Image thanks to The Wrap

Librarian, Nancy Fort, has read the controversial, newly-found book by Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchman, and is offering her views on the prequel to Lee’s famous To Kill a Mockingbird.

This week I read a book that has received a lot of attention lately. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. Many of the reviews that I heard were unfavorable and there was even some speculation about if Ms. Lee really wrote the manuscript and what motivated her to publish it so many years after To Kill a Mockingbird. It has been a few years since I read Mockingbird and I thought maybe I should peruse it again before I borrowed the new book. I’m glad that I didn’t. I think the problem most people have with Go Set a Watchman is that it takes the reader back to the setting and characters of To Kill a Mockingbird but we find that things have changed in the 20 years since the original story was told.

People have expressed surprise to learn about Atticus Finch’s views on race in this book. Even his own daughter is shocked and cannot reconcile the father she thought she knew with the man who stands before her. But that is the crux of the story. The small town that Scout returns to for a two week visit with her father seems different to her than the town where she was raised. Her relatives and friends all seem different too. Are they different or is the 20-something year old Scout seeing things differently? I enjoyed the story because it lets Scout grow up. As mature as she may have seemed in To Kill a Mockingbird, she still had things to learn. Go Set a Watchman was a good story. The characters opinions, as distasteful as they are, seem plausible for white people living in Alabama in the 1960’s.  It did seem to me that the conflict between Scout and Atticus was resolved rather quickly given Scout’s extreme physical reaction to the situation. I would have liked to keep reading to discover how they move forward from there but Scout was only home for a two week visit.

The Riverton Free Library Association Board of Trustees will be meeting in the Adult Fiction section of the library on Monday, September 28th at 7:30 PM, its first of three annual meetings. The public is welcome to attend.

The truth is out!  Librarian, Nancy Fort likes to read quick-reads, too, not just heavy tomes.  See what you think of her new passion, Why I Love Alexander McCall Smith.

Image thanks to www.famousauthors.org

The first Alexander McCall Smith book that I ever read was La’s Orchestra Saves the World. It tells the story of Lavender, also known as La, who moves from London to a small town during World War 2. It is a great story with many wonderful characters. McCall Smith may be best known for his No. 1 Ladies Detective Series but I have not read any of those. I did read one or two from his Isabel Dalhousie mystery series but I’m just not a mystery reader. I always feel like I missed something and when the mystery is solved in the end, I am often more confused than I was in the beginning. This series is set in Scotland and I do enjoy trying to decipher some of the colloquial phrases the characters use and some of the foods they eat for various meals.

The reason I love Alexander McCall Smith is because many of his books are short. I know that seems like an odd reason to pick a book but sometimes I need a break from bigger stories and he excels at storytelling that is both compelling and concise. The most recent book that I read was Trains and Lovers. I wasn’t sure what to expect. The title and book cover make it seem like it is a romance but it is not. It’s a story about four people on a long train journey that start a conversation that focuses on the themes of love and relationships. It was the kind of conversation that I was happy to eavesdrop on but may have been uncomfortable having with strangers on a train!

If none of the titles that I described here appeal to you, chances are that you will find something to your liking if you check the bookshelves or catalog under Smith, Alexander McCall.

Are  you stressed out about writing a personal statement for your college applications?  Are you unsure about how to say something distinct and original about yourself so admissions officers will really know you?  In this workshop, you will work on popular topics that colleges often ask about, and we’ll think deeply about the particular story your are trying to tell.  The workshop facilitator, Professor Scott Warnock, is an English professor and Director of the University Writing Program at Drexel University.

• Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2015
• Time: 7:30 PM – 9 PM
• Registration: Registration suggested by calling the library at 856-829-2476 on online at the BCLS.