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 Review by Shawna
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant
Set during Biblical times of Jacob and his four wives, this story is seen through the eyes of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and his first wife Leah. Dinah grew up in the presence of many strong women as role models. She experienced the love of all of Jacob’s wives and referred to them as her many moms. I was taken in by the lovely writing style of Diamant. Her details of the land, clothing, customs, and feelings/emotions of the characters have stayed with me long after the book was finished. I did not want the story to end so I began to read slowly, but the pages turned far too fast. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and would highly recommend this book. There is much tragedy throughout, but much happiness, too.
In the front of the book is a genealogy that I referenced while becoming familiar with the characters, but after a few chapters this was not necessary.
*****
Have you read a book recently that you really liked? Liked well enough to write a short review of it for the RPL website? Send us your review and we’ll post it under “Patron Picks.” Send your review to sfoster@ryepubliclibrary.org, and be sure to say whether you want your full name or only your first name published, or whether you prefer for your review to be published anonymously.
 Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen
Review by Gwen
This novel is quite a commitment, one that I am not sure I would recommend to others enthusiastically!
It is a long story (literally!) of a dysfunctional family and their trials and tribulations set in the modern day world.“ Patty and Walter Berglund are parents of two grown children and proud homeowners in an up and coming neighborhood.“ By all appearances, they are successful and thriving as a couple.“ However, they can never really escape their strange childhood and college experiences which continue to taunt them into their adult lives.“ The other main character in the book is Walter’s friend Richard, a musician and carpenter.“ He is enmeshed with their lives in an unhealthy way and the trio all seem to be using each other for their own needs.
The story turns into a saga-like tale and it is somewhat irritating, as the characters become a bit self-loathing.“ Despite this feeling I had at times, I did enjoy the author’s writing style which is quite witty and comical.“ I have heard feedback that the audio is very good.“ Put me on the list for the audio next time!
*****
Have you read a book recently that you really liked (or didn’t )? Liked (or disliked) well enough to write a short review of it for the RPL website? Send us your review and we’ll post it under “Patron Picks.” Send your review to sfoster@ryepubliclibrary.org, and be sure to say whether you want your full name or only your first name published, or whether you prefer for your review to be published anonymously.
 Review by Pam
The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown
The three Andreas sisters–Rose, Bean, and Cordy–have grown up in the small college town of Barnwell. Their father, a Shakespearean Professor at the local college, raised the girls on Shakespeare. Bean and Cordy left as soon as they could, Bean for New York City and Cordy for everywhere else. Rose stayed in the area and checked in on their parents on a regular basis. When all of the girls have life changing events in their lives they come home to Barnwell to their family home with the excuse of caring for their mother who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
This is Eleanor Brown’s first book though she has written in magazines and journals. She has an unusual way of using the voices of the sisters when describing each other“ and the events in their lives. If you have siblings you will recognize the family dynamics that happen in the book. The elder responsible sister, the middle invisible sister and the younger sister spoiled by the whole family. I came to really enjoy being in the center of this dysfunctional family. All of us will recognize someone in our family and hope events turn out as well for our family as they do for this family.
*******
Have you read a book recently that you really liked? Liked well enough to write a short review of it for the RPL website? Send us your review and we’ll post it under “Patron Picks.” Send your review to sfoster@ryepubliclibrary.org, and be sure to say whether you want your full name or only your first name published, or whether you prefer for your review to be published anonymously.
 Review by Gwen
The winter of our disconnect : how three totally wired teenagers (and a mother who slept with her iPhone) pulled the plug on their technology and lived to tell the tale, by Susan Maushart
I found this book to be an entertaining read!“ It is the story of a mother who decides to “unplug” herself and her three teenagers from the digital world for a six-month experiment.“ The author, who admits to sleeping with her iPhone, hopes that the withdrawal from technology will bring her family closer together.“ She uses bribes to lure her children toward this goal, but it is successful nonetheless!“ The family starts reading books, cooking, playing musical instruments, singing, looking at photo albums and basically communicating with each other face-to-face.“ Susan Muashart is an exceptionally keen and witty writer and I found myself (LOL) laughing out loud at her commentary on today’s society in general!
In addition to her humor, the book is well researched and has scholarly perspective to it which helps to keep the reader intrigued.
*****
Have you read a book recently that you really liked? Liked well enough to write a short review of it for the RPL website? Send us your review and we’ll post it under “Patron Picks.” Send your review to sfoster@ryepubliclibrary.org, and be sure to say whether you want your full name or only your first name published, or whether you prefer for your review to be published anonymously.
 Launch of the Mercury-Redstone 3 spacecraft on May 5, 1961, 9:34 a.m. EST, with Alan Shepard on board. by Sharon
Thursday, May 5th, 2011, marks the 50th anniversary of NASA’s first manned space flight. Astronaut Alan B. Shepard completed a 15 minute sub-orbital flight in less time than it took me to get from home to school that morning.
The first American in space and–ten years later–the fifth human being to walk on the Moon, Shepard was born in Derry, New Hampshire, received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1944, graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School in 1951, and the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island in 1957.
In 1959, Shepard was selected as one of the seven Mercury astronauts. On May 5, 1961, in the Freedom 7 spacecraft, he was launched by a Redstone rocket on a ballistic trajectory suborbital flight–a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point in the Atlantic Ocean, 302 statute miles downrange from the launchpad. There’s a model of the Redstone rocket at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, and believe me, it is small! Bigger than an Estes hobby rocket, to be sure, but only a fraction of the size of the Saturn V that would launch Americans to the Moon later that decade.
Alan Shepard was grounded in 1963 due to an inner ear disorder that interfered with his balance and coordination. He was designated Chief of the Astronaut Office with responsibility for monitoring the coordination, scheduling, and control of all activities involving NASA astronauts. He was restored to full flight status in May 1969, following risky corrective surgery for the inner ear disorder. Shepard made his second space flight as spacecraft commander on Apollo 14, January 31 – February 9, 1971, the third manned lunar landing mission. After collecting samples, testing new equipment, and other serious research, Shepard took out a makeshift six iron golf club and two golf balls, and took several swings–one-handed, due to the limited flexibility of the EVA (extra-vehicular activity) suit. He exclaimed that the second ball went “miles and miles and miles” in the lunar gravity, but later estimated it actually went 200 to 400 yards.
 View from inside the capsule. Come in this weekend and browse our selection of books on space exploration (629.4 through 629.454), and biographies of Alan Shepard that include Moon Shot: the Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton with Jay Barbree and Howard Benedict (629.45 SHE); Light This Candle: the Life and Times of Alan Shepard, America’s First Spaceman, by Neal Thompson (629.45 THOM); and Alan Shepard: the First American in Space, by Tamra B. Orr (J B SHEPARD).
*Due to delays caused by clouds that would prevent filming of the launch, and last-minute repairs to the radio system, Shepard waited in the Freedom 7 spacecraft for nearly four hours. Tired of waiting, he told the ground crew, “Why don’t you fellows solve your little problems and light this candle? “
by Sharon
For me, it’s the goldfinches and the chickadees. When I hear the chickadees, or see the flash of gold that means the goldfinches are putting on their summer colors, I know that winter is over.“ And you?
We have some books that both new and experienced backyard birders will enjoy. Here are just a few that are on display right now. As always, any book that you see on one of our displays is available to be borrowed.
 How To Spot An Owl, by Patricia and Clay Sutton. There’s just something about owls, isn’t there? Unlike most birds, owls appear to be looking at you straight on. Remember the owl that came to nest at Odiorne last year? Think she’ll come back? I hope so!
Several of the books on our display come from the prolific team of Donald and Lillian Stokes:
Stokes Backyard Bird Book : the complete guide to attracting, identifying, and understanding the birds in your backyard.
The Bluebird Book : the complete guide to attracting bluebirds.
The Complete Birdhouse Book : the easy guide to attracting nesting birds.
A Guide to Bird Behavior.
The Hummingbird Book : the complete guide to attracting, identifying, and enjoying hummingbirds.
The Armchair Birder: Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds, by John Yow, will appeal to everyone with backyard and window feeders.
We have the beautifully illustrated Sibley Guide to Birds, showing adult, juvenile, male, and female colors and shapes for any bird that you are likely to see anywhere in North America.
Browse through Audubon’s Birds of America, edited by Roger Tory Peterson & Virginia Marie Peterson, and find out why it’s called the “baby elephant folio”!
All this, and our famous bird carvings, too, at your library!
 Review by Gwen
The premise of this one-of-a-kind novel is jarring … a mother and her young son held hostage in a one-room shed for many years. At first glance I thought I could never get through a book with this scenario as a central theme, but I am glad that I made the effort. The novel is told through the eyes of Jack who was born into the room, the only world he knows. He loves his routines and the comfort of “Ma” who astonishingly enough, is loving, and nurturing toward her son despite her circumstances.
The hope for a better future propels the reader to continue to be intrigued with this story. I encourage anyone thinking that Room may not be for them, to reconsider as it is so much more than a simple story of imprisonment … it is a story of the bond between mother and son, and resiliency of the human spirit.
*****
Have you read a book recently that you really liked? Liked well enough to write a short review of it for the RPL website? Send us your review and we’ll post it under “Patron Picks.” Send your review to sfoster@ryepubliclibrary.org, and be sure to say whether you want your full name or only your first name published, or whether you prefer for your review to be published anonymously.
 Review by Gwen
Sing You Home is a novel that invites the reader into the life of Zoe Baxter, a music therapist, and her struggle to maintain her marriage under the weight of not being able to conceive.“ The chapters alternate between Zoe, her husband Max, and Zoe’s new partner, Vanessa.“ This technique allows the reader to understand the perspective of all the people involved in Zoe’s life and how relationships evolve and change due to life’s circumstances.
The novel examines what it is to be a “family” while exploring gay and reproductive rights.“ The narrative stories personalize the political agendas inherent in the novel.“ “ “ In addition to the book, there is a musical CD with songs about each chapter.“ It adds a nice element to the story and helps to further personalize the controversial issues in the book.
I did not think this was Jodi Picoult’s best novel, but one that is definitely worth reading.“ I learned a bit about music therapy and some of the legal issues involved with topics such as in-vitro fertilization.“ I recommend it for Picoult fans.
*****
Have you read a book recently that you really liked? Liked well enough to write a short review of it for the RPL website? Send us your review and we’ll post it under “Patron Picks.” Send your review to sfoster@ryepubliclibrary.org, and be sure to say whether you want your full namae or only your first name published, or whether you prefer for your review to be published anonymously.
 Review by Sharon
I like mysteries, but I was never a mystery “fan.” Though I liked the Lord Peter Whimsey and Harriet Vane stories, I never felt compelled to read all of Dorothy L. Sayers’ other works. But last year I went to my first New Hampshire Library Association meeting and heard Julia Spencer-Fleming talk about her mystery series that began with In the Bleak Midwinter, and I saw the enthusiasm with which her many fans in the audience asked questions about her life, her writing, and especially about her characters and what was going to happen to them next.
Afterward, I bought a couple of her books–yes, really, I couldn’t wait to find out if Rye Public Library had them–and stood in the autograph line. She chatted amiably with everyone, whether new fans or old, and I was already hooked.
All the books in the series are named for a line from Scripture or from a hymn, for Reverend Clare Fergusson is the newly ordained and newly hired pastor of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Millers Kill, a small town in upstate New York with truly bleak winters. Rev. Clare, a native of southern Virginia and a former helicopter pilot for the Army, who was never stationed anywhere cold, has just moved into the parish house as the first female priest for this congregation. She is totally unprepared for the cold, from her lack of a winter coat to her choice of an automobile. One might wonder how she ever survived the Army, but this is soon forgotten when she meets Russ Van Alstyne, Chief of Police and native of Millers Kill. And married. They are brought together by Clare’s discovery of a baby, left abandoned on the church steps with a note that starts out, “This is our baby, Cody. Please give him to Mr. and Mrs. Burns here at St. Alban’s.”
Chief Van Alstyne is also an Army veteran and, while the two of them have very different personalities, they soon find that they share a certain sardonic sense of humor and a pragmatic view of life, Clare’s being more tempered by experiences that led up to her being called to the priesthood. (Of this, we learn very little, and that’s one of the big mysteries in her past, even up through book 6, I Shall Not Want.)
Like all the best mysteries, Spencer-Fleming gives us just enough clues to make it difficult, but not impossible, to figure out who the murderer is, while always shedding some new light on human imperfections and motivations. Like many fictional small towns, Millers Kill seems to have more than its share of mysterious deaths, but Spencer-Fleming keeps it interesting by not always going for the straight-line plot. I particularly enjoyed Out of the Deep I Cry, the third book in the series, which interweaves past and present into a heartbreaking story of loss and survival.
While each book in the series stands alone as a mystery, if you want to follow the twists and turns in the developing relationship between Rev. Fergusson and Chief Van Alstyne, you will want to read them in sequence. And then you’ll be ready for book 7, which is due out this month!
The Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery series by Julia Spencer-Fleming:
1. In the Bleak Midwinter (2002)
2. A Fountain Filled with Blood (2003)
3. Out of the Deep I Cry (2004)
4. To Darkness and to Death (2005)
5. All Mortal Flesh (2006)
6. I Shall Not Want (2008)
7. One Was a Soldier (2011)
I like mysteries, but I was never a mystery “fan.” Though I liked the Lord Peter Whimsey and Harriet Vane
stories, I never felt compelled to read all of Dorothy L. Sayers’ other works. But last year I went to my
first New Hampshire Library Association meeting and heard Julia Spencer-Fleming talk about her mystery
series that began with In the Bleak Midwinter, and I saw the enthusiasm with which her many fans in the
audience asked her questions about her life, her writing, and especially about her characters and what
was going to happen to them next.
Afterwards, I bought a couple of her books—yes, really, I couldn’t wait to find out if Rye Public
Library had them—and stood in the autograph line. She chatted amiably with everyone, whether new
fans or old, and I was hooked.
All the books in the series are named for a line from Scripture or from a hymn, for Reverend Clare
Fergusson is the newly ordained and newly hired pastor of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Millers Kill, a
small town in upstate New York with truly bleak winters. Rev. Clare, a native of southern Virginia and a
former helicopter pilot for the Army, who was never stationed anywhere cold, has just moved into the
parish house as the first female priest for this congregation. She is totally unprepared for the cold,
from her lack of a winter coat to her choice of an automobile. One might wonder how she ever survived the
Army, but this is soon forgotten when she meets Russ Van Alstyne, Chief of Police and native of Millers
Kill. And married. They are brought together by Clare’s discovery of a baby, left abandoned on the church
steps with a note that starts out, “This is our baby, Cody. Please give him to Mr. and Mrs. Burns here at
St. Alban’s.”
Chief Van Alstyne is also an Army veteran and, while the two of them have very different personalities,
they soon find that they share a certain sardonic sense of humor and a pragmatic view of life, Clare’s
being more tempered by experiences that led up to her being called to the priesthood. (Of this, we learn
very little, and that’s one of the big mysteries in her past, even up through book 6, I Shall Not Want.)
Like all the best mysteries, Spencer-Fleming gives us just enough clues to make it difficult, but not
impossible, to figure out who the murderer is, while always shedding some new light on human
imperfections and motivations. Like many fictional small towns, Millers Kill seems to have more than its
share of mysterious deaths, but Spencer-Fleming keeps it interesting by not always going for the
straight-line plot. I particularly enjoyed Out of the Deep I Cry, the third book in the series, which
interweaves past and present into a heartbreaking story of loss and survival.
While each book in the series stands alone as a mystery, if you want to follow the twists and turns in
the developing relationship between Rev. Fergusson and Chief Van Alstyne, you will want to read them in
sequence. And then you’ll be ready for book 7, which is due out this month!
The Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery series by Julia Spencer-Fleming
1. In the Bleak Midwinter (2002)
2. A Fountain Filled with Blood (2003)
3. Out of the Deep I Cry (2004)
4. To Darkness and to Death (2005)
5. All Mortal Flesh (2006)
6. I Shall Not Want (2008)
7. One Was a Soldier (2011)
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