Staff Picks: Small Town Stories

I grew up in a midwestern suburb but spent each summer visiting my grandparent's rural home in Southern New Jersey.  Small towns are great for biking on country roads past picturesque farms and woodlands, exploring nature, buying farm-fresh corn at roadside vegetable stands, and spending long lazy days swimming or just enjoying the sunshine. When you aren't the one stacking hay and shucking corn, the relaxed pace of small town living offers extra time for my favorite pastime of all - reading. I still enjoy reading stories about the lives of people living in small towns. 

Stories set in small towns are on display this month at Sharon Forks Library but they don't all focus on the idyllic side. Check out Delilah S. Dawson's Bloom, a dark fantasy about a woman whose life takes a very strange turn when she makes a new friend at a local farmer's market, Jane Harper's Exiles, a mystery set in South Australia's wine country, Olga Tokarczuk's award-winning Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, or the Ray Bradbuy classic, Dandelion Wine. 

What are your favorite books set in small towns? 

Literary Road Trips: The Savannah Book Festival

Last weekend I attended the Savannah Book Festival. The event is a real treat for book lovers, with over forty authors sharing their stories and signing books in Savannah’s beautiful historical district.

Marjan Kamali, Author 

In the beautiful sanctuary of the Lutheran Church of the Ascension on Wright Square, Marjan Kamali, author of The Lion Women of Tehran and The Stationery Shop, talked about her childhood in Iran and her love of books.

Historical fiction author Chanel Cleeton spoke about her family’s Cuban heritage and her books The House on Biscayne Bay, When We Left Cuba, and The Last Train to Key West.

The Aromatherapy Garden at Sharon Forks Library

Did you know that lavender can help with headaches, insomnia, anxiety, and even hair loss? Or that lemon balm can reduce stress and improve sleep and appetite?  

Visit the Sharon Forks Library this summer to enjoy the scents of basil, oregano, thyme, lavender, lemon balm, mint, and rosemary in our aromatherapy garden. Pick up a free bookmark or mini book or check out one of these books on aromatherapy to learn more about beneficial herbs.  

Aromatherapy by Louise Robinson  

This little book of self care contains directions on using essential oils to relax, restore, and revitalize.