SUMMER READING
How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
If you are a reader and a booklover, then this novel set in a small town in Cornwall should delight you. When her father Julius, bookshop owner extraordinaire, dies, his daughter Emilia inherits Nightingale Books. Emilia has lived in Hong Kong for some years and returns to deal with his affairs and discovers that he was beloved by the townspeople. Julius was an unofficial therapist or at least a willing ear, but a lousy businessman. While Emilia’s efforts to save the shop are one focus of this story, it’s also a series of vignettes of individuals who patronize the bookstore, some of whom have been unsuccessful or unlucky in finding love. Like a box of bonbons, it’s a sweet and charming novel with happy endings for all.
SMALL SCREEN
Borgen (Apple TV)
Last summer we binge watched the final season of The Americans. This year we raced through all of the latest Grantchester episodes and were hungry for more good viewing. The Chief Penguin found us Borgen and now we’re glued to it.
It’s a fictional Danish political drama produced in 2010 about Birgitte Nyborg, the first female prime minister. With a parliamentary system that requires the party leader who becomes prime minister to have a majority of seats or a majority made up of a coalition of parties, there’s lots of wheeling and dealing among the players to arrive at a viable candidate. Besides the prime minister and her husband and two children, the key characters are Katrine, a TV news reporter, and Kasper, a politico/spin doctor. The series is fast paced and totally absorbing, partly because you become enmeshed in the complicated personal lives of these individuals. There are three seasons and we have now watched the first five episodes in Season 1. The first episode is free, but then you have to pay.
RETURN TO ROCKLAND
On another gorgeous Maine day, we took our friends up to Rockland for a visit to the Farnsworth Art Museum. This lovely museum has a strong collection of works by various members of the Wyeth Family from N.C. Wyeth, the patriarch, to Andrew Wyeth, his son, to Jamie Wyeth, Andrew’s son, as well as works by the siblings and other relatives.
This summer, in addition to the Wyeth family paintings in the permanent collection, there are two special exhibits of Jamie Wyeth’s work, Untoward Occurrences and Other Things, scenes of Monhegan Island featuring artist Rockwell Kent and others, and Phyllis Mills Wyeth: A Celebration, paintings of his wife over more than 50 years. Sadly, she died this past January.
I especially enjoyed the Phyllis paintings for the range of emotions depicted, from the exuberance of “Catching Pollen” to the quiet determination in “And Then into the Deep Gorge,” and the mystery of “Wicker.”
In addition to the Wyeth exhibits, there is a small one of some contemporary screens, room dividers, that are quite a mixed lot in terms of style.
We had such a great experience we returned to Rockland and the museum this week with my sister and brother-in-law. I loved the Wyeth exhibits even more the second time!
LUNCH FARE
Continuing a quest to sample local beers, we ate lunch last week at the Rock Harbor Pub and Brewery on the main street. The guys ordered two different beers and were happy with their choices. The fish tacos and the haddock sandwich were both very good. The lobster rolls, part of their summer lobster specials, had a decent amount of very fresh lobster, but the roll suffered from not having been grilled and buttered. Fries and cole slaw were also fine.
This visit, for an even better lobster roll (which also came with fries and cole slaw), we went down the block to the Brass Compass and sat outside at one of their umbrella tables. Perfect Maine.
Note: Text ©JWFarrington. All photos by J. Farrington.
