Book: King of Scars
By Leigh Bardugo (514, YA fantasy, 2019) Leigh Bardugo does it again. Utterly fascinating. I couldn’t help myself — read this one in one sitting, it was so enthralling! Nikolai Lantsov, King of Ravka, attempts to bring peace and prosperity back to his land and people after the civil war. The failed coup of the Darkling saw the death of the Shadow Summoner, but now, three years later, a cult has grown in worship of him. More unsettling...
Author talk and arts festival ahead
Sci-Fi author event Robert V.S. Redick returns to Gibson’s Bookstore virtually on July 7 at 7 p.m. to share his new novel, Sidewinders, a continuation to “Master Assassins: The Fire Sacraments.” He is joined by his friend, author Daryl Gregory, whose new novel, The Album of Dr. Moreau, was newly released this spring.In Sidewinders, two brothers flee an army of fanatics across a vast and magical desert in this white-knuckle sequel to...
City news: Last chance for tax assistance
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Meetings Going forward, City meetings will be held in person in Council Chambers at 37 Green Street (unless otherwise specified on the calendar). Upcoming meetings include: Planning Board: June 30* at 7 p.m. (*Rescheduled from June 16)...
This week in Concord history
June 24, 1993: Residents who use Concord’s buses, pools and libraries pack a public hearing to testify against proposed budget cuts. “I’m a little bit disturbed that the quality of life seems to be attacked every time we talk about budget cuts,” says Richard Croak. June 25, 2003: The Penacook Historical Society holds an open house for the Rolfe barn, a 200-year-old building that the group had fought to save for months. The...
Looking Back: U.S. Mail Truck
For the InsiderThis vintage photograph shows a mailman delivering mail for the Concord Post Office. This Concord mail truck is one of the early Ford Model T conversions that allowed the front tires to be removed and replaced during winter with conversion skis. The rear tires were then fitted with a track over the existing tires to allow for maximum traction in the cold New Hampshire winters. The Ford Model T pictured was most likely...
Book: My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life
My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life By Janine Marsh (255 pages, nonfiction memoir, 2020) Janine Marsh and her husband Mark live in London and have good jobs there. They visit France one rainy day, on a day trip to buy some wine, and on a whim decide to look at some houses. They really can’t afford one, and aren’t in the market for a house. But the estate agent gives them a list of the cheapest three properties...
Book: Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters
By Barack Obama (40 pages, nonfiction, 2010) You know that feeling you get when you look at a child and envision the limitless potential that they possess? Our 44th president, Barack Obama, beautifully encapsulates that feeling in his children’s book Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters. In this tender, thoughtful letter to his daughters, Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen inspirational American men and women whose...
Book: Money in the Morgue
By Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy (294 pages, mystery, 2018) Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn is trying to write letters in a run-down convalescent hospital in New Zealand during World War II. He’s attempting to write one to his wife, Troy, but can’t find the words. It’s midsummer in the remote area and a storm is threatening. Suddenly Alleyn is thrust into a calamity! A van has broken down, and the driver, Mr. Glossup, a payroll...
Book: The Last Garden in England
By Julia Kelly (351 pages, historical fiction, 2021) This creative book shows the lives of five very different women, all bound together by one garden in the English countryside, in different time periods. In 1907, there’s Venetia Smith, a woman garden designer, very unusual for the time, who is commissioned to design the gardens of Highbury House. She creates a series of different gardens, each with its own theme. Her character...
Strawberries are ripe for the picking
Those red jewels of the early summer harvest have arrived at Concord-area farms. Apple Hill and Rossview Farm both have opened for pick-your-own strawberry season. Of course, if you don’t feel like walking the rows yourself, you can purchase freshly-picked berries at the farmstands or area farmers markets. Apple Hill Farm Pick-your-own strawberries opened on June 14 and will be open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, as weather...
City pools open
The city of Concord is able to open five of the seven pools this season, which will run from June 20 to Aug. 3. Based on current best practices, it has scheduled intermittent cleaning throughout the day. They made the decision not to open two pools (Garrison Park, White Park) this summer. Garrison was chosen as it has the lowest attendance each summer. White Park pool was chosen due to the small pool deck and its capacity limitations....
Poem: Smile
For the Insider She said it was a shame, that smiles have to disappear, I explained to my young child, it’s not what you see it’s what you hear. People still carry happiness within, they really do smile behind the mask, you have to remember before, it really is a necessary task. Life is just the same, please don’t forget when, we walked to the park holding hands, under blue skies back then. We have not changed, we are all the same...
Bulletin board
Everett Arena Roller Skating Roller skating returned to the Douglas N. Everett Arena this week for its sixth summer. New skating hours are Tuesday through Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Roller skating will only be available for a limited time through Friday, July 30. Admission will be $5 with skate rentals available if needed for an additional $5 at the Pro Shop. Book a private roller skating event for a birthday party, field...
Passing on history through stories and fruit
There was once a young boy living in our little town, a boy from another generation many years ago. He possessed much energy and engaged each and every adult in conversation, begging for a story from the past. This young boy encountered a very old man. In fact, the old gent was more than ten times the age of the young boy. The boy loved to chat and hear stories, the old man loved to tell stories about the days gone by. A friendship...
Gibson’s to resume in-person talks
Concord-based author launches new novel Gibson’s Bookstore will host its first in-person even in over 15 months on July 13 with Concord-based author Jennifer Anne Gordon. Gordon thrills and delights with her new horror fantasy novel Pretty/Ugly. You may have known her dance moves as an instructor at Let’s Dance Studio, tonight get to know her talents with words. This is a ticketed event with limited occupancy, and a firm ending time....
Summer concert series sets up for season
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Concord Public Library news Live Music on the Lawn returns – next concert is July 21: These concerts are free and everyone is welcome to attend. Rory Scott Band: July 21, 6 p.m., Eagle Square (rain date: July 28). The Rory Scott Band is...
Live music picks up with outdoor shows
Live shows June 17 Craig Fahey at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Queen City Improv at Hatbox Theatre at 7:30 p.m. June 18 Andrew North and the Rangers at Penuche’s Ale House at 7:30 p.m. DJ Zadzi at SHARA Vineyards from 6 to 8 p.m. Slow Voltage & Stoned Wasp at Area 23 at 7:23 p.m. June 19 Justin Cohn at Concord Craft Brewing from 4 to 6 p.m. Eric Lindberg at Chen Yang Li from 7 to 10 p.m. Chris Fitz Trio at Area 23 at 7:23...
Deception by Gaslight: A Gilded Gotham Mystery
Deception by Gaslight: A Gilded Gotham Mystery By Kate Belli (278 pages, mystery, 2020) It is the winter of 1888 in New York City, and socialite Genevieve Stewart wants to be a newspaper reporter. But she isn’t taken seriously by her editor at the Globe. He gives her lighthearted stories to cover, like baby contests, not serious stories. A jewel thief nicknamed the “Robin Hood of the Lower East Side” has been active, stealing precious...
Book: Mulan, Woman Warrior
Mulan, Woman Warrior By Jeff Pepper (90 pages, language learning easy reader, 2020) Mulan takes the place of her father to fight in the army, disguising herself for 12 years of warfare. Heralded as a hero after her service, she declines offered rewards and instead returns home to her family, donning women’s dress once again. The story of Mulan, popularized here by Disney movies, is an ancient story with written record at least as far...
Book: Underland
Underland By Robert Macfarlane (488 pages, nonfiction, 2019) This book blew my mind a little bit. After finishing (and loving) Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, I used the “You May Also Like” feature on Concord Public Library’s online catalog to point me toward more books about ecology, environmentalism, and humans’ relationship with the natural world. What a spot-on recommendation this was! This book is difficult to...
This week in Concord history
June 17, 1970: Attorney General Warren Rudman tells the Concord Rotary Club that he was glad the Chicago Three — David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman — were allowed to speak at UNH. “You cannot repress free speech, he says. “You cannot repress advocacy of things you don’t agree with.” June 17, 1863: With Union armies still faltering at the front, 30,000 people gather in Concord for the formation of the Public Loyal...
Bulletin Board
Back to the stage Starting June 11 and running through June 27, a mainstage production returns to Hatbox Theatre in Concord with a unique twist on classic characters. Sherlock Holmes is dead. Or so it is assumed. The world knows the great detective went over the falls at Reichenbach with his nemesis Professor Moriarty. But, as Holmes’ body was never retrieved, a number of frauds, fakes, and charlatans have come forward since to lay...
Projects spruce streets, building
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights:City news and projectsFace covering ordinance: The City of Concord’s face coverings ordinance expired on June 1, 2021. City Council encourages anyone eligible to get vaccinated and to continue to follow the recommendations set forth by...
This week in Concord history
June 10, 1983: A celebration marks the opening of Eagle Square. Former mayor Martin Gross delivers a poem to mark the occasion. One stanza describes the Eagle Stable, which will soon be open in the Crystal Courtyard, a mini-mall for specialty foods: Your stable’s stalls, once equine halls, soon hungry souls will seek. No hay or mash but gourmet stash – an appetite boutique. June 10, 1900: A Concord police officer...
Poem: They
The sun sets, on this hallowed little hill, people come and visit, again, and again till. They stop and remember, recall the days from the past, wish life was more forgiving, from the first day to the last. They take the time to reflect, some, they do pray, talk to those departed, wish they were not away. They smile as they recall, planting a flower while on a knee, only remember the best moments, old thoughts of what might be. They...
Book: Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation By Gareth Hinds (103 pages, graphic novel, 2017) If this book had been around when I was in middle school, I most certainly would have had a copy of it on my nightstand. In this graphic novel adaptation, artist Gareth Hinds illustrates some of the most beloved Edgard Allan Poe stories (The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart)...
Book: Fiends on the Other Side
Fiends on the Other Side By Vera Strange (202 pages, juvenile fiction, 2020) This quick read is for those who like books about magic and shadows coming to life. This children’s suspense book about a Disney villain reads a lot like Goosebumps. The villain, the Shadow Man, will intrigue you. From his purple dust to the way words twist off his tongue. And why does he want the necklace Jamal’s Grandmother left him when she died? It’ll...
Bulletin board: Find something to entertain yourself
Virtual event launches ‘In the Heights’ Before Hamilton became a global phenomenon, before Lin-Manuel Miranda became a household name, a little show called In the Heights shook up Broadway with its hip-hop and salsa soundtrack and big, bilingual heart. In the new book In the Heights: Finding Home, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter tell the story of the show’s humble beginnings, from rehearsals in a...
City news: Enjoy biking around capital
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: City news and projects Face covering ordinance: The City of Concord’s face coverings ordinance expired on June 1, 2021. City Council encourages anyone eligible to get vaccinated and to continue to follow the recommendations set forth by...
This week in Concord history
June 4, 2001: The Concord School Board approves a policy prohibiting students on sports teams or in clubs from attending gatherings where other students are using alcohol or drugs. If students are caught – regardless of whether they were drinking or getting high – they, along with a parent or guardian, will have to meet with a school counselor to discuss the risks associated with alcohol and drug abuse. June 4, 1819: A great...
