Lititz Library’s 20th Anniversary Celebration

With all the new books perpetually coming out, it’s easy to get caught up in the present. Do you ever take time to stop and ponder where your favorite authors were 20 years ago, and how they have progressed over time? As the 20th Anniversary of the Lititz Public Library approaches, it’s fun to contemplate what books were published in 1999, some of which you may have overlooked or perhaps would like to revisit.

Isaac's Storm : A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History“Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History” by Erik Larson
The Great Storm of 1900 was a tragic disaster and a mystery to meteorologist Isaac Cline who didn’t understand the magnitude of the storm that was about to befall Galveston.

Isaac’s Storm” won the Louis J. Battan Author’s Award and happens to be his wife’s personal favorite out of the seven books he has written, according to his website.

“The Quilter’s Apprentice” by Jennifer Chiaverini
Recently moved to Pennsylvania and unemployed, Sarah agrees to assist a solitary master quilter who is putting her estate up for sale. In return, Sarah learns about the art of quilting, and the two build a friendship along the way.

This is not only Chiaverini’s debut novel, but it is also the first in her popular Elm Creek Quilts series, currenty 20 books long. Her latest in the series will be coming out in October 2019.

“The Cat Who Robbed a Bank” by Lilian Jackson Braun
Jim Qwilleran’s excitement for the Highland Games is dampened when crime starts to flourish in his town. A jewelry dealer is murdered, two people go missing, and there is a disturbance involving a bookmobile, not to mention the feline antics that also ensue.

By the time Braun passed away in 2011, she had achieved an impressive 29 books in her “Cat Who” series featuring Qwilleran and his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. She started off strong with her first three books, but it wasn’t until a surprising 18 years later that she published her fourth book in the series. “The Cat Who Robbed a Bank” is book #22.

Stardust“Stardust” by Neil Gaiman
A young man goes on a quest to catch a falling star to win a less-than-affectionate girl’s heart in this fairy tale.

“Stardust” was only the second novel Gaiman had written alone. He has had a varied and prolific career since then, spanning from novels and graphic novels to plays, short story collections, nonfiction, screenplays, and even picture books.

“A Walk to Remember” by Nicholas Sparks
A teen boy’s life is turned around in 1958 when he is paired up with an unlikely partner at a school dance, a quiet daughter of a minister who devotes her time to helping others.

“A Walk to Remember” was only Sparks’s fourth book. And his first book, “Wokini”, written with Billy Mills, was nonfiction—quite a difference from the books he is known for today. To date, he has written twenty novels.

“Ahab’s Wife; or, The Star Gazer” by Sena Jeter Naslund
Naslund builds on “Moby-Dick” through the perspective of Una Spenser and her tumultuous life, including a childhood of abuse, time spent at sea in disguise, and multiple marriages, sometimes to madmen, one of them being the infamous Captain Ahab.

Altogether, Naslund has written seven novels and two collections of short stories. She has received many awards and distictions over the years for her writing; she is also the editor and founder of The Louisville Review.

An Ocean Apart“An Ocean Apart” by Robin Pilcher
Troubles with a family business causes a grieving man to leave Scotland for America, where he is forced to function again and finds healing through gardening and befriending a new family.

“An Ocean Apart” was Pilcher’s first novel (son of the prolific writer Rosamunde Pilcher); he has written 5 novels altogether.

“Hush Money” by Robert B. Parker
Spenser gets tangled in two cases at once—a deadly predicament steeped in university politics and a favor gone sour in which a stalkee turns stalker.

Parker’s longest running series, consisting of 40 books, gave rise to the television series “Spenser.” All of his series, including the Spenser and Jesse Stone books, have continued to be written by other authors since his passing in 2010.

June 5, 2019