A History of the Suffrage Movement
with Liz Tentarelli
Wednesday Oct. 14 at 6:30 PM
The campaign for women's right to vote was a long one, from the 1848 Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York to ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Who were the key players in New Hampshire and the nation? What issues and obstacles did they face? How did suffragists benefit from WWI in the final push for passage of the women's suffrage amendment? Who was left out when women got the right to vote? Using historic photographs and documents to illustrate, Liz Tentarelli will guide us on the journey to answer these questions and more!
Register here for this exciting program
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Value Line now on-line! As a consideration to the many investors unable to access our print subscription to Value Line, we are now offering the online version of the notable investors' resource. Click here to use the many advantageous features of the electronic version. You'll just need your library card number to authenticate your session. Call 964-8401 if you need to double check.
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RPL Wild Readers Book Club
Schedule for Fall 2020
Meetings are held by Zoom on the last Friday of each month at 1:00 PM
all titles available on Hoopla
Friday Oct. 30: Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman
Friday Nov. 20 : The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri
Friday Dec.18 [holiday schedule]:Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
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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  Oct 9, 2020
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Fall color continues to proliferate in the Seacoast. Enjoy these autumnal days. As John Muir said of fall: although the dying time, it is also the color time, the time when faith in the steadfastness of Nature is surest... The seeds all have next summer in them, some of them thousands of summers, as the sequoia and cedar. Enjoy this week's issue as we offer some new ideas and bring back some favorite reviews for reading and viewing from the RPL collection!
Please Be Well, Andy Richmond
Director, RPL
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Maid
by Stephanie Land
by Gwen Putnam-Bailey
In light of the upcoming topical program described in the left column of this issue, we recognized this time to reflect on the progress and accomplishments of women in our society. However, after reading the book Maid, I was prompted to examine our culture's treatment of women that are struggling financially or otherwise. If you liked the book Educated, Wild, or Without a Map, try this memoir written by Stephanie Land. The author chronicles her experience of working as a housekeeper and occasional landscaper to make ends meet. Land prefaces her book by sharing her slippery slope into poverty by becoming pregnant and making an effort to stay with the baby's father. His is unkind, unfit, and she realizes that she must leave him in order to make a better life.
The author explains that it was always her dream to attend college and become a writer but now she must focus on supporting herself and her daughter. Her plight of being a single mother without the safety net from other family members is astonishing in its scope.
Land becomes a member of the "working poor," living day to day in a maze of hardship. She takes on cleaning jobs and juggles finding day care for her child. She is faced with the stigma of applying for public assistance and openly scorned in the grocery store for using food stamps, hearing comments such as "you're welcome."
She tries to improve her situation including moving in with a man she thinks will create stability for her family but it disintegrates and she is once again on her own.
At this point, Land is working harder than ever to survive economically and suffering with the physical and mental pain from back breaking labor. She rents a one room studio that is covered with mold, the only place she can afford. It creates havoc with her daughter's health (and hers) and she is forced to send her daughter to day care, sick and loaded with Tylenol so that she can continue to work, creating a vicious cycle of struggle.
The author takes the reader with her on cleaning jobs where she becomes invisible as a "ghost" worker. She wonders about the inhabitants of the houses and gives them names such as the "sad" house and the "porno" house. She thinks about the degrees to which the home owners' lives are different than her own. She begins to make more money taking on private jobs and we begin to hear moments of happiness and hope creep into her narrative.
By the end of the memoir, Land is making a move to a college community outside of Seattle, the place that she envisioned herself before she become pregnant years earlier. She enrolls in college, and finds a decent place to live. It is here and now she realizes the vast and lonely road she has traveled, and is "starved" for community and a place to belong. The reader also has a realization as well, that compassion, less judgement, and a helping hand can go a long way for people that so desperately need it. I highly recommend Maid as an unflinching perspective of a single mother's pursuit of the "American Dream."
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A Perennial Favorite: Author Kent Haruf
a review
of Haruf's book Plainsong
by Shawna Healy
Author Kent Haruf is a staff favorite at RPL. His work evokes a peaceful pace of life with a strong sense of honor and place~refreshing and comforting in today's world.
Plainsong is a beautifully written novel. After finishing the book I often thought of the warm,well developed characters and wondered what has happened in their lives.
A father, raising his two young sons, is trying to keep his family together after his wife leaves. He is a gentle, fair minded school teacher with high ideals of his students. His young sons are curious about life and are trying to be strong all while missing their mother and questioning her withdrawal from them.
There are two older bachelors, theMcPheron brothers, living on the outskirts of town. They are quiet loners, who silently decided never to leave each other after their parents died when they were young boys. The brothers are approached to help a pregnant student who is kicked out of her home by her mother. Even though they are unsure of the best way to live with a young girl, the bond that develops between them is unspoken but strong.
These are just some of the many wonderful characters who become connected in interwoven storylines that show deep compassion as they each search for comfort and do what is required of them.
You can also borrow Haruf's novels Benediction, Eventide, Our Souls at Night and Where You Once Belonged from the RPL collection. Just log in to your account with your library card and PIN, or call and arrange a browsing appointment or simply request a pick up from our foyer.
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42
by Gwen Putnam-Bailey
With the untimely passing of actor Chadwick Boseman earlier this year, we thought a reminder of one of his films available at RPL might give you an idea for a great DVD to borrow.
42 was the number that Jackie Robinson wore for the Brooklyn Dodgers starting in 1947. He was the first African American man to play in the Baseball Major League. This film chronicles the start of his career beginning with the Kansas City Monarchs. At this time he is being watched carefully by team executive Branch Rickey who has his sights set on bringing him on to the major leagues despite the rampant racial prejudice at the time.
Rickey believes that Robinson will be able to navigate the tough journey ahead due to his calm intelligence and demeanor. Robinson proves him correct by withstanding the taunting and abuse that comes at him from all sides, including his own teammates. The movie does a good job of showing the hardship on everyone involved, and how ugly discrimination can be. I think this film would be very suitable for a (pre)-teen audience as it is truly a lesson in history, and an experience that would be valuable shared with a parent or grandparent.
Chadwick Boseman plays Jackie Robinson and his performance is amazing and quite authentic! The viewer feels the rage that he is going through and cheers when he is able to deflect the hatred that is coming his way time and time again. The baseball scenes are first rate but come second place to his winning at the racial divide! Lastly, Harrison Ford is fantastic as the scrappy manager who will not let the pressure get the best of him.... all in all, this film is a pleasure to watch and one that will be remembered by viewers for a long time to come!
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Thursday, October 15th
Toddler and Preschooler Story Time
Story time features interactive songs, books, rhymes, and movement and ends in a fun craft!
It's pumpkin time, and we have some very pumpkiny books! What's the biggest pumpkin you've ever seen? ... And what's the smallest? We'll paint our own pumpkins to celebrate the season. Any size will do. You'll need a pumpkin and paints or markers.
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Youth Book Bundles!
Let the youth librarians select a surprise pile of books just for you! Use one of the request forms found on our website's homepage or click here to get started.
We'll take it from there and call you when your book bundle is ready to be picked up in our foyer.
Happy reading!
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We hope you enjoyed this week's special edition Booster! Remember RPL's many hiking guides for planning your fall enjoyment! 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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