"The Complete Bookshop"
Mon, Wed, Thur, Sat – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tues & Fri – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sun – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
340-774-4937
E-mail: [email protected]
BOOK PICKS
Here is where you will find what's new at St. Thomas's well known Dockside Bookshop at Havensight Mall. Every week you will find new titles to peruse. Look for updates of our "picks" for fiction and non-fiction.
We will gladly order any books you want. E- mail us at [email protected], or call 340-774-4937.
”Time Gone” by Lynda Wesley McLaughlin, Virgin Islands Art Memoir, $21.99
A recently published picture book, “Time Gone,” gives readers a glimpse into what everyday life was like on St. Thomas back in the 1950s.
The book’s author and illustrator, Lynda Wesley McLaughlin, was only seven years old when her family moved to St. Thomas in 1953. It would be her home for 42 years, and the experiences of her first years on the island made a lasting impression on her. Reflecting on the way of life at that time, in the community of which she felt so fortunate to be a part, gave her a yearning to preserve it in some way.
A self-taught artist, McLaughlin began painting the St. Thomas of her childhood, depicting the customs, games, and places she remembered so fondly. Working in acrylic on canvas, she rendered scenes of the market on Saturdays, the Carnival parade, and holiday celebrations, capturing the flavor of a different time on a much smaller island. During the creative process, she was in touch with many old island friends who provided photos and post-cards from the 1950s for reference. The effort resulted in fourteen paintings, done in a folk art style. Giving in to an irresistible whimsy, some prominent figures in the community are subtly incorporated into many of the scenes.
The idea of a book evolved when the artist found herself waxing poetic about life on St. Thomas when the collection was featured in an exhibit at an art gallery in New London, CT, where McLaughlin now resides. In describing what life was like on the island, and responding to the many enthusiastic questions the paintings prompted, the artist realized a book would be the perfect vehicle to tie it all together, and began writing Time Gone. The narrative is simple, intended to be the voice of a small child hoping to draw the reader back to a time she hopes will not be forgotten. “Time Gone” has been described as a “keepsake book,” a treasure for those who love to reminisce, a delight to those who would embrace the past.
”Darkness of the Night” by Jannelle Benjamin, AuthorHouse, Virgin Islands Literature, pp. 40, $10.49
Jannelle Benjamin is a Charlotte Amalie High School student who started writing stories around the age of 12. This is her first published work.
Living the rich life is almost everyone’s dream, especially the shopping and buying anything you want–along as your parents give you the money for it–as well as going to parties or throwing them. These are the things every child would like to do–well, some people. For Steve Brooke, all that is going to be gone in a second. Their parents gave them everything they wanted as long as they did well in school and got good grades–meaning no Cs, only As and Bs. If they got a C, that meant they were grounded.
Their father, Dave Brooke, decides that he wants to show his children how hard it is to get this perfect life they seem to have. He doesn’t want his children to become spoiled brats. He only wants them to be tough and know how hard it is in the world today. That means going back to where he used to live in Dallas, where it was tough growing up amidst the gangs and everyday life.
INCLUDING:
CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS
EXERCISE, BUSINESS, HISTORY,
NONFICTION, LITERATURE, FICTION,
& LOTS MORE.
"The Complete Bookshop"
Mon, Wed, Thur, Sat – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tues & Fri – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sun – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
340-774-4937
E-mail: [email protected]