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Stacey

Stacey

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Other people : Days of the Bagnold summer & Driving short distances

by Joff Winterhart

GRAPHIC NOVEL Winterhart
Graphic Novels

A librarian mother spends a summer with her metalhead teenage son. A depressive young man becomes an apprentice to a legend-in-his-own mind. These people you never think about will make you reexamine yourself.

I came across this lovely book after checking out the Belle & Sebastian soundtrack to the film "Days of the Bagnold Summer." The library doesn't have the movie (and it doesn't look like it's orderable?) but we did have this graphic novel on which it was based. The two stories in this book have just the right kind of slow, melancholy description of everyday life that is perfect for 2020. A mother and son spend several weeks together not doing much... A wayward 28-year-old is given a pity job with a relative that involves driving around depressing scenes all day... But the observations and drawings are very poignant and worth spending some time with. -Stacey

The salt path

by Raynor Winn

eBOOK
Memoir

"Just days after Raynor Winn learns that Moth, her husband of thirty-two years, is terminally ill, their house and farm are taken away, along with their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea, and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable and life-affirming journey. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, The Salt Path is ultimately a portrayal of home--how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways"--

I didn't realize how much I needed an adventure book right now while we're all stuck inside. The likable couple in this book start their long walk involuntarily, too, sharing their struggles and hopes amid beautiful descriptions of southwest England. -Stacey

Early riser

by Jasper Fforde

SCIENCE FICTION Fforde Jasper
Science Fiction

"Imagine a world where all humans must hibernate through a brutally cold winter, their bodies dangerously close to death as they enter an ultra-low metabolic state of utterly dreamless sleep. All humans, that is, apart from the Winter Consuls, a group of officers who diligently watch over the vulnerable sleeping citizens. Charlie Worthing is a novice, chosen by a highflying hero Winter Consul to accompany him to the Douzey, a remote sector in the middle of Wales, to investigate a dream which is somehow spreading amongst those in the hibernational state, causing paranoia, hallucination and a psychotic episode that can end in murder. Worthing has been trained to deal with Tricksy Nightwalkers whose consciousness has been eroded by hibernation, leaving only one or two skills and an incredible hunger; he's been trained to stay alive through the bleakest and loneliest of winters - but he is in no way prepared for what awaits him in Sector Twelve. There are no heroes in Winter, Worthing has been told. And he's about to find out why."--Publisher's description.

The weather is turning colder, making it the perfect time to pick up this book that explores a personal dream of mine: what if humans hibernated? Jasper Fforde imagines a lot of complications, and he goes into marvelous detail with centuries of invented history providing the backdrop to a contemporary-ish story of a young man's first winter staying awake in their version of a police force. You'll enjoy the alternate history, speculation, and surrealism if you can get past the slightly slow tempo. -Stacey

The art of gathering : how we meet and why it matters

by Priya Parker

302 /Parker
Nonfiction

"A bold new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend our time together--at work, at home, in our communities, and beyond. In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lackluster and unproductive--which they don't have to be. We rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play. Drawing on her expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn't, and why. She investigates a wide array of gatherings--conferences, meetings, a courtroom, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp--and explains how simple, specific changes can invigorate any group experience. The result is a book that's both journey and guide, full of exciting ideas with real-world applications. The Art of Gathering will forever alter the way you look at your next meeting, industry conference, dinner party, and backyard barbecue--and how you host and attend them"--

We've all been to gatherings that have fallen flat and others that have been memorably transformative. What makes the difference? Priya Parker gives you permission to overthink it and pry deeply into what we need as humans, and then she makes suggestions for how to craft radically effective work meetings, dinner parties, family gatherings, and more. -Stacey

French exit : a tragedy of manners

by Patrick deWitt

FICTION Dewitt Patrick
Fiction, Humor

"From bestselling author Patrick deWitt, a brilliant and darkly comic novel about a wealthy widow and her adult son who flee New York for Paris in the wake of scandal and financial disintegration. Frances Price-- tart widow, possessive mother, and Upper East Side force of nature-- is in dire straits, beset by scandal and impending bankruptcy. Her adult son Malcolm is no help, mired in a permanent state of arrested development. And then there's the Price's aging cat, Small Frank, who Frances believes houses the spirit of her late husband, an infamously immoral litigator and world-class cad whose gruesome tabloid death rendered Frances and Malcolm social outcasts. Putting penury and pariahdom behind them, the family decides to cut their losses and head for the exit. One ocean voyage later, the curious trio land in their beloved Paris, the City of Light serving as a backdrop not for love or romance, but self destruction and economical ruin-- to riotous effect. A number of singular characters serve to round out the cast: a bashful private investigator, an aimless psychic proposing a seance, a doctor who makes house calls with his wine merchant in tow, and the inimitable Mme. Reynard, aggressive houseguest and dementedly friendly American expat. Brimming with pathos and wit, French Exit is a one-of-a-kind 'tragedy of manners,' a riotous send-up of high society, as well as a moving mother/son caper which only Patrick deWitt could conceive and execute"--

This is an enjoyably dark, slow, and casual story of some oddball characters ambling toward ruin, with frequent pithy moments of humor and insight. -Stacey

My lady's choosing : an interactive romance novel

by Kitty Curran

FICTION Curran Kitty
Romance, Humor

The romance novel that lets you pick your path, follow your heart, and find happily ever after. You are the plucky but penniless heroine in the center of eighteenth-century society, courtship season has begun, and your future is at hand. Will you flip forward fetchingly to find love with the bantering baronet Sir Benedict Granville? Or turn the page to true love with the hardworking, horse-loving highlander Captain Angus McTaggart? Or perhaps race through the chapters chasing a good (and arousing) man gone mad, bad, and scandalous to know, Lord Garraway Craven? Or read on recklessly and take to the Continent as the "traveling companion" of the spirited and adventuresome Lady Evangeline? Or yet some other intriguing fate? Make choices, turn pages, and discover all the daring delights of the multiple (and intertwining!) storylines. And in every path you pick, beguiling illustrations bring all the lust and love to life.--Amazon.

Who would enjoy this surprising combination of romance parody and Choose Your Own Adventure books? Someone who's flipped through enough paperback romances to see how the authors have masterfully mimed every trope, but not someone who will be offended by the author's funny modern commentary at the bottom of each page when you're making your bold decisions. -Stacey

My Lists

Interests: Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Crafts, Philosophy, Self Help, Nonfiction

About Me

You will see me at the Info Desk, teaching classes in the Digital Media Lab, and answering the library's phone. My favorite books have humor, fantasy, and/or offbeat insights about life. I enjoy a book with “a comic formality of thought and speech,” as Gail Honeyman described her narrator's voice in Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, also employed by writers like P. G. Wodehouse and Lemony Snicket.

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Stacey

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About Me