Ocean City Free Public Library Book Blog

  This month's book was The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes - McCoy . The ladies of the book club enjoyed this book. We discussed that the side characters were quite fascinating and more often more interesting. We liked the stories that were being told on the side, it gave the narrative a little bit something extra and a tidbit to look forward to later in the story. As a whole, we all agreed the main character, Hanna, was something we deemed an in-between character. Hanna was someone who was like a floater, not taking full command of her own story. It was fun to see the development of the character and finally seeing how she grew in her story.  We also loved the setting of the story. Who doesn't love a book set in the misty side seashore town by the cliffs in Ireland. Grant it, the town does not exist but we just loved the imagery of the place throughout the story. It did create a sense of wanderlust throughout the group. Overall, we enjoyed the no...

Lucy is just a normal 20-something, living in a small town and working as a children's librarian. Things are pretty humdrum - a potential romance here, some interactions with quirky neighbors there. The one consistently interesting part of Lucy's life is the young patron, 10 year old Ian Drake, who races to the children's area to devour any and all books that Lucy can loan him. Ian comes from a stifling household and his reading habits are closely monitored by his oppressive parents. One day, Lucy arrives early at work and finds Ian has managed to stay in the library overnight. What starts out as a trip to return Ian to his house turns into a road trip all across the Northeast. Lucy doesn't mean to kidnap Ian - it just turns out that way. As the two travel across many states, Lucy tries to figure out what in the hell she's just done (and what can she do now?!).As the trip continues, Lucy comes to grips with her actions and tries to rediscover what makes her tick. De...

A strange title for a bittersweet love story. Benny and Shrimp (real name Desiree) are both middle aged and lonely. Benny is a dairy farmer who never went to college while Shrimp is a librarian and an avid reader/philosophizer. They meet in a cemetery and fall in love, only to realize that perhaps the passion they feel towards each other may not necessarily carry their relationship into the future. The best relationships are founded on compromise, but are the two willing to sacrifice parts of their lives for each other? A quick read, but a thoughtful one at that.

Seeing as to how this novel nearly parallel's the life and times of Laura Bush, it seems appropriate that I chose to read this at a time when President Bush's term is coming to a close. Sittenfeld never states outright that she is fictionalizing Laura Bush, but the comparisons are pretty damn close - small town Alice Lindgren, a smart and sensitive (and kind of uptight) school librarian, unexpectedly falls in love with Charlie Blackwell, a rowdy, goodnatured but slightly dim-witted guy who happens to be part of the very prominent Blackwell family. The two marry and Charlie goes on to make political history as President, bringing Alice along for the ride. I found the book to be a very quick read and mostly enjoyable, and it was nice to see the evolution of Charlie and Alice's relationship as he becomes more and more famous, however, I couldn't get past the frequent sex scenes between the two. It's obvious the book is about Laura and George W. Bush and, no offense,...