When I was a young teenager in the mid-1960s, the young adult genre of books was a mish-mash of Nancy Drew, Sue Barton, The Hardy Boys, Little Women, Treasure Island and David Copperfield. Once we teens had devoured all of those books, including Black Stallion, Johnny Tremain and I Capture the Castle, we seemed to move quickly and deliberately into books written for adults. We read John Steinbeck’s Mice and Men, Conrad Richter’s A Light in the Forest, and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. We carried dog-eared copies of Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Pearl Buck’s Good Earth, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath.

There were many of us who wanted something more meaningful than the romance, science fiction, and adventure written in the 40s and 50s for teenagers. Bestselling author Steve Berry writes that “what we now know as the young adult genre [in the early 60s] had yet to be invented”. Steven King’s Carrie was a decade away and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter was more than 30 years from being published.
One day, when he was 16, Steven Berry was handed a copy of James Michener’s Hawaii. Massive chapters, pages of descriptive prose, and centuries of history unfolded for him and a generation of older teens who were ready to devour books that opened up the world. Berry writes on his website that Michener is probably his favorite author and the one who made the greatest impression on him as a writer. It led him to write the introduction that appears in thirty-three of Michener’s books republished in paperback by Penguin Random House’s Dial Press, including Tales of the South Pacific (first published in 1947) and Miracle in Seville (Michener’s last book published, in 1995.)

James Michener’s memoir, The World is My Home was published in 1992, five years before his death. It’s a tome to be reckoned with, spanning nearly 90 years from his birth in Buck’s County, Pennsylvania in 1907 through some of the last of his novels written before he turned 85. At 512 pages, The World is My Home is neatly split into 14 chapters – seven about his life before he became a writer and seven after that. He writes of the early years of – when he was seemingly abandoned as an infant and adopted by a widowed Quaker, Mabel Michener. In fact, he never knew his actual birth date, nor the names of his biological parents. Years later, in order to obtain a U.S. passport, he would have to apply for a birth certificate, and it included a lengthy legal process with estimated and historical information about his birth.

Although he grew up in poverty, Michener managed to attend Swarthmore College on scholarship after graduating from high school. He earned a graduate degree in northern Colorado and became a college teacher. He guest lectured at Harvard, leaving that position to become an editor of textbooks. As a Quaker, he was sent to the South Pacific during World War II as a historian for the Navy from 1942-1946. He was discharged right before his 40th birthday.

And that is where the first seven chapters end and his writing career began – with his Tales of the South Pacific. He began notes about the stories, observations, and impressions that were made on him in the Navy. Tales of the South Pacific was published the year after he left the Navy and it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1948. The Broadway musical opened in 1949 (and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950) and two film versions were released in 1958 and 2001. The 1958 big-screen film was nominated for three academy awards, winning best picture for sound. The 2001 version was made for television and starred Glenn Close and Harry Connick, Jr.

I read a dog-eared mass paperback edition of Michener’s first novel The Fires of Spring (1947); (Tales of the South Pacific is considered a book of short stories). I was in my early 20s, traveling on rapid transit along the rail running along the East Bay of San Francisco. I devoured that book during my work commute. It is the semi-autobiographical story of Michener’s own life. David Harper, a young orphan who grows up in a rural poorhouse, drifts as a young man, spends time as a scam artist at a carnival, attends college and eventually becomes a journalist and writer in the early years of the depression.. The book is a true bildungsroman, the German word for a coming of age novel (a word known to librarians as it is a descriptor for a whole genre of novels.)

A few months ago, I was remembering with nostalgia those books I read in my late teens and early adulthood. I wondered if I would still enjoy the stories of angst, poverty, despair and political upheaval that they represented. Among them were Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle, and Michener’s Fires of Spring. I decided to reread Fires of Spring and I stumbled upon the entire republished collection of Michener’s works by the Dial Press. Publication began in fact, in 1987 with Fires of Spring.  It continued with the reprinting in 2016 of Michener’s commentary on the rashness of our electoral system, a work of non-fiction, The Presidential Lottery. In 1968 Michener was a Democrat elector in the Electoral College in Pennsylvania, having run for public office himself in the early 60s. What he witnessed as the possibility of disaster in trusting our system to the Electoral College drove him to warn Americans about this “reckless gamble.”

In his memoir The World is My Home, James Michener wrote “mostly I want to be remembered by that row of solid books that rest on library shelves throughout the world.”  Our shelves held about a dozen of Michener’s books, once new but greatly loved. We’ve replaced those and many other with the newest Dial Press editions and are spotlighting them in a “Rediscover James Michener” display. They include Centennial, Hawaii, the Source, Texas, Bridges at Toko-Ri and about a dozen others. You’ll find the display on top of the NEW FICTION shelves in the library. I hope you will re-experience your favorite Michener book or find a Michener treasure to love for the first time.

Charlotte Canelli is the Director at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts.  Read Charlotte’s column in the March 9, 2017 issue of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.

I took my first sip of bourbon at Thanksgiving.  A few friends gathered for a Friendsgiving celebration and I was bringing dessert.  I didn’t want to bring a traditional pie or cake.  That was boring to me.  I remembered seeing a book in our collection that had caught my eye – “Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.  The cover of the book is well done and inviting but it was the layout that really captured my attention and got me to look into it further.  Each chapter of recipes is organized by the authors’ favorite ingredients that are found in many popular dessert staples such as peanut butter, caramel, cinnamon and chocolate.  Chapter four is what got me curious – Booze.  I knew that spirits are used in both cooking and baking but I hadn’t tried adding any to desserts that I’ve made in the past, so I was intrigued. The first recipe listed in the Booze chapter is Bourbon, Vanilla, and Chocolate Milk Shakes.  That sounded, and looked, really good and super easy to do.  I had my dessert!

As I read the recipe, I saw that it called for “good-quality bourbon.”  I had no experience with this spirit.  I had no idea what “good-quality bourbon” was or even, how to find out.  I was discussing my conundrum with a friend who knew his bourbon and could recommend a brand that would work for the recipe.  It got me curious, though.  I had never really considered using this spirit in any drinks or recipes before.  I had made cocktails with vodka, gin, rum, and tequila but this was totally new to me and I wanted to find out more.  I did what any self-respecting librarian would do—I searched our catalog.  I simply typed in the term “bourbon.”  After filtering out fiction titles and materials on the Bourbon Dynasty, I realized that there was a lot written about bourbon whiskey for those who wanted to be in the know.

I wanted to know which ones to try so I thought “Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker” by Fred Minnick would be a good place to start.  The author helps readers identify what type of bourbon they might be interested in trying by organizing them by flavor profile: grain, nutmeg, caramel and cinnamon.  I knew I wanted one that would go well in a dessert, so I looked at the caramel and cinnamon sections in particular but found the whole book interesting.  I also looked at “American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit” by Clay Risen.  This book is an alphabetized guide of the distilleries and the brands available.  It also includes a brief history of whiskey and how it’s made with ratings and tasting notes for “more than 300 whiskeys.”  To get more information on the history of bourbon, I scoped out Dane Huckelbridge’s “Bourbon: A History of the American Spirit.”  Another title that looks into the history and industry of whiskey is “Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey” by Reid Mitenbuler.

Carla Harris Carlton, or the Bourbon Babe, as she’s known on her blog of the same name, is releasing a new book this coming May called, “Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America’s Whiskey.”  Ms. Carlton has written blog posts and articles on the topic of bourbon and has been interviewed by NPR.  And her website, The Bourbon Babe, has more than just blog posts.  She includes tasting notes, reviews of distilleries, trivia, and recipes to mix your own concoctions at home.

If all of this has you wondering how the distillation process actually works, check out “Proof: The Science of Booze” by Adam Rogers.  This book covers, in detail, the science behind the making of alcoholic beverages with chapters on each aspect of the process from the yeast and sugar to the fermentation, distillation and aging.   Rogers also goes beyond the chemistry and into the psychology and neurobiology behind alcohol consumption where he looks at how people taste and smell the beverages and how your body and brain react to the alcohol.  The final chapter is on the hangover, which most people definitely like to avoid.

All of this research was really interesting but getting me a little bit off course from investigating good bourbon for my dessert.  I had all of these books scattered on my desk one day while writing this column and one of my coworkers happened by and asked what I was up to.  Good thing she did for she recommended other dessert books that would help to develop a spirit-themed dessert with some baked goods to accompany the milkshakes.  “Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine, and Beer” by Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone is filled with a variety of tasty treats that you can make with your preferred adult beverage.  The book also includes a chart that tells you how much alcohol is in the finished product so you know what you’re consuming.  “Prohibition Bakery” by Leslie Feinberg and Brook Siem is a mini cupcake cookbook with recipes based on classic cocktails like an Old Fashioned, Dark & Stormy, Mint Julep and Cosmo, to name a few.  The recipes are organized by type of alcohol to make it easy to decide what to make based on what you have in your liquor cabinet.  All recipes are based on the cupcakes available at the Manhattan store, Prohibition Bakery, and are adapted for the home baker.

After much research and some tasting, I not only found a brand of bourbon that would work well in the milkshake recipe, and an accompanying cupcake, but I also learned that bourbon has been a part of the American culture for a long time.  Clearly, it’s here to stay.

Diane Phillips is the Technical Services Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts.  Read Diane’s column in the March 2, 2017 issue of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.

“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow”
Henry David Thoreau
“If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish”
Charles Dickens
“Thoughts come clearly while one walks”
Thomas Mann

Walking has become a part of my daily routine – not just around the house but outside in my neighborhood or with friends whenever I can. The joys of walking are multitude. I greet neighbors walking their dogs. I am not a dog person (cats are my favorite) but have met some nice friendly well-behaved dogs. There is one orange and white cat who rules the street on my route and I delight seeing him roll in front of me on “his” street. I might hear or see a bird or two (and remember how much my husband enjoyed bird-watching) or check the local pond for ducks! I watch for hawks sitting high up in the trees or in the sky. I occasionally see our postman who has family on an island in Maine so, of course, I check in with him as I have a house on a Maine island. While walking last week a neighbor said “I have just read the best book – ‘News of the World’ by Paulette Jiles”. I exclaimed I loved that book and just recommended it in the Fireside Reads program at the library. I guess everyone knows I am a librarian and a book person! Walking lifts my spirits.

Sometimes I talk to myself to try to organize my thoughts on a particular problem or project. Occasionally I might compose a letter in my head to someone – a note of concern or thanks – often just the right words rise up. I do not count steps or have a ‘fitbit’. I just try to walk about 45 minutes a day. I like the comments about mindful walking – bring your attention to movement around you – wind, leaves, birds, clouds, people, colors – just helps to relax. Upon return home I always feel refreshed and ready to tackle whatever the rest of the day might bring.

Two special places for me to walk are Back Bay in Boston and the Cape Cod Canal. I worked at the Boston Public Library as did my husband and I have many many memories of walking along Boylston St. around Trinity Church up to the Public Garden and down Newbury Street poking my head in art galleries and shops. Those memories are vivid and pleasant. Over many years library colleagues and I have walked the Cape Cod Canal watching the water, boats, birds, and of course talking and also reminiscing. I also do recommend the Massachusetts Audubon sanctuaries for walking – check their website online for a sanctuary near you.

The library has many books on the subject of walking mostly in the travel section of 917. A few are “Historic Walks in Old Boston” by John Harris (917.44 Boston|Harris), “AMC’s Best Day Hikes in the Berkshires” by Rene Laubach (917.44 Berkshires), and “Washington on Foot: 24 Walking Tours and Maps of Washington, DC” (917.53 Washington). On the shelves were books on walking on the Cape, my favorite state of Maine, and even walking tours of London and Paris. A different approach to walking is the book “Wanderlust: a History of Walking” by Rebecca Solnit (796.51 Solnit). The book profiles significant walkers in history and fiction – kind of a fun interesting way to think about walking. The book “Mindfulness on the Go – Inner Peace in Your Pocket” by Padraig O’Morain (158.12 O’Morain) has a short chapter on mindful walking which has shown one’s mood improves with whatever kind of walking one chooses.

I hope I have presented some ideas and resources to make walking a routine and pleasurable part of your daily life.

Margot Sullivan is a part-time Reference and Readers’ Advisory Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. Read Margot’s column in the February 23, 2017 issue of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.

Growing up, everyone has a favorite board game. Mine was Scrabble.  I memorized all the two- letter words and most of the three-letter words. I knew that in a pinch, you could get rid of a pesky Q by playing QAT or QI and that great parallel plays depended on ridiculous Scrabble-only “words” like AA, OE, or UT. But there were other games that I liked less.  Sometimes a lot less. Monopoly was probably my least favorite.

At least my family and friends didn’t have the habit of stealing money from the bank. But the game would always start with miserable inequality and get worse from there – one person would get Baltic and Connecticut Avenues, another would get Park Place and Boardwalk, and a third would somehow end up with all the railroads. Hours would pass as players were slowly forced into debt and mortgages, to be strung along by Chance or Community Chest or Free Parking, but still agonizingly moving towards defeat for all but one.

This was, of course, the point of The Landlord’s Game when Elizabeth Magie first developed it in 1903. The game was intended as a statement about tax policy and the dangers of predacious real estate investors. A bad run of the dice or starting out in a weak position meant that the rest of the game would almost certainly go against you. You can dress it up in anything from Simpsons to Star Wars, but it’s still the same game.

All this being said, no one was happier than I when the library announced that it would be expanding its existing collection of games. Scrabble is fun for me, but if you haven’t prepared, a contest between unequal players can be a bit tough. Other games of skill, like chess or go, have similar problems, while those like Battleship or Chutes and Ladders rely too much on chance to be fun for older players. Many of the library’s new additions are in a style that has become increasingly popular over the past twenty-five years: Eurogames.

I was first exposed to “German Style” board games in graduate school, where I studied medieval history. On a whim, my wife’s mother bought us a copy of Carcassonne, a game created by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede in 2000.  Based on the French city of the same name, Carcassonne can be played by any number of players and involves drawing tiles from a bag to create increasingly elaborate city walls, surrounded by winding roads, farmland, and monasteries. Each player can score points in a wide variety of ways and pursue different strategies as the game goes on.  No one is eliminated, and it can often be difficult to tell who’s winning until the final tile is drawn from the bag.

Each game has its own theme and complex, but easy to learn, rules.  Ticket to Ride asks you to create railroad lines connecting cities across the US or Europe. Alhambra lets you build an Islamic palace in medieval Spain, and Settlers of Catan simulates competition for resources in a new land. Some games have tiles, others involve rolling dice, collecting cards, or purchasing resources. No matter how complex or how many players a game is aimed at, it usually just takes an hour or two to play and can be enjoyable for preteens and adults alike.

Settlers, as it’s frequently called, is the game that really started to attract attention to Eurogames in the United States. Klaus Teuber, a German dental hygienist, spent years developing games with his family as a hobby before he was picked up by a major publisher in the 1990s. Just like a book author, he’s developed a loyal following and fans and critics alike get excited about each new project. Settlers is a great “entry level” game because it still has elements of chance familiar to American audiences – rolling dice every turn – and conflict – you can trade resource cards with other players and gang up on someone who seems to be winning. But the game really stands out with its artistic design featuring an island made up of interchangeable hexagons, each of which is illustrated with a small landscape. Like other Eurogames, another attraction lies in the multiple scoring strategies that can be used: building towns or roads, acquiring resources, trading in materials to recruit armies or founding a school or library! Each player can do something different and still have a chance at winning.

Games like Settlers have players competing indirectly with each other, but others, like Pandemic, actually encourage cooperation. Developed by an American, Matt Leacock, in 2008, Pandemic draws inspiration from the classic board game of Risk. However, whereas Risk features players with increasing numbers of armies and countries striving to eliminate each other, Pandemic gives players a world map where cities are infected with increasing numbers of diseases. Two to six players work together each turn to eliminate cases of infection before they spread and to discover cures. If all the viruses are cured, everyone wins, but there are several different ways for everyone to lose.

All these games, competitive or cooperative, allow more room for socializing and conversation between players. Even if you lose a game, you’ve still gotten a chance to build and strategize, and you can think afterwards about different ways to solve a problem, rather than just wishing you’d rolled better dice. When I first started playing games like Carcassonne and Settlers, they were hard to find except at specialty game stores, stocked between Magic: The Gathering cards and Dungeons & Dragons manuals. Now, stores like Target and Barnes & Noble will regularly stock some of these new classics and toy stores compete to find the next big breakout hit. The US isn’t quite as far along as Germany, where the annual Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) prize attracts national media attention, but you should come down to the library, borrow a game, and find out what all the fuss is about!

Jeff Hartman is the Senior Circulation Assistant, Paging Supervisor, and Graphics Designer at the Morrill Memorial Library.  Read Jeff’s column in the February 16, 2017 issue of the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.