Library Notes Week of December 14

The library is hosting its annual Family Fun Day at the Library. Come by the library Tues., Dec. 22nd anytime between 2 and 6 p.m. We will have “make and take” projects for the kids, games, puzzles, and refreshments. It will be our way of wishing you a great holiday season.

KJ Cooper, our Children’s Specialist has been reading some of the books in our Young Adult collection. Here are a few of her reviews.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. Dessen delivers another of her perfectly crafted stories. This one features Auden, an insomniac, who will be going off to college in the fall. Auden has not slept at night since her parents started fighting. They are now divorced and her father has a new family. Auden decides to spend her summer with them and explore some of the teenage pleasures she has missed—most notably, riding a bike and having actual friendships. Then, she meets a fellow insomniac, Eli, a loner with problems of his own.

Maze Runner by James Dashner. Thomas wakes up in the lift remembering only his first name. When the doors open, he is surrounded by boys, Gladers, who also have no memories of how they got there. They live in the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Every morning, the stone doors to the surrounding maze are opened. Every night, they are tightly closed. Every 30 days, a new boy arrives in the lift. The pattern is disrupted when a girl with a message is sent up the very next day. In this thrill ride of a story about problem-solving. The ending nicely sets up for the next book in this trilogy, tentatively called, “The Scorch Trials.”

Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean. When twenty-four-year old Ohio native, Taylor Henning lands her dream job as an assistant at a major movie studio, she finds that she hasn’t left the “Mean Girls” contests of high school behind. The stakes are just higher. Taylor wasn’t one of the queen bees in high school and is ill-prepared to play the same tired games. Then, she meets her boss’s popular daughter, Quinn who takes Taylor under her wing, teaching her one lesson a week until Taylor finds herself swimming gracefully with the sharks. Dean delivers a Devil Wears Prada type story in a funny, quirky easy read.

Library Notes Week of November 18

November is Native American Heritage Month. We have a wonderful database – the American Indian History Online--which has access to more than 15,000 years of the culture and history of the American Indian. There are biographies, images, maps, charts and other wonderful information. You can find it on our website www.lclib.lib.wa.us under Homework Help. It is password protected, but just give us a call and we can tell you how to get in. This wonderful resource is paid for by the La Conner Rotary.

Here are a few books from the new book shelf. Come in and check one out.

Moon River and Me by Andy Williams. When in the mid-1950s Andy Williams reached a low point in his career, singing in dives to ever-smaller audiences, the young man from Wall Lake, Iowa, had no inkling of the success he would one day achieve. Before being declared a national treasure by President Ronald Reagan, Williams would chart eighteen gold and three platinum albums, headline at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for more than twenty years, and host an enormously popular weekly television variety show.

Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved by Elgen M. Long. A detailed chronicle of the last days of Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, and what went before, based upon an exhaustive 25-year study. Celebrated pilot Elgen Long and his coauthor wife, a public relations consultant with the Western Aerospace Museum, claim that the solution of the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the Electra, Earhart's plane, has never been found until now.

The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson. James Patterson and Martin Dugard dig through stacks of evidence--X-rays, Carter's files, forensic clues, and stories told through the ages--to arrive at their own account of King Tut's life and death. The result is an exhilarating true crime tale of intrigue, passion, and betrayal that casts fresh light on the oldest mystery of all.

Library Notes week of November 9

Teen Game Night @ the Library is Friday the 13th from 6 to 8 p.m. Call and tell us you plan to be there so we know how much Pizza to order!

Saturday, November 14 is National Gaming Day @ Your Library. All ages are invited to come and have some fun. From 12 to 4 p.m. we will have table games, computer games, and the Wii set up so you can play as a family or by yourself.

So many new books arriving!! Sometimes it is hard to decide what to read next. Here are a few you might be interested in.

There Goes the Bride by M. C. Beaton. Bossy, impulsive, yet hopelessly romantic, Agatha is dreading the upcoming marriage of her ex-husband, James Lacey. Although she has set her sights on a handsome and beguiling new Frenchman, she can’t quite stop obsessing about James.

Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman. In the half-built skeleton of a monstrously vulgar mansion in one of L.A.’s neighborhoods, a watchman stumbles on the bodies of a young couple–murdered and left in a gruesome postmortem embrace. Though he’s cracked some of the city’s worst slayings, veteran homicide cop Milo Sturgis is still shocked at the grisly sight: a twisted crime that only Milo’s killer instincts–and psychologist Alex Delaware’s keen insights–can hope to solve.

Razor Sharp by Fern Michaels. When it comes to repaying a debt, the women of the Sisterhood - Myra, Annie, Kathryn, Alexis, Yoko, Nikki, and Isabelle - never forget. And now one of their allies needs help. A powerful attorney with a cut-throat reputation, Lizzie Fox has just taken on a high-profile new client - Lily Flowers, the Madam of a high-end bordello operating under the guise of a summer camp. The chips - a.k.a. the prominent Washington politicians who frequent the bordello - are stacked against Lily and her girls. But one phone call to the Sisterhood might just swing the vote. And soon, even the highest courts in the land will prove no match for seven fearless friends determined to ensure that real justice is served, Sisterhood style.

Library Notes Week of October 12

We are starting up our Teen Advisory Board after the summer break. Unfortunately the members all graduated and we need some new members. If you are or know a high school student who would be interested in planning activities in the library for our local teens have them get in touch with KJ at the library. This is a once a month meeting, you get school credit and get to plan cool activities.

KJ has provided us with some reviews this week. Pass them on to young people you know or check them out for yourself.

The Witch’s Guide to Cooking with Children by Keith McGowan.
If you’ve read and enjoyed Linda Buckley-Archer’s Fairy Tale Detectives series or Lemony Snicket’s works, you might enjoy this as well. Keith McGowan’s first novel for ages 9-14 is a modernized version of Hansel & Gretel. Fay Holaderry starts the book with a “cautionary tale” telling how she gets her victims/dinners. The story includes secrets, surprises and courageous deeds as we follow the Blink children unraveling their parents’ sinister plot.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. In this sequel to the much acclaimed Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peetta Mellark are still alive, and how they managed to stay that way has ticked off The Capitol big-time. This is fueled by the fact that Katniss has become the face of the growing rebellion among the subjects of this dystopian society.

Click by David Almond, Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Deborah Ellis, Nick Hornby, Margo Lanagan, Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, Linda Sue Park & Tim Wynne-Jones. This book is labeled, “One Novel Ten Authors.” Each author contributed a chapter of the story revolving around the death of “Gee” Keane, (a world-famous photographer) and the items he left to grandchildren, Maggie and Jason. Maggie’s legacy was a wooden box with sea seven shells that Gee had collected from around the world. Inside, was a note that told her to “throw them all back.” Jason inherited a camera and a box of photographs. From there, the novel branches off into a number of different directions. Each chapter is a spin-off of the first. Each author used his/her own style. Even so, they fit together nicely. Taken as a whole, they demonstrate how we are all interrelated in this world.

Library Notes Week of September 28

From September 26 through October 3 libraries and bookstores celebrate Banned Books Week. This is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 after a sudden surge in the number of challenged books in schools, bookstores and libraries. We will have a display in the library and you may be surprised by the books you find on the challenged list.

We have some new books you might enjoy. Stop in an check one out. Here are a few to tempt you.

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo. Griffin has been driving around for nearly a year with his father’s ashes in the trunk, but his mother is very much alive. He and his wife, Joy, are driving to the Cape for the marriage of their daughter Laura’s best friend. The Cape is where he and Joy honeymooned, in the course of which they drafted the Great Truro Accord, a plan for their lives together that’s now thirty years old and has largely come true. But be careful what you pray for. A year later, a far more important wedding takes place, their beloved Laura’s. This time Griffin’s chauffeuring two urns of ashes as he contends once more with Joy and her large, unruly family, and both he and she have brought dates along. How in the world could this have happened?

A Plague of Secrets by John T. Lescroart. The first victim is Dylan Vogler, a charming ex-convict who manages the Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. When his body is found, inspectors discover that his knapsack is filled with high-grade marijuana. It soon becomes clear that San Francisco’s A-list flocked to Bay Beans West not only for their caffeine fix.But how much did Maya Townshend—the beautiful socialite niece of the city’s mayor, and the absentee owner of the shop—know about what was going on inside her business? And how intimate had she really been with Dylan, her old college friend?

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. After moving into her grandmother's crumbling house to get it in shape for sale, Connie comes across a small key and piece of paper reading only Deliverance Dane. The Salem witch trials, contemporary Wicca and women's roles in early American history figure prominently as Connie does her academic detective work. What follows is a breezy read in which Connie must uncover the mystery of a shadowy book written by the enigmatic Deliverance Dane.

Library Notes Week of September 21

Summer Reading is officially over and was great fun. If you had a student who participated and completed the required number of hours to finish, they need to stop by and pick up a free paperback. If you are not sure if they “finished” the names are listed by the paperbacks. We also want to congratulate Heather Henriksen who won the drawing for a bike and helmet. Another winner was Amanda Grant who participated in the teen program. She won a basket full of gift certificates, a movie, candy and other fun stuff.


Our Children’s Specialist, KJ Cooper has provided the reviews this week. These are some of the latest young adult and juvenile books the library has on its shelves.

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti. This cautionary tale about a family of women with the worst collective luck with relationships rings true. The action surrounds Quinn, a seventeen year old girl who is just dumped by her boyfriend who she doesn’t even like that much. Quinn discovers that her father (who has just begun taking an interest in her and her little sister) stole more than the hearts of the women in his life. Quinn contacts her older half-sister and together with her younger sister and an gorgeous guy, set out to restore treasures to their rightful owners

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. Using the name Lillith Saintcrow, the author has written two adult fantasy series. In her first book for Young Adults, she introduces sixteen-year-old Dru Anderson. Dru and her dad travel the land hunting dangerous supernatural beings (wulfen, blood suckers and zombies to name a few). She is more of a Harry Potter than a Bella Swan (even though she is dealing with vampires and werewolves and is in the center of a potential love-triangle), Dru is tough and can take care of herself or so she thinks until her father comes back from a hunt a changed “man”.

Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde. The main character is running in the woods, but she has no idea why. For that matter, she doesn’t remember any part of her life before that point. Then she hears the dogs. The girl is taken in by an older couple who have six year old Ravyn living with them. As they nurse her back to health after being attacked by the dogs, she learns of the disappearance of another child, Isabel, six years before, a baby who just disappeared (both from the same family) and the witch who lived in the woods who is blamed for both disappearances. Word gets around the village and Isabel’s parents come to claim her and take her home where she meets her suspicious eighteen year old sister, Honey.

Library Notes Week of August 31st

School is right around the corner. If you have a student in the La Conner School District be aware that we have some fantastic homework help links on our web page. The World Book Reference Center and American Indian History Online are great resources for students (and adults). You will need a password, but just give us a call and we can give it to you. The Rotary Club of La Conner pays for these two resources annually and we appreciate their support.

If you need a new read, stop by and check out one of these books.

The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock. When WWII breaks out, many Americans find their lives turned upside down, few more so than the Heller family. Seeking refuge from Hitler-controlled Germany, the Hellers had moved to smalltown Victory, Ill., only to find themselves, 10 years later, suspected by their neighbors of being Nazis. Feeling the threat to her family grow, headstrong 20-year-old Sophie Heller also feels powerless to stop it; soon, however, she meets a handsome, similarly frustrated schoolteacher named Cole Ambrose, whose bad leg prevents him from enlisting. Their instant attraction is, naturally defied by racist townsfolk bent on keeping them apart by whatever means necessary.

Guardian of Lies by Steve Martini. Katia, who's living with creepy Emerson Pike, a man old enough to be her grandfather, in a dilapidated estate surrounded by an expensive security fence, decides to return home to Costa Rica. In her flight, she just misses running into the legendary assassin known as the Mexecutioner, who sneaks into Pike's house.

Gone to the Dogs by Mary Guterson. Twenty something Rena, part-time Jew and full-time waitress, is depressed and moping after being dumped for another woman. In a mad moment, she steals her ex’s dog, and in the process of caring for Big Guy, she starts to recover from her depression and realizes it’s time to move on from her college apartment, job, and lifestyle.