Librarying

October 2022

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers"

― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

New Book Spotlight

A magnificent house, vast formal gardens, a golden family that shaped California, and a colorful past filled with now-famous artists: the Gardener Estate was a twentieth-century Eden. And now, just as the Estate is preparing to move into a new future, restoration work on some of its art digs up a grim relic of the home’s past: a human skull, hidden away for decades.

Inspector Raquel Laing has her work cut out for her. Fifty years ago, the Estate’s young heir, Rob Gardener, turned his palatial home into a counterculture commune of peace, love, and equality. But that was also a time when serial killers preyed on innocents—monsters like The Highwayman, whose case has just surged back into the public eye.

Could the skull belong to one of his victims?

Amy Bloom began to notice changes in her husband, Brian: He retired early from a new job he loved; he withdrew from close friendships; he talked mostly about the past. Suddenly, it seemed there was a glass wall between them, and their long walks and talks stopped. Their world was altered forever when an MRI confirmed what they could no longer ignore: Brian had Alzheimer’s disease.

In this heartbreaking and surprising memoir, Bloom sheds light on a part of life we so often shy away from discussing—its ending. Written in Bloom’s captivating, insightful voice and with her trademark wit and candor, In Love is an unforgettable portrait of a beautiful marriage, and a boundary-defying love.

Forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle investigates of the notorious Dozier Boys School—the true story behind the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Nickel Boys—and the contentious process to exhume the graves of the boys buried there in order to reunite them with their families.

In the wake of the school’s shutdown, Erin Kimmerle, a leading forensic anthropologist, stepped in to locate the school’s graveyard to determine the number of graves and who was buried there, thus beginning the process of reuniting the boys with their families through forensic and DNA testing.

We Carry Their Bones is a fascinating dive into the science of forensic anthropology and an important retelling of the extraordinary efforts taken to bring these lost children home to their families.  

Upcoming Programs

There's still time to decorate a broom for display in Ivoryton Village!

While scarecrows will still hang in Centerbrook and Essex villages, Ivoryton will hang decorated brooms. People will vote for their favorite scarecrow and their favorite broom. Drop yours at the library by October 7

The Haunted Library is back!

The Haunted Library will be open during the Ivoryton Pumpkin Festival!

Note the new times for this year's Festival: 4:30-6:30

Safety protocol measures include one-way traffic through the library.

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall"

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Book Clubs

October 18

3:30 pm

A Girl Named Faithful Plum

by Richard Bernstein

November 15

7:00pm

Braiding Sweetgrass

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

October 21

4:00pm

When the Stars Go Dark

by Paula McLain

“For as long as she could remember, she had thought that autumn air went well with books, that the two both somehow belonged with blankets, comfortable armchairs, and big cups of coffee or tea.”

― Katarina Bivald, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend