What We're Reading: And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again

 

What We’re Reading: a series where we, your librarians, share what we're reading this week. A post from Harry.

A new addition to the Conshy Library's collection, And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again is an anthology featuring writers from all over the world responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. With contributions from over 50 global authors, this book collects deeply personal reactions to the pandemic yet remind us that the pandemic is a shared experience, that even in our isolation we are not alone.

This collection ranges from personal essay to poetry, from Mauritius to Canada, juxtaposing genre and location. It offers a global view of the unfolding tragedy, reminding us that we are all in this together as we hunker down and do our best to keep others safe. 

One of the more provocative pieces is by the Sudanese writer Khalid Albaih who asks that the reader reflect on what privilege hides behind the phrases "new normal" and "old normal".  He reminds us that there are people in places around the world that live everyday under lockdown because of geopolitical conflicts out of their control. A more poignant story talks about a child who falls in love with Jane Goodall and her chimpanzee friends during quarantine. A poem talks about a pile of books that the narrator cannot force himself to read. 

Most of the selections were written during the early months of lockdown, between March and May of this year. Reading them now, it is interesting to reflect on how our understanding of the virus has changed, as well as our ability to cope with "the new normal". Uncertainty is one of the underlying themes that connect all the works, and while much is still uncertain, vaccines are being administered for the first time across the United States. The light at the end of the tunnel that so many of these writers are hoping for is finally arriving.

While some might want to put more space between them and the pandemic before reading, I found it therapeutic to read this anthology. I'd highly recommend this for high school age and above. Anyone will find something that they connect with in this collection, and connection has never been more important. 

Year In Review: Top Picture Books

'Tis the season for year-end lists! Even this lousy pandemic couldn't stop the Conshy Library from circulating books to our patrons in Conshohocken and around Montgomery County. Here are the Top 10 most circulated Picture Books from 2020. Did you or your kids read any of these titles?

Space

Mixed : a colorful story, Arree Chung 

Pig the star, Aaron Blabey

Thelma the unicorn, Aaron Blabey 

Grumpy monkey, Suzanne Lang 

Pups to the rescue! 

The rabbit listened, Cori Doerrfeld

When I build with blocks, Niki Alling 

The curious garden, Peter Brown 

Disney's 5-minute bedtime stories : a magical collection of Disney tales, Cathy Hapke 

The Pigeon series by Mo Willems was by far the most popular across the consortium with the following books taking the top 3 spots!

The pigeon needs a bath!

The pigeon has to go to school!

The Pigeon finds a hot dog!

Year in Review: Top Adult Fiction

 

'Tis the season for year-end lists! Even this lousy pandemic couldn't stop the Conshy Library from circulating books to our patrons in Conshohocken and around Montgomery County. Here are the Top 10 most circulated Adult Fiction books from 2020. Did you read any of these titles?

On Earth we're briefly gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
The nickel boys, Colson Whitehead
City of girls, Elizabeth Gilbert
The overstory, Richard Powers
The only woman in the room, Marie Benedict
Robert B. Parker's Angel eyes, Ace Atkins  

Ask again, yes, Mary Beth Keane
The mother-in-law, Sally Hepworth
The giver of stars, Jojo Moyes

Additionally, here are the top 3 from the entire Montgomery County Library and Information Consortium. Where the crawdads sing reached first place by a landslide!

Where the crawdads sing, Delia Owens

The dutch house, Ann Patchett

Little fires everywhere, Celeste Ng

Virtual Activities from Our Local Museums

Even though the museums have closed again due to COVID, you can still explore their collections from the comfort of your home! All of the institutions for which we offer museum passes have a variety of activities and tours for patrons of all ages. Here are a hand selected list of some of our favorites. We will be highlighting them in the coming weeks!

Woodmere Art Museum

• the Violet Oakley Experience
• The Diving Board podcast-library

Academy of Natural Sciences

• Paleo Palooza!
• Learn how to take care of the environment with this reading-list

Penn Museum

• The Daily Dig
• Anthropology Crafts 

National Constitution Center

• Interactive Constitution 

Museum of the American Revolution 

• Virtual Tour with Author of I Survived Series
• Virutal Tour with Actor Michael Douglas 
• Revolutionary Crafts

Mütter Museum 

• Memento Mori interactive exhibit 
• On the Curator's Desk with Mike Rowe

What We're Reading: Italian Short Stories

 

What We’re Reading: a series where we, your librarians, share what we're reading this week. A post from Harry.

This week I've been perusing The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories edited by the author Jhumpa Lahiri. These 40 stories traverse the Italian "raconti" tradition from the past 100 years or so ranging from the surrealists of the 1920s to contemporary works that reference 9/11.

In addition to the delightful collection of stories, the book includes an insightful and interesting forward by Lahiri about the process of translation and how she "discovered" some of the lesser known authors and their works.

Some of my favorites from the collection include "The Siren", "Melancholy", and "The Lady". One of the great things about reading an anthology is the range of writing styles— if I didn't enjoy a story after a few pages, I didn't feel bad about skipping to the next one. I enjoyed some authors so much that I've already requested some of their other works here at the library!

I would definitely recommend this collection to anyone that was looking to shake up their reading habits. You will certainly come across at least a few authors whose stories you enjoy from this excellent anthology of 40 short stories.  

What We're Reading: New Book Alert!

What We’re Reading: a series where we, your librarians, share what we're reading this week. A post from Harry.

This week I've been reading through Becoming Philadelphia: How an Old American City Made Itself New Again by Inga Saffron, the long time architecture critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The book collects 20 years of her work writing columns about Philly's urban landscape and how it affected and still affects the city's residents.

Since the book is a collection of her journalistic work, it reads fast, each column no more than a few pages. It's an easy book to devour, and there is no problem in bouncing around from topic to topic at the reader's whim. 

What I enjoy most about this book is how it gives a historical recounting of the last 20 years of the city through the lens of architecture and urban design. Through Saffron's observations, Philly's modern timeline is measured by the construction of new buildings and the demolition of the old. 

I would recommend this book for those interested in local history, urbanism, and those who want to learn more about the intersection of urban development and gentrification. While the book would benefit from some historical context for those less familiar with the ins and outs of Philly politics, it is a great primer for better understanding our city as it stands today.     

Hispanic Hertitage Month

September 15th marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month! The month celebrates the contributions of Hispanic peoples and their ancestors to the cultural fabric of the United States. From September 15 – October 15, we specially honor this diverse and varied community with ties to Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

To celebrate here is a reading list of books you can check out directly from the Conshy Library, as well as a curated list of other resources available online.  

Reading list

The Living Infinite, Chantel Acevedo

The King is Always Above the People, Daniel Alarcón

The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende

Living to Tell the Tale, Gabriel Garcia Márquez

My Papi Has a Motorcycle, Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña

Carmela Full of Wishes, Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Making Waves, Mario Vargas Llosa

Make sure to ask us about our collection of Spanish Language children's books!

Other resources

The National Endowment for the Humanities has a variety of resources, including lesson plans and teacher guides. Great for home schoolers and those who want to supplement virtual school! 

The National Archives has a variety of collections and online exhibits for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Radio Ambulante is a Spanish language journalism podcast from NPR. Similar to This American Life, it dives into the diverse and intricate stories of everyday people from Latin America. Apart from incredible journalism, this a great resource for practicing and maintaining Spanish language skills. Check out the app Lupa to use in tandem while you listen. It was developed specifically for this podcast with Spanish language learners in mind! 

a post from Harry

What We're Reading

What We’re Reading: a series where we, your librarians, share what we're reading this week. Today we start with Harry, the newest staff member to join the Conshy Library. 

 

This week I’m reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I’ve been a big fan of his writing ever since I read his short story Light is Like Water. I’ve read many of his works of fiction as well as some of his journalistic writings, the latter of which I would highly recommend for some thrilling nonfiction prose! And now I’ve finally dived into the novel that won him the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The novel takes place in the fictional town of Macondo, a small South American town far removed from the amenities of modernity. It follows several generations of the Buendía family and their foibles. Rebellion, alchemy, and endless rain are just a few of the oddities that they endure in Macondo. 

García Márquez writes with radical empathy and this is what makes his stories truly remarkable. Every character's description and development unfold so vividly I feel like I could come across Úrsula or Colonel Aureliano Buendía as I stroll down Fayette. I find that by the end of his novels, the characters feel like tiny universes, full of life and motivations that we, the readers, can easily identify with.

I would recommend this book to someone who is looking to read something outside the Euro-American canon, who enjoys magic realism, or wants to check off a book from most “Best Books of All Time” lists.

471 pages, suggested for ages 16+