In today's episode, I spoke with Wendy Sharkey, Library Director at the Bennington Free Library in Bennington, VT. Bennington is located in southwestern Vermont. Wendy told me the library has been operating in the same location for 160 years (as of next year)! The library began as a gentleman's reading club. In 1936 a new library building was built right next door, and over time it became too small, so a connector was constructed between the original library and the newer building. The current library operates in both buildings and the connector. For more on the history of the Bennington Free Library see this history page on their website.
Wendy also told me about the library's Memory Book collection geared toward caregivers of people with memory issues. Each kit contains 6 books and is available through interlibrary loan as well. The Bennington Library of Things collection includes snowshoes, a pass to a local ski resort, a telescope, and more. Every Spring, the library hosts a craft supplies swap which is very popular and they have started a new sewing program called "Sit and Sew".
I had a lot of fun sharing book recommendations with Wendy. I moved her first book to the number one place on my TBR list. It's a YA non-fiction book about the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and its legacy, Blackbirds in the Sky (2022) by Brandy Colbert. Wendy shared that she had not known about this piece of American history and I remarked that I certainly didn't learn about it when I was in school. I'm very grateful that more history books are being published that tell about events and stories that have not been written about in book published by mainstream publishers.
Wendy was delighted to talk about two small in size mystery books by the author Helene Turston, a Swedish novelist of Scandinavian crime fiction. An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good (2018) and An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed (2020). I agreed that these are two fun, quirky, lovely mysteries.
The final book on Wendy's short list is a picture book that asks the question, "Can pizza save your life?" Knight Owl (2022) by Christopher Denise. This is book one of two books in the Knight Owl series and is full of positivity and wordplay. It's a wonderful book about friendship. Book two, Knight Owl and Early Bird comes out in October, 2024.
The two books I recommended for episode 10 are both novels and both have a woman as the main character, one is in a relationship with bread, and the other is maybe, don't know, possibly in a relationship with another woman. At least everyone around them thinks so.
Robin Sloan's book, Sourdough: a novel came out in 2017. When it was issued in paperback, the cover changed (not unusual) but the title changed a bit as well to Sourdough or Lois and Her Adventures in the Underground Market (2018). While doing some research for this blog I found out yet another cover change happened for the reissue of the paperback version that came out in 2022, Sourdough with bonus story, The Suitcase Clone. Just for fun, I've included all three covers on the right side of this page.
I discovered Robin Sloan in 2012 when a friend recommended Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. I was enchanted by this book, and happily awaited more books by the author. But I had to wait until Sourdough came out 5 years later! The story was worth the wait, and it's a book I've recommended to many people. In the story, Lois Clary is a transplanted Midwesterner working at a tech company on the west coast. She is overworked (the employees don't stop for lunch or dinner breaks, but drink down a kind of protein slurry drink instead) and she doesn't have any social life or friends.
She happens upon a flyer for a local café and decides to get real food delivered to her apartment for a change. She becomes one of their best customers, ordering their spicy soup and sourdough bread every time. When the brothers who run the café are facing immediate deportation, they come to Lois's apartment and give her a gift. A small jar of their sourdough started, a CD of songs from their country and instructions. This begins a quirky and wonderful journey into breadmaking and community.
Once again there was a wait for Robin Sloan's next book, but Moonbound has just come out in June and I'm starting it this week. I'll let you know what I think in a future post.
My second book is Meryl Wilsner's, Something to Talk About (2020), a nice frothy summer romance. Famous Hollywood show runner Jo and her assistant Emma are caught in a "moment" on the red carpet by paparazzi. The photo makes it look like they might be an item and the press and social media blow up as Jo is also famous for keeping her personal life very private. But Emma and Jo are not an item - or are they? Light, fun, and the slowest slow burn romance I think I've ever read. Here's another book that had the unfortunate timing to be published during the Covid lockdown and didn't get the attention it deserved.
Thank you for listening to the podcast and reading the blog! Please visit us at Facebook for more Vermont public library tidbits. If you would like your Vermont library to be featured on an episode of WTBAnow, please use the contact page or send a Facebook message! And remember to explore public libraries in person or digitally. You'll be surprised and delighted at what you find.
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