Through August 17, the Plumb Library will be collecting nonperishable food in lieu of fines in our annual summer edition of Food for Fines. You can clear your overdue fines with the donation of nonperishable food, which will be donated to Damien’s Pantry, or pet food, which will go to local animal shelters. Food donations cannot be used to pay for lost books or cards, or printing and fax fees. Please ask at the desk for more information.
The Friends of Plumb Library will be looking for volunteers for two occasions in August and September. First, on August 17 and 18, they will need helpers for their table at the Rochester Country Fair, where they will be selling used books and Friends items. Teens are welcome to help with adult supervision. If you are interested in helping with a two-hour slot during the weekend, speak to a Friends Board member or the Library Director. They will also be looking for volunteers for the annual book sale, this year taking place on Saturday, September 7, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, with the Friends preview sale on Friday, September 6, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Helpers are needed to move the books from the library basement to the Congregational Church Hall on Friday morning; with setting up the sale during the day on Friday; during the sales Friday evening and during the day on Saturday; and with cleanup after 3:00 pm on Saturday. If you’d like to help, speak to someone at the desk or a member of the Friends Board. Sign-up sheets will be at the desk.
Donations can be left at the library during open hours, or can be picked up by calling the library at 508-763-8600. We do not accept magazines (except for knitting, quilting or cooking magazines), encyclopedias, textbooks, books in bad condition (torn, moldy, dirty), Readers Digest condensed books or videos.
Just the Facts, the nonfiction book discussion group, will be reading The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. During the stunning 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, “Doctor” Henry H. Holmes used the lure of the “White City” to attract single young women to his “World’s Fair Hotel,” where he seduced, tortured and murdered them. Meanwhile, the architect Daniel Hudson Burnham was struggling to get the fair completed on time and within budget despite fires, strikes and the swampy ground. Larson’s book compares the two men as they work toward their very different goals. We will be discussing this book on Thursday, August 15 at 6:30 pm. Copies are available at the desk.
Café Parlez’s selection for July is The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. We will be discussing this book on Thursday, August 29 at 6:30 pm. In 1920s Chicago, 28-year-old Hadley Richardson has given up on marriage until she meets Ernest Hemingway. They marry and move to Paris to live in the Bohemian lifestyle, where Ernest tries to write, and they both live fast and hard. The demands of life with Ernest start to catch up with Hadley, and, despite their loving bond, they experience the ultimate crisis of their marriage. Based on a true story and full of colorful characters from literature, this book brings that period and the lives of Ernest and Hadley Hemingway to life. Books are available at the desk, or bring your own copy. Café Parlez is sponsored by the Friends of Plumb Library.