Delicious Pairings︱AL's Ice Cream & Books

Most of us have had the experience of curling up with a cup of tea and a good book, but have you ever tried pairing that book with a bowl of ice cream? If not, we highly recommend it! The podcast team took this episode on the road and visited AL's Ice Cream Shoppe located at 696 Main Street. We combined AL's exciting array of flavors with summer book recommendations. The results were a little sweet, a little salty, and entirely delicious! We hope you're inspired to cool off this summer with you own tasty combo. Enjoy!

https://www.alsicecream.com/

Book Recommendations

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
Princess Pistachio and the Pest by Marie-Louse Gay
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Imogen Obviously by Becky Albertalli
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire by Clare Frank

This podcast uses music by Ashutosh, under a creative commons license:
Time by ASHUTOSH | https://soundcloud.com/grandakt
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

Transcript

Cate: 0:14

Welcome to Middletown strong, looking up with Russell Library. I'm Cate Salli and I'm thrilled to bring you a unique episode today. The summer heat has been getting to all of us. So the podcast team decided to take shelf life on the road to visit Al's Ice Cream Shop, located at 6 96 Main Street right next to Nora Cupcake. Once we had our ice cream in hand, we went back to the studio to pair our flavors with equally delicious reads. In this conversation, you'll hear Stephanie Shannon, Kim. Christy, myself and our newest team member, Briana, we hope this episode inspires you to cool off with your own book flavor pairing. AL'S Ice cream Shop will provide the treats and the library has you covered with free AC and endless book options. As always, thank you so much for listening.

Stephanie: 1:13

Hello and welcome to Middletown Strong looking up with Russell Library. I'm Stephanie Rush and I'm here today with a special episode. We're doing a little bit of shelf life on the road and extending it into our full episode. We have, uh, quite a crew here today and, uh, we went to visit Al's Ice Cream shop down on Main Street next to Nora Cupcake and we taste tested some ice cream and we're gonna bring you some ice cream pairings and book recommendations. So I have with me here, Kim. Hello Cate. Hello and Shannon. Hey. And to others that will be joining the mic as well. We also have a new podcaster joining us today. So Briana, why don't you say hello? Hi everybody. Briana's joining us for her first episode today and we also have our dear friend Christy joining us as well.

Christy: 2:02

Looking forward to this

Stephanie: 2:02

episode with everybody. Alright, so Christy had this awesome idea and we jumped right on it. Woo-hoo. We just got back from getting the ice cream. And uh, we're gonna go around and give you some book pairings with our ice cream flavors and we're gonna rotate some guests in and out so we can share the mics. Who wants to go first? Kim?

Kim: 2:19

Yes. All right, Kim, tell go first. I'm inspired. So, um, the ice cream flavor that I chose today was salted caramel brownie. Um, and that was my pairing is pride, prejudice, and other flavors by Sonali dove. Oh, so salted caramel is actually a key ingredient that brings together the protagonists of pride, prejudice, and other flavors. Se chef DJ Cain is preparing for an event when Dr. Tricia Raje is drawn to the kitchen. By the smell of his cooking, she almost overturns a pot of salted caramel. Um, the fiesta resistance of that evening's gelato. The pear bicker over the almost accident kicking off a verbal sparring match that resurfaces throughout the book book. It's sweet. It's a little salty. Um, and yeah, it's um, It's a pre, you know, it's a Jane Austen, um, adaptation that, that definitely hits the marks, so I highly recommend it. Also, highly recommend AL'S ice cream.

Stephanie: 3:17

Mm. Awesome. I like that you went, I second that. Very literal. You're like, there's salted caramel in the book. We're going salted caramel ice cream. I love it. It was, it was a surprising surprise.

Shannon: 3:26

Wait, I like how you say caramel. Caramel. Caramel. Caramel.

Stephanie: 3:30

I go back and forth. I go back and forth. I

Cate: 3:32

didn't even hear it.

Shannon: 3:34

I heard you. I was like, oh, cool Aunt. Aunt was gonna say Potato. Potato.

Kim: 3:39

And I just hear delicious.

Cate: 3:41

Cate, do you wanna go next? Sure. So I went totally outside the box and chose an early reader. I love that

Stephanie: 3:49

when you said that, I was like really weird. I,

Cate: 3:51

well, so the, the elementary school, former elementary school teacher and me still is like there sometimes. Mm-hmm. So it's called Princess Pistachio and the Pest. So obviously we know what flavor I chose. So, so Steph, early reader, this would be like,

Stephanie: 4:09

Seven, eight year olds. Yeah, depending. Um, so we call them early readers here. Yeah. Um, most people know them as easy readers, but, um, Diane, lovely. Diane helped us rebrand them as early readers. Okay. So that people don't get like, stuck on the easy and like get Yeah. Get like a complex about it. But, um, it depends on what level of early reader it is. It could be for a four or five year old. It could be for a seven or eight yearold depends. It feels more, it's early elementary to me. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Cate: 4:35

So, It's a perfect summer pick because the main character pistachio shoelace, which is adorable, and I did say this is by Marie Louise Gay. So she's really excited about the start of summer because we learn right away that she has this nightmare and she clearly hated school. Like she was the, she was having a nightmare about not knowing two plus two, and everybody was laughing at her and the teacher was super mean. So she woke up and she was like, oh, thank God. It's it's summer break. And so she has grand plans to go with her friends to the cemetery, to, okay, check out this cavern. And I love it.'cause she's, she's eight, right? Yeah. So this is, so it was off to a good start. Unfortunately, her plans are immediately dashed because her mother tells her she needs to take her little sister to the park.'cause the mom has to

Shannon: 5:30

work. So she can't go to the cemetery.

Cate: 5:32

No. And so her sister's

Stephanie: 5:33

about two to three Oh years. Little,

Cate: 5:36

yes. Yeah. Yeah. And so she begrudgingly follows her mom's orders and they, she and her sister go on to have this series of misadventures, but. The reason I like it is because it's very reminiscent of being a kid in the eighties, so, and I Three times. Yes, yes. And so I read a few reviews of the book and parents were like, oh, she has no business watching her little sister. This is, this is a modeling dangerous behavior and blah, blah, blah. But I was like, this is kind of

Stephanie: 6:09

refreshing. Yes. I mean, the context of the setting. Right is getting missed.

Cate: 6:14

Clearly. Yes. Yeah. Yes. But, but honestly, when, you know, when I was growing up, we, like, we had these coordinated plans to go play tag in the cemetery, we would. Playhouse and we'd have celebrity, uh, husbands and wives. Yeah. And it was, we would go in packs and get candy cigarettes and like our moms had a vague idea of where we were. Right. We drank outta the hose. We had salt and pepper chips. Like that's how we pretty much, or salt and vinegar, I should say. That's how we existed. In those, those years. And so this felt very much like that. Today's parents, I feel like it's, you know, planning 857 activities and the kids are still upset and they're bored and all of this. So I felt like this book was a really good reminder. To let kids be, let them get bored, let them figure it out. And the mom definitely had a little bit of a plan and that sort of comes together at the end. Mm-hmm. So it wasn't total negligence like there was a method to her madness. So, yeah.

Stephanie: 7:17

Yeah. Nice. Oh,

Cate: 7:19

and the pistachio ice cream was excellent at l's. Good.

Stephanie: 7:22

All right, Han

Shannon: 7:23

Okay. It's my turn. Mm-hmm. Um, so I'm not gonna tell you my ice cream pic just yet. We're gonna get there. I wrote a quick synopsis, so I will be reading from a piece of paper, so it's okay. This is just not me normally

Stephanie: 7:35

speaking. We normally read from the paper.

Shannon: 7:37

I don't, well, I don't, you know. Yeah. But the, but the, so the ice cream I did get today at AL'S was delicious. It's not the ice cream that is, Being discussed. It was bourbon, caramel, pretzel, let me tell you. Yum. Okay. Now to the book. So the book I picked is Romantic Comedy by Curtis. Sittenfeld, I think I pronounced that correctly. Mm-hmm. I think that's correct. Um, it's also known as a Reese book. I love Reese Witherspoon. Ever since I saw her as El Woods, she has changed my life. I can be powerful. Yes. Sing it. Yes. I could be girly, I can go to law school. What like crush hard. Yes. Yeah. And she's a pioneer. Yeah. Hell yeah. I object.

Stephanie: 8:23

Yes. I love the way that just happened.

Shannon: 8:25

I know that was just kind of like boom, boom, boom. But that is beside the point. The novel besides being a Reese Book Club pick, which can be a hit or miss. Let's be real here. Yeah. Love her. Love her.

Stephanie: 8:36

Briana and I hit or miss just had that conversation earlier. Yeah, yeah.

Shannon: 8:39

Um, well, she's a mogul. She's got a

Kim: 8:41

lot of projects mm-hmm. Going, so not everything

Stephanie: 8:43

can be a winner. And she's also catering to a very broad audience, so it's really hard to pick books that everyone is going to like. Yeah. Which is a, a tough test.

Shannon: 8:52

Yeah. Well, she does a good job. Hmm. Because I like most of them. There you go. So, um, it's pleasantly funny with a twist of Witt and it's bringing down the patriarchy. Hey Barbie. Here we come. Yes. Hey, Barbie. The cover art is a spectrum of pink, balanced by eye catching, which is a deciding factor for the flavor of ice cream. Then comes the title. Not to feed the stereotype. Come on. It's pink and it's romantic. Mm-hmm. And as for the plot, Sally is a writer for a late night comedy show known as The Night Owl, a k a Ss n l. Anyone. The skit, Sally writes, is a commentary of a beautiful, successful woman ending up with an average, not so accomplished man. However, the tables have turned when walks in server boying or Noah Brewster. Sally skit has changed directions and maybe her love life. Now the ice cream flavor would have to be that of strawberry fluff. Yes. The whipped pearl color of the strawberry and the sweet sugars of the fluff is the best blend of flavor for romantic comedy. Enjoy. And it was delicious. Mm-hmm. So, okay, so Shannon

Stephanie: 10:02

knows, now we're on to, Shannon knows that I picked the same flavor, but a different book, which is cool though. Yeah, I love it.'cause the way you described it is a little different from the way I'm gonna describe it, so I love it. Perfect. I actually did have the strawberry fluff today, and it was so good. It's so good. It was so good. Um, I didn't try it last time and I regret it, so, uh, we'll be having it from now on. Um, so the book that I picked today is called Imogen, obviously by Becky Alberti. This is the latest book from Becky Alberti. Um, some of you might know her. She wrote Simon versus the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Yes, yes. That has been banned everywhere and then got, uh, made into Love Simon. Mm-hmm. The TV show or the movie. And then love Victor, the TV show. It's the whole thing. Um, and so a couple of years ago, I'm just gonna give you a little background on, on this book. A couple years ago, um, there was some discourse on the internet about, um, who can write queer books and, um, who is allowed to write them, who is not allowed to write them. A lot of gatekeeping about who can write queer stories. And Becky Albert was forced out of the closet because people didn't think that she was allowed to write Simon versus the homo sapiens agenda because she was not queer. Oh, and so Becky had a lot of really like personal reflection from this experience. It's very difficult on her, but she used it to write a book. So I'm gonna tell you about Imogen, which is her most personal story yet, and I think my favorite of hers. Um, so this book is sweet. It's Sweeney, that is like the perfect word for it. Um, and it's a perfect blend of self-discovery and growing up and growing out of your childhood. Which is why I picked the strawberry flop. Mm-hmm. Um, so it has this gorgeous pink cover and it feels like strawberry ice cream with a marshmallow squirrel. It's cool, it's nostalgic. It's like you never wanna stop eating it, but it has this little bit of complexity mixed in and that's exactly what this book is. So, um, just really briefly, Imogen, which my favorite kinda story coming of age. Any listeners who've heard this podcast know before? This is literally the most Stephanie book you've ever heard me describe. Sounds like this is literally like what I love in books. Um, so it's a coming of age story. It has wonderful characters and it has this beautifully important discourse about what it means to be queer or queer enough, which now makes sense. And, you know, the background, um, Imogen is stuck between high school life, the life that she knows and the college life that she's going to soon be expecting. And she's anticipating bridging the gap between those two worlds. She goes to college to visit her best friend who has just started there, um, on a school break, and she's just like, okay, cool. This is what I can come to expect. She gets there and finds out her friend has changed in ways she wasn't ready for, and she's like, oh no, what's gonna happen to me? Um, and she's also like, I'm an ally. I'm a really supportive friend, right? I'm not, I don't also like girls, right? I'm just like a really good ally, really super supportive. And she's like, okay, but maybe I'm also part of this community, and am I allowed to be a part of it? Like, am I queer enough? Like. This whole issue of like, who gets to tell me who I am and how do I decide and whose business is it? Um, so she goes to visit her friend and she gets to see what college life might be like and how things have changed for her and her bestie. And it's just this beautiful story of like, who do I wanna be and who do and who gets to tell me that? Um, and there's a character in it that is like, Very much antagonistic, but also has like really good points. Um, that I think is an important character to the book.'cause you really hate her, but you get to the end and you go, yeah, but she has a good point. And we all know somebody like that and I'm glad that they included her. Yeah. So it's just all these conversations going on. Um, and then Imogen has this internal dialogue that is just like constantly questioning constant anxiety. And I was like, I feel it girl, I feel you. Um, so I feel like a lot of people are gonna find this book really relatable. Whether or not they're on a queer journey, but like they're gonna relate to Imogen, they're gonna relate to her constantly questioning things and whether or not she's making the right choices. Um, and I don't, I didn't live the story that Imogen lived, but college me felt like very sane in this book. And I'm so glad that this book exists. And I'm so sad that Becky Albu Charlie had to go through this process to make this book. But I feel like it was very therapeutic for her to write her own story. Yeah. And, um, I wish I could give her some strawberry ice cream'cause I feel like, like it pairs really perfectly with this book. So that was my gushing about Imogen. Obviously

Cate: 14:13

I also love the name Imogen. Right. I wanted to name my daughter Imogen, and my husband was like, absolutely not. That is the worst name. It's so pretty.

Shannon: 14:21

Right? But like, No vetoed. You gave birth to her, so why not? I know

Cate: 14:25

she's a Scarlett though. She's very, she's definitely a Scarlett yeah,

Stephanie: 14:29

it's a very pretty name either way. Thank you. Alright, who wants to go next? We have a couple other voices. I'll relinquish the mic. All right,

Shannon: 14:36

thanks Kim. Uh, so

Christy: 14:38

I chose, um, a book that I read a long time ago, but I felt like it was perfect for this. Mm-hmm. Particular, um, podcast called, called The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Amy Bender. Um, and. This book is so interesting because it's sort of a topic that I don't think I've read anywhere else. So on the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents' attention bites into her mother's homemade lemon cake. And discovers she has a magical gift. She can taste her mother's emotions in the slice. Oh, she discovers this gift to her horror for her mother who is cheerful and good with crafts and all kinds of mothering things. She tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly for the rest of her life, food becomes apparel and a threat to rose. Anything can be revealed at any meal. She can't eat her brother Joseph's toast. A cookie from the local bakery is laced with rage and grape jelly is packed with a acidic resentment. Uh, yet as Rose grows, she realizes there are some secrets that even her taste buds cannot discern. Wow. So I love this book. Um, it is definitely, um, Beautifully written, magical realism. I will say it is probably not for everyone because it does take some very

Shannon: 15:56

strange paths. Um, but I feel like,

Christy: 16:00

um, there's sort of metaphors in this book, um, maybe for mental illness, autism, substance abuse, maybe just not living up to the expectations that people have, um, of you or the expectations that you have of yourself. Um, I was very touched by it, and I have to say I've recommended it. To people over the years and some with better results than others. Some people are like coming back to me after, I won't say the spoilers, but they're like, really?

Stephanie: 16:26

Really? I'm glad this happened. You said it's not for everyone though, because I picked up this book and put it down maybe 10 years ago. Yes. But I feel like I would be a very different reader now after hearing what you had to say. Absolutely.

Shannon: 16:37

So I picked up this book like maybe five, 10 years ago too. Yeah. I loved this book. I just realized I'm like, I read

Stephanie: 16:43

this. I read

16:44

it

Christy: 16:46

right. The writing is gorgeous.

Shannon: 16:48

Yeah, it's really good.

Christy: 16:49

Yeah. So do you remember it like, no, not right now.

Shannon: 16:52

I just remember the premise. Yeah. Yeah. This was a while ago.

Christy: 16:55

So there's something called synesthesia. Mm-hmm. I think I have the right term. Mm-hmm. Where. Uh, something, um, that's tactile that we usually have, um, associated say like people see numbers as with colors. Colors, yeah. Mm-hmm. Or, um, they smell something that, um, or they, there's different, different things get mixed up. Mm-hmm. I'm not saying it quite right, but, um, I feel like this was sort of an attempt to talk about that a bit. Mm-hmm. Um, And I ended up, I went in, I was going to get the blueberry crumble, but they were out. Mm. So that's okay.'cause I had the dairy free lemon poppy seed and just a subtle hint of lemon. The poppy seeds were great. Um, I'm not usually someone that gets dairy free with dairy and egg free. Um, but I thought the texture was right on point. So, which is

Stephanie: 17:44

hard to do in dairy-Free, egg-free. Yeah.

Christy: 17:47

A, a concoction. Hmm. So that is, uh, the particular sadness of lemon cake by Amy Bender.

Stephanie: 17:53

Awesome. Wow. All right, Briana, I wanna wrap us up with your pick.

Briana: 17:57

I will. All right. So I'll start off by saying that the ice cream I got, Was not the ice cream that I'm gonna talk about with my book. This is that the ice cream that I'm pairing with this book is actually the ice cream Shannon got and it was good. So the book that I picked is called Burnt A Memoir of Fighting Fire by Claire Frank. Ooh, it's her. It's her debut, a memoir. She hasn't written anything else. Very, very cool person. So I'll start off with kind of what the book's about and what inspired me to. Select the ice cream that I did. So all of us, to some degree have had an interaction with firefighters at some point in our lives. And yes, the pun was intended. I did a ride along in April with the cross street, uh, firefighters in the middle town for my birthday. And that exposed me to the nitty gritty of what firefighters do. And what I liked was that there was a woman firefighter there. Yeah. Amongst all these. Then, and that was kind of refreshing to see. And so this book reminded me of that feeling that I felt of just seeing like one woman there in a building full of men. Um, so Claire got her start as a firefighter at 17. She did not put a birthday on her application to join the fire department. She wanted to join and they just didn't say anything about it.

Stephanie: 19:19

Hmm. A different time.

Briana: 19:21

So very different time. And she just, her whole life, she had very humble beginnings and emancipated herself at 17. Wow. And she joined the fire department'cause her brother was a firefighter and she loved it the second she started. But it was just an uphill climb the entire time. I imagine. So. Like, and she, she's only five too, so like sometimes she couldn't even see when she was driving the rigs. Yeah. So she had to sit on books. Oh. And they were like, you can't do that when we test you. And she's like, well, well, I'll just develop the ab strength to keep myself sitting up.

Stephanie: 19:54

Stop what she did. Adaptation. Wow. Mm-hmm.

Briana: 19:59

Um, and so when thinking of Claire, I thought of the bourbon, caramel pretzel ice cream. Mm-hmm. Because she's. Extremely determined you have to be when you are joining a fire department. The pretzel pieces mixed with the sticky caramel and then like the salty bourbon just made me think of Claire and just her uphill battle to eventually become, um, California's Chief of Fire Protection, which is the highest rankl woman's ever achieved. Let's go. Amazing. That's amazing. So Claire is amazing and I've loved reading about her. Life and I hope that her story inspires more women to join that industry and really fight to get up in the ranks.

Stephanie: 20:45

Yeah, I just wanna say that knowing Briana as a person and a reader, this is the most Briana book you could have brought to your first episode. I was like, oh, that's a hundred percent a Briana to create there. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Very cool. So I love it.

Briana: 20:56

Title is Burnt, A Memoir of Fighting Fire, and there's a very beautiful orange. Firefighter's helmet on the cover. Mm-hmm.

Stephanie: 21:04

Sometimes

Christy: 21:05

we do talk about covers and I feel like, um, we

Stephanie: 21:07

do, that's kind of an

Christy: 21:08

important thing. Yeah. Um, for people, you know?'cause

Stephanie: 21:11

people do judge books by the cover. They do. I mean, the cover, I just, the reason I picked my flavor and then when I started talking about it, it actually made much more sense. But I picked it based on the cover. I picked it based

Shannon: 21:22

off the cover too. Yeah. To begin with. I, I say the

Christy: 21:24

same for this one too. I mean, there's this. Slice of cake.

Stephanie: 21:26

Yeah. No, but then we all delve deeper.

Shannon: 21:28

It's like pink and like red and it's romantic.

Stephanie: 21:31

But then all of us were like, yes. But there's also layers here. There, yeah. Yeah.

Christy: 21:36

So I'm gonna do our sign off. Um, and I just wanna let folks know that Al's ice cream in Middletown can be found at 6 96 Main Street. Um, and they are open Monday and Tuesday from. Uh, four to nine and Wednesday through Sunday from 12 to nine, and we recommend them all right.

Shannon: 21:53

From this podcast. Yes. Yeah. Thanks Al.

Christy: 21:58

Signing off. All right. From our first shelf life on the road.

Stephanie: 22:02

Ooh, see you next month. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Kim: 22:13

Hello and welcome to the segment we are calling. Turn that sh up projects at Russell Library that are too good to keep quiet. Summer's in full swing and the library is making the most of long days and warm nights. We're going to the farmer's market, getting messy and enjoying summer magic. So, uh, Russell Library has been really happy to see everyone at the Farmer's Market this summer. Our outdoor story times on the Union Green will continue throughout July and August. On Fridays at 10:30 AM librarians will read books and share rhymes and songs for kids ages four to eight, as well as their families.

Shannon: 22:51

Have you attended any of the um, farmer's Market story

Kim: 22:54

times? Not yet. I'm actually signed up to go in September.

Shannon: 22:58

Oh, they're very last summer. I will say. I went to like every single Friday just to go.'cause they were so much fun. I will be making my appearance this Friday. Excellent. Yes, but so also, Just to say every Monday night in August at 5:00 PM we will have family game night. And it's meant for all ages. It'll be in the activity room. Um, so come on by. That will be a lot of fun. And in our youth and family learning department, we host sensory shenanigans. Come dress for mess and finger paint. Mold clay, blow bubbles, and use the library's water table. Activities are met primarily for children, ages four to seven, but all ages are welcome with a caregiver. And on Wednesday, August 23rd at 6:00 PM the library will present the Mr. Magic Family Magic Show. This is an all ages program, features interactive magic, the art of illusion. The potential to win prizes. It's a performance guarantee to put a smile on your face. That sounds like so much

Kim: 24:01

fun. It's true. I've actually looked at a couple of YouTubes mm-hmm. Of his, um, performances and they are, they're very, um, they look like a lot of fun. Yeah. Yeah. A nice mix of, um, older magic, you know, the standards and then, um, some things I hadn't seen before, so. Oh, very cool. So I definitely recommend it. Um, and if you're interested in trying something new, you can come to the libraries all ages, craft a noon on Friday, August 25th at 2:30 PM for cross stitching and beading. This all ages session will offer supplies to start cross stitching or create children's beaded bracelets. All supplies will be provided and so our supplies are limited, so please be sure to register ahead of time on the library's online calendar. Fifth, if you have a little one who's starting kindergarten in the fall, come visit the library for a special story time on Saturday, August 26th at 3:30 PM while children listen to a kindergarten themed story and do a fun school themed craft in the activity room, their caregivers will take a special tour of the children's department. Our librarians will highlight the library materials that can help with school success during this important

Shannon: 25:10

year. It seems like we have a lot of fun stuff going on this summer. I know, right? Yeah. I love the intergenerational like programs that we're trying to do as well. I agree. So, and let's hope people recognize that more. Well,

Kim: 25:26

we got a really good attendance at the, um, the painting crafter. Oh, that's good. So, um, hopefully people will come back to, for the cross stitching in the Yeah, you don't have to have any experience to do it. Um, beginners are welcome, intermediate is welcome. So, you know, people come, come out and, um, you know, try, try out something new.

Shannon: 25:46

Mm-hmm. And before we totally sign off, um, This episode will air on August 8th, Tuesday, and we will also be having an event that night at 6:00 PM hosted in a collaboration with us, the Russell Library, the Middlesex Historical Society, and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. So it is a film preview, James Family Letters. That shaped Anne Petri, who is an important figure in our community and a writer. Mm-hmm.

Kim: 26:21

Her daughter Liz, um, wrote a lot about her mother's, um, work as an author. Yes. And, um, you know, I think this goes into a little bit of, um, the research that she did. Mm-hmm. And, um, puts it all together, um, for people to kind of explore her, her process. Yeah. Um, we lost Liz last year. Um, she was a very good friend of the library and, um, a supporter of our veterans writing group, which, um, she collaborated on with Christy billings. Um, she was incredibly important to the library and to the work that we do, and so we're really happy to be participating. Yes. Um, in this particular movie

Shannon: 27:04

viewing. Yes. So if you can make it that night, that would be wonderful. If not, look at her writings and books and everything that she's written as well. Yes. And can ask us questions as well. Yeah. So thank you. Um, so signing off. Russell Library appreciates all the support that we received from the community. Thank you for listening, and please visit our LE website to learn more about events and resources. Middletown Strong is now available on Apple Podcasts. Spotify and many of the places you listen to podcasts, please subscribe and feel free to share what you learn with others. Russell Library has too many excited things going on to keep them quiet. Talk to you next time.

Kim: 27:44

Talk to you next time. Bye. Thanks. Bye bye.