If you've got a bit of room left on your summer reading list

Although many people prefer winter as the time to curl up with a good book, I find I often catch up on my reading during the summer. Winter weather invigorates me, and I become involved in projects; while summer makes me lazy and more inclined to relax in a lawn chair, or curl up in air-conditioned comfort with book in hand if it’s as unbearably hot as it has been this past month.

For some reason, I seem to favor biographies or nonfiction, and for those of you whose taste runs along similar lines, here are a few selections I particularly enjoyed:

-No. 1 on my list and one of the most outstanding books I’ve read in a long time is “The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks,” the amazing but true story of a poor, African-American woman whose unique cancer cells provided science with many of the most important medical discoveries of the past 100 years.

It is also the story of author Rebecca Skloot’s determined search for the story behind the amazing HeLa cells. Skloot is a scientific journalist, but she creates a story as exciting as any novel while raising some important bioethics questions. I couldn’t put this book down.

-No. 2 “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Kristof has been one of my favorite writers ever since he started reporting for The New York Times. Always a fighter for the poor and oppressed, he has become especially passionate about the oppression of women in the Third World.

This book, written with his wife, is about individual women who are responding in a grass-roots way to gender-based violence. It is a testament to the strength and resilience of women who, despite the odds, never give up. It is an inspiration and a call to arms for the rest of us to help those fighting injustice.

An important book about saving the world, one woman at a time. The title is from an old Chinese proverb, “Women hold up half the sky.”

-My third choice is “Making Toast” by Roger Rosenblatt, a small book that makes a big impression. It is a memoir about his daughter, Amy, who at age 38, died suddenly, leaving her husband and three young children.

Rosenblatt writes in an understated way, but with wit and feeling about how he and his wife move into their daughter’s house and take over the terrifyingly difficult work of filling the void in the children’s lives while trying to come to terms with their daughter’s death themselves.

The title, “Making Toast” comes from the one job that Rosenblatt is able to accomplish to everyone’s satisfaction. When one of the children asks, “How long are you staying, Boppo?” ... he responds, “Forever.”

His book is a tribute to the beauty and strength of a family’s devotion.

-And my last recommendation, even though I am only three-quarters of the way through, is “Perfection” by Julie Metz, a piercing memoir of her discovery of her husband’s deceptions while she was still grieving over his loss.

The book sheds light on certain types of individuals who can be charming and exciting and seem self-confident, but in reality are in constant need of reassurance and admiration. Her recognition that her life before her husband’s death was not what she thought, her struggle to retain some of the good of her marriage while putting her life back together, is another “hard-to-put-down” read.

While it is not my intention to start another “Oprah” book club, I would be interested to hear from readers of this column about their recent favorite books.

If one or two books turn up on everyone’s list, I’ll mention them at some future time.

Contact Jean Cherni, founder of the retirement advisory service, Senior Living Solutions, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.

I'm reading: If you've got a bit of room left on your summer reading list

Chelsea and Marc picked a date near and dear to our hearts

Since I wish Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky many years of wedded bliss, I am willing to forgive them for unintentionally infringing on my special day and getting married on July 31, the same day on which Val and I celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary this year.

In addition to the many years separating us from Marc and Chelsea, our circumstances as a young, about-to-be married couple were also vastly different.

The Clintons are reputed to have spent almost $5 million on the wedding; I doubt if ours cost more than $500. I paid for my own wedding gown (a simple ankle-length, lace-trimmed dress in blush pink).

There was none of the family arguments or over-the-top months of planning that many television “bridal shows” would have us believe is now commonplace. Our New York City acquaintances were invited to attend the candlelight ceremony in Flushing’s Unitarian Church, but the small reception at the Swan Club on Long Island near my parent’s home was limited to family and a very few longtime friends.

My aunt came from Michigan and made the floral arrangements for the table; my New York City roommate was my maid of honor and only attendant; my cousin sang at our wedding and my uncle served as the official photographer. There must have been a small band at the reception because I remember Val twirled me in such a fast pace to the polka, I became red-faced and out of breath.

It was, I still recall, a beautiful wedding and a perfect day ... almost to the very last.

Weeks before the wedding, in the apartment I shared with two other working girls, I had laboriously packed my honeymoon suitcase, carefully placing my going-away suit and lacy nightwear between layers of tissue paper and scented sachets. Since ours was an evening ceremony, we planned to spend the first night at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York before leaving for our honeymoon in Canada.

When the reception wound down, Val and I departed by limo for New York, but instead of going directly to the hotel, Val told the driver to stop at his apartment (which was to become our apartment, since he had the cheapest rent). It seemed he needed to pack his suitcase.

Upon arrival at the apartment, I was shocked to learn that not only had he neglected to pack anything, there were dishes piled sky high in the sink. “Now, I know why you got married ... You just needed someone to do the dishes,” I railed at him. But there was no help for it; the limo driver and I had to wait while Val nonchalantly threw a few things together in a battered suitcase while remaining maddeningly calm throughout my sobs and tirade, a trait that has helped him survive subsequent temperamental outbursts over 57 years.

Val is a procrastinator; I want everything accomplished immediately. He is frugal; I tend to some extravagances. I am gregarious and outgoing while he is quiet and contemplative. I’m sure any of the Internet dating services that couples use today would never have matched us up.

Nevertheless, we work well as a team; our strengths and weaknesses apparently complement each other. Perhaps our marriage has lasted because I think we both have tried to put the needs of the marriage before the wants of the individual, but that has never meant that we have not done things as individuals, separate from one another and in keeping with our own special interests.

Val has always understood and encouraged my need for outside stimulation and involvement in meaningful work, and I have tried (not always successfully) to understand his engineer’s obsession with details and his stubborn need to question everything at least three times.

While it would be nice for any couple to start married life with good jobs and an ample bank account, as the Mezvinskys are, Chelsea, more than many young brides, must be painfully aware that those factors alone won’t supply the glue of commitment that holds a marriage together. She and Marc have known each other a long time, and she appears to be a young lady who is both bright and down to earth as well.

So here’s to you, Chelsea and Marc ... may you not only share our wedding date, may you eventually share a 57th anniversary date as well. Good luck, God bless and mazel tov.

I'm reading: Chelsea and Marc picked a date near and dear to our hearts

Guilford's library has been in good hands for many years

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a pretty little town on the Connecticut shoreline, a nice lady by the name of Clarissa Sage left money in her will for a new library building. A generous gentleman, Mr. Frederick Spencer, contributed the land and finally on Aug. 5, 1933, the first shoveful of earth was removed by Martha Cornell of Church Street and that, dear readers, was the start of the Guilford Free Library.

If a library reflects a town’s hopes and dreams, then an amazing but modest 102-year-old woman, Edith Nettleton, who began as the library director in 1933 and served as the library’s director for 44 years until 1978, is as much part of the library as the bricks and mortar and architectural details of the beautiful building gracing the Green, today.

Due to the kind invitation of Nancy Elderbaum of Guilford, I recently was one of more than 100 guests on the latest of many honorary occasions; this one in celebration of Edith’s 102nd birthday. I am also indebted to Patti Baldwin, head of the Reference Department, for her help while researching this column.

Edith Nettleton has been described as an individual as rare as a rare book and her history as well as the fact that she still serves as a volunteer at the library several days a week, attest to that. She grew up in Guilford, starting school in a one-room schoolhouse on Clapboard Hill, then graduating from Guilford High School. Afterward, she went to Springfield, Mass., and became a librarian.

When the Guilford library association wrote and asked her if she could suggest someone to serve as the town’s first librarian, she responded, “How would I do?” and was promptly hired. At first, she and two volunteers not only served as the solitary staff during library hours (three days a week from 2-5 and 7-9) but they worked many additional hours when the library was closed, in order to get everything done; even driving many of the books each week to the Church Street school as the schools did not have their own libraries.

It is interesting to note that two other women have been instrumental in the growth of Guilford’s library. When Jean Baldwin moved to Guilford in 1952, she was dismayed to find that there were no school libraries for her three children so she joined the PTA and worked to establish a volunteer library at several of the schools.

In 1961, she used her considerable energy, talent and love of libraries by becoming Guilford’s associate librarian and eventually, upon Edith’s retirement, library director. Following Jean’s retirement in 1987, Sandy Ruoff, the present director, has continued to obtain the newest technologies and innovations while still retaining the warm, service-oriented appeal that is a hallmark of the library.

In 1960, the library Board of Directors created a development committee to estimate expansion needs. By 1964, the town population had grown from 3,000 to more than 8,000 and the library staff had grown from one full-time person to four. Hours the library was open each week had grown from 15 to more than 59.

Despite the obvious need to expand, the first plan proposed was turned down as being too modern.

The 1977 addition, designed by the Madison architect Gilbert Switzer added 15,000 square feet to the original 5,000-square-foot building and the latest addition in 2008 of 14,000 square feet. brings the total size to 34,000 square feet.

Of course, libraries today, in addition to an ever-increasing collection of books, now also house computers, records, films, art prints and serve as an advanced data base for information on a variety of subjects. They also act as lecture and entertainment centers for the community.

Edith Nettleton was the recipient of the inaugural Guilford Lions Club Award as Woman of the Year in 1972, was honored by the Whitfield Historic Society on the occasion of her 90th birthday, and in July of 2003, the library’s Guilford Room where she spent many hours cataloguing the bits and pieces of Guilford’s past, was re-named the Edith B. Nettleton Historical Room. The room features floor-to-ceiling glass bookcases, two fireplaces, window seats and wing chairs which face the arched windows overlooking the Guilford Green.

Guilford residents can take pride in their outstanding library and the woman who devoted her life’s work to helping it grow.

“Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.” — Lady Bird Johnson

I'm reading: Guilford's library has been in good hands for many years

Every miscreant seems to have one goal - end up on reality TV

“The highest form of vanity is love of fame.” — George Santayana

The announcement that Michaele and Tareq Salahi, who made headlines in November by crashing President Obama’s first state dinner, were going to write a book about their experiences both caught my attention and left me feeling disgusted.

They are working with an investigative reporter and they will critique White House security. Although, as yet, there is no publisher, their book agent says many celebrity- or scandal-based books have been very successful. Adding to her attraction, Michaele has a starring role in an upcoming “Real Housewives of D.C.” reality TV series.

The entire episode might be so ridiculous as to be considered laughable were it not for the fact that it is no longer a unique occurrence. It seems to me that there is something seriously amiss in a society so in awe of attention that it rewards outrageous, even illegal, behavior with celebrity status.

Instead of being shunned or even fined or jailed, these two self-promoting zealots, who carefully planned and orchestrated their White House exploit down to the tiniest detail, are admired and rewarded. The media and general public seemingly applaud their lies and bravado. One of their ambitions (now achieved) was to get on a “reality show.”

My writer’s curiosity aroused, I did some research on “reality” shows and was astounded to learn that there are currently more than 300 different reality shows on television.

Donald Trump, who is a stellar example of a self-promoter, wants the recently jailed Lindsay Lohan on his “Celebrity Apprentice” show, just what this obviously troubled and already overexposed young actress does not need.

After appearing on “Dancing with the Stars,” Pamela Anderson, whose main attribute is most definitely not her dancing but her expansive bustline, gushed that “dancing changed my life.”

Then there’s “Dance Your Ass Off” and “The Biggest Loser,” two of many weight-loss based reality shows.

Paris Hilton has a show so insipid it is almost fascinating. In her “My New BFF” show, potential new best friends are put through tests of loyalty, endurance and compatibility. When one by one they are eliminated, Paris dismisses them with a snide smile and says, “TTYN,” which is her shorthand for “Talk to you never.” Can anyone over 14 years of age stomach this junk? We also have the “How many kids can you produce?” genre as exemplified by “19 Kids and Counting” and “Kate + 8.” At least their profits will go to help feed and support their families.

The “Jersey Shore” show, which some Jerseyites considered so distasteful that they mounted a protest, stars several scantily dressed, loud-mouthed types as they mostly drink, sunbathe and flirt. However, one of their “stars,” Jenni “JWoww” is “designing” a new clothing line to be distributed by Filthy Couture in Las Vegas. (Honest, I’m not making this up!)

Kim Kardashian, another buxom babe, is into her second perfume launch and has a wax replica at Madame Tussauds. These so-called reality show celebrities are so admired, their endorsements earn them additional big bucks in fields where they have absolutely no expertise, everything from clothes design to “authoring” a book.

There is also “America’s Next Top Model,” “America’s Top Dog,” “America’s Toughest Jobs,” “Sell This House,” “Secret Millionaire,” “Extreme Makeover” ... the list is endless.

Wikipedia informs us that the reality type of programming, which is purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations featuring ordinary people, started with game shows in the 1940s.

About 1948, Allen Funt’s “Candid Camera,” followed by “Beat the Clock” and “Truth or Consequences,” became wildly popular. In 1973, the first real reality shows were introduced with PBS’ “An American Family,” which followed the daily lives of a family going through a divorce.

The 1950 series, “You Asked For It,” in which viewers’ requests dictated the content, was the forerunner of today’s audience-participation shows in which viewers cast votes to help determine winners and the course of events.

In many reality shows, participants are put into exotic or dangerous situations and coached to act in specific, scripted ways. Speech and events are manipulated to create an illusion of reality.

We can blame the Writer’s Guild of America strike and the subsequent need for new programming for the huge growth and popularity of the reality type of show. One such show is called, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”

If Americans are satisfied with this type of programming, perhaps that answers the question.

I'm reading: Every miscreant seems to have one goal - end up on reality TV