books sandwiched in

Press release:

The 2022 Fall series of Books Sandwiched In will take place on Wednesdays in September at Richmond Memorial Library. Join guest speakers for reviews of best-selling non-fiction books from 12:10 p.m. to 1 p.m. Coffee, tea and refreshments will be served at each session and participants do not need to read the book in order to attend! This program is built around the lunch hour, so attendees are also invited to bring their lunch. There will be a door prize at each session.

Wednesday, September 7 at 12:10 p.m. – Richmond Memorial Library Teen Librarian Felicia Cecere will review Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner.

Currently in week 56 on the New York Times bestseller list, Japanese Breakfast indie pop star Zauner “presents a full-length account of her viral New Yorker essay to share poignant reflections on her experiences of growing up Korean-American, becoming a professional musician and caring for her terminally ill mother.” (from NoveList summary)

Wednesday, September 14 at 12:10 p.m. - Retired professor and community volunteer Barb Shine will review The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura.

“Elizabeth Blackwell believed from an early age that she was destined for a mission beyond the scope of ‘ordinary’ womanhood. Though the world at first recoiled at the notion of a woman studying medicine, her intelligence and intensity ultimately won her the acceptance of the male medical establishment. In 1849, she became the first woman in America to receive an M.D. She was soon joined in her iconic achievement by her younger sister, Emily, who was actually the more brilliant physician.” (from publisher summary)

Wednesday, September 21 at 12:10 p.m. - Office for the Aging Director Diana Fox will review The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson.
 Bryson “turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up.” (from publisher summary)

Wednesday, September 28 at 12:10 p.m. - Jason Smith, Superintendent of Batavia City Schools, will review His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham.

“John Lewis, who at age twenty-five marched in Selma, Alabama, and was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, was a visionary and a man of faith. Drawing on decades of wide-ranging interviews with Lewis, Jon Meacham writes of how this great-grandson of a slave and son of an Alabama tenant farmer was inspired by the Bible and his teachers in nonviolence, Reverend James Lawson and Martin Luther King, Jr., to put his life on the line in the service of what Abraham Lincoln called ‘the better angels of our nature.’ Integral to Lewis's commitment to bettering the nation was his faith in humanity and in God - and an unshakable belief in the power of hope.” (from NoveList summary)

Books Sandwiched In is free to attend and all are welcome, no registration is required. Sessions will be recorded and available to view on the library’s YouTube page at youtube.com/richmondmemlibrary. Richmond Memorial Library is located at 19 Ross Street in the City of Batavia. Books Sandwiched In is sponsored by The Friends of Richmond Memorial Library.

Press release:

Richmond Memorial Library is excited to announce the return of a hallmark program, Books Sandwiched In, on Wednesdays in September. Books Sandwiched In is a book review program; each week, a speaker will review a book, followed by discussion and Q&A. 

The Books Sandwiched In committee has planned the Fall 2021 series in memory of Bob Knipe, who served on the committee for many years, presenting several times as a reviewer. Bob, a community advocate and friend to many, passed after a brief illness in February 2021. 

“One of our committee members had the idea to develop a series in Bob’s memory and we couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute,” shares Samantha Basile, Community & Adult services librarian and program coordinator. “Bob was an avid reader and a friend to the library and this community in so many ways. We feel humbled to honor him through this program that he dedicated his time and talent to over the years.”

Each session will feature a book about a topic that Bob was passionate about, presented by someone who knew him well. Selections range from a book about puns to highlight Bob’s delight in the English language, to a book about music and the brain, which encompasses his talent as a musician and love of learning.

The programs take place from 12:10 pm – 1 pm every Wednesday in September in the Gallery Room at Richmond Memorial Library, 19 Ross St, Batavia. Refreshments will be served. You do not need to read the books in order to attend- all are welcome!

This series will include a 50/50 cash raffle at each session, with proceeds going to Bob’s family to donate to causes of their choosing in his memory.  Enter for a chance to win a door prize at each session- a copy of the 2021 Richmond Reads book, The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin! 

The line-up: 

Wednesday, September 1: Dr. Greg Van Dussen will review The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics by John Pollack. 

Wednesday, September 8: Tammy Hathaway will review Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant. 

Wednesday, September 15: David Blake will review Death is but a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life’s Endby Dr. Christopher Kerr.

Wednesday, September 22: Barbara Meyer will review Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks.

Wednesday, September 29: Jay Gsell will review Saving America: 7 Steps to Make Government Deliver Great Results by Mark Aesch.

Books Sandwiched In is generously sponsored by the Friends of Richmond Memorial Library.

Richmond Memorial Library is located at 19 Ross St in the City of Batavia. Find us online at batavialibrary.org. 

By Samantha Stryker, Community & Adult Services Librarian

The fall series of Books Sandwiched In will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at Richmond Memorial Library and will run each Wednesday through Oct. 30.

All sessions begin at 12:10 and run until 1 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch; coffee and cookies will be served.

You do not need to read the book to attend these sessions! A gift card to a local lunch establishment will be given at each session as a door prize!

A longstanding program at the library, Books Sandwiched In invites community members to share reviews of books, often works of nonfiction. As always, this fall’s series will present a wide array of topics from presenters with a variety of backgrounds. 

First up on Oct. 2, Millie Tomidy-Pepper will present Melinda Gates’ "The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World" (2019). Tomidy-Pepper is the executive director of the YWCA of Genesee County and was previously the executive director for the Mental Health Association in Genesee County.

Gates’ debut work rests on the theory that, “if you want to lift a society up, invest in women,” and has been called “a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 9, Scott Herring will discuss "The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West" by David McCullough (2019). A native of Otego, Herring worked with the Farm Credit System throughout the Northeast until his retirement in 2015.

The newest book from popular historian McCullough uses the experience of five pioneers to explore the settlement of the Northwest Territories of the United States.

Greg Van Dussen, Ph.D., will join us on Wednesday, Oct. 6 to review "Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World" by Cal Newport (2019). Van Dussen is a resident of Batavia and an adjunct professor at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, having also retired from the United Methodist Church as a pastor.

In Digital Minimalism, Newport applies the theory of minimalism (“the art of knowing how much is just enough”) to our use of technology. Van Dussen says that Newport “sees clearly the price our society is paying for constant connectedness and offers a workable plan for using technology wisely.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Peggy Grayson will examine Jeff Dondero’s "Throwaway Nation: The Ugly Truth about American Garbage" (2019). A resident of Stafford, Grayson is the recycling administrator for GLOW Region Solid Waste Management Committee.

This book examines the problem of waste in the United States, examining the environmental impact and “not just how we got here and where we're headed, but ways in which we might be able to curb the tide.”

Lastly, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, Jim Lewis will present "More Deadly Than the Male: Masterpieces from the Queens of Horror" (2019), our only fiction selection for this series.

Edited by Graeme Davis, this anthology of classic and “unexpected” horror stories includes tales from authors such as Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

A Navy veteran and retired Batavia City Schools Social Studies teacher, Lewis is active in the community with organizations such as the Friends of Richmond Memorial Library and the Batavia Players.

For more information about the Books Sandwiched In titles and presenters, visit our website at batavialibary.org/events. 

For more information about these or other events, visit us online at batavialibrary.org, at the library, or call the library at 585-343-9550.

Richmond Memorial Library, located at 19 Ross St. in the City of Batavia, continually provides access to physical and virtual resources and services that meet the educational, informational and recreational needs of its diverse community in a safe and comfortable environment.