BPL Blog

Posted by JGranatino on Thu, Sep 07
It's 1940 and the small country village of Chilbury has sent their men off to war, readying themselves for a possible Nazi invasion. The vicar has disbanded the choir due to the lack of bass voices but the ladies of Chilbury, led by a young progressive music teacher called Prim, declare the women will carry on as the "Ladies' Chilbury Choir". The story is told through diary entries and letters of various characters in town as they endure the changes in social conventions, the appearance of...
Posted by JGranatino on Tue, Sep 05
This oversized coffee-table book chronicles the history of Rolling Stone magazine, as it reflected and also impacted popular culture of the 1960s-2010s For music aficianados, it will revive many memories of artists influenced our tastes and even “defined our lives,” including reprints of memorable stories and interviews. Lavish color and black-and-white photographs by the likes of Annie Leibovitz and Richard Avedon pay homage to these artists. Also showcased are writings by some of the...
Posted by JGranatino on Mon, Aug 28
Sandra Uwiringiyimana was only ten when the refugee camp her family sheltered in was attacked by rebel forces in the Congo. The massacre took 166 lives, including her 6-year-old sister. Her family was eventually able to come to America but found their vision of the American Dream was in sharp contrast to the reality. Not only were they trying to come to terms with grief and loss, but coping with issues only immigrants might understand such as language barriers, poverty and cultural differences...
Posted by JGranatino on Wed, Aug 23
In recent years, the expression “man cave” has been used to describe an informal room where men can “be themselves,” furnishing the space as they wish. The “she-shed” is a woman’s equivalent: a place to relax while surrounded by treasured objects, to engage in creative pursuits, or simply to “get away from it all.” Author Kotite’s beautifully-photographed book showcases a variety of she-sheds: modified utility sheds, kits, and greenhouses, artfully adapted salvage and recycled materials, and...
Posted by BHanley on Wed, Aug 09
What happens when your love of chemistry is more hypothesis than reality? Weike Wang’s debut effort is a humorous, honest, and painful portrait of a young Chinese-American woman at a crossroads in life and love. She is faced with failed research, a loss of focus in her future, demanding parents, and a boyfriend who has been patiently waiting to pop the marriage question. Eventually, she’s forced to decide life’s ultimate question: what do I really want? Wang’s assured prose and characters make...
Posted by JGranatino on Mon, Aug 07
Much more than a city guide, this book describes the quartiers of La Ville-Lumière with an emphasis on obscure and unanticipated pleasures. It delves into the rich history of particular streets and landmarks from Île de la Cité to the Left Bank and the famous – and sometimes infamous – citizens associated with them. In the words of Richard Cobb, “Paris should be both walkable and walked, if the limitless variety, the unexpectedness, the provincialism, the rusticity, the...
Posted by JGranatino on Mon, Aug 07
How does it begin, this passion for reading, this intoxication with the endless beauty and variety of the written word? How often this love of books springs up spontaneously, unexpected, in the most unlikely settings. In this slender autobiographical account, best-selling Providence-based  author Ann Hood recounts her earliest encounters with books that engaged her deeply, sparked her imagination, and broadened her horizons, making her want “to live inside a book.” She mentions the books and...
Posted by JGranatino on Thu, Aug 03
If you just cannot resist browsing the local independent bookstores when you travel, this book is for you! Eckstein’s lovely illustrations and charming anecdotes about seventy-five venerable bookstores from Boston to Bucharest cannot fail to fascinate. His tales of eccentric customers, romantic encounters, celebrity visitors, and creative locations and décor will capture the attention of any dedicated bibliophile -- and perhaps even inspire a field trip.
Posted by JGranatino on Fri, Jul 28
An excavation in a gentrified section of London has uncovered the skeletal remains of a newborn baby. The local paper has relegated the story to a small blurb buried on a back page but veteran reporter Kate Waters feels this could be a blockbuster story, linked to the disappearance of a baby from a maternity hospital decades before. Risking the ire of the Editor, she contacts old acquaintances from the police department to try to uncover the truth. What she finds is much more sinister than she...
Posted by BHanley on Wed, Jul 26
The only survivor. This is what it means to be a Final Girl. Quincy was the only survivor from a college weekend party at Pine Cottage after witnessing the brutal death of her friends, and coming close to death herself. She was rescued by a lone cop who shot to death the alleged killer. As both a blessing and a curse, Quincy can only remember up to the bloodshed and then her rescue afterward. On a national interest level, Quincy joined Lisa and Samantha as Final Girls, lone survivors of...

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