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This month’s book display, located to the right as you enter Topsham Public Library, is highlighting Maine authors.

Maine is the best place to be in the summer, so when you hit the beach, or head to camp, or relax in your own yard, stop by Topsham Public Library first and pick up some books by Maine authors to enjoy in your Maine surroundings.

Of course, there will be selections from the ever popular Stephen King, Paul Doiron, Tess Gerritsen, Linda Greenlaw, Richard Russo, Monica Wood, and Richard Ford, but you might find some not-known-to-you voices like Earl Smith, Jen Blood, Jennie Bentley, Diane Amos, Joe Coomer, Tom Brown, Stephanie Doyon and others.

Maine is the place to be!

The day was gray and the rain wouldn’t stop. I decided to read a book. I have piles, literally, piles of new books just waiting to be read, but I ignored them. I had the overwhelming desire to read Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I don’t normally re-read books, but there are one or two that I go back to once-in-a-while.

When I read Lord of the Rings, I feel like I’m going home. I don’t know why, and I suppose it’s silly to say, but that’s how it makes me feel. I enjoy the earthiness of the story, and the camaraderie between the characters. I like the heroes and heroines faults and all, and I guess, especially for their faults. I don’t schedule when to re-read it, it just happens.

I asked my co-workers what books they re-read and here is a smattering of what they said.

Cyndi likes to re-read when she’s tired because she doesn’t have to concentrate as much, and she finds books more entertaining when she reads them a second time. Her go to author is Elizabeth Peters.

Julie re-reads Lord of the Flies by William Golding, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Sharon enjoys to re-visit essays written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Loren Eisley, and David Sedaris.

Emma did not hesitate when she told me what books she reads over and over again: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson.

Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, and  A Wrinkle In Time by Madaleine L’Engle are Lynne’s favorite books to read again.

And last but not least, Linda’s two favorite books to read again are by the same author: Great Lion of God and Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell.

Do you re-read books? What are your favorite books to re-read?

The following is an update from Dave about Topsham Public Library’s DVD collection.

Not all the “new” items that come into Topsham Public Library’s collection are noted on our monthly listing.  Most times when we bring something that is published or created in past years, it is not included on the list.  For instance, recently we received several donated DVD titles from Acorn, known to some of you from Acorn TV.  These items have long been released but are new to our collection, and I wanted to bring attention to some of those “new” to us!

Classic mysteries have arrived like the recently re-released Mrs. Bradley Mysteries, starring the terrific Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones & Avengers).  Voted favorite BBC actress, Patricia Routledge show her acting range portraying a retired northern housewife turned private eye in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. The late, great Richard Griffiths in the much-loved Pie in the Sky series also graces our shelves in which he portrays a detective-by-day and a popular chef-by-night.  Anyone who loves crime shows or culinary delights will be immediately hooked.

Fans of small town living or family dramas will appreciate the recent additions of Ballykissangel featuring Stephen Tompkinson as an English priest being transferred to a small Irish village.  Fans of Julian Fellowes, creator and author of Downton Abbey, will delight in seeing his acting the part of Kilwillie in the zany character filled Monarch of the Glen.  Others will delight in the current Australian hit show A Place to Call Home, starring Marta Dussledorp (Janet King, Jack Irish) who has won several awards for her portrayal of a holocaust survivor coming home to Australia in the 1950’s.

Speaking of Australian shows, don’t miss other potential favorites and recent acquisitions, 800 Words (a journalist who loses his wife in an accident emigrates with his kids from Australia to New Zealand—but will they stay?), Level (fans of Downton Abbey will recognize Robert James-Collier in a pivotal role) and Deep Water, starring Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black) attempting to solve a present day crime that might resemble the murder of her brother who was killed in a hate crime, years ago.  My personal favorite is Wentworth which I describe as Orange is the New Black meets Oz; it’s dark, but great!

This is just a sampling of the 45+ Acorn/BBC titles recently added to our collection, too many to annotate in this blog.  Most of these DVDs were donated by patrons who hoped fellow residents would enjoy them. If you have gently-used DVDs you are done with, that are not already part of our collection, please drop them by. If we can, we will include them in our collection of 4000 DVD titles. If not, they will go into our annual Friends of Topsham Public Library Book Sale that funds many library efforts including all our programming throughout the year.  We are especially interested in adding classic movies and series to our ever-growing collection.

(Touch of Frost; Duchess of Duke Street; Close to the Enemy; Case Histories; Flambards; Wish Me Luck; Rough Diamond; Cadfael; Invisibles; Strumpet City; Island at War; Maigret; The Grand; Detectorists; Trial & Retribution; Jack Taylor; Vexed; Winter; Jericho of Scotland Yard; Lark Rise to Candleford; To the Manor Born; Single-Handed; The Fall; 19-2; Touching Evil; Wire in the Blood; DCI Banks; Silk; Worricker; The Last Detective; Durrells in Corfu; Home Fires; and more.)

Last week, my sister Laurie, my cousin Lisa, and I went on a road trip to Michigan to visit my sister Becky. It was second nature for me to check out a variety of audio books from Topsham Public Library in preparation of the 14ish hours of drive time. (I won’t mention which of us has the lead foot.) Now, all three of us are readers and enjoy reading, but what I did not know is that Lisa had never listened to audio books before. She was a little nervous about the experience she was about undergo. I happened to have checked out The Guilty by David Baldacci, so we began with it because she was familiar with Baldacci and liked him. The time flew by with the three of us in the car, filling our mouths with junk food, spilling family secrets and switching up the audio book with some tunes. And Lisa thoroughly enjoyed her first audio book experience.

I, also, was an adult when I listened to my first audio book. My family was headed north for a vacation and I picked up a couple audio books from Topsham Public Library to, hopefully, make the ride more bearable. For no particular reason, I chose Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce read by Jason Hughes. A young boy in a small village in Wales tells the story of his sister’s grand plan to steal an art masterpiece to help their father save the family business. All of us, including my three elementary aged children, loved it. Even to this day, some 10 years later, we quote lines from it. The way Jason Hughes read the book added so much to the story.

After that first experience, I wanted to check out every audio book and listen non-stop. I was soon to discover not all audio books are created equal. Just as Jason Hughes’ performance added to the story, there are just as many readers who destroy a story. You will love some, and you will hate others.

I can remember what I was doing when I was listening to my favorite audio books. I hulled strawberries, froze strawberries, made strawberry jam, and made strawberry shortcake while listening to The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey and read by Paul Michael. I’m not sure if I would have liked the book as much as I liked the audio book. Paul Michael, through slight nuances, makes this story more thoughtful than if I had read it myself. This story is about a young man who tries to do everything right but everything goes wrong. He’s a descendant of one of King Arthur’s knights only he doesn’t know he’s a descendant until he tries to steal Excalibur and he doesn’t know he’s stealing Excalibur until it’s too late and the fate of the world is in his hands.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and read by Allan Corduner, I have listened to many a time. I listen to audio books while preparing supper, or cooking for fun, or cleaning out the refrigerator, or sewing at the kitchen table. Usually, during these times I would be hard pressed to find my children as they make themselves scarce when they think I might need someone to dry dishes, or worse yet, wash dishes, so imagine my delight while I was listening to this particular book my eldest slowly making his way into the kitchen and asking me what I was listening to. He stood there in the kitchen – he didn’t pull up a chair, he just stood and leaned against the counter under the spell of Corduner and his reading. That was also the first time an audio book disappeared, and I found it because I heard him playing it in his room that night.

By the time they graduate from high school, I try to have a scrapbook done that chronicles my children’s school days. It was when I began working on my daughter’s scrapbook that I listened to Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle and read by David Ackroyd. This is a story about rum-running off the coast of Rhode Island during prohibition and about two boys who are changed by a grisly find on the beach.

Some other favorites of mine are:

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys read by Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and Michael Crouch is a fictional account of the true life sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a transport ship carrying refugees and German military fleeing the coming Russians.

The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer and read by Scott Brick is the first in a series, but is enjoyable as a stand alone, about an archivist that bucks security protocol to impress a childhood sweetheart. This leads to a dictionary once owned by George Washington which then leads to murder.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and read by Tony Goldwyn is non-fiction and tells the story of a serial killer in Chicago during World’s Fair in 1893.

I could go on, but what about you? Are you an audio book fan? What are your favorites?

Are you caught up in the NCAA March Madness College Basketball Tournament? My family loves March Madness and we each have our own bracket. It is a family tradition and the winner gets to decide where we will go out to eat. I’m already out this year. I’m usually the first one out of contention each year because I don’t look at stats, I don’t look at the season, I just go with my heart. My husband on the other hand actually thinks about his bracket; he analyzes the team record, thinks about coaches and individual players, and makes an informed decision. He usually doesn’t fare any better than I do.

So, since I’ve been thinking basketball lately, I thought I would share some books that are available through Topsham Public Library that may be of interest to other basketball fans.

The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry by John Feinstein is a look at the recruiting wars, the high pressure stakes, and the sometimes ugly rivalry between big time college basketball powerhouses University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke, and North Carolina State.

Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA by Joe Nocera and Ben Strauss is an unveiling of the dark side of the NCAA. They argue the organization exploits the student-athletes it is meant to protect.

In 2016, the world of basketball mourned the loss of Pat Summitt, the most successful women’s basketball coach whose career spanned 38 years. The Final Season: the Perseverance of Pat Summitt by Maria M. Cornelius covers her career and her battle with early onset Alzheimers.

1966 is a historic year in basketball: it was the first time a college coach started five African-American players, and if that wasn’t enough, they went on to unseat the then nationally top-ranked University of Kentucky. Coach Haskins tells this amazing story in Glory Road: My Story of the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and How One Team Triumphed Against the Odds and Changed America Forever.

Usually it’s the sports legends that write their stories, but if you want to know what it’s like to sit the bench, try Don’t Put Me in Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench by Mark Titus.