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РусскийOne of our most frequently visited collections is a set of 10,000 photographs depicting the people, places, and various events around Morris County during the first three decades of the 20th century. Who was Frederick Venton Curtiss and what led him to document so many neighborhoods and individuals in and around town? Archivist Jeff Moy offers some insight in this brief video, and the entire four-part series can be found on our YouTube playlist.
Yearly Archives: 2020
Book Lovers Recommendations July 2020 Part II
Recommendations by Sue Lipstein
A Burning
By Magha Majundar
This is a debut novel by an Asian-Indian author. Jivan, a young Muslim student is falsely accused of being part of a train bombing which left over 100 dead, after she posted comments on social media. Her voice tells the story, as she is framed by over-eager police and the very person who could save her does not want to speak out.
Everywhere You Don’t Belong
By Gabriel Bump
Another debut novel. Claude is being raised in Chicago by a black activist grandmother. When she gets in trouble for speaking out, Claude hopes to find safety by attending a college in a small Missouri town-only to find that there is no real safe place to flee in America.
Find Me
By Andre Aciman
This is the sequel to Aciman’s novel, “Call Me By Your Name,’ which was made into an award winning movie. Ten years after the romance of Elio and Oliver, we find out what has happened to both of them.
Girl From Widow Hills
By Megan Miranda
When Olivia was six, she achieved fame and notoriety for being the child who fell into a storm drain while sleep-walking and was rescued alive days later. She has since moved and changed her name. Now, her sleep-walking has returned and she wakes up from a walk to find a dead body at her feet. Her past has returned to haunt her.
Her Last Flight
By Beatriz Williams
It’s 1947, and Janey is researching the fate of a male wartime pilot who disappeared. Her search takes her to Hawaii, where she meets a woman who she believes was the pilot’s companion. As she searches out the truth, a fascinating story emerges about who the woman is and her true relationship to the missing pilot.
Home Before Dark
By Riley Sager
A supernatural thriller from Sager. Maggie surprisingly inherits a house from her father, a house she didn’t know he still owned and as it was a home the family had run from 25 years before, after it appeared to be haunted. Maggie decides to confront the ghosts from her past by returning to the home. Of course, trouble ensues.
Lady in the Lake
By Laura Lippman
Set in Baltimore in the 1960’s, middle-aged Maddie has fled her marriage, helps police and gets a job as a reporter. Now she is determined to help solve a murder, which leads her into lots of trouble.
Lakewood
By Megan Giddings
Lena is a young black college student who needs to help her family financially. She is recruited to participate in the Lakewood Project, which is a secretive research project. She cannot disclose any information to her family
and friends. All of the experiment’s subjects are persons of color; all of the observers are white. What is really going on here? A debut novel.
Mother Daughter Widow Wife
By Robin Wasserman
Wendy Doe is a woman who has been found with no memory of her past. She becomes the patient of Dr. Strauss, who gives her case to a young research fellow who soon becomes the married doctor’s mistress. The story is told in the voices of four women, and as the story unfolds, not only is the mystery of Wendy Doe solved, but the author shows how one man of power can also act as a sexual predator and impact the lives of women in his life. A good book club book-lots to talk about.
Trust Exercise
By Susan Choi
This is a novel in four parts, beginning with the love story of two high school students. Each part afterward explains more about what actually happened in innovative ways.
Book Lovers Recommendations July 2020
Recommendations by Sue Lipstein
Becoming Wild-How American Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty and Achieve Peace
By Carl Safina
By Carl Safina
Safina, a MacArthur “genius,” believes that human beings are not the only animals that create a culture which helps them to survive. In this non-fiction book, he shows how three different animal species have developed their own cultures.
Crooked House
By Christobel Kent
By Christobel Kent
The heroine in this psychological thriller has lived quietly under a new name in order to escape the notoriety of her past. Her new boyfriend asks her to accompany him back to the very village she has run from, and, hoping to save their relationship, she goes back-against her better judgement. She soon finds herself in danger, as well as others, as she reawakens secrets that had been covered up years before.
Friends and Strangers
By J. Courtney Sullivan
By J. Courtney Sullivan
Sam, a college senior, is hired by a new mother and transplant from the city to her small upstate New York village. The two become friends until their differences begin to emerge, and the tension between them reflects the tensions in society.
Hid From Our Eyes
By Julia Spence-Fleming
By Julia Spence-Fleming
The ninth in a series featuring the chief of police in a small town and his wife, an Episcopalian minister. A dead body is found-and the case reminds the chief of two unsolved murders from the past-and one where he was once considered a suspect. He has a lot of pressure to solve this case.
Kept Animals
By Kate Milliken
By Kate Milliken
A debut novel, told from the different perspectives of the characters. Rory works on a ranch in the west, helping her stepfather. A tragic accident and forest fire change Rory’s life forever. Years later, her daughter, Charlie, tries to figure out just what happened the summer she was conceived.
Little Eyes
By Samantha Schweblin
By Samantha Schweblin
The little eyes of the title are kentucki-stuffed animals that have cameras in their eyes and can be controlled remotely. Some people buy the kentucki and others buy the power to control them, and although no one is to have contact with anyone else, the temptation to connect is too strong and the kentucki being to have positive and negative connections in the real world.
My Kind of People
By Lisa Duffy
By Lisa Duffy
Leo and his husband relocate to a small island off the Massachusetts coast to take on the guardianship of Leo’s best friend’s adopted daughter Sky, after both of her adoptive parents die. The town comes together to help raise Sky, but there are secrets in the town and lots of tension and drama. Duffy does a great job in creating the small town and its characters, who can be wonderful and awful at the same time.
Seven Lies
By Elizabeth Kay
By Elizabeth Kay
In this debut novel, the narrator of this psychological thriller is definitely unreliable – and the story she tells will keep you riveted until the final twist. Jane tells the story of her childhood friendship with Marnie, which starts to unravel once the two girls become women. The dark side of female friendships comes to light in this exciting suspense novel.
Swimming Lessons
By Claire Fuller
By Claire Fuller
Two stories are told in this moving novel-the story of the marriage of Ingrid and Gil, which ends when Ingrid disappears off a beach. The second story is that of the two daughters who have very different memories of the marriage of their parents and who need to learn the truth.
Under the Udala Trees
By Chinelo Okparanta
By Chinelo Okparanta
This debut novel is a coming of age of a young Nigerian woman. She is sent away when she is 11 to live with another family to escape the Civil War around her, and she falls in love with some else the family is raising. The problem is they are both girls, and in the repressive government in Nigeria, two women cannot safely fall in love and live together. It is a poignant and heartbreaking story.
Adult Summer Reading Club Has Now Ended
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Adult Summer Reading Club this summer. Over the course of 8 weeks you read 227 books and we completed the puzzle together. We will be randomly selecting 12 winners to receive a gift certificate to an eatery in Morristown. You will hear from us if you have been selected.
We wish everyone continued good health during these difficult times.
Jigsaw Puzzle Progress
Here is the completed puzzle!
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Children’s Summer Reading Program
The Children’s Summer Reading Program is going virtual this year using the READsquared platform! Sign up at mmtlibrary.readsquared.com and/or download the free READsquared app, available for iOS and Android. You can make individual or family accounts. Log reading minutes and complete program activities to earn small rewards and points towards raffle prizes! The program begins on June 22 and will conclude on August 22.
Summer Reading Flyers
The Basics of Curbside Pickup
There are Three Ways to Request Materials
- Browse our Online Catalog and place items on hold
- If you know the title and author you’re interested in, or if you’d like our Reader’s Advisors to pick out some titles for you, you can use our online form here to let us know what you’d like
- Or give us a call at (973) 538-6161
What to Know For Pickup
- Parking spaces for curbside pickup will be designated near the rear parking lot entrance of the Library.
- You will be notified via email or phone call when your holds are ready for pickup. Please wait until you are notified to come to the library.
- When you arrive, please call our main line (973) 538-6161 and provide 1.) your name, 2.) vehicle make and color and 3.) parking spot number.
- Items will then be brought and placed into your vehicle’s trunk.
- Please pop your trunk before Library staff arrive to ensure safe social distancing practices!
What about returns?
Please place returns in either of our outside return bins. One is located in our parking lot, across from our back door. The other is located at our South Street entrance, to your left if you are facing the automatic doors.
Library Hours During Curbside Pickup
Monday-Thursday, 9:15 a.m.-6:45 p.m.
Friday, 9:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
Saturday, 10:15 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
Sunday, 1:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
You can read our more about our current services here.
Summer Reading Program is Here – at READsquared!
Book Lovers Recommendations June 2020 Part II
Recommendations by Sue Lipstein
All Adults Here
By Emma Straub
By Emma Straub
It’s a multigenerational cast, starting with widowed Astrid, the matriarch, living in a small Hudson valley town, who decides to tell her grown children some secrets about her life. Her three children have some secrets of their own-and Straub touches on abortion, bullying, IVF, gender identity, sexual predators-but always with sympathy, warmth and as much humor as possible.
Book of Rosy
By Rosayra Pablo Cruz
By Rosayra Pablo Cruz
The true story of a woman who took the arduous journey to escape from violence and crime in Guatemala to seek asylum in the U.S. with two of her children. She is forcibly separated from her family at the border. She is helped by a group called Immigrant Families Together, who also helped to write this book.
Daughters of Erietown
By Connie Schultz
By Connie Schultz
This is the first novel by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Schultz. It is a family saga of a working class family in Ohio from the mid 1940’s until 1994. Three generations struggle to better themselves. The author has a real feel for the characters and for the small town life she portrays.
Inge’s War: A German Woman’s Story of Family Secrets and Survival Under Hitler
By Svenja O’Donnell
By Svenja O’Donnell
Sveja O’Donnell traces her family’s World War II history, uncovering the secrets her family carried with them when her great-grandparents, grandmother, and mother fled their homes in Germany, never to return.
Ghosts of Harvard
By Francesca Serritella
By Francesca Serritella
This is the first novel by Serritella, who also happens to be the daughter of Lisa Scottoline. Cady is a freshman at Harvard, who has chosen the school partly due to the fact that her older brother committed suicide there, and she wants to find out the truth about his death. There’s a touch of paranormal here. A suspenseful debut that also serves as a coming-of-age book.
Love in the Blitz: The Long Lost Letters of a Brilliant Young Woman to her beloved on the front
By Eileen Alexander
By Eileen Alexander
This is a collection of letters that Alexander wrote to her beloved from 1939 until 1943. He saved every one of them and they were found after his death and compiled by a competent editor. They show a compelling true story of life in war time London.
My Vanishing Country: A Memoir
By Bakari Sellers
By Bakari Sellers
Sellers grew up in a small town in South Carolina and is now one of the youngest state representatives in that state. He wrote this as a tribute to both his father, who befriended Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King, and as a message to his newborn twins, hoping to have them carry on the legacy of his family that he is so proud of.
Sea Wife
By Amity Gaige
By Amity Gaige
The fictional account of a couple who decide to buy a boat and take a year off to sail with their two young children. The husband is the only one with sailing experience, the wife is a poet and their marriage has hit a rough patch. That is nothing compared to what they face as they sail. The story is told mainly through the voice of the very practical husband and the scholarly wife, who never finished her dissertation about poet Anne Sexton. You will be thinking about this book long after you have finished it.
This is How I Lied
By Heather Gudenkauf
By Heather Gudenkauf
A thriller set in Iowa. Eve, her sister Nola, and Maggie were all teenage friends in their small town. Then Eve is murdered at age 16 and the murder remained unsolved. 25 years later, Maggie is now a police detective and wants to reopen the case. Lots of secrets, lots of small town drama and suspense.
Wow, No Thank You
By Samantha Irby
By Samantha Irby
This is the third collection of essays by humorist Irby, a comedian and blogger, who left fame behind her on the West Coast to live with her wife in a small town in Michigan, where she combines domesticity and edginess.
Curbside Pickup Will Begin Wednesday June 17th
The Library will begin a phased reopening to the public beginning with Curbside Pick-up on Wednesday, June 17th.
Statement on Library Preparations related to COVID-19 (coronavirus)
In an effort to protect the high-risk populations that we serve, as well as minimize the potential exposure/transmission of COVID-19, The Morristown & Morris Township Library is taking precautions with its reopening to the public and is putting in place a phased reopening to ensure public safety. This plan is based upon recommendations from the Center for Disease Control, the County of Morris, local health departments, the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey State Library and Library Link NJ in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the community. We will reassess the situation regularly to ease restrictions and expand services, but it may also be necessary to reinstate restrictions, limit some services or even close the Library facility to ensure public health. For any information on changes in Library services and hours, please follow updates on the Library’s website at: www.MMTLibrary.org.
The Library takes the safety of its patrons and staff seriously, all patrons (especially those in high-risk categories) wishing to use the Library should exercise caution. The Governor has asked for people to wear facial protection when in public, social distancing of at least six feet from other individuals and frequent hand washing to ensure the virus is not spread.
The Library will begin a phased reopening to the public beginning with curbside pick-up and moving into the opening of the Library building at a later date. Curbside Pick-up will follow the following schedule and procedures:
Curbside Pick-up begins Wednesday, June 17
Patrons will be able to pick up library materials by contacting the Library by phone in advance, by placing holds through the online Main catalog [https://catalog.mainlib.org] or you can use our online form, which you can find here. After placing holds, the Library staff will contact the patron to set up a pick-up time and verify any other additional information. Please wait to come to the Library until you have been notified your holds are ready. Patrons should call (973) 538-6161 when they arrive, provide 1.) name, 2.) vehicle make and color and 3.) parking spot number and items will be brought and placed into the vehicle’s trunk. Please pop your trunk before Library staff arrive to ensure safe social distancing practices. Parking spaces for curbside pickup will be designated near the rear parking lot entrance of the Library. Patrons who are not driving to the Library should also call upon arrival and their materials will be brought to a table in the parking lot for their retrieval.
The Library book drops will be open and should be used for the safe return of Library materials. No Library materials should be returned to the inside of the building.
Please note that the State has stopped statewide delivery of library materials. Until that resumes, MMT Library patrons will only be able to check out MMT Library materials at our location.
The hours of curbside delivery at the Library will be between the following hours:
Monday-Thursday, 11:15 a.m.-6:45 p.m.
Friday, 9:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
Saturday, 10:15 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
Closed Sundays
All library materials that are currently checked out by patrons received auto-renewals and will be charged no fines through July 31. Patron cards that were set to expire during the Library closure were also extended through July 31. However, due to the cessation of statewide delivery and possible high patron demand, the Library staff reserve the right to limit the number of items checked out at one time.
All incoming library collection materials will be quarantined for 72 hours and where applicable, cleaned/disinfected before being allowed to be checked out by other patrons. This is to ensure patron and staff safety, but it will result in a delay in those items being checked out by the next patron. During this period, items will remain on a patron’s card, but again, no fine will accrue on the patron’s card for these three days.
The Library’s mission is to remain a resource for our residents. These safety measures are being taken out of an abundance of caution and to be consistent with recommendations for social distancing. We appreciate our patrons’ patience and understanding. If you have any further questions, please email the Library at info@jfpl.org or call (973) 538-6161.
Please note that patrons can also access the Library from Home
The Library’s digital services give resident card holders 24/7 free access to many resources:
- eBooks and electronic audiobooks purchased by the entire MAIN consortium through the Library’s CloudLibrary
- Magazines, comic books and eBooks from the RB Digital
- Streaming video movies and documentaries through the Kanopy
- Children’s eBooks, games, Facts on File database and streaming video for kids via the Children’s Resource page on the Library website.
- Research databases available through the Library website.
- Story times, craft ideas, instructional videos and book/film talks available through the Library’s YouTube channel.
- For patrons who do not currently have a library card, Morristown and Morris Township residents can apply online for a card directly through the Library website.
- The Library also provides virtual programming from yoga and book clubs to meditation classes to film clubs! Check the Library’s website events page for more information.
Book Lovers Recommendations June 2020
Recommendations by Susan Lipstein
Butterfly Girl
By Rene Denfeld – 9780062698186
By Rene Denfeld – 9780062698186
This is the second novel featuring Naomi Cottle as an investigator whose forte is finding missing children. This time, Naomi has pledged to find her own missing sister, a search that leads her to a homeless 12 year old girl in Portland, Oregon, who may hold the key to her missing sister-and may also be a link to danger to all concerned.
8 Perfect Murders
By Peter Swanson – 9780062838216
By Peter Swanson – 9780062838216
Bookseller Malcolm posts a blog about 8 almost perfect murders in mystery fiction, which comes back to haunt him when the FBI shows up to investigate him. It appears that several murders have been committed which are copying from his list. This book pays homage to some of the best mystery writers and their classics-a mystery about mysteries-how can you lose?
Happy and You Know It
By Laura Hankin – 9781984806253
By Laura Hankin – 9781984806253
Claire, a struggling young musician in New York City, takes a job singing for a playgroup of privileged children and their mothers on Park Avenue. To her surprise, Claire enjoys the gig until she starts to become aware of the many secrets and betrayals around her.
Heirloom Garden
By Viola Shipman – 9781488056437
By Viola Shipman – 9781488056437
Two women are united by the trauma of war, even though they are generations apart in age. Iris has been a recluse, spending her time in her garden since receiving news of her husband’s death in World War II. In 2003, when a young couple moves next door to her, she finds the husband is suffering from PTSD from his time in Iraq. The two families slowly heal, united by loss and the love of flowers.
Hell and Other Destinations
By Madeleine Albright-9780062802286
By Madeleine Albright-9780062802286
Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State, writes about what she has been doing in the nearly twenty years since she left that office. She has kept herself busy and active and wants women to know that there is no time frame for their lives-they can have as productive a life in their later years as in their youth and middle age.
The Last Romantics
By Tara Conklin -97870062358226
By Tara Conklin -97870062358226
This family saga is narrated by the youngest of four siblings, looking back at their lives. She writes this in the year 2079, when she is now 102 and a renowned poet. She starts the story in 1981, when her father died, resulting in her mother’s depression, leaving her and her three siblings to practically raise themselves. The characters are well-developed and the plot is unpredictable.
Prettiest Star
By Carter Sickels – 9781938235634
By Carter Sickels – 9781938235634
It is 1986, and Brian, a young man who left his small Appalachian town when he was 18, six years before, to live a free and open life as a gay man, now finds his life and future decimated by the AIDS epidemic. He writes to his mother, asking if he can return home. A poignant novel that rings true.
Rodham
By Curtis Sittenfeld – 9780399590924
By Curtis Sittenfeld – 9780399590924
What if Hillary Rodham Clinton had never married Bill Clinton? Sittenfeld starts with this premise and creates an imaginary life for a real person, integrating actual historical events into a novel that intriguingly asks and answers the question “what if?” The real Hillary has probably asked herself this question more than once.
Woman of No Importance
By Sonia Purnell- 9780735225305
By Sonia Purnell- 9780735225305
Virginia Hall was a Baltimore socialite who became a spy in World War II. Purnell used new and extensive research to uncover the life of a woman who definitely was one of the unsung heroes of World War II. Her story would be considered unbelievable-except that it is true.
You Never Forget Your First
By Alexis Coe 9780835224124
By Alexis Coe 9780835224124
A biography of our first President with lots of information that you may never have learned in school. Most biographies of Washington have been written by men, and Coe believed it was time for one written from the perspective of a woman. This well researched book discusses how Washington was raised by a single mother, was quite a ladies man until he married Martha, lost more military battles than he won, and did not wish to be President. He struggled to control partisan backstabbing even in his own administration. After the Presidency, he had to deal with his own homefront issues-including the hundreds of slaves that our first President owned.