Doherty Summer Reading Program Returns
May 14, 2009
Doherty Summer Reading Program returns for the second year, and we’re reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Anyone who’s grown up in the South will relate to the images of moist, humid heat in the novel which takes place in South Carolina in the summer of 1964. Sweat drips down backs just as condensation drips down glasses of ice water. There’s a sweetness in the air mixed with damp earthiness in the cloying humidity. The main character, fourteen year old Lily Owens, spends most of her days working in the honey house or sleeping in the un-airconditioned room connected to it. She’s come to this place, where three Black women known as “the calendar girls” produce Black Madonna honey, in search of her mother and her self.
The Secret Life of Bees is definitely a woman centered book, and the characters depend upon a woman centered theology, grounded in the person of the Virgin Mother, to hold everything together. Told from the point of view of a female, the story is still a universal one of growing up and accepting the dark side of life, one’s parents and one’s self. (Sorry guys if the book seems too girly. I promise next year we’ll read Truck: a Love Story or something else manly.)
Our first event is Thursday, May 28th at 4:00 in Doherty Library for light refreshments including among other items coca-cola and salted peanuts, peaches, pimento cheese, honey and bananas. On Thursday June 25th we’ll have our first discussion at the Black Lab, and on Thursday July 30th we’ll have a viewing of the recent film and discussion (place to be announced). You do not have to attend all the events to participate.
We will have incentive prizes at the May 28th event. Please contact kellehm@stthom.edu or 713-525-3891 for more information.
Holiday Reading
December 12, 2008
Here’s what the Doherty Library Staff are reading over the Christmas Break
Ron Drees, Archivist
I plan to read Southern Storm: Sherman’s March to the Sea and learn about Sherman’s contribution to the Union victory. Also Among the Dead Cities, a moral review of the Allied bombing campaigns of WW II.
Pat Gerson, Acquisitions
I plan to finish Zoro’s Field: my life in the Appalachian woods by Thomas Rain Crowe, a Thoreau wannabe, who spent 3 or 4 years in a small cabin in the woods in North Carolina. A poet, associated with the San Francisco “baby beats”, he returns home to North Carolina and decides “you can go home again”. He refers to a nature writer Donald C. Peattie and I’d like to read his book Flowering Earth (1939) a poetic and philosophical description of plant life. He was apparently a widely read popular nature writer during his time and noted for his poetic writing. The library has several of his books but this is my first encounter with him. And lastly I want to read Studs Terkels’s memoir Touch and Go. Studs, who died recently at age 96, is the voice of Chicago, my former hometown, and I clearly understand his language. His books like Hard Times and Working are noted for their interviews with ordinary people about their lives. I usually like to read a children’s classic during the holidays, perhaps Anne of Green Gables or another by the same author Emily of New Moon. I’m looking forward to some very enjoyable reading this holiday.
Rev. George Hosko C.S.B., Inter-Library Loan Librarian
I am looking forward to reading Faith, Reason and the War against Jihadism by George Weigel. I need to be informed about the battle of ideas which are involved in this war.
Mary Kelleher, Reference and Instruction
I am in the middle of The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd right now (I’ve been meaning to read it for a long time and must do so before I can see the movie). When I finish that I plan to read Mr. Ive’s Christmas by Oscar Hijuelos. I don’t know anything about it really except that any person who’s mentioned that I should read it (and there has been several) has done so with a glowing face and a breathless “it’s the greatest book.” I always like to reread an old favorite during the slow, quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s, and this year I have a hankering for Paradise Lost. I’ve just read Milton’s “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” to prepare for Christmas.
Dale Stewart, Circulation Supervisor
I just started Survivor: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk. If that goes fast I might also check out The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I’m sure either of these would make a great addition to anyone’s holiday reading list.
James Piccininni, Director
I am reading Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks. This book covers the psychological effects and physiological aspects regarding the brain and music, and it has succeeded at being both informative and interesting. Oliver Sacks brought us Awakenings a nonfiction book about the use of L-DOPA on victims of catatonic syndrome (the movie starred Robin Williams and Robert De Niro). Not exactly holiday reading, so I’ll steer clear of Awakenings and instead reach for Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron.
Join Us for Summer Reading at Doherty
May 14, 2008
On Pilgrimmage by Jennifer Lash is Chosen for 2008 Summer Reading.
Program kick-off date: May 29, 2008
What’s it about? On Pilgrimage is the story of a journey that novelist Jennifer Lash takes alone after she was diagnosed and treated for cancer. Lash is a lapsed Catholic who left the Church when she opted for sterilization after the birth of her seventh child. Lash speaks with great admiration and respect for the Faith and the faithful. There is nothing polemic, dogmatic or heretical for either Catholics or non-Catholics, but sensitive readers should be aware that on a pilgrimage through Europe, Lash visits places important to the Catholic faith and that Lash does not always present orthodox theology. Lash is the mother of the actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes. Since the publication of the book, Lash has passed away.
Summer Reading Events: The summer reading program will kick off Thursday May 29th with a free luncheon from 12-1pm at Doherty. Book discussions will follow at the Black Lab beginning at 5:15 on Thursday June 26th and continuing on Thursday July 24th (Black Lab events are ”BYOBA” – Buy your own beer and appetizers!).
Our Holiday Reading Lists
December 12, 2007
What are you reading this Christmas?
Jim Piccininni, Library Director:
I am currently reading China Road: a Journey into the Future of a Rising Power by Rob Gifford. Gifford, who lived in China for several years as an NPR Correspondent, embarks on a road trip across China traveling a continuous stretch of roadway known as Route 312. The book is a fascinating description of his journey along Route 312 as he makes his way from thriving Shanghai to the western border at Kazakhstan. As Gifford writes in chapter three: “In the Western mind, a road trip conjures up images of the 1950’s and ‘60s, of Jack Kerouac, of beatniks and hippies hitting the road to find themselves, or lose themselves, whichever they need to do. In China, traveling by highway is a very new phenomenon, and Chinese people have not yet fallen in love with the open road. Rather, it is a marriage of convenience. They are traveling mainly out of necessity, to find work, in order to feed themselves and their families…”Still, there is a hint of “Kerouac” thrown into China Road and Gifford also gives ample insights into Chinese culture, history and politics. The author skillfully takes conversations he has had with a variety of Chinese citizens, and together with some interesting anecdotes, successfully entertains and enlightens the reader. If you want to travel to modern day China, but lack either the time or money to do so, then China Road can serve as your exit visa out of the West and directly into this dynamic Asian society.
◊◊◊
Rev. George Hosko C.S.B., Inter-Library Loan and Archives:
“I like to read the insightful articles found in First Things: A Journal of Religion ….”
◊◊◊
Dr. Mary Kelleher, Reference and Periodicals:
“Over the holiday I hope to FINALLY get to Maeve Binchey’s newest book, Whitethorn Woods. In this book Binchey returns to her familiar themes of Catholic traditions and the modernization (and secularization) of Ireland. Thus in a small town in Ireland a battle erupts between believers and non-believers over the destruction of a local shrine in order to make way for a new highway. In another return, this time to format, Binchey, in order to tell the story, combines the personal tales of a variety of characters and as Publisher’s Weekly says “orchestrates it into a masterful whole.”
I would also like to read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, as I am now reading Mad Cowboy: The Plain Truth From the Cattle Rancher Who Won’t Eat Meat. The author of the latter, Howard F. Lyman, is the rancher who appeared on the Oprah Show that got her sued by Texas ranchers for defamatory statements about meat.
And I should add, that I usually end up re-reading Pride and Prejudice sometime over the Christmas break. I don’t necessarily intend to, but it happens.”
◊◊◊
Lisa McNamara, Reference and Instruction:
“With the semester finally winding down, I’m looking forward to relaxing at home with my cats and curling up with some good books. Lately I’ve been in the mood for animal stories, so I’m definitely going to read Cleveland Amory’s The Cat Who Came for Christmas and The Cat and the Curmudgeon. Last year, I read Amory’s Ranch of Dreams, which we have at Doherty, and I loved it!
In the fiction category, I’m a bit undecided, but I’ll probably read Richard Russo’s Empire Falls and some low-key British mysteries. For nonfiction, I’d like to read Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, which is about the work of Dr. Paul Farmer in Haiti and beyond.”
◊◊◊
Rachel Matre, Reference and Instruction:
I’m currently reading the novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It is the story of two magicians who emerge in England during the time of the Napoleonic wars. Mr. Strange, the younger and less experienced magician, becomes Mr. Norrell’s pupil. But soon Strange feels confined under Norrell’s tutelage. Their differences lead them to part ways and become rivals. I don’t want to give too much of this wonderful adventure away, so I’ll just add one more thing: Don’t mess with faeries – they are not nice!
What’s next? As usual I have a pile to choose from. First on my list is the nonfiction Her Majesty’s Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage by Stephen Budiansky. I recently read Joanna Denny’s biography Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen and think I will find the intrigues of her daughter’s reign interesting. A couple of weeks ago I listened to an interview with Katherine Ashenburg on NPR which made me want to read her book The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History. As the title implies it’s a social history on standards of cleanliness. From Doherty, I have just checked out Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants (Robert Sullivan). Those three are my non-fiction picks for the holiday.
Under the category “guilty pleasures,” I have Sarah Dunant’s novel In the Company of the Courtesan. It’s a historical romance set in 16th century Venice.
◊◊◊
Pat Gerson, Acquisitions:
“I’m looking forward to a relaxing, peaceful holiday and hope to find some cozy, comfortable books to read. First I’ll start with Louisa May Alcott’s Flower Fables, a book about fairies dedicated to one of the Emerson children in Concord during those “American Bloomsbury” days. Speaking of fairies, I’ll probably look at Cicely Mary Barker’s wonderful illustrations of fairies and flowers from her Flower Fairies series. And speaking of Louisa May Alcott, there’s a mystery series The Louisa May Alcott Mysteries written by Anna Maclean where Louisa solves all kinds of interesting mysteries.
For even more peace and tranquility I might try Mountain Home: The Wilderness Poetry of Ancient China (translated by David Hinton).
And I’m sure I will want to read Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas In Wales to my grandson again this year. There’s not much here that’s either academic or mentally taxing but I promised myself a lot of pure fantasy this year.”
Catholic Fiction Blog
September 26, 2007
Doherty Librarian Dr. Mary Kelleher Moderates Catholic Fiction Blog
Looking for some new leisure reading? Or an online meeting place to discuss old favorites? Check out the Catholic Fiction Blog. On the site, Mary makes suggestions to anyone looking for something good to read. “Because little is written about “Catholic fiction” in other venues, I have chosen this as my theme.” Read the blog to see how she defines “Catholic fiction.” Anyone is welcome to comment on the page and make recommendations of their own favorites.
Mary
