The Friends Of The Pulaski Public Library NY

Norman Lear
1922 - 2023

This Sunday is Light Up Pulaski! Join us at the library from 1:00-3:00 for crafts and treats and the high school band getting you in the holiday spirit at 1:30!

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Raising Readers

Don't forget, this Thursday we are celebrating the library reopening and thanking those that made the ceiling replacement possible. There will be music, refreshments and fun! We hope to see you there!

"NO PRESSURE" BOOK CLUB BOOK REVIEW

GENERAL DISCUSSION

THE BORROWER by Rebeca Makkai

This book had mixed reviews. The main character, Lucy Hull, a 26 year old young woman seemed to going through life in a haze. An only child of Russian Immigrant parents, she grew up living a cushy life on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Many times it seemed like reading this book was like watching an accident in slow motion. (Who kidnaps a library patron who is a child?) Her reality was warped by her false assumptions. She seemed to be removed from her own life and more of an observer, observing her life instead of living it. A life changing event was the suicidal death of a good high school friend who was gay.

Even though Lucy was not a trained as a librarian, that was her profession. She was good at her job, and greatly missed when she was not there. The rest of the staff was a little looney. She was not particularly interested in their back stories, even Rocky who she considered a friend. She did know her books.

The other main character, Ian was a 10 year old child. He was intelligent, mature, amusing. He could turn the tables on any adult. His parents were very judgmental and Ian could feel the dissatisfaction. His parents were afraid Ian was gay and sent him to Pastor Bob’s school to be rehabilitated. Lucy took an interest in Ian and felt sorry for him, which lead to a road trip, that was the major story line of the novel. Not really kidnapping, but very close.

FAVORITE QUOTES

Page 188 - “This is a nation of runaways. Every person comes from someplace else. Even the Indians, they run once upon a time across the Alaskan land bridge. The blacks, they maybe didn’t run from Africa, okay, but they ran from slavery. And the rest of us, we all ran from something. From the church, the state, the parents, the Irish potato bug. And I think this is why Americans are so restless…..Only that in America, there is no place left to run."

Page 265 - What is three Americans? A revolution. What is two Americans? A divided nation. What is one American? A runaway with no destination.

GRADES

Character Development B-
Setting (mainly the car) C
Pace C+
Writing Style C

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS BOOK?

More no’s and only a few yeses.

DID THE BOOK LIVE UP TO IT’S REVIEWS

NO!!!

WHAT ELSE ARE YOU READING?

I WAS HITLER’S DOCTOR by Kurt Krueger with forward by Upton Sinclair

This book was published in 1941, 7 years after Dr. Krueger left Germany in 1934. It was written from memory, since he was unable to smuggle his notes out of Germany. Dr. Krueger was a general practitioner/psychoanalyst from who Hi**er supposedly sought treatment for syphilis. If Krueger is to be believed, it was really for impotence. He used the psychoanalysis angle. Very interesting, but very Freudian.

WHOLE BRAIN LIVING by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.

Dr, Taylor is a neuroanatomist, who studied severe mental illnesses at Havard Medical Schools in the early 1990’s because of her brother’s psychosis. She had a massive stroke which renders the left side of her brain non-functional. Her experiences during her 8-year period of recovery are detailed in the book and explore how the four “characters of the mind” (The Thinker, the Emoter, the Sensor and the Intuitor) can be made to work together. She argues that by understanding these characters and how they interact with each other, we can learn to make better choices in our lives. Fascinating.

DELICIOUS MONSTERS BY Licelle Sambury

Although this book was dedicated to her mother, it was a book that was about hostilities between mothers and daughters. Complicated and hard to read. One of the characters sees ghosts.

THE RUNNING GRAVE by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling). 7th in a series but can stand alone
A private detective (main character) is hired to rescue a person from a religious cult. 1,000 pages.

BOOKS BY J.A. JANCE

A man detective, a woman sheriff solve mysteries out west.

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann

True story of the Osage Tribe, who at one time were the richest people on earth in the 1920’s. But they were victims and it was the beginning of the FBI.

TOM LAKE by Ann Pachet

A book that examines lives and relationships. One of the characters is Peter Duke who is an actor who has worked at the theater called Tom Lake. In 2020, 3 daughters are picking cherries with their mom and ask her to share her memories of Peter Duke and the Tom Lake theater.

LOST IN SHANGRI-LA by Mitchell Zuckoff

A true story about 3 survivors, a plane crash that took place in the Pacific Theater near New Guinea on May 13, 1945. It is a tale of survival and an unusual rescue. One of the survivors was from Owego. Recounts a true adventure and very readable.

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL - LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE by Amy Newmark

So, so. Not a lot of laugh out loud passages.

CHAT GPT - Tech Book to help you be a better writer.

LIGHTS BETWEEN TUNNELS by Shawn Wichert

A wealthy alumna returns to her alma mater and sets up a scholarship but it goes bad with the extreme measures some of the competitors take to win.

EUPHORIA by Lily King

Not that good, a forced read.

THE PALE-FACED LIE by David Crow

A true story about a young boy, a Cherokee living on a Navajo Reservation. His mother is insane and his father is a con man. He is training his kids to follow in his foot steps. The Epilogue has the biggest lie in the book. It is a true story.

FIGHT NIGHT by Miriam Toews

A multigenerational family story that revolves around a girl who is kicked out of school at the age of 10.

THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger

This novel is set in Minnesota in 1932 at a boarding school for Native American children that were forcibly separated from their parents. The main character is an orphan. A good read.

HER LAST BREATH by Hilary Davidson

Linda Castill is the Police Chief in a small town with an English and Amish population. She solves murders.

LETHAL TARGET by Janice Cantore

A female police chief is the central character in a small town with recurring drug problems. Danger is all around. A Christian Fiction book.

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE by Elizabeth Strout

Short stories revolving around one character.

A CRYPTIC CLUE by Victoria Gilbert

A young girl is asked to help catalog books at an estate, and of course there is a murder. Not well written.

THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill

It is a mystery that starts with a scream. A mystery within a mystery. Confusing.

And a few classics:

GRAPES OF WRATH, TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD, DRACULA. And one not so classic, GO SET THE WATCHMAN, the supposed lost transcript by Harper Lee. Found many years after her death.

The NEXT MEETING will be THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2024, in the library at 7:00. If the weather is bad, please check the library's social media to see if the meeting is being rescheduled. It will be a “FREE READ”. Read the books you want and share/report at the next meeting.

HAPPY READING!!!

Here's how the numbers added up for October! 📈📚

❇️ 118 new children registered
❇️ 3,055 children are currently enrolled
❇️ 2,318 children have graduated since our inception in 2018
❇️ 121,298 books have been delivered across the County since our inception

Visit oswegoimaginationlibrary.org/enroll to sign up and learn more about how your child can receive a free book each month until their fifth birthday.

No surprise in the world of construction, we have a delay in the ceiling replacement project. As soon as we have a new reopen date, we will post it. Thank you for your continued patience!

And stay tuned for an announcement, we will be having a fun event at the Library to welcome everyone back!

Do you have any old books that you are thinking about throwing away? Wait! Take them to the North Country Library System on Saturday for recycling and enjoy all the good food and help out a pet while you are at it!

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The Retired School Librarian Children's books 📚 and child-friendly websites 🚸with a splash of library media💻