Library Notes Week of March 17

Some of you may notice activity around the library parking lot. We have a broken pipe under our parking area and digging, we hope, will begin soon to replace it. A side affect is we have no water to the building so you will find our restroom is out of order. We are sorry if this proves to be a problem during your visit. We hope it is resolved soon.

Biographies are always interesting reads. Here are a few of the newest ones to our library.

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin:

At age 10, Steve Martin got a job selling guidebooks at the newly opened Disneyland. In the decade that followed, he worked in Disney's magic shop, print shop, and theater, and developed his own magic/comedy act. By age 20 he was performing a dozen times a week, most often at the Disney rival, Knott's Berry Farm. Obsession is a substitute for talent, he has said, and Steve Martin's focus and daring--his sheer tenacity--are truly stunning.

Diana Ross by J. Randy Tarabarrelli:

There is only one Diana Ross. And this is her story. Drawn from hundreds of interviews conducted over four decades and featuring rare, never-before-published photos, Diana Ross paints an unforgettable picture of an extraordinary and often controversial legend, a woman who has distinguished herself as a Civil Rights trailblazer, a temperamental celebrity, a loving and very present mother, and a consummate entertainer.

Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis by Ed Sikov:

Bette Davis was a force of nature-an idiosyncratic talent who nevertheless defined the words 'movie star' for more than half a century and who created an extraordinary body of work filled with unforgettable performances. In Dark Victory, the noted film critic and biographer Ed Sikov paints the most detailed picture ever delivered of this intelligent, opinionated, and unusual woman.

Library Notes for the week of March 3rd

It was sudden brought to my attention that Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday March 9^th. With the change in daylight and weather you may not be reading as much. I know the garden begins to call about this time each year. Here are a few gardening books to inspire you.

Theme Gardens by Hazel White. A guide to distinctive garden styles with a wealth of ideas for your home landscaping. How to create garden vignettes that capture a look, evoke a mood or take your garden in a whole new direction.

Beautiful Bulbs by Georgeanne Brennan. This book contains simple, easy-to-follow directions for growing lovely flowers from bulbs indoor and out, for every season of the year. Includes tips on when and how to buy, force, plant, naturalize and store bulbs.

Country Living Cottage Gardens by Toby Musgrave. Evoke all the romance of a classic cottage garden with traditional and contemporary plants. Create a cottage garden that’s a haven of peace and tranquility and a place to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Glorious Indoor Gardens by Michele Driscoll Alioto. Explore a wide variety of planting possibilities and garden styles. Alioto focuses on the design, history, and family use of each site he showcases, from a magnificent desert garden in Arizona to a terrarium-filled Soho loft in New York.

Library Notes for the week of February 4

We had such excitement here at the library when First Gentleman Mike came to visit on his literacy tour of the State. Reading is so important and it was nice to see is it valued by the highest levels of our state government as well.

Have you picked up your reading record for the Winter Reading Program? Read three books and get a Literary Latte from The Next Chapter as well as a chance for a Booklover’s Bag of goodies. Maybe one of the following titles will end up on your reading record.

Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky. When she was writing Suite Française in 1940, Némirovsky, who died in Auschwitz in 1942 before turning 40, was also reworking this novel, newly discovered among her papers. In a leisurely narrative, middle-aged narrator Silvio recounts three interlocking stories of love and betrayal over two decades. These secret affairs, he says, can be explained only by fire in the blood, the intense passion that can overtake men and women when they are young, highly sexed and vulnerable.

A Free Life by Ha Jin. Nan Wu, a Chinese graduate student in Boston, drops out after the Tiananmen Square massacre. He would like to abandon his marriage, too, but his sense of duty toward Pingping and their young son is stronger than his desire for passion and the freedom to write poetry. So Nan laboriously progresses from busboy to chef, and purchases a small Chinese restaurant outside Atlanta, Georgia. He and Pingping work hard, live frugally, and strive to understand their baffling new world, including white friends who adopt a Chinese daughter.

The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett. In the fall of 1916, as the U.S. involvement in WWI looms, the Adirondack town of Tamarack Lake houses a public sanitarium and private cure cottages for TB patients. Gossip about roommate changes, cliques and romantic connections dominate relations among the sick—mostly poor European immigrants—when they're not on their porches taking their rest cure. Intrigue increases with the arrival of Leo Marburg, an attractive former chemist who has spent his years in New York slaving away at a sugar refinery, and of Miles Fairchild, a pompous and wealthy resident who decides to start a discussion group, despite his inability to understand many of his fellow patients.

Library Notes for the week of December 31st

Now that Christmas is over it is time for those thank-you notes. Try this on-line site for light-hearted guidelines to help you write thank-you notes. Suggestions include greeting the giver, expressing your gratitude (with tips such as "use the present perfect tense," and "never directly mention money"), discussing uses, mentioning the past and alluding to the future, and signing off. From the Morning News, an online magazine. http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25095

Now maybe the time to catch up on your reading, why not try one of these books from our new bookshelf.

Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley. Easy Rawlins, L.A.'s most reluctant detective, comes home one day to find Easter, the daughter of his friend Christmas Black, left on his doorstep. Easy knows that this could only mean that the ex-marine Black is probably dead, or will be soon. Easter's appearance is only the beginning, as Easy is immersed in a sea of problems.

My Soul to Keep by T. Davis Bunn. An entrepreneur with nothing more than a dream teams up with an actor just out of prison and a has-been scriptwriter. Is their effort truly inspired or doomed from the start?

Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury. Derrick Anderson, a retiring quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, promised his dying son that he would win a Super Bowl for him. His hope may rest on upcoming star Aaron Hill, who is beginning to find the glitz and glamour of life at the top meaningless. To complicate things, there's a young foster child named Cory who believes that Aaron is his dad and is determined to get his point across, and sparks fly (of course) between Aaron and Megan, Cory's foster mother.

Library Notes week of December 17

Looking for something to do with your kids during the Christmas Holiday? We are planning a Family Storytime for Thursday, Dec. 27th at 6 p.m. Stories for kids and parents, prizes and refreshments, come and have a great time.

Maybe you have finished your Christmas shopping and need something to read. Here are a few of the latest titles to hit our new book shelf.

A Spy by Nature by Charles Cumming. Alec Milius is young, smart, and ambitious. He also has a talent for deception. He is working in a dead-end job when a chance encounter leads him to MI6, the elite British Secret Intelligence Service, handing him an opportunity to play center-stage in a dangerous game of espionage.

North River by Pete Hamill. In the dead of winter in the Depression year of 1934, Dr. Delaney knows the cause of death was always life. Delaney is numb from the war and the abandonment of his family. When he saves the life of gangster friend Eddie Corso, Italian hood Frankie Botts is not happy. Delaney can feel the threat to him and his grandson in his bones.

The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel has recently become a mother, but she has an ambiguous relationship with her son's father, Jamie, whose attempts to formalize their connection have been unsuccessful. Their ties are further strained by Jamie's ex-girlfriend, Cat, who not only still harbors strong feelings for him but is Isabel's niece. Isabel must also deal with petty academic politics aimed at depriving her of her position as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics.

Library Notes for the week of December 10th

We have been evaluating our magazine collection lately. As you are aware we have a very small collection of current magazines we subscribe. We have added a couple we hope will be popular. MasterGardener is a magazine published quarterly by the Washington State Fruit Commission. It covers gardening information for both sides of the state, has great pictures, and very informative articles. Piecework Magazine is published bimonthly and will be an inspiration for those creative souls in La Conner. The issues have a wide variety of topics from collecting vintage textiles to projects for you to crochet, sew, embroider and knit. I hope you will come in and take a look at these new additions to our magazine collection.

Why not stop by and pick up a book to read? Here are a few of the latest titles to hit our new book shelf.

Facets by Barbara Delinsky. Nothing can prepare writer Hillary Cox for seeing her lover of 20 years announce on television that he's marrying another woman. Seeking revenge, Hillary begins a tell-all book exposing John and his shady past.

Mad Dash by Patricia Gaffney. Professional photographer Dash Bateman is the opposite of her worrywart, straitlaced husband, Andrew, a history professor at Mason-Dixon College. After Dash's mother dies and the couple packs off their daughter for her freshman year at college, Dash leaves her house and husband for an extended stay in the couple's isolated cabin.

Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel. Sarah Sloane, 30-something wife of Seth, a wildly successful hedge fund entrepreneur, and mother of two, has planned to perfection a high-ticket charity auction. The only thing she hasn't counted on is the biggest seismic event to hit San Francisco since 1906 and the aftershocks it will cause in her marriage.

Library Notes for the week of December 3rd

Now that Thanksgiving is over the Christmas season begins in full force. Take some time in between your hectic shopping to enjoy a good book. Here are a few off the new book shelf with a Christmas theme.

Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton. Agatha Raisin is feeling woefully middle-aged after hiring Toni Gilmour, an endearing U.K.-style Nancy Drew full of teen energy and charm. As Toni takes over the pet recovery end of the sleuthing business, Agatha looks into a mysterious letter from Phyllis Tamworthy, the rich matriarch of the Manor House in the idyllic Cotswolds, who suspects family members of plotting to kill her before she can change her will to disinherit them.

Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank. Theodora is the matriarch of a family that has grown into a bunch of truculent knuckleheads. While she's finally gotten them all together in South Carolina to celebrate, this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant, homey holidays of her childhood. Luckily for Theodora, a special someone who heard her plea for help arrives, with pockets full of enough Gullah magic and common sense to make Theodora's Christmas the love-filled miracle it's meant to be.

The New Year’s Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. Having married on Christmas Eve at Elm Creek Manor, Sylvia and longtime family friend Andrew Cooper have to face the music and tell Andrew's children, especially his bitter daughter, Amy. On the way, master quilter Sylvia plies at a long unfinished quilt she calls New Year's Reflections, which she plans to give Amy in the hope of reconciliation.

Mark your calendar for December 27^th 6 p.m. at the library. We would like to invite you to a Family Storytime. There will be refreshments and prizes for all ages. You will hear more about this fun event later.