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Monthly Archives: April 2014

Stronger by Jeff Bauman with Bret Witter

18 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, Non-fiction, Sports

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amputees, Boston Marathon 2013, rehabilitation, running, survivor guilt, terrorism victims

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After reading a book review about this book, I instantly requested this book to read since I have running daughters and the 2014 Boston Marathon is just around the corner.   I started reading it one evening , pushed all my other reading to the side, and continued reading this page- turner into the next day non-stop. This is the story behind the scenes of the famous 2013 Marathon photo –Carlos in his cowboy hat and Jeff with blown off legs pushed in a wheelchair by a woman. Waking up groggy after multiple surgeries, Jeff’s only thought was to tell the police that he had made eye-to-eye contact with the bomber which then led to one of the largest manhunts our country has witnessed.  Jeff set his goal to be able to walk on bionic legs by this Monday’s Marathon anniversary.  What a year he has shared with the Bruins, the Red Sox, James Taylor, the Watertown police to name but a few.  Jeff tells us who inspired him to fight through the grueling therapies and how he decided to accept a public role to inspire others.

“A moving demonstration of how strength of mind and character helped one man stand tall despite the loss of his legs.”—Kirkus

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22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

18 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Historical Fiction

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England, Parent and child relationships, Poland, Secrecy, World War II

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English writer Hodgkinson won high praise from reviewers when her debut novel was released in 2011.  This is a poignant story that chronicles the struggles of a young Polish couple to recover their lives after several years of separation and suffering during the Second World War.

“Silvana Nowak and her seven-year-old son, Aurek, endure many hardships when German troops invade Warsaw in 1939. Six years later, British soldiers rescue them from the isolated forest in which they’re living and transport them to England, where they rejoin Silvana’s husband, Janusz, an RAF veteran. After successfully adapting to his new country, Janusz hopes to make a fresh start for them at 22BritanniaRoad in Ipswich. Fiercely protective of her son, world-weary Silvana’s hair has become gray. Aurek, a half-wild boy with no memories of traditional home life, has difficulties with school and sees Janusz as the enemy. Alternately presenting each of the Nowaks’ viewpoints on present and past, the novel courageously addresses tragic occurrences and lingering aftereffects. Both adults are hiding things, including complicated extramarital romantic feelings, and suspense steadily builds toward the surprising revelation of Silvana’s most painful secret. A stellar example of literary WWII fiction.” — Johnson, Sarah (Reviewed 04-01-2011) (Booklist, vol 107, number 15, p34)

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Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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brothers, eccentrics, homeless, mansion, New York City, recluses

9780812975635_p0_v1_s114x166Inside a 5th Avenue mansion filled with early, loving childhood memories, Homer (soon to become blind) and brother, Langley, suddenly lose both their parents to the 1918 flu. Their world shrinks and they bar the doors. Exposed to mustard gas during the war, Langley in a somewhat altered state, cares for his brother but also extravagantly collects the detritus of the city that they have shut out. This is a fascinating story about eccentricity, aloofness, and a lifetime of collecting.

“A sweeping masterpiece about the infamous New York hermits, the Collyer brothers…. Occasionally, outsiders wander through the house, exposing it as a living museum of artifacts, Americana, obscurity and simmering madness. Doctorow’s achievement is in not undermining the dignity of two brothers who share a lush landscape built on imagination and incapacities. It’s a feat of distillation, vision and sympathy.” «–Publishers Weekly

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A Vineyard in Tuscany: a Wine Lover’s Dream by Ferenc Mate

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, Non-fiction, Travel

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dream house, house renovation, Tuscany, vineyards, vintners, wine making

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Two New Yorkers, world sailor Ferenc and his artist wife and their young son, embark on a life time dream to restore a “ruin” and grow their own wines. They choose Tuscany, Italy. Share their adventures and misadventures in this intimate, at times very funny, memoir of restoring a 13th century friary and planting 15 acres of grapes after meticulous soil testing with world famous vintners and local neighbors. Three years later Mate’s wines receive instant international acclaim.

“Readers share a feeling of accomplishment and pride when their Syrah is voted ‘Italian Red Wine of the Year’ by Morrell. “– The New York Times Book Review

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Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

08 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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Depression years, fiction, Florence, friendship, marriage, Vermont, Wisconsin

 

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I think this may be my all time favorite book.  I delight to recommend this book to any who haven’t read it yet.  There is little action, but you learn that it really is the very smallest of things in daily living that are the most important things that matter most in life.

From Library Journal:

“Stegner published his first novel 50 years ago. Since then he has won both a Pulitzer Prize (for Angle of Repose, 1971) and the National Book Award (for The Spectator Bird, 1976). His latest effort, an exploration into the mysteries of friendship, deserves similar accolades. With a quiet but strong hand, he traces the bond that develops between Charity and Sid Lang and Sally and Larry Morgan from their first meeting in 1937 through their eventual separation to their final get-together in 1972 when Charity is dying of cancer and is determined “to do it right,” no matter what anyone else thinks. It seems only appropriate that Charity bring them together since she has been the driving force behind the relationship. As we discover now, her bull-headedness has had its price. This is a wonderfully rich, warm, and affecting book. Highly recommended.”  David W. Henderson, Eckerd Coll. Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography

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animal and human relationships, biography. women jockeys, Great Britain, humor

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This is a delightful and amusing read about a young girl growing up in a very unusual household.  Her father was a champion horse trainer in England so she shared her life with over 100 thoroughbred racehorses, mares, and ponies as well as a constant variety of dogs on a huge estate in the Hampshire Downs.  And Clare was often at the bottom of the pecking order in the family – boys always came first, and sometimes the horse and dogs did, too.  She shares amusing and poignant portraits of the beloved animals who buffer her tough challenges on her long road to becoming an award-winning broadcaster and proclaimed a “national treasure” as well as the gold medal winning presenter at the 2012 London Olympics.

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