The Land of Milk and Uncle Honey – Memories from the Farm of My Youth

Nationally syndicated agricultural columnist Alan Guebert and his daughter, Mary Grace Foxwell, will appear on Monday June 29, 2015 at 7:00 PM at the Northfield Senior Center to read from their recently released book, The Land of Milk and Uncle Honey.

 

Published by the University of Illinois Press, the book is a collection of personal memories written over the past two decades by Guebert as part of his weekly Farm and Food File column. Each column recalls and reflects on the people, food, and values he learned on the 720-acre, 100-cow “southern Illinois dairy farm of my youth” in the late 1960s.

 Advance reviews describe the book as authentic, humorous, and astute. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, notes "Alan Guebert is one of America's finest writers on the workings and the politics of our food system. This book eloquently describes a rural way of life that's been lost. But the values of that world—family, community, social justice, a respect for the land—are timeless."

 Copies will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

 
The program is cosponsored by the Northfield Public Library and the Northfield Senior Center.  The event is free and open to the public.  For more information call the Library at 507-645-6606 or the Senior Center at 507-664-3700.

 

 

The Library Needs You!

UPDATE! - The renovation project has been delayed slightly. We will NOT be packing the library in June. We expect the pack to take place sometime later this summer. For those who have already volunteered we will notify you later to see if you can still help. If you would still like to volunteer leave your name and contact info at the library and we'll notify you when the pack dates are confirmed. Thanks so much. If you have any questions call the  library at 507-645-6606 and ask for Debby or Laurie.




Beginning June 8 the Library will be packing up its entire collection for storage while the building is under renovation.  We are looking for volunteers to help us with this amazing task!  There are LOTS of ways you can help.  We'll need packers, box builders, snack/lunch helpers, runners, sign-in desk helpers, box movers and cart loaders.  We'll have 3 shifts per day, each shift totaling 2 hours.  The plan is to pack beginning Monday June 8 through Thursday June 11. Shifts begin at 8:00 am and end at 3:00 pm.  Sign up for whatever works for you that week.   The City of Northfield requires that all volunteers sign a waiver form and also undergo a background check.  There are two ways to sign up.  Go to http://guides.mynpl.org/libraryimprovement, print and fill out the forms and return to the library.  Or just stop by the library.  We will have the forms available for you here.   If you have any questions call the library at 507-645-6606 and ask for Debby or Laurie.  City restrictions require that volunteers are of high school age or older.

Volunteer signup deadline is May 15. Thanks for your help!

 

New books and more

There are some great book reviews and interviews on NPR. Just go to npr.org and click on "Arts and Life", then books. Look for interviews.
Here's a list of books we have gotten recently and a link to an interview with the author on NPR. You can use this for a book group discussion or to just know a little more about the author.





Redeployment by Phil Klay (Fic)
This collection of short stories takes readers to the frontlines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, asking us to understand what happened there, and what happened to the soldiers who returned
Click here for the author interview.




.Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives- Gretchen Rubin  (on order)
Habits are the invisible architecture of our lives. Rubin provides an analytical and scientific framework from which to understand these habits- as well as change them for good.
Click here for the author interview.







Bettyville: a Memoir - George Hodgman
George Hodgman leaves his home in Manhattan to take care of his aging mother in his hometown of Paris, Missouri.
Click here for the author interview.




Girl in a Band - Kim Gordon (921 GO)
One of the first women of rock and roll and a founding member of Sonic Youth, Gordon tells her life story.
Click here for the author interview.





End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere- Kevin Carey (371.35 CA)
Carey explains how 2 trends - the skyrocketing cost of college and the revolution in information technology- are converging in ways that will radically alter the college experience, upend the traditional meritocracy, and emancipate hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Click here for the author interview.




The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game - Mary Pilon (794 PI)
The Monopolists reveals the unknown story of how Monopoly came into existence, the reinvention of its history by Parker Brothers and multiple media outlets, the lost female originator of the game,  and one man's lifelong obsession to tell the true story about the game's questionable origins.
Click here for the author interview.



Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro (Fic)
The Buried Giant begins as a couple sets off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen in years.  Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Ishiguro's first novel in a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge and war.
Click here for the author interview.




Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia - Michael Booth (948.071 BO)
A travelogue of the Scandinavian countries and how they might not be as happy or perfect as we assume.
Click here for the author interview.

Interim Library Services

The Library will be undergoing a renovation beginning this summer.
Library services will be continuous as we will be opening a temporary library at City Hall - 801 Washington.  We are starting a blog to update the Northfield community on library services while the 210 Washington Street address is under construction.
http://nplmove2015.blogspot.com/

Other renovation information can be found at:
http://npl210.blogspot.com/

http://guides.mynpl.org/content.php?pid=614083


If you have any questions about library services call the library at 507-645-6606.

Questions about downloading ebooks or audiobooks?

 

We can help!!

Mondays 2:00-5:15 pm

Tuesdays 3:00-7:00 pm

Thursdays 2:00-7:00 pm

(or by appt)

Ask at the desk upstairs

Bring your device – make sure you have a library card

before you come and Amazon account

information if you have a Kindle

 

 

2014 Gift Book Suggestions from the Staff of the Northfield Public Library

Fiction

All the Light We Cannot See—Anthony Doerr

Museum of Extraordinary Things—Alice Hoffman
Cambridge—Susanna Kaysen
Goldfinch—Donna Tartt
The Invention of Wings—Sue Monk Kidd
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher; stories—Hillary Mantel
The Children Act—Ian McEwan
The Arsonist—Sue Miller
Still Life With Bread Crumbs—Anna Quindlen
Lila—Marilynne Robinson
Nora Webster—Colm Toibin
 

Non Fiction

Before we Say Goodnight: How to tell Bedtime Stories about Your Life and Family—Hank Frazee

Can’t we Talk About Something More Pleasant? A Memoir—Roz Chast
Empathy Exams: Essays—Leslie Jamison
A Farm Dies Once a Year—Arlo Crawford
In the Kingdom of Ice: the Grand and Terrible Voyage of the U.S.S.

Jeannette—Hampton Sides

Lego Architecture: the Visual Guide—Phillip Wilkinson

Minnesota’s Own: Preserving our Grand Homes—Larry Millett

Texts from Jane Eyre– Mallory Ortberg

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End—Atul Gawande

Yes, Please—Amy Poehler

 

 Cookbooks
 

 America: Farm to Table: Simple, Delicious Recipes Celebrating

 Local Farmers—Mario Batali

 Baking Bible—Rose Levy Berenbaum

 Lake Superior Flavors: a Field  Guide to Food and Drink Along the Circle Tour—James R. Norton

 Make some Beer: Small Batch Recipes from Brooklyn to Bamburg– Erica Shea

 Make it Ahead: a Barefoot Contessa Cookbook—Ina Garten

 

 Children’s Picture Books
 

 Book with No Pictures—B.J. Novak

 Duck Sock Hop—Jane Kohuth

 I Wish I Had a Pet—Maggie Rudy

 Ninja Red Riding Hood—Corey Schwartz

 The Secret Life of Squirrels—Nancy Rose

 Little Blue Truck’s Christmas—Alice Shertle

 

 

Author Rachael Hanel to Speak at the Northfield Public Library

Author, Rachael Hanel will give a talk on Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 7 pm at the Northfield Public Library on her book “We’ll be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter”.  Rachael is a former newspaper reporter and copy editor and teaches Mass Media at Minnesota State University, Mankato.  The book is described as “at times heartbreaking and at others gently humorous and uplifting”.   The book was a finalist for the 2014 Minnesota Book Awards.   The program is free and open to the public.  For more information please call the library at 507-645-6606.