Aprill celebrates The Mitten’s winter coziness with a wonderful display at Burbank.
Welcome, readers! If you would like nothing more than to curl up in a giant warm mitten with a stack of books for the rest of the winter, read on! Our staff shares a heap of reading ideas and resources for you to ponder.
And most of all, thanks so much for stopping by the Main Library, Peaks, Riverton, Burbank and the Bookmobile in 2021. We’ve loved seeing you this year and look forward to 2022 at the library.
Vicky’s Picks
If you’re a kid, one of the most awesome things about December is that here in Maine there’s a week off from school at the end of it, and what’s better to do during a cold winter week than read? Here are some great books for middle-grade readers looking to while away some time with one…or two…or three….
Being Clem, by Lesa Cline-Ransome. The final volume in the author’s “Finding Langston” trilogy about Black boys in World War II–era Chicago, this outing follows Clem as he grapples with the loss of his father in the Port Chicago Disaster, with living under the thumbs of older sisters with big personalities, with his fear of water. He wants to be a Navy man like his dad; how can he do that if he can’t swim?
Soul Lanterns, by Shaw Kuzki and translated by Emily Balistrieri. In Hiroshima, every August 6 the people float lanterns down the river to remember loved ones lost in “the Flash.” Twenty-five years after the bombing, 12-year-old Nozomi starts to wonder about the lanterns her family releases, a question that turns into a heartbreaking and heart-mending journey for the wounded city and its children.
Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff. Bug, an 11-year-old white Vermonter, is getting ready to start middle school. That would be hard enough on its own, but doing it without Uncle Roderick, who’s just passed away, makes it extra tough. Then there’s the ghost, who seems to be trying to tell Bug something. Could it be Uncle Roderick? Uncle Roderick was gay, but maybe he was also transgender…or maybe Bug is?
Cindy’s Pick
“I’m lying on a steel table, all too aware of the giant ray gun pointed in my direction. It looks like one of those room-sized five-ton laser things supervillains use in movies. The kind they threaten to destroy the planet with.”
My favorite middle grade book of 2021 was Wink: A Novel by Rob Harrell. I listened to it using the wonderful cloudLibrary app, but I’ve also thoroughly perused all the illustrations in our print copy of the book because they’re important: Ross is a budding artist. In the book Ross (a seventh grader) has a rare form of eye cancer called Lacrimal cancer, which is cancer of the tear duct, and the story begins with his first radiation treatment. But Wink is about so much more than his cancer. It’s a story about best friends and new friends and dealing with bullies and cyber-bullying in particular. Someone is making terrible memes about Ross, so part of the novel is figuring out who the culprit is. It was touching, sweet, often laugh-out-loud funny, and shocking all at once. I highly recommend this book and wish that I could un-read it so I could read it all over again for the first time!
Becca’s Pick
Early 2021 was a dark time, and the distractions were no longer working. Our kitchens had an extra bag of flour. Our closets had new hiking boots that were on the verge of being properly broken in. Our bedside tables were full of bookmarked fantasy series, apocalypse novels, Russian tomes, and the same picture books read aloud again, again, again. We shopped for groceries while worrying about sick loved ones. We tried to shove our hardened hearts into the Play-Doh mold of Normal Life Activities. We were exhausted, depressed, anxious, and alone.
In May, six of us gathered in Congress Square Park for our first Blurb Club, our new informal book club where attendees can talk about any book. We sat in an appropriately distanced circle with masks over our mouths. While isolation made us trepidatious and awkward, there was also palpable relief behind doing the thing, that thing we couldn’t do for so long – gathering with other humans in a physical space!
Almost every week, I experience the phenomenon of meeting someone at their first in-person outing with other non-familial humans since March 2020. Some people come with a pile of books they devoured in isolation, while others arrive with nothing. One small social gathering on a calendar is a gift I feel honored to help bring to the park every other Thursday. Now, as we pack it in for the winter and move over to Mechanics’ Hall, early 2022 feels a little less daunting.
Scandalously, I don’t love Blurb Club because of the books. I love it for the basest of reasons: the warm buzz of being surrounded by others, listening to the soothing sound of real people talking and laughing. I hope you can join our cozy circle in 2022.
Stephanie’s Picks
My December picks are favorites for different reasons. For example, Jessica Anthony’s Enter the Aardvark was original, hilarious, and an enjoyable satire. The Searcher by Tana French has wonderful Irish prose and characters wrapped around a strong plot. Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce offered very adventurous women. Julia Claiborne’s Better Luck Next Time is set in Reno where I grew up. (Divorce ranches were still around long after the novel’s 1938 setting). Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Cluband The Man Who Died Twice celebrate believable seniors who are kind and funny and clever enough to solve some difficult murders.
Zoë‘s Pick
My December pick is Middlemarch by George Eliot. I started reading this classic (nearly 900 pages) in October thinking I would finish it in, yes, in middle March 2022. But no! It is now the end of November (as I write this) and I am bereft after finishing it. The writing is dazzling, the characters hilarious, the entire read a charm-and-a-half. Something about the “adultness” of it is just wonderful…people and their misbegotten loves, foibles, their human-ness all drawn to perfection.
Ann’s Picks
One of my favorite resources from this year is Kai Cheng Thom’s So You’re Ready to Choose Love. This free online workbook digs into the themes of Thom’s I Hope We Choose Love, giving us tools to grow as we navigate conflict and harm. Another resource I’m just getting into as this year draws to a close is Resmaa Menakem’s My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Menakem’s book includes exercises for grounding while exploring white supremacy’s traumatic impact on bodies, and I look forward to reading and reflecting on his work in the new year.
Hannah’s Pick
Robin Marty’s New Handbook for a Post-Roe America is an essential resource for any household—as legal and practical barriers to reproductive healthcare proliferate, U.S. statistics are such that each and every one of us knows (and probably loves) someone who will, at some point in their lifetime, need help accessing said care.
Regardless of the inevitable legislative or judicial sea changes coming our way, our bodies and our families will remain our own—unpredictable, ungovernable, and connected to communities of support. Information about those communities, and about the many other resources and tools that will be needed for American families to survive and thrive in the coming years, is crucial. And Marty situates her reader on the map of science, medicine, policy, and direct care in a way that is digestible, galvanizing, and full of heart.
I’ve taken notes from nearly every page!
Elizabeth’s Picks
The truth is I loved dozens of books this year, of all kinds—fantasy, memoir, nature writing, poetry—books like The Thirty Names of Night, Land of Big Numbers, The Space Between Worlds, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales, We Have Always Been Here, Walking on Cowrie Shells, The Carrying, and Field Study.
Two luminous books have stuck with me—the language, humor, and beauty of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s Noopiming, and the incredible look at people, place, and the sea in Lamorna Ash’s Dark, Salt, Clear: The Story of a Fishing Town. A story I keep thinking of is “The Kite Maker” in Brenda Peynado’s wonderful collection The Rock Eaters. On the surface it’s a tale about a kite maker and her encounters with an alien who loves to fly kites, and in the depths it’s about much more. A sci-fi classic.
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’ The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois was a tome I curled up with for days that went by in a flash, its family story dipping between the past and present. A powerful short novel I just read this week is Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These. It’s alyrical, heartfelt tale of an Irish man in 1985 who—in the midst of Christmas—stumbles across the terrible truth of the Magdalene Laundries and wonders what to do:
“He found himself asking was there any point in being alive without helping one another?”
Victoria Chang’sDear Memoryis a new book I’m still poring through—her prose poems shine. “We often say night falls,” she writes. “I think the night rises. I think the bright falls.” I’m reading it thinking of Camille Dungy and her recent writingon how many are needing the space to grieve right now, and how a poem can offer that place for grief and feeling.
This summer, I found a welcome solace in Poetry as An Art of Survival with Portland Poet Laureate Maya Williams and Poetry Unbound host Pádraig Ó Tuama. I’m so looking forward to Maya’s writing workshops with PPL in 2022, kicking off on January 8! Ey and Myri U. will focus on poetry and self-care.
Sarah S’ Pick
I’m focusing on joy and light this month, and I think Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Betty White will match that spirit. I’m looking forward to learning more about the spunk and grit behind this beloved legend…who will turn 100 in January!
Eileen’s Pick
“When whittling, your mantra should be: ‘Always cut away from yourself.’”
Sound advice whether whittling or not, I’d say.
It is likely that the very last thing I need is a hobby that will litter the house with wood shavings and require me to grasp a sharp implement in my dilettante’s grip, but that isn’t stopping me from thinking maybe I could learn something from Frank Egholm’s book The Danish Art of Whittling: Simple Projects for the Home. It is geared for rank beginners and amply seasoned with photos of Danish children crafting toys in pastoral settings. Worth noting: not one of the children is bleeding. You can practically feel the thin Scandinavian sunshine feeding hope that your forked branch could be transformed into a rustic bird-shaped whistle, too, with some concentration, a well-applied whittling knife and Frank Egholm’s wise tutelage.
In closing, I ask this unrelated question: have you seen the movie Waking Ned Devine? I find it impossible to feel bad while anticipating watching it, actually watching it, or recollecting watching it. I do not make this claim lightly. In fact, why am I not watching it right this instant?
My Year’s End wish for you is that you make time for a movie, or music, or a book that you know makes you happy.
I think that’s pretty good advice, too.
As ever, thanks for reading! You can find all the books discussed or pictured here compiled in one list: The Mitten: December Staff Picks.
If you are looking for more reading ideas for kids, teens, and adults, that is our very favorite thing. Try our Your Next (Great!) Read service to get a personalized list of books just for you (or a reader you know).
Edmond Kabagambe speaks 8 languages!
We are excited to welcome Edmond Kabagambe to PPL!
“When I first arrived in Maine in 2015 from Rwanda, Portland Public Library was my first stop! New to the country, I spent a significant amount of time in Public Computing working on my Curriculum Vitae, accessing my emails, and reading the news. More than ever, public libraries are essential because they provide a quiet environment where patrons can reflect, read, and relax while exploring a wide range of materials. Here, everyone has access to the creativity and wisdom found in books, music, art, and more.”
Fluent in multiple languages, Edmond comes to Portland Public Library with over 20 years of experience in the Human Resources and finance fields, including strategy, recruitment, and policy implementation. Prior to joining PPL, Edmond held several leadership positions including Chairman of International NGOs Network Admin Forum in Rwanda, was an executive board advisor and co-founding member of Rwanda Human Resources Management Organization Professionals, HR specialist and trainer for Africa region emergencies transformation and development, human safety and security for ActionAid – Rwanda, and USAID based in US Embassy in Kigali. Edmond holds an MBA in Management and Bachelor’s Degree with honors in Finance.
In addition to his professional work, Edmond is dedicated to the community and serves on various nonprofit, educational, business, and faith-based Board Committees to support initiatives helping to further leadership, strategic planning, and operational development within these organizations.
Edmond enjoys spending time with his family of 6 taking in Maine’s beautiful ocean views, exploring the coastal lighthouses, and swimming and picnicking at Sebago Lake.
Edmond speaks 8 languages including English, French, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, and some Swahili mostly spoken in East and Central Africa. If you see him walking through the Main Library be sure to say hello!
“Sharpen the bread knife and poise the toaster for action: the long, cold winter is looking better already!”
—from Eileen’s Picks
In November our hardworking library workers turns their thoughts to recent reads plus baking, birdwatching, painting, sewing, and preparing to romp around in Maine’s great snowy outdoors. It may be sunny and 60 degrees (today), but we’re ready for blizzards.
Hope these ideas inspire you to fill your own bags with books!
Cindy’s Picks
I was very excited to discover that Rainbow Rowell’s wonderful novel Fangirl has been turned into a manga series, adapted by Sam Maggs and illustrated by Gabi Nam. It’s fun to see the characters I imagined come to life in the illustrations. “Cath doesn’t need friends IRL. She has her twin sister, Wren, and she’s a popular fanfic writer in the Simon Snow community with thousands of fans online. But now that she’s in college, Cath is completely outside of her comfort zone. There are suddenly all these new people in her life…”
Also in my pile of books I can’t wait to read is My Jasper June, a middle grade novel by Laurel Snyder, the author of Orphan Island. This is a book about finding one’s way through a devastating loss for one young teen.
Finally, a new nonfiction book: WE CAN: Portraits of Power by Tyler Gordon, a fifteen-year-old painter whose work has been featured in Time and Essence magazines as well as on Good Morning America and ABC News.
Tyler paints dynamic portraits of his favorite people, like basketball player LeBron James, Vice President Kamala Harris and Colin Kaepernick. What I liked best about each portrait was that he explains why he likes each person that he paints and how they positively affect his life: “Like me, President Biden has a stutter. I was often bullied at school because of this and would pour myself into my art as an outlet for my sadness and frustration. After learning that President Biden also has a stutter, I felt empowered.”
Sarah Mari’s Picks
Two cozy romances for cold nights, both full of classic romance tropes that will hit the spot!
The first is She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen, a YA rom-com where the Fighting Reindeer’s basketball star, Scottie, and head cheerleader, Irene, are intense rivals, forced to carpool after a fender bender puts Irene’s car in the shop. The pair begin to pretend to date to get back at Scottie’s ex, but, of course, things don’t stay simple for long…Vibrant side characters, atmospheric descriptions, and swoon-worthy romance abound.
The second is Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner, where famous actor-turned-producer, Jo, and her assistant, Emma, are photographed whispering and laughing on the red carpet of a premiere. The resulting picture catapults them into the spotlight when everyone assumes that there must be something going on between them. The slowest of slow-burns makes this book a can’t-put-down sort of read!
Gabrielle’s Pick
“My prayer for them came to me like words of a song I’d already known the melody of.
I was telling them all that I hoped they did not have the sense, in their not-cages, they would be there for the rest of their lives…”
—from One Night Two Souls Went Walking by Ellen Cooney
The unnamed narrator, a hospital chaplain on the night shift, goes about her rounds, sitting with patients, listening, remembering, wondering about the soul. It’s a small, dreamy, intense, quiet novel that left me feeling full and hopeful.
Stephanie’s Pick
In The Ride of Her Life author Elizabeth Letts takes us on an amazing journey with Annie Wilkins, a 65- year-old Mainer from Minot with health problems, little money, and no real map. It’s 1954 when she decides to ride a horse to California and figures if she heads Southwest, she’ll avoid bad weather. Letts paints a vivid portrait of a determined woman, a country shifting from small-town roads to superhighways, and the souls of some special animals (two horses and a little dog). Sheer grit and the kindness of strangers propel Annie to her destination, the ride of her life, and a very good read.
Becca’s Picks
As I write this, I am exhausted. This is because I was up late last night reading Margaret and the Missing Body, by Megan Milks. Do you love The Babysitter’s Club and Scooby-Do? You will love this darkly humorous story about friendship, queerness, and tweens who solve mysteries. While it’s classified as fiction for adults, teens may also enjoy the subject matter and pacing. (This book does have a plotline about eating disorders.)
Here are some more gems that will arrive at the library soon:
- The Cat Who Saved Books, by Sosuke Natsukawa: Rintaro, an introverted teen who inherits his grandfather’s bookstore, meets a talking cat named Tiger. Tiger is on a mission to save “imprisoned” books, and he wants Rintaro’s help. Kirkus describes this book as a “tale of gentle wholesomeness,” which is something many of us need right now. Sign me up!
- The Fortune Men, by Nadifa Mohamed: Booker Prize shortlist alert! Nadifa Mohamed tells the fictionalized story of Mahmood Mattan, a father and merchant seaman from Somalia living in Cardiff in the 1950s. Mattan was wrongfully convicted of murder and was subsequently executed. The book moves between the perspectives of Mattan and the murdered shopkeeper, giving readers a thorough account of this tragedy.
- A Single Rose, by Muriel Barbery: This book by the author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog was quietly released back in September. (Thank you to the patron who alerted me!) Rose, a botanist living in France, is summoned to Japan for the reading of her estranged father’s will. This begins her journey around her father’s Kyoto, which has much in store for Rose. This short and quiet read with lush descriptions of gardens might be just the thing for the start of winter.
Cy’s Pick
To celebrate the birthday of the late Kurt Vonnegut (November 11), I’d like to recommend The Sirens of Titan. This sci-fi/fantasy/adventure follows Malachi Constant on a journey that explores free will, morality, privilege, luck, and the space-time continuum. Two of my favorite lines from Vonnegut come from this novel: “I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all” and “A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”
Rachael’s Pick
I’m reading Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar and would love to recommend it. It’s a fictional memoir portraying the life of a Muslim American writer whose family is grappling with identity and belonging in the United States post-911 and during the Trump era. It’s a fascinating and devastating look at this country and exceptionally well written.
Eileen’s Picks
I assumed ownership of a counter-top grain mill a few weeks ago and have been exploring what that might mean for our health and my weekend downtime. Browsing PPL’s stacks, I happened upon Flour Lab: An At-home Guide to Milling Grains, Making Flour, Baking, and Cooking by Adam Leonti with Katie Parla, which was satisfyingly informative on different varieties of wheat (Did you know there is a variety called Warthog? And another named Frederick? I didn’t) and other grains. If you fancy grinding your own flour, give it a spin and see what you think.
Martin Philip, head bread baker at King Arthur Baking Company, wrote Breaking Bread: A Baker’s Journey in 75 Recipes (2018) which I read and enjoyed. But what was I looking for and not finding in these and several other good books I optimistically carted home? I didn’t know.
And then I found Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor from 2007. Bingo! Lots of background information, terrific commentary ‘longside the recipes, wherefores and whys in profusion, all presented in a way suited to my learning style. I was absolutely certain I didn’t want to get into the custodial responsibilities of feeding and caring for a starter, but here I am fermenting soakers and bigas, an enthusiastic mash-cultured mother-starter bubbling away on the counter and my precious home-milled flours making our kitchen a happy haven for hardworking microbes and yeasts! Rye, wheat, barley, corn, spelt, oats, einkorn, buckwheat…sharpen the bread knife and poise the toaster for action: the long, cold winter is looking better already!
So much more work to do to get it right, but Peter Reinhart will see me through. I just know it.
Elizabeth’s Picks
November’s long nights have me curled up with books about artists and their work, and I’m also gathering project ideas to share with crafty, creative friends.
- Four beautiful art books, old and new: Bisa Butler: Portraits. Mamma Andersson: The Lost Paradise. Chagall: Watercolors and Gouaches. Jeanne Morningstar Kent’s The Visual Language of Wabanaki Art.
- Four how-to books for artists who love nature: The Complete Book of Drawing Nature, Watercolor Botanicals, Nature Painting in Watercolor, and Birds in Watercolor, Collage, and Ink.
- For fans of the art of needle and thread, four books on embroidery, block printing, felting, and mending: Embroidered Animals by Yumiko Higuchi. Jen Hewett’s Print, Pattern, Sew. Fi Oberon’s The Natural World of Needle Felting, and Noriko Misumi’s Mending With Love.
We have so many books on art, artists, painting, mixed media, fiber arts, and more, so please reach out to our staff if you’re looking for a great book to inspire you.
Sarah S’s Picks
Literature lovers, rejoice! In honor of their 125th anniversary, NYTBR bring us The New York Times Book Review: 125 Years of Literary History. According to the blurb, “this beautiful book collects interesting reviews, never-before-heard anecdotes about famous writers, and spicy letter exchanges. Here are the first takes on novels we now consider masterpieces, including a long-forgotten pan of Anne of Green Gables and a rave of Mrs. Dalloway, along with reviews and essays by Langston Hughes, Eudora Welty, James Baldwin, Nora Ephron, and more.” Sounds like a dreamy way to spend the cold, darkening evenings of November.
Myles’ Picks
Maine’s winter birds are starting to appear. Hello Snow Buntings! This is a great time to go outside and explore, now that there are no more ticks and mosquitoes. These books will help pique your curiosity as you navigate our unique winter landscape.
- A Guide to Nature in Winter: this classic guide provides a great overview of what to look for in a winter landscape. Naturally Curious takes us on a month-by-month journey through the fields, woods, and marshes of New England. Discover winter insects and arachnids and identify animal tracks and scat and signs of hibernation dens. Winter World describes the hidden inner mechanisms that allow the tiniest of creatures to survive the coldest conditions.
- The Birds of Winter focuses on some of nature’s least appreciated birds. Birdwatching in Maine compiles local insight for places to see birds in Maine, all year round.
- Weeds and Wildflowers in Winter: Lauren Brown’s 1977 classic is now available in a revised edition. A Guide to Wildflowers in Winter: Carol Levine adds a contemporary take, beautifully illustrated by Dick Rauh.
- The Snowflake includes an identification guide, and is great with a magnifying glass, or even better a microscope.
- Essential Guide to Winter Recreation offers current information on the best gear and safety practices for winter recreation by a Maine State Park Ranger stationed in Baxter.
- Keeping A Nature Journal: There is no better way to learn about the world around us than to settle in at home and reflect on your day’s experience.
As ever, thanks for reading! Here’s a link to a list of the books we talk about in this post: Sharpen the Bread Knife: November Staff Picks. If you’re looking for more reading ideas, we’d love to help. Try Your Next (Great!) Read to get your own personalized booklist of ideas from our staff.
