Library Notes

Christmas is just around the corner so let me wish you a very Merry Christmas! The library will be closing at 3 p.m. Christmas Eve and closed all day Christmas.

To get you into the holiday mood (if you aren’t already), here are some new books you might want to check out next time you are in.

Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber. Lucie and Aren meet after bumping into each other in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. They immediately hit it off : Lucie is a burgeoning chef and Aren is a respected food critic. But just as quickly as they’re brought together, a twist of fate tears them apart, with no way to reconnect. A year later, Lucie is the chef of an acclaimed new restaurant and Aren is a successful columnist for a major New York newspaper. For all the time that’s passed, the two have not forgotten their one serendipitous evening—and neither have Angels Shirley, Goodness, Mercy, and Will. To reunite the young couple, the angels cook up a brilliant plan: mix true love, a second chance, and a generous sprinkle of mischief to create a Christmas miracle.

Christmas in Cornwell by Marcia Willett.   A new year dawns, and everything seems to be falling into place for Dossie. Her son Clem and his adorable five-year-old son Jakey have moved to Cornwall to be closer to her. She runs her own successful catering business. All she needs now is some better  luck in her romantic life. Complementing Dossie’s rather unconventional family set-up is the wonderfully eccentric Janna: a warm-hearted, generous woman who looks after the quirky nuns of the local convent  –  and little Jakey. With humour, kindness and the support of friendship, they form a tight bond.
But the Sisters’ life as they know it is thrown into doubt when an avaricious property developer starts prowling around their beautiful, historic home.

Merry Christmas: Alex Cross by James Patterson. It's Christmas Eve and Detective Alex Cross has been called out to catch someone who's robbing his church's poor box. That mission behind him, Alex returns home to celebrate with Bree, Nana, and his children. The tree decorating is barely underway before his phone rings again--a horrific hostage situation is quickly spiraling out of control. Away from his own family on the most precious of days, Alex calls upon every ounce of his training, creativity, and daring to save another family. Alex risks everything--and he may not make it back alive on this most sacred of family days.

Library Notes - Week of December 3

The latest New York Times Book Review had a list of the 100 notable books of 2012.  I am pleased to say we have a good percentage of them.  Here are a few of from that list.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper looks out over the waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier. A roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives.

Blasphemy by Sherman Alexie. Included here are some of Alexie’s most esteemed tales, including “What You Pawn I Will Redeem," “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” “The Toughest Indian in the World,” and “War Dances.” Alexie’s new stories are fresh and quintessential—about donkey basketball leagues, lethal wind turbines, the reservation, marriage, and all species of contemporary American warriors. An indispensable collection of new and classic stories.    

The Round House by Louis Erdrich. One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared. While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own.

NW by Zadie Smith. Zadie Smith’s new novel follows four Londoners - Leah, Natalie, Felix and Nathan – as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their London is a complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to a dead end.

Library Notes for the Week of July 30th

Our Summer Reading Program is almost over.  I can hardly wait to see who wins the bike!!  With that done, we will start planning some computer classes for our adult patrons.  Let us know if you are interested or just look for information at the library and sign up.

When you are in, you might want to check out one of these books from our new book shelves.

Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time? by Joel Rosenberg.  In the midst of financial turmoil, political uncertainty, declining morality, the constant threat of natural disasters, and myriad other daunting challenges, many wonder what the future holds for this nation. Will history’s greatest democracy stage a miraculous comeback, returning to the forefront of the world’s economic and spiritual stage? Can America’s religious past be repeated today with a third Great Awakening? Or will the rise of China, Russia, and other nations, coupled with the US’s internal struggles, send her into a decline?

Love, Life and Elephants by Daphne Sheldrick.  Daphne Sheldrick, whose family arrived in Africa from Scotland in the 1820s, is the first person ever to have successfully hand-reared newborn elephants. Her deep empathy and understanding, her years of observing Kenya’s rich variety of wildlife, and her pioneering work in perfecting the right husbandry and milk formula have saved countless elephants, rhinos, and other baby animals from certain death. In this heartwarming and poignant memoir, Daphne shares her amazing relationships with a host of orphans.

Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright. Before Albright turned twelve, her life was shaken by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia—the country where she was born—the Battle of Britain, the near total destruction of European Jewry, the Allied victory in World War II, the rise of communism, and the onset of the Cold War. Albright's experiences, and those of her family, provide a lens through which to view the most tumultuous dozen years in modern history.

Library Notes for the Week of July 23rd

Summer Reading activities are continuing for a few more weeks.   

As we finish up our Summer Reader activities for this year don’t forget the Reptile Man is our last program, Thursday, August 2^nd at 6 p.m.  He will be performing outdoors in the field next to the old hardware store on the corner of 6^th and Morris (or inside if the weather turns ugly).  Join us for the first library activity on our new property!  

 Be sure your child has his reading record minutes in on Friday, July 27^th .  He must have 700 minutes to get his name in the drawing for the countywide bike drawing; and 800 minutes if he wants to get in on our bike drawing.

When you come to report those minutes, check out one of our new books.  Here are a few you might be interested in.

Never Tell by Alafair Burke.  Sixteen-year-old Julia Whitmire appeared to have everything: a famous father, a luxurious town house, a spot at an elite prep school. When she is found dead, a handwritten suicide note left on her bed, her parents insist that their daughter would never take her own life. Seems Julia's enviable world was more complicated. Abuse of prescription antidepressants and ADHD medication ran rampant among students; an unlabeled bottle of pills in Julia's purse suggests she had succumbed to the trend. And a search of Julia's computer reveals that she was engaged in a dangerous game of cyberbullying.

The Demands by Mark Billingham. Helen Weeks enters her local news agent's shop to buy her customary candy bar and ends up, along with another customer, as a hostage to the proprietor, who then demands that Detective Thorne find the murderer of his son. Some months before, Thorne had been the arresting officer when the boy surrendered for killing another lad in self-defense. While in prison, he was attacked and taken to the hospital where he was later found dead of an overdose of drugs. Forced to reopen the case and "find the truth," Thorne fights against time and Helen's predicament.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  It is Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—Nick parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?  As the cops close in, every couple in town is wondering how well they know the one that they love. Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is his wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Library Notes for the Week of July 2nd

We had lots of fun at the Mad Hatter Tea Party, Sunday, June 24^th.  Several people wanted the instructions for KJ’s peanut butter dessert.  Stop by the library and pick up a copy of the recipe.  We are looking forward to making a mosaic trivet on the 10^th of July and Andy Locke, the ventriloquist, will be here on the 12^th.  You won’t want to miss either of those Summer Reading Program events. Both will be a 10 a.m. at the library.

When you stop by the library, check our new books.  Here are some you might be interested in checking out. 

Blood Line by James Rollins.  Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president. Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency.  

Mission to Paris by Alan Furst.  It is the late summer of 1938, Europe is about to explode, the Hollywood film star Fredric Stahl is on his way to Paris to make a movie for Paramount France. The Nazis know he’s coming—a secret bureau within the Reich Foreign Ministry has for years been waging political warfare against France, using bribery, intimidation, and corrupt newspapers to weaken French morale and degrade France’s will to defend herself. For their purposes, Fredric Stahl is a perfect agent of influence, and they attack him. What they don’t know is that Stahl, horrified by the Nazi war on Jews and intellectuals, has become part of an informal spy service being run out of the American embassy in Paris.

Tuesday’s Child by Fern Michaels.  On the eve of her retirement, Georgia attorney Mikala Aulani is eagerly anticipating a happy future with her partner, Ben.  When Adam Star turns up at her office, confessing to the long-ago murder of his wife, Kala must return to a notorious case that has never stopped haunting her. On the verge of his death, Adam exonerates Sophie and also leaves her a huge fortune in atonement. Released from prison, Sophie retreats to Kala's house. Kala is determined to help her client make her way back into the world. Yet for both, there are still revelations in store - about the nature of redemption, the strange workings of fate, and the power of forgiveness.

Library Notes for the Week of June 18

The Summer Reading Program is underway.  June 21^st we decorate a pillowcase, June 24^th is the Mad Hatter Tea Party, June 26^th we make dream catchers and on the 29th Jason Quick, a one armed juggler will entertain us. Come join us.

When you stop by the library, check out one of these new books.

Summer Breeze by Nancy Thayer.  Morgan O’Keefe feels trapped, she misses the thrill of working with her colleagues in the lab. She’s restless and in dire need of a change.
Natalie Reynolds takes up her aunt’s offer to move to the Berkshires and house-sit her fabulous lakeside house for a year. When her mother breaks her leg, Bella Barnaby quits her job in Austin and returns home to help out her large, boisterous family. Among her new duties: manning the counter at the family business, Barnaby’s Barn, an outdated shop sorely in need of a makeover. Summer on Dragonfly Lake is ripe for romance, temptation, and self-discovery as the lives of these three women unexpectedly intertwine.

Mortal by Ted Dekker.  Nine years have gone by since an unlikely hero named Rom Sebastian first discovered a secret and consumed an ancient potion of blood to bring himself back to life in Forbidden. Surviving against impossible odds, Rom has gathered a secret faction of followers who have also taken the blood-the first Mortals in a world that is dead. But The Order has raised an elite army to hunt and crush the living. Division and betrayal threaten to destroy the Mortals from within. The final surviving hope for humanity teeters on the brink of annihilation and no one knows the path to survival.

The Lower River by Paul Theroux.  Ellis Hock never believed that he would return to Africa. He runs an old-fashioned menswear store in a small town in Massachusetts but still dreams of the four years he spent in Malawi with the Peace Corps, cut short when he had to return to take over the family business. When his wife leaves him, he realizes that there is one place for him to go: back to his village on the remote Lower River. Arriving at the village, he finds the school he built is a ruin, the church and clinic are gone, and poverty and apathy have set in among the people. They remember him, the White Man with no fear of snakes. But is his new life an escape or a trap?

Library Notes for the Week of May 28th

All you moms with little girls, mark your calendar. We will be holding our 4th annual tea party, Sunday, June 24 at 1:00 in the library. Dress up, have tea in china cups, and enjoy deserts fit for a princess. Look for more information in the near future.

When you stop by the library, check out one of these new books.


11th Hour by James Patterson. Lindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer--even her closest friends.


Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris. Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on there were things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see—like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet—Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard—especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.


What Doesn’t Kill You by Iris Johansen. Having lived life in the shadows, Catherine is aware of the wobbly moral compass of her existence and even more aware of just how expendable she is to those she deals with. When her old friend Hu Chang creates something so deadly, and completely untraceable, the chase is on to be the first to get it. With rogue operative John Gallo also on the hunt, Catherine finds herself pitted against a group so villainous and a man so evil that she may not survive the quest to protect those she cares about.

Library Notes Week March 26

If you have a teen at your house or know one remind them of the Teen Scavenger Hunt we are hosting, Thurs., April 5th from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Middle school and high school students need to come to the library at 3:00, bring a digital camera (or phone with camera) and will be sent out to find library critters that have escaped to various businesses around town. Snap a picture – they are too shy to be captured any other way – and report back to the library with proof of where the critters are hiding out. Prizes will be awarded to the one who finds them in the fastest time. (A very special thank you to the merchants who are participating by hosting a critter in their shop)

We love getting new books. Here are a few you might be interested in reading.

No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie. When a K9 search-and-rescue team discovers a woman's body tangled up with debris in the river, Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation fraught with complications. The victim, Rebecca Meredith, was a talented but difficult woman with many admirers—and just as many enemies. An Olympic contender on the verge of a controversial comeback, she was also a high-ranking detective with the Met—a fact that raises a host of political and ethical issues in an already sensitive case.

Chasing Midnight by Randy Wayne White. At a reception hosted by a notorious Russian black marketeer, Doc Ford uses darkness, and his friend Tomlinson, as cover to get an underwater look at the billionaire's yacht. By the time Ford surfaces, everything has changed. Environmental extremists have taken control of the island. Or are they thugs hired by the Russian's competitors? Whatever the motive, they have herded everyone together and threatened to kill one hostage every hour until midnight unless their demands are met-at which point they will just blow everybody up.

The Thief by Clive Cussler. On the ocean liner Mauretania, two European scientists with a new invention are barely rescued from abduction by the Van Dorn Detective Agency's chief investigator, Isaac Bell. Unfortunately, they are not so lucky the second time. The thugs attack again-and this time one of the scientists dies. What are they holding that is so precious? Only something that will revolutionize business and popular culture-and perhaps something more. For war clouds are looming, and a ruthless espionage agent has spotted a priceless opportunity to give the Germans an edge. It is up to Isaac Bell to figure out who he is, what he is up to, and stop him.

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.