Recommended Reads: Locally Produced Books
Set out from any point. They are all alike. They all lead to a point of departure.
~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943
The Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library produces many cassette and braille books that do not get produced by the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped. We would like to share some of our newest local interest titles with you.
Cassette books are recorded by volunteers in the Clive W. Lacy Recording Studio at Perkins School for the Blind. Braille books are produced in conjunction with the state prison. Inmates scan print books and transcribe them into braille-ready files. These files are converted into braille at the library, where they are then embossed and bound.
Recorded cassette (RCM) and braille (BRM) copies of these books are available from the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.
Seeing Annie Sullivan: Poems Based on her Early Life by Denise Bergman
RCM 876, BRM 1284
Annie Sullivan escaped life in a Massachusetts almshouse to attend the Perkins School for the Blind. She later became the innovative, dedicated teacher of Helen Keller. These poems explore her early life.
Between You and I: A Little Book of Bad English by James Cochrane
RCM 917
Cochrane, an editor and writer for many years, lists words and phrases often misused by people trying to impress, and explains how these bits of language should be used.
The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt
RCM 882
When it became time to sell his family's century-old summer house on Cape Cod, the author returned for one last visit. He had spent 42 summers there, and memories flooded back. The eleven-room house was full of summer stories, and symbolized a vanishing way of life. Colt shares a treasure of Cape Cod history and fauna. A study of class, thoughts on past privileges and burdens, as well as a family memoir.
Fun Trivia Facts of Boston by John F Crowder
RCM 606, BRM 1364
The author presents little-known facts about Boston in a game format. A question is posed, multiple answers are listed, and then the correct answer is provided. An entertaining way to learn interesting and often humorous information about the history of the city. Also available in uncontracted braille (BRM 1365).
The Cape Cod Years of John Fitzgerald Kennedy by Leo Damore
RCM 883
Beginning in 1926, Rose and Joseph Kennedy made Hyannis Port their summer home. It was Hyannis Port from which President Kennedy departed in 1963 on a fateful flight to Texas. The author covers these years, and all of the others in between. The book adds to the story of J.F.K., and also chronicles Cape Cod.
A Cinderella Affidavit by Michael Fredrickson
RCM 885
A drug bust in Boston's Chinatown goes bad, and a police officer is killed during a no-knock search. The court orders the police to find the confidential snitch who set up the bust. Lawyers, politicians, mobsters and Boston's elite are dragged into the search for this informant, known as Cinderella. Some strong launguage, violence, and some descriptions of sex.
A Place for Joey by Carol Flynn Harris
BRM 1289
Joey Calabro and his family live in Boston's North End in the early twentieth century. Since coming to the United States, his parents have wanted to buy a farm in the coutry. But Joey plans to find work so he can stay in the city. One day, he skips school, and goes to the docks to look for a job. Instead, he encounters a terrible accident, and saves a policeman's life. As a result, he finds a new dream. For grades 4-6. Also available in uncontracted braille (BRM 1361), jumbo braille (BRM 1362), and jumbo uncontracted braille (BRM 1363).
Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading by Ronald A Heifetz and Marty Linsky
BRM 1294
This survival manual for leaders explains what one needs to know to handle the professional and personal perils of leading, and discusses how to exercise leadership in a way that reduces the chances of being pushed aside. The authors address leaders at all levels (parents, general employees, managers, community activists, and presidents of organizations and countries).
New Boy by Julian Houston
RCM 898 (in process), BRM 1295
In the late 1950s, fifteen-year-old Rob Garrett escapes the segregated South to become the first black student at an exclusive Connecticut boarding school. There, he witnesses persecution of another student who has bad acne. Perhaps Rob can make a difference, even though he is far away from his hometown friends who are organizing to fight segregation ... and talking of sitting in at a lunch counter.
Always Something Doing: Boston's Infamous Scollay Square by David Kruh
RCM 900
Scollay Square was the home of Boston vaudeville and burlesque theaters and much more until it was demolished in 1961 to make room for Government Center. Historian Kruh shares tales and historical facts about "Good Old Scollay Square."
Tales from the Edge of the Woods by Willem Lange
RCM 890
An old-time Yankee writer shares funny and touching memories of his life across the many years in a small New England town.
Thoughts on Blindness: One Spouse's Perspective on Losing Vision and Living Life by Becky LeBlanc
RCM 930, BRM 1293
Through poetry and prose, one woman reflects on her husband's blindness from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). Basic information about blindness is included. Also available in uncontracted braille (BRM 1322).
Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane
RCM 908
A little girl is missing from Dorchester, one of Boston's toughest neighborhoods. Her aunt talks private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro into taking the case. Their investigation will put their relationship and their lives at risk. Explicit descriptions of sex, strong language, violence.
Revere Beach Boulevard by Roland Merullo
RCM 744
From the moment Vito Imbesalacqua arrived in the United States in 1936, he worked hard and tried to live as a good man. His son Peter, now forty years old, has bent the rules and fought a gambling addiction. The family rallies around Peter, even as a dark family secret surfaces. Strong language, some violence.
M is for Mayflower: a Massachusetts Alphabet by Margot Theis Raven
RCM 966
Beginning readers will enjoy the simple rhyme, and more advanced readers will discover facts about a Massachusetts topic for each letter of the alphabet. For grades 3-6.
Bump in the Night by JD Robb (Nora Roberts)
RCM 905
Four short paranormal romances: Haunted in Death by J.D. Robb; Poppy's Coin by Mary Blayney; The Passenger by Ruth Ryan Langan; and Mellow Lemon Yellow by Mary Kay McComas. Descriptions of sex, strong language.
Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers: Things to Remember Along the Way by Fred Rogers
RCM 939
Observations and gentle advice from the developer and star of the children's television series, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. In the Foreward, Joanne Rogers describes her life with Mr. Rogers.
An American Family by Natalie Rothstein
RCM 946, BRM 1368 (in process)
Drawing from her considerable research, the author recounts her family's experiences, shares her own memories, and tells the larger story of Jewish immigration to the United States.
Boston on Fire: A History of Fires and Firefighting in Boston by Stephanie Schorow
RCM 879
Since it was founded in 1630, Boston has experienced major fires which have shaped its history. In response, Bostonians have developed firefighting equipment and techniques, including the Hunneman fire engine and the nation's first citywide fire alarm system. The author covers several centuries -- the very early blazes, the Ursuline convent fire of 1834, the Great Fire of 1872, and twentieth century conflagrations in Chelsea, at the Coconut Grove nightclub, and at the Vendome Hotel.
The Hazards of Good Breeding by Jessica Shattuck
RCM 916
When Caroline Dunlap returns after her college graduation, she finds that her Boston Brahmin home is less protected than she remembers. Her parents are divorced and her mother is dating. When the reason for her father's firing of housekeeper Rosita becomes clear, the Dunlap world is shaken further. Contains strong language and descriptions of sex.
New England Men of Letters by Wilson Sullivan
RCM 884
In a series of biographical essays, the author visits the lives and times of outstanding New England nineteenth century poets, philosophers, novelists, and historians. He discusses the relevance today of their thought and writing. Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Dana, Parkman, Longfellow, Lowell, Holmes, and Prescott are included. A bibliography of each man's works completes the book.
American Freemasons: Three Centuries of Building Communities by Mark A Tabbert
RCM 943
There are two million Freemasons in the United States. Leading Americans who have belonged to this fraternal organization over the past three centuries include Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, Harry Truman and Thurgood Marshall. The author recounts the history of Freemasonry from its origin in 17th century Scotland to today.
Wild Apples by Henry David Thoreau
RCM 927
First appearing in The Atlantic Monthly in 1862, Thoreau's essay begins with a history of the apple tree, from ancient Greece to North America, and ends as a meditation on parallels between the wild apple and humanity.
Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob by Kevin Weeks
RCM 881
When Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger went into hiding in 1994, Kevin Weeks took over the running of his operation, and was his contact. Weeks had been a partner of Whitey's for years. Since returning from prison, Weeks has written this memoir, which he says is the "brutal truth" about his work with Boston's Irish mob. Explicit violence, strong language.