Adult Nonfiction Staff Picks: The Sea Captain's Wife by Tilar Mazzeo

As a fan of maritime adventure tales, I was eager to read The Sea Captain's Wife by Tilar Mazzeo. It follows the life and famous 1856 voyage of Mary Ann Patten, a nineteen-year-old bride of sea captain, Joshua Patten. 

The story begins with their maritime family history from Maine, one of the country's largest seafaring states at the time. After making a name for himself on his first command of a clipper ship, Joshua was given command of the Neptune's Car which was to sail from Boston around Cape Horn to San Francisco. For those unfamiliar with Cape Horn, it is at the southern tip of South America and remains to this day one of the most treacherous bodies of water to navigate. 

Being newlyweds and not wanting to be alone with her family, Mary Ann accompanied her husband on this voyage. Keeping busy during the long voyage, she learned to read the stars and charts for navigation. This soon became necessary when Joshua, the ship's captain, became seriously ill and unable to perform his role. Despite challenges from the first- and second-mate, Mary Ann won the admiration and trust of the crew. Her stamina and will were tested as they fought through an eighteen day gale in the freezing waters near Antarctica.

Mary Ann Patten wasn't the only female to captain a ship in those days but many of their stories have been left untold.

If you enjoyed: The Wager by David Grann or the movie Widow Clicquot

Perfect for: Readers who enjoy maritime adventures or the grit of courageous women. 

Also written by Tilar Mazzeo: 

• Eliza Hamilton : the Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton 
• Sisters in Resistance : How a German Spy, a Banker's Wife, and Mussolini's Daughter Outwitted the Nazis 
• The Hotel on Place Vendôme : Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris

The Sea Captain's Wife is available at the library in regular print, and as an eBook through FCPL’s digital collection.

Joan Dudzinski

Branch Manager

Cumming Library

Staff Picks: Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto

I've always been fascinated by the unique culture of Japan. Here are two of my favorite recent reads from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto

When Shoji Morimoto’s boss criticized his job performance and accused him of doing nothing, Morimoto wondered if doing nothing could become his life’s work. In 2018 he started accepting requests to show up and do nothing. It’s a unique hobby that’s proved worthwhile as thousands of customers in and around Tokyo have requested Morimoto’s humble presence. 

Morimoto candidly describes the types of requests he receives. He’s been asked to share meals with strangers, wave to departing vacationers, visit people in the hospital, and accompany people on various outings.  

Morimoto rejects the idea that one's worth dereives from their productivity and says, “people have a value even if they do nothing.” 

This slim memoir is an interesting look at modern Japanese culture and the universal desire for human connection. I love the fact that Shoji Morimoto found people who would appreciate his presence in silence and that he was able to author an international bestseller while “doing nothing.” 

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? 

Staff Picks: Trending Titles

 

By happy accident, three of the books I've been most anticipating reading this summer arrived on the hold shelf for me on the same day: Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey, The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley, and You Like it Darker by Stephen King. 

What else can a booklover do but check them all out and try to binge read them before the due date? 

Fans of popular authors and trending titles can probably relate to this bibliophile dilemma.

OverBOOKed to Read: Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Murder. Voodoo. Revenge. Furious Hours tells the story of a killer, his murder, and a series of trials almost too bizarre to believe.

The Reverend Willie Maxwell had a reputation in Alexander City, Alabama. An African American preacher who also worked as a wood pulper, he was known for always wearing a suit, his elegant way of speaking, and for his charming manners. Throughout the 1970s, he also acquired a darker reputation among the locals. When the police found his wife's body in a car on a country road and discovered that he had taken out a number of life insurance policies on her, they began to investigate.