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Congratulations Jim!
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RPL custodian Jim Chase is celebrating his 20th anniversary at the Library this month! If you see Jim, please add your best wishes to ours. Though we all can't experience the always ship-shape Library building at the moment, rest assured that Jim's attention to the building has not wavered. Jim shows up in the wee hours and preps the building for use. We appreciate his long and excellent service!
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Shopping Therapy!
by
Juliette Doherty
Raise your hand if you are tired of hearing the phrase "new normal". I'm guessing there are more than a few of us. I think I felt the breeze from the collective arm raising out there. Allow me to whine please. I liked my old normal just fine, and I want it back, thank you very much. Wishing aside, I doubt that it will happen any time soon, at least not in the same manner to which we are accustomed. Never let it be said I'm not willing to compromise. Masks, gloves, six feet apart... all good. I'll gladly accept the reopening of retail establishments in a safe and orderly fashion, because what I'm doing now is not nearly as fun. I miss shopping. I miss it so much.
I'm still venturing out to grocery stores when the need arises, but really, that is so not the same as a good dose of retail shopping therapy. Food shopping is a chore to be crossed off my to-do list. For one thing, I always get the cart with the wonky wheel. Well, maybe not always, but nine times out of ten. Just me? One of the four wheels is permanently stuck at a strange angle causing the cart to pull left. I'm sure by aisle three I'll have straightened it out by sheer exertion... never happens. I'm now too annoyed to backtrack for a respectable cart, so out of stubbornness I practically dislocate my shoulder as I continue my shopping. Then there is that grocery cart in serious need of some WD-40. Heads turn to stare my way from dairy products to produce as though the high-pitched squeal is coming directly from me. It's not my fault people! On a particularly bad day I might find myself with the inferior cart of all carts... a double-wonky-wheeled-squealer. If that experience doesn't make you want to dash out to your car with a shopping bag full of ding-dongs and wine, nothing will.
Just when I think the misery is almost over, it's time to head for the checkout. If you've ever had the misfortune of getting behind me at the checkout line, I apologize. Rest assured I am in the slowest moving line. Take your pick of reasons for this constant phenomenon. Expired coupons, shift change, out of change, customer has no clue out how to use a debit card, chatty cashier, chatty customer, and my favorite, chatty cashier
and
customer... the list goes on and on. I've tried switching lanes when I see the blinking light above the register illuminate (no, not the dreaded light!) yet time and time again I'll see the person behind me from my previous line exit the store ahead of me. I've tried reading tabloid headlines, but that only soaks up a few minutes of the waiting game. After all, how many celebrity affairs and three-headed snakes can you pretend to care about? I've recently learned that this is a perfect time to practice mindful meditation.
In order to compensate for the void of live shopping therapy, I've turned to the computer. Yes, doing my part to ensure a healthy economy, I'm now a hesitant on-line shopper. Past experience dictates in order to make a truly informed decision, products must be experienced with many senses. I find joy in this process. Take throw pillows, for example. I need to feel the texture, see the actual size (there's a pouf factor that must be considered) and the displayed monitor color may not be the
actual
color. So much is missing. Three weeks later when they arrive I've forgotten I ever wanted new throw pillows, and when I place them on the couch they look just a little "off". Now there's the return hassle. I may have avoided a potentially virus-laden store with my online purchase, but now I am headed out to the post office, with return postage and an occasional restocking fee involved. No joy. And pictures can be deceiving. I recently ordered a craft kit for my granddaughter... all the supplies you need in one box to make 3 glitter bowls. Imagine my surprise when a miniature box arrived. The bowls are so very teensy-weensy...who knew? Well, maybe I would have if I'd read all the fine print. But seriously, who does that?
I'm not really a spendthrift... I so love a bargain. What's more satisfying than finding just what you are looking for? Finding it on sale! I'm also longing for my favorite thrift shop to reopen. Guilt free spending, since proceeds go to charity. When you live in a yo-yo body the thrift store is your best friend. One year my donation box included a pair of black slacks that shrunk a few sizes in the wash (don't judge). Several months and a few less pounds later I didn't recognize them and bought them back. Basically, I paid the thrift shop a storage fee. Someone pressed them nicely though, so it wasn't a total loss.
I want to try my clothes on before I buy them, and is it too much to ask that I hold my unnecessary knick-knack in my hand before purchasing? Until the day comes when I can wander aimlessly through the aisles of my favorite department store in search of instant gratification (sorry home improvement store, buying a new ratchet wrench is not an equal high) I'll have to learn to appreciate the clickity-clack of my keyboard instead of "Musak" while I peruse my purchases. I'm not ready for Shopaholics Anonymous just yet, but shopping is my emotional outlet of choice. When customers and employees feel safe and ready, I'll be first in line at the door, willing to embrace a "different normal."
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Summer Tutoring Sessions With Marcia
10:00-10:30 Teaching Skills & Practice
10:30-11:00 Open Tutoring
Marcia Beckett is a certified K-8 educator. She will start tutoring sessions Monday, June 8th. They will be held on Zoom every Monday this summer. Each session will be for specific age ranges and will change each week. Participants will need to sign-up in advance to receive Zoom meeting information. Please email [email protected] for a full schedule or register for sessions on our website.
June 8th Information
Age range:4-6
Subject: Math (addition numbers 1-10)
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Remember that Rye Public Library Patrons are now able to borrow SEVEN items each month through Hoopla. This easy to use, universally available resource offers thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, TV and film selections, comics and more ! Please enjoy two more items each month as our thank you for your patience and flexibility as we all navigate this unprecedented period in public library service.
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Rye Public Library is a proud member of SAL: Seacoast Area Libraries.
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581 Washington Road, Rye N.H. 03870 603-964-8401
July 3, 2020
Vol I
Issue 12
bi-weekly
"The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty."
--James Madison
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We wish you a very happy Independence Day! Please celebrate safely, and take a moment to consider the many uniquely important and historic elements presented by July 4th, 2020. This issue of our bi-weekly Booster newsletter will help you celebrate with more of the excellent reviews and other pieces of Library staff writing you have found helpful and entertaining through the past few months. Enjoy!
I also want to announce a new phase of library service starting when we reopen after the holiday. In recognition of the community need for access to the Internet for IRS forms and other preparations as the extended 2019 tax filing period comes to a close, Rye Public Library will offer appointment-based computer work sessions each weekday Mon-Fri starting with phone [603-964-8401] reservation bookings on Monday, July 6th.
On Tuesday, July 7th, we will begin offering six computer work sessions each day Mon-Fri by advance phone reservation only. The first session will begin at 11:45 AM with the final session ending at 5:30PM. Our foyer pick-up service for reserved materials will continue, and we invite requests for photocopies to be exchanged in the foyer during our established weekday pick-up hours of 10 AM- 5:30 PM. Remember, most common Federal and State tax forms are currently available to pick up from the RPL foyer. Call or e-mail to request specific forms as needed so we can prepare them for you to pick up.
A few details on computer work sessions: [read more here]
Appointments: Computer users can schedule our standard 30-minute session for Internet, database and printer/copier access. Starting Monday, July 6, call 964-8401 to book your appointment in advance. Limited technology assistance will be available due to reduced staffing. With that in mind, please bring all access info and passwords for accounts you might need during your session. We'll also ask some screening questions at booking and arrival.
In respect to community members with underlying health conditions or those 60 years of age or older, we request that the first session each day be booked only by those individuals.
Computer Sessions: Each 30-minute session will allow for one individual at the computer. One designated computer station will be used for appointment sessions and cleaned between uses.
Computer sessions will also allow for printing, photocopy or electronic scanning of documents. Please bring change or small bills as staff will not be able to make change for payment for these services. Print/Photocopies: .10/page B&W, .25/pg color. Fax/Scan $1/page.
Building Access and Safety: At the time of your appointment, you are welcome to enter the Rye Public Library via the historic entry facing Washington Road. If you have mobility issues preventing your climbing three short stairs to that entry, please let us know at the time of your booking for alternative arrangements. Computer users will be required to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing standards during the extent of their visit.
- There will be no public access to the library collections or restrooms due to health security concerns.
- Computer stations and other high touch areas will be disinfected between sessions.
- Library staff will also be wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distancing while in the building.
- All staff will need to remain 6 feet away from users when interacting.
Duration of this phase: We continue to plan for further expansion of services and additional access to the Rye Public Library building. Those steps present challenges based on community and surface transfer of the COVID-19 virus, and current conditions in other parts of the country keep us clearly aware of the cost of rushed decision making. Until all conditions for the safety of our community and staff can be adequately determined, budgeted for and implemented, our current service scenario of foyer pick-up of requested library materials and photocopies along with our newly offered appointment based computer sessions will be maintained.
Please Be Well, Andy Richmond
Director, RPL
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The End of October
by Lawrence Wright
A Book Review
by Lisa Houde
Some have described this book as "eerily prescient" and they're right about that. But comparisons to reviews I've read, for me, end there. Preston is a Pulitzer-prize winning nonfiction writer, and he also writes for
The New Yorker
, and his writing skill doesn't translate well to fiction. While I agree that the work is exquisitely researched and vastly interesting, the lack of a coherent plot and the presence of one-dimensional characters about whom I never grew to care about, just made this novel fall flat. I persisted in reading it, though, as the comparisons between Preston's mostly imagined viral outbreak and our own pandemic seem strangely - and disturbingly - accurate.
We meet Henry Parsons, a man who's spent his life researching and developing viruses and their potential to threaten the globe. He is married with two children, and again, those characters are simply vague blobs of people for whom the reader doesn't develop empathy - struggling wife Jill, who should know what to, and not to do, during a viral outbreak, acts foolishly. The children are both oddly lacking in personality, though the daughter does much philosophizing about religion. Henry is sent into Indonesia for a quick three-day trip to check out a possible outbreak. Here again, as a seasoned expert in viruses, he makes bad decisions which lead to more bad decisions and an eventual worldwide pandemic in which basic systems of human existence crumble leaving a desolate, ruined planet. Strange side stories erupt - a mad scientist/self-proclaimed god figure - a former colleague of Henry's - turns out to be a Jim Jones kind of guy; war breaks out and escalates between Syria and Iran; Russia launches a viral internet attack. Really? It's just too much going on, and the narrative arc itself suffers for having tried to throw in too many plots.
Supposedly, it's written in a screenplay format - and maybe it'll translate better in a mini-series, but for me, it just wasn't the book I'd hoped for. Would I recommend it? You bet! The non-fiction tidbits and historical perspectives are worth the slumpy-bumpy-plot ride.
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Separation Anxiety
by Laura Zigman
a book review
by Gwen Putnam-Bailey
Did you like Maria Semple's book,
Where'd You Go Bernadette?
If the answer is yes, then try
Separation Anxiety
by Laura Zigman. I found this selection on Hoopla, which is now currently offering 7 titles a month with no waiting period.
Separation Anxiety
is quirky, heartwarming, and bittersweet all at the same time. The main character, Judy, is going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. She has a case of writer's block after producing a popular children's book and tv series. Her financial situation is worsening by the day, with no help from her husband who is a "snackologist." Her best friend is dying and her teenage son is pulling away. One day she finds an unused baby sling in her basement and simply puts her little dog in it for comfort.
It turns into a bit of a habit and coping mechanism for her, and results in some funny, and poignant scenarios. Despite this odd storyline, the reader finds herself cheering Judy on, hoping that she can find her way back to "normal." This selection was an entertaining respite from the challenges we are all facing today. It invites the reader to be kind hearted in light of the dysfunction that in some degree can be found in all families.
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Tigers, Not Daughters
By Jess Ryan
Allow me to introduce you to
Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry. The novel follows the four Torres sisters as they try and fail to escape their home and San Antonio neighborhood. When their eldest sister, Ana, dies in a tragic accident, the remaining sisters bury their grief and try to move forward, but grief is a ghost that will not be shut away or shoved in a drawer. Soon it is not only grief that haunts them. Writing appears on walls. Hand prints form on shower doors. The Torres sisters being to wonder if Ana has returned.
This novel was gorgeous. It's lyrical and smooth, giving off the illusion of a dark fairy tale, but the Torres sisters do not require rescue attempts from princes; after all, they are tigers, not daughters. The story mixes together magic, mystery, and ghosts to form a breathtaking love story. Ultimately, this is a love story between sisters, and their decision to stand together against those who would tear them apart.
Fun fact: The title is from King Lear. Albany says it to one of Lear's daughters because he believes her to be disloyal and barbaric. Samantha Mabry turns this insult into a fiercely feminist war cry. Knowing how King Lear ends, I side with Mabry. I, too, would rather be a tiger.
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Poppy Flower Craft!
By Brenda Nolette
Memorial Day has gone by, but this craft video inspired by In Flanders Fields is sure to put you in the patriot spirit. Join us in making a poppy flower craft!
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| In Flanders Fields How To Make a Poppy Flower Craft |
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We're excited to share Summer Reading news with you!
We will be using Beanstack for our 2020 Summer Reading Program. Beanstack is an online platform that allows you to track your reading progress, log activities, earn e-badges, and earn entries into our grand prize drawings of two Kindle Fires! There will be TWO winners!
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We hope you enjoyed this week's special edition Booster! We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future issues. Please be well, and continue to take care of yourselves and others until our paths cross again next week.
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