Library Notes week of April 27

Congratulations to the winners in the annual Tulip Poster raffle. The Friends of the Library had another successful raffle to raise funds for the library. There were lots of prizes besides the beautiful framed poster, I hope you were lucky enough to win one.

We are getting in lots of new books. Maybe one of these will interest you.

Death of a Witch by M.C. Beaton. The Scottish Highlands most stubborn bachelor returns to his home village of Lochdubh from a disappointing vacation to discover a witch stirring up trouble. To Macbeth's annoyance, the sex-starved local men have fallen under the spell of Catriona Beldame, who turns out to be a runaway bride with a shady past. Macbeth longs to prove she's selling illegal remedies for sexual dysfunction, and warns her to stop if she is. Macbeth gets a shock when someone murders Beldame and sets her house on fire—soon after Macbeth is overheard to say he'd like to kill her.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. In an upstate New York backwater, Truly has a bleak existence with her depressed father and her china-doll–like sister, Serena Jane. Truly grows at an astonishing rate—her girth the result of a pituitary gland problem—and after her father dies when Truly is 12, Truly is sloughed off to the Dyersons, a hapless farming family. She befriends the Dyersons' outcast daughter, Amelia, and later leaves her beloved Dyerson farm to take care of Serena Jane's husband and son after Serena Jane leaves them. Haunting the margins of Truly's story is that of Tabitha Dyerson, a rumored witch whose secrets afford a breathtaking role reversal for Truly.

Cape Disappointment by Earl Emerson. A man and a woman, their coastal getaway interrupted, say goodbye on an isolated landing strip in Washington State. She then calls from the air. And he watches from the base of a lighthouse as the plane, with eleven people on board, plummets into the steely gray sea. The man remembering this tragic event is in a hospital room, the victim of a bombing weeks after the crash. In this extraordinary thriller by award-winning author Earl Emerson, Seattle private eye Thomas Black returns after more than a decade–and he must put together the shattered fragments of his life. His life and his country depend on it.

Library Notes Week of April 13

This is National Library Week. First celebrated in 1958, it is an annual celebration of the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians.

Secretary of State Sam Reed encourages Washington citizens to help celebrate National Library Week by visiting and using their local library. “Now more than ever, libraries play a crucial role throughout Washington and America,” Reed said. “They not only provide many useful resources and services, they open up new worlds and help make lifelong learning possible. What better way for people to celebrate National Library Week than by visiting a local library and taking advantage of the many services offered?”

Washington State Librarian Jan Walsh agrees, pointing out that libraries have tremendous civic, cultural and economic value. “Everyone benefits by using libraries, especially during these tough economic times,” Walsh said. “A library can save people a lot of money. Buying books, CDs and DVDs can be expensive. But these same books, CDs and DVDs are free if you have a library card.”

Walsh pointed out that libraries are much more than books. “They give people access to newspapers and periodicals, CDs and DVDs, computers and the Internet, historical documents and so much more.”

If you haven’t visited our library lately you are missing out!! Why not stop in today.

Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart. When Bailey Ruth Raeburn and her husband die on their cabin cruiser during a storm, Bailey joins the heavenly host. Later, she returns to earth via the Rescue Express to help the rector's wife, Kathleen Abbott. After finding the body of a dead man on her back porch, Kathleen fears either she or her husband might be accused of the crime. Bailey Ruth helps her to move the body, inaugurating a search for the killer that proves difficult as the victim was despised by many. As Bailey Ruth uncovers more than one crime, she must contend with her own violations of the Precepts for Earthly Visitation and adjust to her powers on earth.

Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood. Sophie Rose, a tough and determined newspaper reporter, is the daughter of Bobby Rose, who happens to be a notorious big-time thief sought by every law-enforcement agency in the country. When the major Chicago daily where she works insists she write an exposé about her roguish father, Sophie refuses, quits her job, and goes to work at a small newspaper. Far from her onetime high-powered crime beat, she now covers local personalities such as the quirky winner of several area 5K runs whose trademark is goofy red socks.

Oolong Dead by Laura Childs. Indigo Tea Shop proprietor Theodosia Browning and her horse, Captain Harley, encounter murder most unsavory during the annual Charleston Point-to-Point Race. Shortly after clearing a jump, they're spooked by encountering the corpse of Abby Davis, an evening TV news anchor, who's been shot through the forehead.

Library Notes week of March 30

Are you curious about the President’s stimulus package? We had the document – all 1434 pages—donated to us. Stop in if you want to wade through it. Also, April is National Poetry Month. If you go to http://www.poets.org/ you can get a poem a day sent to your e-mail. What a great way to celebrate!

We have lots of poetry titles. Below are just a few of the most recent we have in our collection.

Ballistics by Bill Collins. Two-term U.S. Poet Laureate touches on love, death, solitude, youth and aging in this collection of poetry. His tongue-in-cheek assault on the gloom and doubt in our poetry is his remedy for the loneliness that (even for him) shadows all poems: this is a poem, not a novel, he laments, and the only characters here are you and I,/ alone in an imaginary room/ which will disappear after a few more lines.

The Blue Hour of the Day by Lorna Crozier. Lorna Crozier has become one of Canada’s most beloved poets, receiving high acclaim and numerous awards. In this definitive selection of poems, Crozier’s trademark investigations of family, spirituality, love’s fierce attachments, and bereavement and loss have been given a new framework.

The Way It Is by William Stafford. His widely anthologized "Ceremony," "Thinking for Berky," and "Traveling through the Dark" are here, along with others, including "Adults Only," which begins, "Animals own a fur world; / people own worlds that are variously, pleasingly bare." A writer of silence, loss, memory, and conviction, Stafford wrote a poem almost every morning, rising at four to eat toast and compose. This is a part of his myth that the Stafford industry--other poets, workshop leaders, old friends--agrees is admirable, the hard-working farmhand who beats the cows to the dairy barn.

Library Notes week of March 9

Have you visited the library website lately? We have great things available to you. Homework help, automobile repair on-line. We also have a new page about the Library Book Club that meets here the 4th Wed. of the month. The page has a list of books they have read and discussed. Try out one of the titles you might not be familiar with.

Come by the Library and check out one of these new books.

The Longest Trip Home by John Grogan. Before there was Marley, there was a gleefully mischievous boy growing up in a devout Catholic home outside Detroit in the 1960s and '70s. Despite his loving parents' best efforts, John's attempts to meet their expectations failed spectacularly. Whether it was his disastrous first confession, the use of his hobby telescope to take in the bronzed Mrs. Selahowski sunbathing next door, the purloined swigs of sacramental wine, or, as he got older, the fumbled attempts to sneak contraband past his father and score with girls beneath his mother's vigilant radar.

Stronger After Stroke by Peter Levine. This book puts the power of recovery in the reader’s hands by providing easy instructions for reaching the highest possible level of healing. Written for stroke survivors, their caregivers, and their loved ones, the book presents a new approach that is startling in its simplicity: stroke survivors recover by using the same learning techniques that anyone uses to master anything. Basic concepts are covered, including repetition of task-specific movements, proper scheduling of practice, challenges at each stage of recovery, and setting goals and recognizing achievements.

American Rifle: a Biography by Alexander Rose. In this solid history, Rose explores the development of the rifle, such as how it evolved in American history to become an iconic symbol of freedom and how it developed as an effective military instrument as well as a private citizen's firearm. Drawing on numerous primary sources, from letters and journals of ordinary soldiers to the writings of inventors such as Samuel Colt, Rose traces the rise of the rifle from its original use as a hunting tool and a means of defense and protection to its eventual use as an offensive weapon in wars of conquest.

Library Notes Week of March 2

The Skagit Libraries are all participating in “Skagit County Reads One Book.” We are encouraging all adults to read Three Cups of Tea and for the kids we have Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand. There will be programs throughout the county centered around these two inspiring stories of how one person can make a difference. Multiple copies of both books will be distributed to libraries and schools throughout the county. Liz Scott will be at the Friends of the La Conner Library meeting, Monday, March 9, 9 a.m. at the Retirement Inn, 204 First Street, La Conner. Consider attending to hear the story of little Alex Scott.

Stop in to the library and see what is new. Here are a few of our latest arrivals.

Thai Die by Monica Ferris. Among the many souvenirs Betsy's friend Doris Valentine brings home from a Thailand vacation is a stone Buddha to be delivered to a St. Paul antiques dealer. When Doris discards the dirty cloth the Buddha was wrapped in, Betsy rescues the cloth, which turns out to be valuable silk more than 2,000 years old. Has Doris become an unwitting pawn in an international antiquities theft operation? After someone ransacks Doris's apartment and murders the antiques dealer, Sgt. Mike Malloy of the Excelsior police and civilian detective Betsy find themselves involved in a case more complicated than any needlework pattern she's ever attempted.

Cross Country by James Patterson. When the home of Alex Cross's oldest friend, Ellie Cox, is turned into the worst murder scene Alex has ever seen, the destruction leads him to believe that he's chasing a horrible new breed of killer. As Alex and his girlfriend, Brianna Stone, become entangled in the deadly Nigerian underworld of Washington D.C., what they discover is shocking: a stunningly organized gang of lethal teenagers headed by a powerful, diabolical man--the African warlord known as the Tiger. Just when the detectives think they're closing in on the elusive murderer, the Tiger disappears into thin air. Tracking him to Africa, Alex knows that he must follow. Alone.

The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith. Smith delivers yet another delightful installment to his Scotland Street series. This time out, he focuses mostly on the irrepressible Bertie Pollock, a precocious six-year-old whose mummy, Irene, forces him to play a saxophone, converse in Italian, do yoga and see Dr. Hugo Fairbairn, a psychotherapist who looks a lot like Bertie's baby brother, Ulysses. As Bertie struggles to accommodate his nutty mummy and new brother, another crisis explodes for artist Angus Lordie, whose beloved dog, Cyril, has been thrown in the pound for biting someone. Cyril is innocent, and Angus, with Bertie's assistance, sets out to rescue Cyril before he's put down.

Library Notes Week of February 9

Feb. 12, 2009 is the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. This would be a great time to read up on Lincoln’s life or explore other topics such as freedom, democracy and equality of opportunity. Lincoln inspired many people including poets like Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg. If you are interested in Lincoln inspired poems check out http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org/ If you want to read his Gettysburg Address or find out more about his life we have books on him and remember we have the World Book on-line available through the homework page of our website http://www.lclib.lib.wa.us/. If you don’t have the password give us a call.

If you enjoy biographies, here are some of our newest ones.

Call Me Ted by Ted Turner. An innovative entrepreneur, outspoken nonconformist, and groundbreaking philanthropist, Ted Turner is truly a living legend, and now, for the first time, he reveals his personal story. From his difficult childhood to the successful launch of his media empire to the catastrophic AOL/Time Warner deal, Turner spares no details or feelings and takes the reader along on a wild and sometimes bumpy ride.

Amarcord: Marcella Remembers by Marciella Hazan. In an evocative memoir, she recounts her life from childhood to Florida Gulf Coast retirement. Hazan spent her earliest years on another coast, in Cesenatico, a village on the Adriatic; during WWII the family moved to a lake in the mountains between Venice and Milan. Fresh out of the university, she taught college math and science and met a young man who had returned to his Italian homeland after more than a decade in America. He loved food, and his worldliness and sophistication made a good match for the comparatively earthbound author.

Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir.
Writing with BBC correspondent Lewis (Slave), Bashir, a physician and refugee living in London, offers a vivid personal portrait of life in the Darfur region of Sudan before the catastrophe. Doted on by her father, who bucked tradition to give his daughter an education, and feisty grandmother, who bequeathed a fierce independence, Bashir grew up in the vibrant culture of a close-knit Darfur village. She anticipated a bright future after medical school, but tensions between Sudan's Arab-dominated Islamist dictatorship and black African communities like her Zaghawa tribe finally exploded into conflict.

Library Notes for the week of February 2

Are you aware of all the things our Friends of the Library do for our Library? They raise money to help us purchase books, furniture, even equipment that we would otherwise be unable to buy with our budget. If you are around on the third Monday of the month stop in and visit their meeting. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. with a social time, 9:30 for the program followed by a brief business meeting. They meet at the Retirement Inn. We appreciate all the things our Friends of the Library do for us. The library cannot have enough Friends—consider joining them!

We have lots of new books. Why not check out one of these:

Rachel’s Secret by B J Hoff. When the wounded Irish American riverboat captain, Jeremiah Gant, bursts into the rural Amish setting of Riverhaven, he brings chaos and conflict to the community―especially for young widow, Rachel Brenneman. The unwelcome “outsider” needs a safe place to recuperate before continuing his secret role as an Underground Railroad conductor. Neither he nor Rachel is prepared for the forbidden love that threatens to endanger a man’s mission, a woman’s heart, and a way of life for an entire people.

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. Drawn together by the sense of family the club has created, the knitters rely on one another as they struggle with new challenges: for Catherine, finding love after divorce; for Darwin, the hope for a family; for Lucie, being both a single mom and a caregiver for her elderly mother; and for seventy something Anita, a proposal of marriage from her sweetheart, Marty, that provokes the objections of her grown children.

Crossroads by Belva Plain. Plain's latest book focuses on two women—privileged but plain Gwen Wright and beautiful but poor Jewel Fairchild. Their lives occasionally intersect, and eventually Jewel marries a wealthy man and discovers that money can't buy happiness. Gwen, meanwhile, marries a poor but honest man—but she still finds herself drawn to Jewel's husband, and the foursome is soon tangled in a web of deceit.