All posts by Deanna Parsi
Book Brunch: More Summer Reads!
Thanks to all who joined us for our Book Brunch book share program this month! Jess and Deanna shared some new titles coming into the library, and attendees (readers just like you!) told us what they have been reading and recommending.
This month featured more great books for your summer reading pile – literary fiction, spy thrillers, historical fiction, family sagas, fun romances, and even a few nonfiction titles. Take a peek at the list below and get yourself on the hold list for these soon-to-be-popular titles. Need more recommendations? Check out our Reading Room blog, sign up for the next Book Brunch on September 14, and check out our latest episode of Bookmarked! featuring even more titles for your summer reading enjoyment.
Summer Reading Challenge – Vacation Reads
We hope everyone is off to a good start on this year’s Summer Reading Challenge! If you have not started, stop by the library to pick up your game card, or print it HERE.
We always like to help with book recommendations, so this week we thought we would suggest a few titles for “Read a book in which the characters go on vacation”. Because, really, wouldn’t we all like to be on vacation in July? Well, we can read about it at least!
There are all kinds of books on this list – from when vacations are full of sun and romance, to creepy thrillers where vacations are, shall we say, not so fun. A personal favorite is He Started It by Samantha Downing, in which a group of siblings set out to recreate a family road trip in order to meet the terms of their father’s will and gain their inheritance. What could possibly go wrong? See below for other great suggestions!
Happy reading!
While You Are Waiting…The Woman in the Library
I read The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill for the title (obviously!) and am glad to report that I wasn’t sorry – it is an excellent mystery. The set-up is intriguing: an Australian mystery writer named Hannah is writing a murder mystery set in the Boston Public Library and one of her characters, Freddie, is also an Australian mystery writer, in town on a writing fellowship. Freddie is in the BPL reading room, trying to write her book, but actually watching her fellow researchers and making up stories about them in her head, when there is a loud terrified scream. Everyone is asked to remain in place, so the four tablemates start talking. Drawn together by the extraordinary circumstances, Freddie, Cain, Whit and Marigold begin a friendship. But it turns out that each of them has secrets, and Freddie begins to realize that one of them might have been connected to the murdered woman in the library. Interspersed throughout the story are letters to Hannah from a man named Leo, who appears to be a fellow writer giving her advice from afar. This gives the story some immediacy and reminds the reader of the story-within-a-story. The mystery is well done and I enjoyed all the local references.
There is a hold list for this one right now, so if you like the idea of a story within a story, here are a few books to try while you are waiting for The Woman in the Library:
And for those of you working on our Summer Reading Challenge – any of these books would count for the “Read a book recommended by a CPL librarian” square!
Adult Summer Reading Challenge 2022!
One of our favorite things about summer is having a little bit more time to read, whether it is packing a paperback in with the sunscreen, or enjoying the extra daylight to read on the deck after dinner. We know you feel the same way! We also know that while reading is always good summertime fun, reading to win prizes is even better!
Come into the library to pick up your game card, or print it out from the copy below. This year’s theme is “Reading…Off the Beaten Path”. Complete Bingo squares to earn tickets for an end of summer raffle! 5 squares = 1 ticket, 10 squares = 2 tickets, or complete the entire card for 3 tickets!
Drop off your completed game cards at the Main Desk or email them to Jessica FitzHanso at jfitzhanso@chelmsfordlibrary.org by Saturday August 27th.
Alternately, you can simply log the days you read in Beanstack, similar to the way your kids might be. Just check into your account on Beanstack, tell us you read that day, and you will be entered in to a daily raffle to win gift certificates for local coffee, candy, and ice cream! You can sign up for that challenge, here: HERE.
Happy Summer Reading!
Spotlight: Morning Book Group
The Morning Book Discussion Group meets at 10:00 AM on the third Wednesday of every month. The group recently held their selection meeting and came up with a great list for the upcoming year. The titles are a fun mix of nonfiction, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and an American classic for light summer reading.
Currently the group is fashioned on our hybrid model – members can attend in person at the main branch of the library or attend via zoom. We always enjoy welcoming new readers with different perspectives to the group. For more information, please contact Jessica FitzHanso at jfitzhanso@chelmsfordlibrary.org.
Here are the selections for the rest of this year. Click HERE to register for our July 20th meeting- we hope to see you there!
Book Brunch: Summer Reads!
Thanks to all who joined us for our Book Brunch book share meeting this month! Jess and Deanna shared some new titles coming into the library, and attendees (readers just like you!) told us what they have been reading and recommending.
This month featured books for your summer reading pile – literary fiction, twisty mysteries and thrillers, historical fiction, family sagas, a fun romance, and a few titles perfect for Pride Month. Take a peek at the list below and get yourself on the hold list for these soon-to-be-popular titles. Need more recommendations? Check out our Reading Room blog, sign up for the next Book Brunch on July 13 and check out our latest episode of Bookmarked! featuring even more titles for your summer reading enjoyment.
Bookmarked! Fresh Summer Fiction
Tune in to our latest episode of Bookmarked!, where Jess and Deanna talk about some fresh summer fiction to add to your TBR pile. From a haunting gothic to a summer romance, from an action-packed spy thriller to a story about family – this list has something for everyone.
Looking for more reading suggestions? Join us for our next Book Brunch on Wednesday, June 8th at 10:30 AM. We hope to see you there!
June Is Pride Month!
June is Pride Month! We hope you will attend one of our events or browse the many displays throughout the library. We will be spending the month reading some great memoirs and novels that focus on LGBTQIA authors and themes. Here are a few of our favorites so far, and don’t forget to check out our reading list below!
Deanna recommends:
Like a House On Fire by Lauren McBrayer
Meritt is at a crossroads in her life. She loves her family, but she needs something more so she decides to return to the career she abandoned when she had her first child. She lands a job at an architectural firm, working for the beautiful, witty, and charming Jane. They immediately hit it off, getting along “like a house on fire”, their working relationship quickly turning into a close friendship. Before long, Meritt starts to feel something more for Jane, but will she have the courage to act on it? This is a book about friendship, about falling in love, and about being true to yourself – however unexpected the new path might be.
Laura recommends:
Becoming a Man by P. CarlBecoming a Man is a thoughtful and reflective memoir which chronicles the author, P. Carl’s, midlife transition. Carl contemplates his manhood at a time when toxic masculinity permeated the American political landscape and the #MeToo movement continued to gain traction. Carl does not gloss over any of the hardships of his lived experience nor does he forget to consider the privileges he holds as a white man living in America. Isolation, love, fear, acceptance, anger, honesty, and healing all have a place in Carl’s path to becoming a man. A deeply engaging and personal read.
Spotlight: Mystery Book Group
The Mystery Book Group meets at 2:00 PM on the fourth Wednesday of every month. We read a wide variety of titles, from the classics to historical mysteries to contemporary thrillers.
Currently the group is fashioned on our hybrid model – members can attend in person at the main branch of the library or attend via zoom. We always enjoy welcoming new readers with different perspectives to the group. For more information, please contact Deanna Parsi at dparsi@chelmsfordlibrary.org.
Here are the selections for the rest of this year. Click on the title to register for the meeting – we hope to see you there!
| May 25 | Before She Disappeared | Lisa Gardner |
| Jun 22 | When No One Is Watching | Alyssa Cole |
| Jul 27 | Pieces of Her | Karin Slaughter |
| Aug 24 | We Begin at the End | Chris Whitaker |
| Sep 28 | Sidney Chambers & the Shadow of Death | James Runcie |
| Oct 26 | Daughter of Time | Josephine Tey |
| TBD | The Last Child & Selection Meeting | John Hart |
2022 Titles
2021 Titles
Town of Chelmsford Land Acknowledgement
On March 14, 2022, the Chelmsford Select Board signed a Land Acknowledgement Proclamation which was drafted by a subcommittee of the Town’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, library staff, and Select Board member, Pat Wojtas. This important first step seeks to recognize the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this land and honor the Indigenous peoples that are still connected to this land now known as Chelmsford.
Town of Chelmsford Land Acknowledgement
The Town of Chelmsford acknowledges that its land, upon which the government buildings, town common, and libraries are situated, is the traditional and ancestral territory of many diverse Indigenous Nations and we strive to honor these peoples.
We acknowledge the history of genocide and forced removal from this land, now known as Chelmsford, and we honor the Indigenous peoples still connected to this land on which we live, work, and learn. This area comprises, in part, the homelands of the Pawtucket-Pennacook–Abenaki, and their close neighbors the Massachusett and Nipmuc peoples.
The Town of Chelmsford extends our deepest respect to citizens of these Nations who live here and elsewhere today and to their ancestors who have lived here for generations.
Click here for more information on the Land Acknowledgement.
Click here to learn more about local Indigenous Nations.