Snippets from the Shelves

by Lynn Piotrowicz

Six months ago an acquaintance sent me a quote that has been serving as my guiding mantra:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
-Mark Twain

As some of you may know, I have thrown off the bowlines and will be sailing away from all that is safe and secure. I have recently accepted the position of Director of the Tucker Free Library in Henniker, New Hampshire. Henniker is a quaint New England village that boasts of converted antique gaslights, a college, a ski resort, a class five river, the first bridge in New Hampshire and a corrner store where you can buy oil, wine, magazines, small hardware items and lunch! The area has particular appeal for me because my brother and his family live 30 miles south of Henniker, so I will get to spend lots of quality time with my nephew.

I am passing the Fiction Department baton to Joice Imel. Joice has worked at the library on the Main Floor for nine years. She has superb interpersonal skills, a friendly disposition, and a genuine commitment to fulfilling the leisure reading needs of the patrons of the Meadville community. A fiction reader, Joice enjoys Robert Ludlum, Nevada Barr, Iris Johansen, Suzanne Brockmann, Ann Rivers Siddon, Nora Roberts, Diana Gabaldon, Rosamund Pilcher, Dorothy Gilman and others. Please take the time to introduce yourself to Joice next time you stop in the library.

This is a bittersweet time for me. I have tried to say farewell to as many of my patrons as possible, but I haven’t been able to touch base with everyone. As I write this article, I am reflecting back on all the friends I have made and all the fun I have had working as the fiction librarian at the Meadville Publilc Library. I have truly enjoyed guiding your leisure reading pursuits over the years. I would like to think that we have all grown into sophisticated readers of discriminating taste. But remember, occasionally a trashy novel, a plaguebook, or a serial killer book provides a great alternative!

I have been pretty preoccupied and busy over the last few months but I have managed to read a couple of excellent well-written books. If you are up for a challenge try Haruki Murakiami’s Kafka on the Shore or Dave King’s The Ha Ha. Must-reads for the summer include: Sue Monk Kidd’s (Secret Life of Bees) The Mermaid Chair, Alice Hoffman’s Ice Queen, and Judith Ryan Hendricks’ Baker’s Apprentice.

If you are ever in the Henniker area, please stop in and say hello, Meadville friends are always welcome!

Fondly,
Lynn Piotrowicz