Long Island Reads 2015 - "One Island, One Book"

For 2015, the Long Island Reads Committee selected The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman.

Mesmerizing and illuminating, Long Island-raised Alice Hoffman’s The Museum of Extraordinary Things is the story of an electric and impassioned love between two vastly different souls in New York during the volatile first decades of the 20th century. With its colorful crowds of bootleggers, heiresses, thugs, and idealists, New York itself becomes a riveting character as Hoffman weaves her trademark magic and masterful storytelling to unite her characters in a sizzling, tender, and moving story of self-discovery in tumultuous times. The book incorporates numerous real-life events, including the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the Dreamland fire at Coney Island, and will appeal to those with an interest in New York City history. It features compelling descriptions of immigrant life on the Lower East Side, upper Manhattan in its wilderness days, and the development of “freak shows” and amusements at Coney Island.

-longislandreads.wordpress.com

This book will be discussed at our From Cover to Cover book discussion group on Wednesday, April 15 at 11:30 am. Copies of the book are available for pickup at the Circulation Desk.

Author Alice Hoffman will be speaking on Sunday, April 19 from 2-4 pm at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library about The Museum of Extraordinary Things.