Check Out That Librarian!

Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness, by Jennifer Tseng. (Europa Editions)

In her debut novel, award-winning poet and West Tisbury librarian Jennifer Tseng tells the story of a forty-one-year-old librarian on an island off the coast of New England. As the jacket copy puts it, her “most erotic pleasure is in reading. That is, until the day she issues a library card to a shy seventeen-year-old boy who captivates her in a way that no one else ever has.” We haven’t finished reading it yet, but you know we will.

A Place Called Hoop

Martha’s Vineyard Basketball: How a Resort League Defied Notions of  Race and Class, by Bijan C. Bayne. (Rowman & Littlefield)

It isn’t every summer sports league that warrants a 200-page history, but as the subtitle of Bayne’s new book suggests, the summer  basketball program run at “The Courts” by the Oak Bluffs Park Department wasn’t just any league. There may be more detail in the book than casual readers who didn’t play in the league may need, but  it’s a reminder of how rare it was (and is) for a playground to be full of  people from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. Rare, and vital.

So Cheerio to Cheerios?

Little Bites: 100 Healthy, Kid-Friendly Snacks, by Christine Chitnis and Sarah Waldman. (Roost Books)

Raising the time-tested notion that kids’ food can be wholesome and yummy to modern standards, the cover of this lively new cookbook co-written by Island resident Sarah Waldman promises “seasonal vegetarian recipes, with gluten-free, nut-free & dairy-free options.” Before you say “enough already,” you might want to imagine a cherry chocolate pudding pop on a summer afternoon.