Library Notes Week of Feb. 27

Do you know someone with eye sight problems? People tend to forget the Talking Book Library is available. They provide a free public library service which includes easy access to the informational and recreational reading materials needed by individuals in the State of Washington who are unable to read standard print material. The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library houses a varied collection of books and magazines on cassette and digital cartridge. A Digital Talking Book Machine and special cassette machine are needed to play these materials and is provided free of charge to registered users. Ask us how to qualify for this wonderful service.

Next time you come in, take a look at all the new books we have. Here are a few you might be interested in checking out.

Ice Balloon by Alec Wilkinson. Alec Wilkinson brings us the story of S. A. Andrée, the visionary Swedish aeronaut who, in 1897, during the great age of Arctic endeavor, left to discover the North Pole by flying to it in a hydrogen balloon. Called by a British military officer “the most original and remarkable attempt ever made in Arctic exploration,” Andrée’s expedition was followed by nearly the entire world, and it made him an international legend.

Pinched by Don Peck. Don Peck's Pinched keenly observes how the recession has changed the places we live, the work we do, and even who we are--and details the transformations that are yet to come. Every class and every generation will be affected: newly minted college graduates, blue-collar men, affluent professionals, exurban families, elite financiers, middle-class retirees. The crash has shifted the course of the economy. In its aftermath, the middle class is shrinking faster, wealth is becoming more concentrated, twenty-somethings are sinking, and working-class families and communities are changing in unsavory ways.

Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean. It begins on a battlefield in France during World War I, when a young American soldier, Lee Duncan, discovered a newborn German shepherd in the ruins of a bombed-out dog kennel. To Duncan, who came of age in an orphanage, the dog’s survival was a miracle. He saw something in Rin Tin Tin that he felt compelled to share with the world. Duncan brought Rinty home to California, where the dog’s athleticism and acting ability drew the attention of Warner Bros. Over the next ten years, Rinty starred in twenty-three blockbuster silent films that saved the studio from bankruptcy and made him the most famous dog in the world.

Library Notes Week February 8

It is that time of year again! We have the major federal tax forms and instruction booklets at the library for you pick up. If you don’t find what you need, ask about for the reproducible forms. We can also help you access the IRS website on our public computers for any forms we don’t have. Although we cannot give you tax advice, we are happy to help you locate the information you need to file your taxes.

Next time you come in, take a look at all the new books we have. Here are a few you might be interested in checking out.

Tuesday Night Miracles by Kris Radish. Dr. Olivia Bayer suspects she’ll need a miracle to help the four women in her anger management class. Grace, a single working mother, can barely find a moment’s rest. Jane, a high-profile real estate agent, is struggling in the recession. Kit, in her fifties, has had it with her taunting older brothers. And Leah, a young mother of two, is starting over after ending a troubled relationship. All have reached a crossroads, and Dr. Bayer has an unconventional plan to steer them on the right track. As the class gets taken everywhere from a bowling alley to a shooting range, the women’s Tuesday meetings transform from tense, reluctant gatherings into richly rewarding experiments in female bonding.

The Yoga Club by Cooper Lawrence. Chatting it up with bendy WASPs is the last thing on Coco Guthrie’s mind during her 8:30 a.m. yoga class. Having made her fortune as the world-renowned inventor of Butt-B-Gone derriere cream, Coco still doesn’t feel like she belongs among the upper class— until she attends the swankiest Halloween soiree in Greenwich, Connecticut, where three of her fellow morning yogis shared her brilliant idea to appear as Sarah Palin. Soon it’s clear that a love of stretching isn’t all this accidental sorority have in common.

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich. Kate Appleton needs a job. Her husband has left her, she’s been fired from her position as a magazine editor, and the only place she wants to go is to her parents’ summer house, The Nutshell. Kate’s plan is to turn The Nutshell into a Bed and Breakfast. Problem is, she needs cash. Matt Culhane wants Kate to spy on his brewery employees. Someone has been sabotaging his company, and Kate is just new enough in town that she can snoop around for him. If Kate finds the culprit, Matt will pay her a $20,000 bonus. Needless to say, Kate is highly motivated. But several problems present themselves. Kate despises beer. No one seems to trust her. And she is falling hard for her boss.

Library Notes Week January 25

I hope you made it safely through the snow storm last week. We were closed for several days due to the weather. Just a reminder that the library policy states if the La Conner Schools close because of the weather we also close. We fudged a bit by opening Thursday and Friday, since we were able to get some of the staff to the library safely. We don’t want anyone getting hurt trying to return a library book. Let’s hope that was the worst of our Winter weather.

We got a new batch of books in. Maybe you would be interested in checking one out.

77 Shadow Street by Dean R. Koontz. The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon’s dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. But now shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton’s past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again.

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo. Two young women are found murdered in Oslo, both drowned in their own blood. The crime scenes offer no coherent clues, the police investigation is stalled, and the one man who might be able to help doesn’t want to be found. Traumatized by his last case, Inspector Harry Hole has lost himself in the squalor of Hong Kong’s opium dens. Yet when he is compelled, at last, to return to Norway—his father is dying—Harry’s buried instincts begin to take over. After a female MP is discovered brutally murdered, nothing can keep him from the investigation.

Soft Target by Stephen Hunter. Black Friday America’s largest shopping mall Suburban Minneapolis 3:00 pm. Ten thousand people jam the aisles, the corridors, the elevators, and the escalators of America, the Mall—a giant Rubik’s Cube of a structure with its own amusement park located in the spacious center atrium. Of those people, nine thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight have come to shop. The other twelve have come to kill.

Library Notes Week of Nov. 14

The library is part of one of the Recovery Grants you may have heard of a year or so ago. The grant we are involved in is for computer training labs. Because of the grant, we have been able to upgrade the software on our laptops and purchase special equipment so we can access the Internet for all the laptops (as long as there is cell service). This makes it possible to take our lab anywhere for classes. We are looking forward to offering more computer classes. If you are interested in basic computer training—or any computer training we may not have offered in the past—give us a call at 466-3352.

The reviews this week are from KJ Cooper, our Children’s Specialist. She has given us the plots of three newer Young Adult titles.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Imagine a world where there is a cure for love (amor deliria nervosa) which you must take upon turning eighteen. No more sweaty palms, difficulty focusing, loss of appetite or obsessive thoughts. Lena Haloway believes the government regulation is justified since her mother took her own life over love. But then she meets Alex --before she turns eighteen.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. A plane full of beauty pageant contestants goes down crashes on a small tropical island. The first few days after the crash, the Texan contestant insisted they continue practicing interview questions and dance routines. It soon becomes obvious that building shelter, finding food and survival are much higher priorities. Plus, larger threats exist on the island in the form of an American mega-corporation involved with shady activities and a secret arms deal between a human-rights violating dictator and presidential wannabe, Ladybird Hope. As the girls learn what’s really going on, they learn to define themselves beyond beauty pageants.

Tiger’s Quest by Colleen Houck. This second book of a trilogy picks up right where Tiger’s Curse leaves off. Kelsey Hayes has returned from India where she risked her life to rescue a handsome prince from a terrible curse. Back home in Oregon, she’s determined to move on, but Ren (the prince) is not willing to let her walk away from him and the second part of the curse. All of that is complicated by the fact that she has met LI, an ordinary fellow who could offer her an unremarkable life.

Library Notes Week of Nov. 1

On Saturday, November 12, more than 20,000 people in communities across the United States will come together in the spirit of play for American Library Assoc.’s fourth annual National Gaming Day @ your library. Sponsored by Family and Party Games, the event aims to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games. Drop into the La Conner Regional Library between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to be a part of this fun day.

After playing a game with a child or friend, you might want to check out one of these new books.

Goddess of Vengeance by Jackie Collins. Lucky runs a high profile casino and hotel complex, The Keys in Vegas. Lennie, her movie star husband, is still writing and directing successful independent movies, while Max, her stubborn and gorgeous teenage daughter is about to celebrate her 18th birthday, and her son, Bobby, owns a string of hot clubs. Lucky has everything. Family. Love. Life. And everything is exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her one way or the other.

The Vault by Ruth Rendell. In the stunning climax to Rendell’s classic A Sight for Sore Eyes, three bodies—two dead, one living—are entombed in an underground chamber beneath a picturesque London house. Twelve years later, when a manhole cover is pulled back, the house’s new owner makes a grisly discovery. Only now, the number of bodies is four. How did somebody else end up in the chamber? And who knew of its existence?

Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn. Will Cochrane, the CIA’s and MI6’s most prized asset and deadliest weapon, has known little outside this world since childhood. And he’s never been outplayed. So far…Will’s controllers task him with finding and neutralizing one of today’s most wanted terrorist masterminds, a man believed to be an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Intending to use someone from the man’s past to flush him out of the shadows, Will believes he has the perfect plan, but he soon discovers, in a frantic chase from the capitals of Europe to New York City, that his adversary has more surprises in store and is much more treacherous than anyone he has ever faced—and survived—up to now.

Library Notes Week of August 22

If your child participated in the Summer Reading Program they may have a free book waiting for them. They need to have read and reported 800 minutes to earn a book. Stop in soon for the best selection.

When you stop into the library, take a look at our new books. Here are a few you might want to check out.

The Story of Charlotte’s Web by Michael Sims. As he was composing what was to become his most popular book, E. B. White was obeying that old maxim: "Write what you know." Helpless pigs, silly geese, clever spiders, greedy rats-White knew all of these characters in the barns and stables where he spent his favorite hours. Painfully shy his entire life, White once wrote of himself, "this boy felt for animals a kinship he never felt for people."

50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants by Ruth Rogers Clausen and Alan Detrick. Clausen and Detrick make keeping deer away as simple as choosing the appropriate plant. Instead of the typical barriers and fencing, they have chosen the 50 most beautiful (and least palatable) annuals, bulbs, ferns, grasses, herbs, perennials, and shrubs. Whether it’s the charming snow crocuses that bloom each spring or the vibrant, long-blooming Texas Sage, these 50 plants provide gardeners a chance to design a deer-proof garden without sacrificing style.

The Mathematics of Life by Ian Stewart. Ian Stewart provides a fascinating overview of the vital but little-recognized role mathematics has played in pulling back the curtain on the hidden complexities of the natural world--and how its contribution will be even more vital in the years ahead. In his characteristically clear and entertaining fashion, Stewart explains how mathematicians and biologists have come to work together on some of the most difficult scientific problems that the human race has ever tackled.

Library Notes Week of August 8

I am happy to announce you can again download audio books. Look for the OneClickDigital banner on our webpage and click on it to go the site. You will have to create a new account regardless of whether you had one with NetLibraries. When you sign up it will ask for an access code which you will need to call us to get or we can help you sign up in the library. The great news is it is 100% iPod compatible and looks like it is much easier to use.

When you stop into the library, take a look at our new books. Here are a few you might want to check out.

Monument to Murder by Margaret Truman. Times are tough in Savannah for former cop and current PI Robert Brixton, so when he agrees to take on a 20 year-old murder case, he figures he’s got nothing to lose. It’s not long before the trail leads him deep into the corrupt underbelly of Savannah’s power elite, and right into the lap of a secret government organization that’s been offing “troublesome” politicians for decades. The cold case heats up when he joins forces with former attorneys Mackensie and Annabel Lee Smith to investigate the organization and the murders they committed in the name of patriotism.

Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner. Jules Strauss is a Princeton senior with a full scholarship, acquaintances instead of friends, and a family she’s ashamed to invite to Parents’ Weekend. With the income she’ll receive from donating her “pedigree” eggs, she believes she can save her father from addiction. Annie Barrow married her high school sweetheart. After years of staying at home and struggling to support four people on her husband’s salary, she thinks she’s found a way to bring in some extra cash. India Bishop, has changed everything about herself: her name, her face, her past. In New York City, she falls for a wealthy older man, Marcus Croft, and decides a baby will ensure a happy ending. When her attempts at pregnancy fail, she turns to technology, and Annie and Jules, to help make her dreams come true. But each of their plans is thrown into disarray when Marcus’ daughter becomes convinced that his new wife is not what she seems…

Overbite by Meg Cabot. Meena Harper has a special gift, but it’s only now that anyone’s ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard—a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican—has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena’s ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead. Meena’s sworn off vampires for good . . . at least until she can prove her theory that just because they’ve lost their souls doesn’t mean demons have lost the ability to love. Meena knows convincing her co-workers—including her partner, Über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf—that vampires can be redeemed won’t be easy . . . especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena’s friends and family as well.