Tracy Chevalier, author of The Girl With A Pearl Earring, has written a novel set in 1932 England about a young woman trying to support herself on her own. Violet Speedwell lost both her fiance and her brother in the Great War and struggles as a typist to earn enough for her rent and two meals a day. She finds a friend, Gilda, among the broderers, a group of women who embroider cushions and kneelers for the local cathedral. Through Gilda, Violet meets Arthur, a bell ringer at the church, who becomes very special to her. Chevalier’s characters are well-developed and they provide the reader with a snapshot of the difficulties faced by single women in 1930’s society.
Author Archive
A Single Thread
December 4, 2019National Book Award winners
November 30, 2019
And here they are: the National Book Award Winners of 2019:
Fiction: Trust Exercise — Susan Choi
Non-fiction: The Yellow House — Sarah M. Broom
Poetry: Sight Lines — Arthur Sze
Translated Literature: Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming — Ottilie Mulzet & László Krasznahorkai
Young People’s Literature: 1919 The Year That Changed America — Martin W. Sandler
The Bookshop
November 27, 2019
Based on the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald, the movie stars Emily Mortimer as Florence Green, a widow with a desire to open a bookshop in a small coastal town in England in 1959. She faces opposition from the town matriarch, Violet, played by Patricia Clarkson, who does everything she can to thwart Florence, but the Old House bookshop opens successfully. But Violet is a schemer, and she refuses to give in. Bill Nighy is wonderful as Edmund Brundish, an town recluse who gallantly comes to Emily’s aid to combat Violet. It was a very entertaining film, but have a box of tissues nearby, for there are some sad scenes. The film ends with a twist; one I did not see coming…
How To Raise A Reader
November 20, 2019
This is an excellent resource for parents or any adult looking for a good children’s or teen book. It covers all ages, from babies up to teenagers, and offers many, many lists of recommended books. Raise A Reader is well organized; Parts 1 – 4 are broken down by age groups, and Part 5 is an exhaustive list of more titles, organized by category and age. Four talented illustrators add more value, and there are tons of tips on choosing titles and reading in general. The authors have impressive credentials; they are both editors for the New York Times Book Review. I would recommend this for all parenting collections…
Tech Tools to fight fake news
November 13, 2019
According to America Libraries Online, libraries have turned to various tech tools to combat fake news. A web browser extension, NewsGuard, looks at the credibility of thousands of websites and issues a rating for each. It uses 9 criteria to judge the site’s accuracy. There are also fact-checking websites that one can use as well, such as Snopes.com, Factcheck.org, Politifact and Allsides. Read the full article here.
