arrival times, and stubbornly choosing the same lane. When the pool develops a mysterious crack, the novel invokes the challenges of dementia, the coronavirus pandemic, and the general unpredictability of our lives. 

The Wall, a 1968 international bestseller by Austrian writer Marlen Haushofer (translated by Shaun Whiteside)—a book variously described as dystopian, utopian, feminist, and science fiction—has been recently reissued in English by New Directions. The narrator is a middle-aged woman vacationing in the Austrian mountains, who suddenly finds herself cut off from civilization (which seems to have been destroyed) by an invisible wall. Both compelling and haunting, the narrator recounts her challenges to sustain daily existence. “But I would rather turn to the second of July, the day I realized my life depended on the number of matches I had left. That thought struck me, as all disagreeable thoughts do, in the early hours of the morning.” The Wall was adapted into a 2013 film, available on DVD at PPL. 

 


Aaron’s Picks 

Right around the beginning of the year, I watched the stunning Ballad of Narayama (Keisuke Kinoshita, 1958) on a cold night in the snow-covered White Mountains. The film, based on a 1956 novella by Shichirō Fukazawa, tells a tale based on the mythical practice of ubasute, in which elder members of a community, after reaching a certain age, are transported to a mountain top and left to their deaths. The practice, as presented in the film, is a measure used to ensure enough resources are available for the younger members of a family. Predictably, some elders are more resigned to their fate than others, and some of those left behind are more willing to leave their beloved parents to their fates than others. The drama crosses three generations of the family at the center of the film and extends to their entire village. That village, in addition to the snowy mountaintop destination of the elders and nearly every other setting (along with weather of all kinds, water features, etc.), was ingeniously created and stunningly filmed on a soundstage, rather than in more realistic settings (not the case for a more naturalistic 1983 remake). Though the production is heavily influenced by Kabuki theater, the cinematography is more dynamic than a usual filmed stage production, and the limitations of the soundstage add to the mythical and magical feeling of the film, rather than detracting from it.
 

As the year draws to a close, I am enjoying Jennifer Lucy Allan’s The Foghorn’s Lament, based on the author’s years of research on the history, culture, and meaning surrounding the signature sound of our foggy coastlines, after a long wait. Allan searches in archives, spends a month almost entirely alone at a lighthouse in the Shetland Islands, and plumbs the depths of her personal cultural references to tell the fascinating story. I first became aware of the research that would become this eagerly-awaited-by-me book when I shared a session with the author at a conference on sound art held in the Azores, the Portuguese-held archipelago in the middle of the North Atlantic, in 2017. The day following our paper presentations, the stakes for the successful operation of foghorns and other navigational aids was made clear in a keynote lecture by celebrated composer and sound artist Hildegard Westerkamp. In what was clearly a planned but nonetheless incredibly difficult interlude in her presentation, Westerkamp emotionally explained the personal significance of the conference’s location — in 1957 her beloved older brother, who had been a sailor, was lost at sea when the tall-ship Pamir sank in a hurricane just west of the Azores. That ship didn’t run aground where a foghorn might have saved it, but trouble with radio transmissions and other then-current technology contributed to its sinking. Allan’s paper, Westerkamp’s lecture, and now The Foghorn’s Lament are all linked for me now, to a past and present we can see and hear as close to home as Portland Head Light, where a foghorn still stands and where the Annie C. Maguire was lost against the rocks in 1886. 

 


Fionna’s Picks 

I loved The Man Who Could Move Clouds, a memoir by Ingrid Rojas Contreras—one of my October Staff Picks.  

Another favorite book that I read in 2022 was a 2019 collection of stories titled Salt Slow by Julia Armfield. I found myself looking through Armfield’s back list after being enchanted with her debut novel (Our Wives Under the Sea) which came out this year. Salt Slow was odd and beautiful and the titular story could very well become a dystopian folk tale for the next generation. 


 

Nina’s Picks 

Combining my love of local history and memoir, The Ghosts of Walter Crockett is a bittersweet story of growing up in the 1960s-1970s on Munjoy Hill. Told by Walter’s son, Ed Crockett, the book focuses on life with seven siblings, a mother who tried her hardest to cope (with varying degrees of success), and a father who abandoned his wife and young children to live on Portland’s gritty streets. Ed paints a depressing yet ultimately hopeful picture of life on “The Hill” and his struggle to come to terms with its challenges. 

October 2022 brought the Violins of Hope exhibit to Portland, an extraordinary collection of string instruments that were owned by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. These instruments were displayed at the Maine Jewish Museum and played by musicians of the Portland Symphony during performances of the Verdi Requiem. Orchestra of Exiles is a DVD chronicling violinist Bronisław Huberman’s successful attempt to relocate Jewish European musicians at a time when Hitler was coming to power. Over four years, Huberman helped save nearly 1000 people and created what became the Israel Philharmonic—one of the world’s greatest orchestras. 

 



Stephanie’s Picks 

Top Two: Horse by Geraldine Brooks; Still Life by Sarah Winman. 

Other big faves: Painted Horses by Malcolm Brooks (hmm: 2 Horse titles and 2 Brooks authors); Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan; Vigil Harbor by Julia Glass; These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. 

 


Elizabeth’s Picks 

At the year’s end I’ve returned to two books that brought me joy in 2022. Illustrator and writer Melanie Gilman’s Other Ever Afters is a graphic novel of new queer fairy tales. Playful, compassionate, and subversive, Other Ever Afters says Let’s reimagine old stories!—let’s not get stuck there!—let’s write completely new ones! Their new fairy tales explore friendship, community, purpose, and change along with the adventures of mermaids, giants, and knights. (For additional joyous, complex queer fairy tales—of foxes, robots, and dragons—see last year’s wonderful The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales by Yoon Ha Lee). To all who write new queer stories: thank you.  

Jamal Jordan’s photo documentary project Queer Love in Color is a further celebration of queer love, here in this world, in these times, and that’s worth celebrating every day. Dozens of stories and portraits of joy, support, and togetherness fill the book. When Tzu-Yung talks about falling for Briyana, they say, “I started to allow myself to be silly and fun and airy like I am now.” Lady Phyll writes, “In each other’s arms we create a world of possibilities, tenderness, and empowerment.” And Jamal Jordan muses, “Perhaps the most transformative thing we can do is take the love that we have for others and turn it inward, towards ourselves.” 

 


Eileen’s Picks 

What glorious anticipation it is, watching my name slide toward the top of hold lists! 

Kate Atkinson and John Irving are two of my very favorite authors, so imagine my delight to have read a 2022 release by each of them in the past month. 

The Last Chairlift is classic John Irving from start to finish. From the familiar environs of the author’s native Exeter, New Hampshire to incomparably quirky characters, not to mention personal obsessions and social issues, I knew I was in for a seriously satisfying literary ride. At 80 years old, John Irving says this is his last long novel. Certainly, at 889 pages it is long, but finally and foremost it is immensely satisfying in all Irving’s usual ways. Comparisons and references to Charles Dickens abound when John Irving is up for discussion; that seems right to me. I think “The Washington Post Book World” quote sums up his storytelling: “Irving’s characters can beguile us onto thin ice and persuade us to dance there. His instinctive mark is the moral choice stripped bare, and his aim is impressive.” 

Kate Atkinson’s new novel, Shrines of Gaiety, made my wait for The Last Chairlift not only tolerable but experientially short-and-sweet. Good grief, what a mind and what a writer! I know I said that Irving’s characters are incomparably quirky…and I absolutely meant it…but Atkinson gives him some serious competition, with a Great British twist. 

Really, honestly, seriously: if you cannot get your hands on The Last Chairlift or Shrines of Gaiety right this minute, picking up anything written by either of them will get you through the wait. 

Both Atkinson and Irving tell stories that are addictive and deep, spoken in voices that matter. For sheer entertainment they are hard to beat, but they deliver so much more. 

May 2023 bring us shorter books by John Irving, any books by Kate Atkinson, joy, peace, and hearts so full we cannot contain them! 

 


 As ever, thanks for reading! To find all the Top Two in 2022 Staff Picks discussed and pictured here, explore The World We Make: December Staff Picks

If you’re looking for more reading ideas, that is our very favorite thing! Check out our Your Next Great Read service for readers of all ages, or simply reach out to our staff at readersadvisory@portlib.org for your own personalized booklist of reading suggestions.

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