f you’re like me, you may be having some difficulty focusing during these days of isolation and uncertainty. Until the last few days I could stay with most of the stories in The Best American Short Stories 2019 edited by Anthony Doerr, but concentrating on anything lengthier was impossible. I tried re-reading a couple of old favorites, including Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, but they were a no-go for me.
Then a friend brought over some of her bookshelf stash and left it on my porch. After I wiped it down with a Clorox wipe, I picked up The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship by Lisa Verge Higgins and was instantly hooked! I’m finding this story of four college friends, one of whom recently died and left each of the others with a unique life changing challenge, highly entertaining and not too intellectually taxing. Just the ticket to getting myself back on track with reading.
I hope you too have a bookshelf stash to delve into while the library is closed and we all stay safe. If not, consider exploring the library’s digital collections by accessing Axis 360 or Hoopla from you computer, tablet, E-reader or cellphone. Visit www.yorklibraries.org and register using your library card and your PIN, which happens to be the last four digits of your card number. Thousands of good stories await you there!
Until next time, be well and know that your library staff are thinking of you and missing you everyday!
Lynn Michels