Weighty Issues

In 703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life by Nancy Makin you read about Nancy's weight gain to 703 pounds and her descent into isolation and self-destruction.  The effects on herself, her family and her friends are handled with startling honesty and a touch of Nancy's offbeat humor.  Her story continues with a gift of a laptop which allowed her to develop the friendships and support she needed to lose over a quarter-ton of weight.  She didn’t diet but the emotional connections she developed help transform her life into one where she recovered her feelings of self-worth and dignity – something that wasn’t afforded to her by others when she was at her heaviest.   

In Jennifer Joyner’s Designated Fat Girl we read about a woman who had it all – marriage, children and friendships but who used food as an emotional crutch until her weight was out of control.  She relied on gastric bypass surgery to lose the weight and you will find it interesting to read about her medical journey and her physical and emotional recovery.  Both books have relevant messages for showing us that when you need help you can get it from outside, or find it within.  SG

Only Mostly Dead

Seventeen year-old Li Lan is saddled with an impossible decision; marry the recently deceased son of her father's creditor, or helplessly watch her family sink deep into poverty.  But before she can choose, she finds herself lost and alone in the afterlife, neither living nor dead, where she must uncover the secrets of her would-be bridegroom.  In The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo masterfully recreates 1890s Malaysia and takes the reader on a spectacular ride through mythology and fantasy as we accompany Li Lan into the spirit realm.  Truly enchanting.  HM

Mamma Mia!

Bob McLean wasn’t Italian. He didn’t grow up with large, noisy family gatherings or lots of relatives, but his wife did. Maria was used to all these things and embraced them and so did Bob. Summers in Supino: Becoming Italian by Maria Coletta McLean describes their yearly summer travels to Supino, Italy. Readers get to partake in the everyday summer lives of the author, whether it is going for a daily latte, dealing with helpful neighbors, or celebrating one of the many festas common to Supino. Maria is really surprised when the Italian way of life becomes interwoven with Bob's plans. Molto bene! DB

A tragic and happy story...

A woman, Agnes Morel, appears twenty years ago in the cloisters of the ancient cathedral of Notre-Dame, in the medieval town of Chartres, France. To the townspeople, nothing is known about this young woman, past or present, and she works unobserved. Gradually, we learn more about the tragic events that brought her to Notre-Dame. When one woman she cleans for, Madame Beck, is provoked into an accusation that Agnes stole from her, events are put into motion that force Agnes to confront her past. The Cleaner of Chartres is a sometimes tragic, but lovely story with a happy ending! ML

What's that sound?

Alex Bledsoe has written another book about the Tufa, a mysterious ancient race of people that live in isolated ridges and hollows of the Smoky Mountains. Wisp of a Thing is set in the same sometimes sinister landscape of Appalachia as was The Hum and the Shiver. The story starts out as a grieving musician finds his way to Cloud County, Tennessee in pursuit of a song that will ease his broken heart. His girlfriend has died tragically in a plane crash and a mysterious figure appeared to him and told him the story about the song. Rob finds both music and mystery in the mountains. Close-lipped locals guard their secrets, even as Rob gets caught up in a subtle power struggle he can't begin to comprehend. A vacationing wife goes missing, raising suspicions of foul play, and a strange feral girl runs wild in the woods, howling in the night like a lost spirit.Change is coming to Cloud County, and only the night wind knows what part Rob will play when the last leaf falls from the Widow's Tree. For readers who like a little magic with their stories! ML

Furry Little Friends

I'm not much of a crafter, but I saw this book sitting on the cart near the entrance to the Adult department, and I couldn't resist.  Fleece Dog walks you through the process and art of creating your own little furry pal out of raw wool -- which looks surprisingly simple.  I love the whimsical photos and there's even a section on how to use your dog's own hair!

Do you like crafting?  Stop by the library any time between 2:00-7:00pm this Wednesday, July 31st for Crafternoon -- bring a craft of your own to work on, or try one of ours!  HM

What is that smell?

Luca Turin is a biophysicist and scholar of smell. In his 2008 book Perfumes: The Guide he writes a brief history of perfume, his top ten lists of scent and a rating system (five stars is a masterpiece and one is "awful") of 315 pages of perfumes. He pulls no punches, and the writing is highly descriptive, such as this review of Nanette Lepore (one star) "...the most intensely sweet,cloying, syrupy fruity floral possible, radiating all the way down the block and lingering for years...Vile, yes, but somebody in a jeweled cardigan has been waiting for it all her life." The fragrances he likes though, he raves about, like Cuir de Russie from Chanel. This perfume rates a half a page and five stars and prose like "This superb fragrance still smells exactly as it should: to me, just like the interior of my stepfather's 1954 Bentley Type R...this rich leather effect is achieved by mixing things that have noting to do with tanned animal skins: ylang ylang, jasmine, iris,...this is the real deal, an undamaged monument of classical perfumery, and the purest emanation of luxury ever captured in a bottle." Whew, makes you want to smell it! Whether you just are interested in perfume history or are contemplating a purchase, this is a great read. MLis