Library Notes for the week of July 30

Congratulations to Hailey!! She was the lucky winner of the Summer Reading Program Skagit Countywide prize. Skagit Cycle Center in Burlington donated the bike.

Where has the summer gone? I cannot believe it is August already. August is Cataract Awareness Month as well as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. If you know someone with vision problems I hope you encourage them to use our large print books or books on tape. We can also direct people to the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library in Seattle. They supply books and magazines in a variety of formats for the visually impaired. The service is free to those who qualify.

If you stop into the library be sure to check the new book shelf. Here are a few of our newest titles:

The Perfect Summer by Juliet Nicolson. Juliet Nicolson chronicles the summer of 1911, when the rich partied, the industrial strikes almost brought the country to a standstill, and WWI loomed on the horizon. Drawing on a wide variety of primary sources—from Churchill's memoirs to the tell-all What the Butler Winked At—journalist Nicolson serves up a delightfully gossipy yet substantial slice of social history.

Dog Days by Jon Katz. Bedlam Farm, a cross between a working and a hobby farm, is the home of the animals that are his inspiration in this book. Rose, the border collie, who can be relied on for all kinds of work; the border collie, Izzy, who comes from a troubled past; and the Labradors Clem, who loves everyone but needs one special person, and gentle Pearl, who knows instinctively what everyone needs.

Rumspringa: To Be Or Not To Be Amish by Tom Sachtman. A teenage Amish girl sits in her buggy, one hand dangling a cigarette while the other holds a cellphone in which she is loudly chatting away. This girl, like many Amish teens 16 and older, is in a period called rumspringa, when the strict rules of community life are temporarily lifted while an adolescent chooses whether to be baptized into the church and abide fully by its laws.

Library Notes for the week of July 23

Saturday, July 21st the library celebrated the release of the last Harry Potter book with Master Payne and his illusions. We also gave away a copy of the Harry Potter title to one lucky audience member. Brayden Howard was the lucky winner!

Some exiting news at the library! We received a grant through the Washington State Library Gates Staying Connected Project to replace two of our aging public computers. If you use our public computers you know they are getting hard use and are in need of replacement. This grant helps us stretch our technology budget a bit further. The new computers should be up and running soon.

Kids, don’t forget the big countywide celebration for the end of our Summer Reading Program. Thursday, July 26^th at either 10:30 a.m. or 6:30 p.m. Brothers from Different Mothers will perform at the new Burlington library. You will not want to miss this!!

We are getting lots of new books. Why not check out one of these.

Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinkski. A young American freelance writer accompanies his girlfriend to Thailand, where, from a person he'd known before, he is offered a story to pursue. It seems a woman anthropologist had been imprisoned in Thailand for murder and subsequently killed herself during her incarceration.

Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge. Alice Kessler, the married mother of two sons, is living on Grays Island, in the Pacific Northwest, when her eight-year-old son is run over while riding his bike. Alice is convinced the driver, Owen White, was drunk—though her husband is not--neither is the court system. So, on the day Alice loses her wrongful death lawsuit, she runs Owen down in the courthouse parking lot, crippling but not killing him. Alice serves nine years and returns to the island near-broke and hoping to reunite with her surviving son now 16.

Still Life with Elephant by Judy Reene Singer. When social worker turned horse trainer Cornelia "Neelie" Sterling finds out her vet husband, Matt, is cheating on her, she throws him out, but can't bear to make it legal. Faced with losing her house and barn, Neelie jumps aboard Matt's mission to Zimbabwe to rescue two wounded elephants, thinking the transatlantic journey will convince him to recommit to the marriage.

Library Notes week of July 16

Wednesday, July 18th the library had a crowd of 50 people for a special Summer Reading program: The Magic of Sterling Dietz.

With only 2 years of experience in the art of magic and illusion, Dietz is taking the magic world by storm. He took 2nd in the world at the world magic Seminar in Las Vegas in Feb. and 1st place teen stage at the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention in Reno just 3 weeks ago. Not only that, he is on the honor roll at Lynden High School, where he is a student. What a treat.

If you are in the library be sure to check out our new books. Here are a few of the latest titles.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. The book opens on the anxious Dorset Coast wedding suite dinner of Edward Mayhew and the former Florence Ponting, married in the summer of 1963; the looming dramatic crisis is the marriage's impending consummation, or lack of it. Their fears about sex and their inability to discuss them form the story's center.

Only the Cat Knows by Marian Babson. The feline-themed cozy takes readers to a remote castle where a wealthy business tycoon, Everett Oversall, lives surrounded by female employees. One of them, Vanessa, takes a fall and lapses into a coma. Vanessa's twin brother, Vance, who happens to work as a female impersonator, is sure that someone tried to kill his sister, so he dons her clothes, fakes amnesia and infiltrates the compound.

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple. Joe Cashin, a city homicide cop recovering from an injury, returns to the quiet coastal area of South Australia where he grew up. There he investigates the beating death of elderly millionaire Charles Bourgoyne. After three aboriginal teens try to sell Bourgoyne's missing watch, the cops ambush the boys, killing two. When the department closes the case, Joe decides to find the truth on his own.

Library Notes

5 kids ages 7 - 11 had a great time doing the Library Scavenger Hunt on Friday, July 6th. They searched the library for answers to questions like who illustrated the Velveteen Rabbit and who created Sherlock Holmes. Kaitlyn was the winner with the most correct answers. She received this great pirate book. The parents learned as much as the children did about how to use the library.

Independence Day is a time that makes us remember our historical past. If you enjoy history, you may enjoy some of these new titles that shed light on parts of the history of the United States. Check one out next time you are in the library.

Fallen Founder by Nancy Isenberg. This biography by Isenberg argues that Burr was the real thing, a founder "at the center of nation building" and a "capable leader in New York political circles." Isenberg believes Burr was "the only founder to embrace feminism," the only one who "adhered to the ideal that reason should transcend party differences." Far from being an empty vessel, she says, Burr defended freedom of speech, wanted to expand suffrage and was a proponent of equal rights.

Presidential Courage by Michael Beschloss. Using new sources and providing interesting perspectives, Beschloss examines a variety of actions and decisions taken by presidents under great stress. Some of the more interesting episodes examined here include Washington's decision to fight for ratification of the unpopular Jay's Treaty with Britain, Jackson's struggle against the rechartering of the Bank of the United States, and Truman's decision to support the establishment of the state of Israel, despite vociferous opposition from the State Department.

Last Flag Down by John Baldwin. During the Civil War the Confederate ship, the Shenandoah, launched a series of remarkably successful raids on Union shipping. However, cut off from communication with the Southern homeland, the crew was unaware of the surrender of Confederate armies in April 1865. Since the Shenandoah continued raiding, the sailors on board were now pirates. When the officers realized this, they began a heroic effort to find a refuge for themselves and their crew.

Library Notes for the week of July 2

If you missed Allyoop at the library last week, you missed a great program of riddles, songs and stories. You don’t want to miss any of the future programs. Friday, July 6^th is a library scavenger hunt for ages 7-11. July the 11^th we will have the actors of Last Leaf production presenting “The Wolf’s Tale”. You will not want to miss Sterling Dietz, award winning teen magician, from Lynden- he is amazing. He will be performing Wed. July the 18^th. Check out the library window where we will have reminders.

While you are at the library check out one of these new titles:

Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison. In this entertaining novel set in Washington, D.C., three very different women are brought together by a shared passion: shoes. They meet once a week to trade Manolos and Maglis, but soon they rely on each other for much more.

Summer Reading by Hilma Wolitzer. The story of three women whose paths cross during a summer in the Hamptons. Lissy Snyder, an insecure second wife, is uncertain of her place in her husband's heart and feels intimidated by her stepchildren. To help cement her position in Hamptons society, Lissy decides to host a book club for other young socialites and hires an eccentric former English professor, Angela Graves, to lead the group.

The Marriage Game by Fern Michaels. When Samantha Rainford -- newly wed to Douglas Cosmo Rainford III -- returns home from her honeymoon to find divorce papers waiting, she's shocked and heartbroken. Then she discovers that she's not the first to be abandoned -- she's one of four (or maybe more) ex-Mrs. Rainfords -- and decides it's time to put into practice that old truism: Don't get mad, get even.