Between the Stacks: 11/9/2022

Without a doubt, the question I get asked the most is “What are you reading?” Since I generally have at least ten books going at the same time for different book clubs, programs, and my own enjoyment; I decided to share what I am currently reading this week.

The History Book Club is reading a biography of a First Lady of the United States. I went through several before deciding what to read and came up with a book I had purchased years ago. My Life with Jacqueline Kennedy was written by her personal secretary Mary Barelli Gallagher in 1969, just six years after the President’s assassination. Barelli was with the First Lady from 1957-1964. It is a very intimate account of the day-to-day life of a young woman juggling family, politics, and fame all at the same time.

I always say to read the book first, then see the movie. This time, however, I am reading the book and watching the series. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz is now playing on Masterpiece Mystery (PBS) on Sunday nights, just after I had started the book. It is an adventure doing both at the same time but they are not disappointing in any way. Also in the mystery genre, I am reading the new Aggie Morton: Mystery Queen series installment “The Seaside Corpse” for the Young Adult Book Club.

I was sad to find out this is the final book in the series as it takes a fictional look at Agatha Christie when she was twelve and solves a series of murders in Victorian England. This is an entertaining and fun romp for those just discovering mysteries.

This month I am reading I Belong to Vienna by Anna Goldenberg for the Holocaust Book Club, along with several others. It is a Holocaust story of a family who survived and then decided to return to Vienna after living in the United States after the Second World War. It is a story of the lure of home, no matter how terrible the past is. The author is the great-granddaughter of two Austrian Jews who were deported to Theresienstadt. It is an interesting look at how one place can have such a strong hold on a family.

In my just-for-fun pile, I am reading The Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna by Angus Robertson and In the Shadow of the Gods: The Emperor in World History by Dominic Lieven.

Robertson takes a look at Vienna from the very beginning of its settlement until modern times. Lieven takes a broader perspective on the role of the emperor as the dominant source of power in world history. Both books have great overviews of how the world developed.

In other news, the Library will be closed for Veterans Day on Friday, November 11. Also, don’t forget our 3-D Printing classes this month on Wednesdays!