Blog Archive

You can enjoy an outing to a Lowell Spinners game this summer with the library's discount passes funded by the Women of Wilmington.  Each pass admits six people at $3 per person (half off the regular ticket price). Reserve the pass here for one of the following home games:

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In The Magic Room, journalist and author (The Girls From Ames) Jeffrey Zaslow uses Becker’s Bridal, a family business in Michigan, as a lens to examine marriage, love, and parenthood. Becker’s has been in the family for three generations; when a mother-daughter pair comes looking for the daughter’s wedding dress, it’s likely the mother got her dress from Becker’s, too. (The “magic room” is a mirrored room upstairs where the brides-to-be can see themselves in the dress they think might be “the one.”) Zaslow tells the story of several women throughout the book, including the Becker women; he writes with rare insight, sincerity, and compassion, perhaps because he had three daughters of his own. (Zaslow died in a car crash in February 2012.)

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Despite the cover, Maine is not a light beach read; it’s a multigenerational story featuring four complex (and not always likable) female characters. There’s Alice, the grandmother who feels responsible for her sister’s death decades earlier; Kathleen, Alice’s daughter, who broke with the whole family and moved to California; Maggie, Kathleen’s daughter, a semi-successful writer in Brooklyn who has just discovered she’s pregnant; and finally the “perfect” Ann Marie, Alice’s daughter-in-law, underappreciated by most and outright resented by some. They are truly “four unforgettable women who have nothing in common but the fact that, like it or not, they’re family.” The author writes from each character’s perspective with incredible insight and depth of feeling; this is truly a character-driven story that explores the nature of familiar bonds. Recommended for those who enjoyed Faith by Jennifer Haigh or The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass.

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There are now three Flour locations in the Boston area, and this cookbook by the bakery’s owner/founder reveals how to make some of her scrumptious baked goods at home. There are sections on techniques, equipment, and ingredients, along with “Joanne’s Top 12 Baking Tips.” (Chang wisely explains the “why” along with the “what,” effective for convincing home bakers that yes, the recipe is that way for a reason.) Beginning bakers will probably find some recipes intimidating, but others manageable; Chang includes a little personal story before each recipe, and includes ingredient measurements in both volume and weight. The photos are gorgeous, too.