Books

June 13th 2017
Book covers of Buffering, Juliet Takes a Breath, and Fun Home

Happy pride month, Somerville! We are always looking for new and diverse books to read and and recommend.This month, we asked Autostraddle contributor, medical resident, and comic book enthusiast Lizz Rubin for some recommendations. Here’s a list of her favorite queer books right now:

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn't sure if her mom will ever speak to... Read Post

December 22nd 2016

After just returning from Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, where it was hot and humid, this New England weather is killing me. I would love to return to a sunny vacation where the authentic food was amazing, Buddhist temples await, adventures on rivers and massages at every turn. If you’re looking to take a trip to get out of this cold and dreary weather, come take a look at Somerville library’s travel books, starting in the 914 section on the second floor of the main library, you can find a... Read Post

September 28th 2016

Yesterday the New York Times ran a two-part column discussing whether or not there is a "wrong way" to read a book. The best part was this quote from Doris Lessing:

“There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping the parts that drag — and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement. Remember that... Read Post

August 8th 2016

I’m re-reading The Great Gatsby for the first time since college and am astounded. I remember loving the lush, delicate writing at the time but little else. Now I can’t get over the deceptive, seeming simplicity of  this very short novel that has so much going on it: a snapshot of the Jazz Age, a critique of class, of entitlement, of capitalism, and the brutal clash of dreams and reality, all conveyed in exquisite prose.

Many of the people and a couple of the events in the novel have... Read Post

June 6th 2016
The Library of America is a nonprofit publisher dedicated to producing  durable high-quality editions of the best of American writing. And it's not just fiction: their nonfiction volumes include the World War II reporting of A.J. Liebling, the movie reviews of James Agee, and the four-volume collection of diaries and letters, The Civil War Told by Those Who Lived It. If you want to get exposure to a range of American writing but are daunted by the size and number of LOA books, sign up for "... Read Post
May 9th 2016
Mercury is moving between Earth and the Sun today, a relatively rare event known as a solar transit. It began around 7 am today and will continue until 2:42 pm Eastern Time. Whatever you do, don't look directly at the Sun to try watch it. In any case, there's not much to see: just a small black dot (Mercury) on the face of the Sun. If you don't have a solar filter for your camera or binoculars there are plenty of live streams on the Internet, such as the one here. NASA has provided some... Read Post
June 6th 2015
Our next book for Somerville Reads, our annual community one town/one book series of events, is the critically acclaimed best-seller The Martian, the story of an astronaut stranded on Mars and his struggle for survival. The Wall Street Journal called it "The best pure sci-fi novel in years." Kirkus Reviews praised it for being "sharp, funny and thrilling."  A film adaptation directed by Ridley Scott (the genius behind one of the best sci-fi films of all time) will be in theaters in November.... Read Post
February 19th 2015
Snow. Snow. And yet more snow. And we're all tired of it. And record-breaking low temperatures tonight.  It's all too easy to let the weather get you down.  But if it's too cold to go out, go in: into a book. Reading is a great way to forget whatever is troubling you, whatever you're tired of, whatever you wish would go away. So I and a couple of my colleagues at another library put together a list of titles we hope you'll enjoy. One of the great fictional detectives of our day is Walter... Read Post
July 18th 2014
Boston University professor Linda Heyw0od gave a great talk last night on Prince Among Slaves, one of the titles in our Muslim Journeys bookshelf. Prince is the story of Abdul Rahman, a Fulbe prince captured and sold into slavery in Mississippi and his quest for freedom. The book is also a fascinating portrait of antebellum Natchez, the heart of the "Cotton Kingdom." Dr. Heywood is a  dynamic speaker who  did a fabulous job placing the events and people of the book in their historical context,... Read Post
May 20th 2014
One of the most interesting books I've read this year  has been Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders. I would have been drawn to it anyway because of my love of history, but I was especially intrigued by the book's subject because I'm in charge of the library's programming series Muslim Journeys.   Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an is a fascinating look at one of the most astonishing episodes in American history: the establishment of America as a secular state, one where there were no... Read Post
May 5th 2014

For most of us today is just another Monday, or at most an excuse to go out for Mexican food tonight or make a margarita at home. For Mexican-Americans and Mexicans residing in the US, today is a celebration of Mexican heritage. But what is Cinco de Mayo? The holiday commemorates the highly unlikely victory of a Mexican army over invading French forces on May 5, 1862, near the city of Puebla, Mexico. Here's the background: after the U.S. invasion of 1846-48 and two civil wars, the... Read Post

November 15th 2013
Last night's Muslim Journeys event was great. Harvard Divinity School professor Leila Ahmed participated in a discussion of her book, A Quiet Revolution: The Veil's Resurgence, from the Middle East to America.  We had a good turnout, and everyone who participated in the discussion had interesting questions and shared well-informed opinions. The conversation ranged from  the history of this highly symbolic garment to the differences in religious practice and culture in various Islamic nations... Read Post
August 12th 2013
James Whitey Bulger Captured

It's official: Whitey Bulger has been found guilty - of a whole lot of stuff - and will presumably be spending the rest of his life behind bars.  Many of us would like to forget all about the notorious thug but, human nature being what it is, a fair number of us want to know all there is to know about Whitey and his doings.  To that end, here's a list of relevant books available through the Minuteman Library Network.

Whitey: the Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss by Dick Lehr... Read Post
June 25th 2013
The mercury's breaking 90 today and it's going to be almost as warm through the weekend.  Here are some tips to make the next few days a little more comfortable. Cooking can make an already hot kitchen unbearable, so check out this link to Mark Bittman's 101 recipes ready in fewer than ten minutes. Longtime readers of this blog probably recall that I've posted this link before, but there's always something on it I haven't tried, and I'm assuming the same is true of you. You should also browse... Read Post
June 11th 2013
The Art Forger  by B. A. Shapiro  is our book for this year's Somerville Reads. Inspired by the 1990 Gardner Museum heist, the Art Forger is  the story of Claire Roth, a struggling young artist who makes a meager living painting reproductions. Her luck seemingly changes when an art dealer offers a very large fee and a one-woman show at a hip gallery in return for copying a painting that bears an unsettling resemblance to one of the missing Gardner works.  Is it authentic? And why is someone... Read Post

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