Pember Library

As Morgan Freeman says, “Black history is American history.” I found this blog post with a list of books to celebrate Black History Month. Many are available at the Pember and others can be requested from other local libraries.

A recent addition to Granville is the Haynes House of Hope. But how many people actually know the history of Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833) for whom the Haynes House is named? The Haynes House was built on the site of the home Rev. Haynes occupied here in Granville (see correction in comment below). We have a couple of books about Reverend Haynes available at the Pember.

There are two copies of Black apostle to Yankeeland : egalitarian catchcolt who overlived his caste by Paul Douglass (written in 1972). One is available for checkout. The other should be used in the library along with a second biography of Rev. Haynes, Sketches of the life and character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, A. M. : for many years pastor of a church in Rutland, Vt., and late in Granville, New-York written in 1837 by Timothy Mather Cooley.

Be sure to check out Morris Rote-Rosen’s articles on Lemuel Haynes from the December 17 and December 24, 1936 issues of the Granville Sentinel. They are available on microfilm at the Pember.

If you check on HeritageQuest, there are 33 hits for Lemuel Haynes. Not all hits are about the Lemuel Haynes from Granville and some are just a mention in someone’s genealogy of a marriage with “Rev. Lemuel Haynes officiating.” I find it interesting that he lived at Granville MA for a time. He is also mentioned in a family history of another preacher who “could repeat more Scripture than any man I ever saw, except the Rev. Lemuel Haynes.”

Rev Haynes spent the last eleven years of his life in Granville, NY and is buried in the old Lee Cemetery along SR 149.

Many people have a love-hate relationship with books. People tell me “oh, you HAVE to read insert title here ” and I know full well that it just isn’t for me. Nearly anything on Oprah’s list is too gut-wrenching for me. There is enough sadness in the world without reading more. Many people use reading to escape from their problems.

I recently read a Publisher’s Weekly blog titled  Worst Book Ever.

People are definitely enthusiastic about the books they like but are truly passionate about books they hate.   Wuthering Heights has got to be one of the worst I have ever read. What on earth did Catherine see in Heathcliff?

How about you? What do you consider the worst book you ever read?

I was checking over the NY Times Best Sellers lists and comparing it to the Pember Library holdings. For the top 35 hardcover fiction, 29 are available at our library with 22 books in regular print, 7 in large text and 7 on audio book. Eight of the titles are available through our downloadable audio book service, SALON.

Several of the books are available in more than one format. Of the top 16, only one is not available at the Pember in any of these formats.

We have 13 of the best selling non-fiction books with 7 in regular print and 3 in large text. Two are available as audio books and 11 can be downloaded through SALON.

The lists with the Pember’s holdings highlighted is near the “new and popular” section if you want to look it over.