Tag: I Capture the Castle

Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast December 2024 Wrap

- Brittany Leave a comment

All three Davenport Public Library locations are closed today and tomorrow in observance of Christmas, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not here for you! In addition to using our online digital resources while we’re closed, you can listen to Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast online. In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our December episode!

Celebrate Humbug Day on December 21st

Humbug Day is a day to vent stress before Christmas by channeling your inner Ebenezer Scrooge. The hosts compiled a list of some of their favorite curmudgeons!

Beth’s Favorites:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Brittany’s Favorites:
The Long Game by Elena Armas
Bruce Series by Ryan T. Higgins
Crankenstein Series by Samantha Berger and Dan Santat
Goodnight Already by Jory John

Stephanie’s Favorites:
Assistant to the Villain & Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Family Search

The Library is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, which means The Library has access to more genealogy resources to help make more family discoveries. There are only a few hundred affiliate libraries in the country. This designation means our community has greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources through FamilySearch. This popular web service has over 6 billion searchable names and 2 billion images of historical genealogical records, plus the helpful assistance of knowledgeable employees.

Festivus: An Airing of Grievances – 2024 Reads Edition

In honor of Festivus on December 23rd, Beth, Brittany, and Stephanie aired their grievances book style for a second year! Below are titles that frustrated them the most! Feel free to hate read with them in the coming year! Or, simply love them! We won’t judge!

Beth’s Grievances:
The Black Belt Librarian by Warren Graham
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver

Brittany’s Grievances: 
One Hundred Moments of Us by Jon Rance
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Stephanie’s Grievances:
The Aurora Teagarden Series by Charlaine Harris

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry Library has over 1.2 billion records in over 3,000 databases. Ancestry Library is a must-have resource for anyone doing genealogical research. Ancestry Library is an in-house only resource, so you do need to be in one of our buildings to access the databases and records. Another thing to keep in mind is that Ancestry Library does not let you build your own family tree and save it. If you find a record that is important to you, you can email it to yourself.

The Gift of a Reading Recommendation!

To celebrate the holidays, your Checked In hosts exchanged the gift of a reading recommendation. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well while working together here at The Library, so we’re going to make personalized recommendations to each other! The titles are below!

 Beth’s Recommendations:
To Stephanie: Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies by Tara Schuster
To Brittany: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Brittany’s Recommendations:
To Beth: The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
To Stephanie: The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

Stephanie’s Recommendations:
To Brittany: The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
To Beth: The Less People Know About Us by Axton Beth-Hamilton

Looking for Your Next Read?

Library patrons can get reading recommendations from library staff any time of the year! There are options for everyone to help discover your next great read!

 

Wintry Romances

Beth and Stephanie welcomed our amazing editor, Claire onto the pod to talk about favorite wintry romances! Below are the titles discussed in the segment.

Stephanie’s List:
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey
The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox
A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Beth’s List:
Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

Brittany’s List:
Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot

Claire’s List:
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

What Our Hosts Read In November

Beth’s Reads:
Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Stephanie’s Reads:
All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Therese Plummer
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Under the Oak Tree: The Comic adapted by namu, illustrated by P., and original story by Suji Kim
The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, narrated by Allison Hirato
Cover Story by Susan Rigetti, narrated by Carlotta Brentan
Sleep Like a Baby by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Therese Plummer
The Last to Pie by Misha Popp
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country by Emily Benedek
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, narrated by Emilia Fox

Brittany’s Reads:
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter, narrated by Angel Pean
Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot

If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

Still Capturing the Castle: the Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper

- Ann Leave a comment

~~Sigh~~ A windswept island, daring escapes from Nazis, British country estates, dancing with soldiers in London, writing Food Ministry brochures extolling the values of carrots to hungry British citizens and a funny little sister who bullies a young Princess Elizabeth at a aristocratic Girl Guides Meeting. The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper (a series of three lovely books: A Brief History of Montmaray, The FitzOsbornes in Exile, and The FitzOsbornes at War) are those kind of books where the narrator feels so natural, so familiar that I often forget that the stories in the book didn’t actually happen to me. Sadly, the memories are not all pleasant. These books are about a teenager’s family evolving and trying to survive World War II, all with the weight of a small country on their shoulders. I had originally written “evolving and surviving World War II,” until I remembered the pages and pages of sobbing while reading The FizOsbornes at War. Don’t worry, there is a wonderful ending.

Montmaray is a (fictional) tiny island monarchy between England and Spain whose already small population was decimated during World War I, and there are only a few village families left living in the shadow of a romantic, crumbling castle when 16 year old Sophie begins keeping her journal in 1936. Oh yes, ROMANTIC, CRUMBLING CASTLE. Sophie is actually Princess Sophie of the FitzOsborne Royal Family– she is one of three Princesses of Montmaray (the others being her stunning, intellectual cousin, Princess Veronica, and her younger tomboy sister, Princess Henry) and also the younger sister of the future King of Montmaray, charming Prince Toby FitzOsborne. However, Sophie’s royal title does not correspond to a royal lifestyle, at least not while she is living on a remote island in a stripped bare castle under the rule of her mentally ill uncle. Their wealthy aunt is forever trying to get the girls to move away from Montmaray and become a part of British Society, but their loyalty to Montmaray keeps them grasping to its shores until they have no choice but to fall into the lap of luxury. And then, of course, the war begins and Sophie’s home seems lost forever.

It is no secret among people who know me that my favorite book is I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (I have written about it on the blog here and compared it to another fabulous book, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, here, and the Montmaray Journals shares much in common with Dodie Smith’s fantastic novel (which is pretty much the highest praise I will give a book!). Both stories are told in thoughtfully-written diary entries by quiet teenage girls in 1930’s and whose lives seem both beautifully ordinary and bohemian at the same time. Both girls fall in love with men named Simon. Both feel inferior to their prettier, outgoing relations. And yes, both live in ROMANTIC, CRUMBLING CASTLES!

P.S. I will just say, that for those of you who thought the end of I Capture the Castle was not a happy one (and I disagree with that! but now is not the place to discuss…), you will be very satisfied with the ending Sophie chooses for herself.

Re-reads: Capturing the Castle Over and Over Again

- Ann Leave a comment

I Capture the Castle Book Covers

“I know of few novels—except Pride and Prejudice—that inspire as much fierce lifelong affection in their readers.” – Joanna Trollope

When most people ask me what my favorite book is, they do so while thinking that they already know the answer. Being the flamboyant Harry Potter fan that I am, they are a bit shocked when exclaim “I Capture the Castle!” followed by a deep sigh–a deep sigh that signifies how much I wish I was curled up and reading that book right that very moment.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

My first copy of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (who also wrote the wonderful children’s book The Hundred and One Dalmatians) was given to me by my aunt (who was notorious for her excellent book recommendations) when I was in my early teens. I say “first copy” because that book is long gone having been lent to friends who then lent it to friends who then lent it to friends. So I bought myself another copy; one with a quote by J.K. Rowling on the cover (who is also a big fan of the book. If you go to her website at www.jkrowling.com and click on the spectacles, you will see Dodie Smith’s classic sitting on Rowling’s bookcase not far from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.) and have been rereading it and lending it to more friends ever since. I have even been known to check out a copy of the book from the library while my own is being borrowed, and was recently surprised by finding a cheerful yellow flower pressed between the pages of a copy from the University of Iowa.

Cassandra MortmainI Capture the Castle takes place in 1930’s England where seventeen year old Cassandra Mortmain begins to journal her everyday experiences about her family and surroundings in order to prepare herself for a career as a writer. Luckily, her family and surroundings provide ample opportunity for expression: Cassandra happens to live in a crumbling castle on the English countryside that she shares with her father, a former famous author who has retreated into himself after a decade-long writer’s block, her step-mother, an eccentric artist’s model who holds the family together while also spending a great deal of her time walking naked around the grounds, and her beautiful, gold-digging older sister, who is determined to marry the wealthy American who just inherited the neighboring estate. But it is Cassandra’s own heart that keeps the pages turning as she grows as a young lady and learns how to break and be broken. I have never met a narrator so lovely as Cassandra, and reading her journals feels truly as natural as listening to my own thoughts. And so I will continue to read and reread and reread.