News

Sep 21, 2023

West Tisbury: Books and more books

“Books, books, books!” That’s how Iyla Bohan rhapsodizes over the piles of books and overfilled book shelves at my house when she visits and we choose a book to read together. I heard her voice in my

“Books, books, books!”

That’s how Iyla Bohan rhapsodizes over the piles of books and overfilled book shelves at my house when she visits and we choose a book to read together. I heard her voice in my head as I pored over piles and tables and boxes of books at the Friends of the Library book sale. Although I spent hours at the sale, I barely got through the art, writing and poetry, mysteries, and children’s sections. I came home with lots of treasures, a gorgeous monograph on Giotto, a book of essays by Robert Motherwell, another by Dorothy Parker, who always makes me laugh, three hardcover Inspector Morse mysteries, poems by Robert Pinsky, and a pile of children’s books for Iyla.

There were several books that I already have in my art library, including some special, out-of-print ones. I kept wondering if I was buying my own books back. Mike is always after me to get rid of things, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he packed up a bag or two of books he thought I wouldn’t notice. I’m still missing the Suzette Hill series about the British vicar, his dog, and his cat, which I loved and often reread. I look to replace them every year at the book sale.

It was, as always, a fabulous sale, and I thank the Friends of the Library for making it happen.

I never got back to the sale as I had intended. It was a very busy weekend. I spent Saturday at a baby shower for Tessa and James Rebello, who are awaiting the arrival of their first baby in mid-August. It was so much fun to see their young friends, and lots of babies, toddlers, and young children running around, splashing in a wading pool, doing art projects, playing games, then snuggling in their parents’ arms when they got tired. One of the very few positives about getting older is remembering our friends’ children growing up, and now watching as they are starting their own families.

The weekly Thursday luncheons are back on the schedule at the Howes House, served at 12:30. Sign up by noon on Wednesday. Call Jennie Gadowski at 508-693-2896, or email her at [email protected].

I asked Tara Whiting-Wells for a list of town boards or committees that have open seats that need volunteers to fill. This is the list she sent me: the Howes House building committee, personnel board, affordable housing committee (associate), conservation committee (associate), task force against discrimination, Community Preservation committee, local historic commission, and capital improvements committee. If you are interested in serving the town in one of these positions, email Jen Rand at [email protected]. There is a committee/board appointment form on the town website.

At the library this week:

Thursday, August 3, 4:30 pm, author Elizabeth Benedict will speak with Honor Moore about her new book, “Rewriting Illness: A View of My Own.”

Saturday, August 5, 8:30 pm, join veteran stargazer Mark Alan Lovewell at Riverhead Field Disc Golf on Barnes Road to discover the wonders of the cosmos in our summer night sky. This program is sponsored by the Martha’s Vineyard Library Association.

Tuesday, August 8, 3:30 pm, there will be a poetry reading by members of the Cleaveland House Poets in honor of the annual Dionis Coffin Riggs Day of Poetry.

Dr. Donald Berwick will be the featured speaker at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center this Sunday, August 6, at 7:30 pm. His talk, “Salve Lucrum: The Existential Threat of Greed in American Health Care,” is free, and the public is invited. Dr. Berwick is president emeritus and senior fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a lecturer on healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School, and the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

On my way home from work this afternoon, I stopped in at the Ice Box, Alex and Kate Salop’s just-opened ice cream shop in the Tisbury Marketplace. My hot fudge sundae was delicious, with real homemade hot fudge and whipped cream. Besides cones and sundaes and regular ice cream in lots of flavors, they have gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free ice cream. The only downside I see is that it’s in Vineyard Haven instead of in West Tisbury.