Pretty Little Projects

Three really cute books just recently crossed my desk. Being a fan of quiliting, I was very intrigued by their covers and the sweet projects described in them! the three books are Pretty Little Patchwork, Pretty Little Potholders and Pretty Little Cozies. All three books were edited by Valerie VanArsdale Shrader and published by Lark Books. The books are a little smaller than your average non-fiction title, which makes them the perfect size to prop up on your table while you are completing several of the projects contained in the books! Pretty Little Patchwork contains 32 projects that are colorful and modern and have a twist of vintage chic. Projects include sachets, a fabric clock, a mini quilt or a handy bag, all made from piecing strips and pieces of fabric together. Pretty Little Potholders offers thirty imaginative designs to make cute potholders, using creative techniques such as applique' and felting. Beginners will appreciate the basic sewing and hand stitching instructions and seasoned sewers will enjoy learning new tips such as how to use digital photo transfer fabric. Pretty Little Cozies offers a new take on how to make cozies, those fabric covers that are used to protect all of our "can't-live-without" belongings such as cell phones, checkbooks, and mp3 players. This book details several cutting-edge projects that are colorful, modern, playful and feminine that are made with new and recycled fabrics and are packed full of clever design elements and intriguing details. Try out one of these books for a cute craft project that won't take up too much of your time!!

Take a Trip Down the Concourse

I just read an interesting mystery novel set in New York City, mainly in the Bronx. The book, titled Concourse and written by S. J. Rozan, stars Private Investigator Bill Smith and his sidekick/love interest Lydia Chin. This is the second book in this series (the first is China Trade) and is a great story about life in the Bronx. Bill is assigned by his old friend Bobby Moran to investigate a brutal murder of a security officer at a nursing home in the Bronx, situated on the "Concourse." Bill poses undercover as a security office to try and discover the truth and meets some hardball criminals, sweet older people and other Bronx residents along the way. The story is a convoluted tale of corruption, but Bill works tirelessly to solve the mystery and find the truth. He is half in love with his partner, Lydia Chin, a tough Chinese woman who puts up with his shenanigans in spite of her distate for them! This is an entertaining New York P.I. and would be a great choice for anyone who enjoys police procedurals.

Dogs Rule

I have to confess that I am a dog fan--I can't help it! I like cats too, I just like dogs more. A new book crossed my desk today that I just had to read. Michael Schaffer's book One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog-Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food. The title may be daunting, but the subject matter inside is wonderful and the cover is very cute. Schaffer examines all of the politics behind Americas love affair with dogs and other companion animals, and how pets have moved to the center of people's lives. It's fun and factual, and a great read for someone who loves dogs. Especially fun is when Schaeffer discusses how the way we treat our pets reflects our own views on topics such as science, consumerism, politics and family. Michael Schaeffer is a former staff writer at The Philadephia Inquirer, U.S. News and World Report, and Washington City Paper, who lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Keltie Hawkins, and their daughter Eleanor. Schaeffer insists that his own pets, Murphy the Saint Bernard and Amelia the black cat are not "freakishly pampered" like many of the pets he talks about in his book!

FOLK MUSIC

I had the opportunity to get away for the weekend and enjoy the 47th Annual Arkansas Folk Festival in Mountain View, AR. There were musical gatherings on the courthouse square and handmade arts and crafts booths .This is one of Arkansas longest-running festivals. The festival originated in 1941 at Blanchard Springs. Its annual tradition was once interrupted by World War II. Thousands of visitors and residents took part in the weekend festival where music programs were presented on the outdoor stage at the courthouse. A parade was held Saturday morning including floats, marching bands, antique cars, tractors, motorcycles, and horses.

We also enjoyed the Ozark Folk Center and its craft grounds on Saturday. There were demonstrations such as broom, candle, knife, soap, and rope making. This was a learning experience for us adults as well as the children. I participated with helping my daughter make a rope. We were placed across from each other using cranks to wind the rope. The rope maker announced that I was now a “Cranky Mom”!

We also attended folk singing at the Jimmy Driftwood barn. We heard a variety of music including “The Battle of New Orleans” an American classic country/folk song, written by Jimmy Driftwood in 1936. Jimmy Driftwood was a teacher that wrote music to help interest his students in history. He was born in Mountain View, AR on June 20, 1907 and died July 12, 1988. During his career he wrote over six thousand folk songs.

Mountain View, AR is known as the “Folk Music Capital of the World” and is a great place to relax and enjoy the beautiful mountains of the Ozark.

Our library has many books and videos on Folk Music. You may wish to check out American Folk Songs for Children in Home, School and Nursery School: A Book for Children, Parents and Teachers by Ruth Crawford Seeger or Southern Folk Ballads published by August House Publishers of Little Rock, AR

Nip Bullying in the Bud

The Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Center in Vicksburg graciously donates two books to the library every April, in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Center donates one adult and children's title to the library, and most cover subjects such as parenting, bullying, inappropriate touching or other subjects teaching kids how to be safe and giving parents advice. This year's children's title is a wonderful book and deserves to be talked about! One, by Kathryn Otoshi, discusses bullying in a picture book that is very accessible to children. The book is beautiflly illustrated with watercolor prints and the story is deceptively simple. The bullying message is "disguised" in a picture book about colors and numbers. Blue (a blue blob on the page) is a quiet color who enjoys interacting with all the other colors except for Red, because Red picks on him and is mean to him. None of the other colors will stick up for Blue and stand up to Red until 1 comes along and tells Red no. This immediately has an escalating effect and the rest of the colors start standing up to Red too. This is a wonderful book to share with your kids, and open up a dialogue about bullying. Check out Kathryn Otoshi's website at http://www.justtakesone.com/ for more tips!

Customer Appreciation Day at WCVPL

On Friday, April 17, 2009, the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library is hosting a "Customer Appreciation Day" at the library. From 9:00 AM-11:00 AM the library will be serving coffee and cookies in the library in celebration of one of our most important assets--YOU! The library would not be able to do all of the things it is able to do without the support of its patrons and visitors. Whether its visiting the library to attend programs, check out books or DVD's or to use the library's computers, we thank you for every visit you make to our building. Library staff members enjoy meeting patrons, so please make sure to introduce yourself while you have a cup of coffee and a cookie--on us!

Celebrate National Week with Us!

National Library Week is a great time to visit the library and see what great things we have to offer. The theme of National Library Week 2009, celebrated April 12-18, is "World's Connect @ Your Library!" To me, the meaning of this phrase is simple. There are so many things waiting for you to discover at your library. Any piece of information you need is available to you, and we have great staff members who are here simply to help you find what you are looking for. The information you find is your key to other worlds, whether digitally on the Internet, literally through a travel book, or escaping to another world through a great piece of writing. Treat yourself to a fun outing and take the opportunity to visit us this week. We are sure you will not be disappointed in whatever world you choose to visit with us.

Get Hooked on Crochet!

Crafting is a perennially popular topic; however, crafting for men tends to lean towards the woodworking and building books. I ran across a new title recently that may open new worlds for some men. “The Crochet Dude’s Designs for Guys” by Drew Emborsky has 30 projects men will love. The introduction explains about the different yarns and sizing of stitches. The last section offers line drawings showing how the stitches are done. The projects are pretty cool themselves and range from the fairly simple to the more complex. The simple end has a music sock for an mp3 player, autoshams, golf club covers, and fingerless mittens. The more complex patterns are for sweaters, vests, and even a hoodie. I have crocheted for many years and find it to be relaxing. In the pressure cooker world we live in, perhaps this would be a way to relax and have something to show for that relaxation.
We often add new craft books to our collection, so don’t forget to check the New Non-Fiction for titles new to us. If you are not sure where that is located, just ask any staff member and we will be glad to steer you in the right direction.

Try a "Rom-Zom-Com!"

I know what you're thinking...what in the world is a "rom-com-zom?" It's a romantic zombie comedy, of course! I just read the most entertaining book, and believe me, I was just as skeptical as you when one of my co-workers handed it to me and insisted I read it. I used to be a big fan of zombie movies when I was a kid. I had to watch all of George Romero's zombie movies (Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead), usually in the middle of the night with the lights off, huddled under blankets with my friends. I have outgrown that phase (I think?) but I still enjoy reading stories with a supernatural spin to them, usually vampires or fairies. S. G. Browne's Breathers: A Zombie's Lament totally blew away all of my expectations about what a zombie book would be like! The book opened with a bang (think about waking up in your kitchen one day, opening your refrigerator and finding some dead bodies) and gathered steam until its very satisfying conclusion. The premise of the story is that zombies exist (and have for many years) but do not have any rights in society. Andy Warner is a recently deceased, newly minted zombie, who reanimated after a bad car wreck in which his wife also died. Andy's parents have reluctantly agreed to be his caretakers, even though they have a hard time getting used to the smell of Andy's slowly decompsing body parts, and encourage him to stay out of sight while he's living in their wine cellar. After weeks of name-calling and fast-food throwing by Breathers (living humans), Andy decides he's had enough and embarks on a journey to find himself and gain rights for zombies everywhere. The best part of Breathers is the humor--it sneaks up on you and things you wouldn't ordinarily think are funny turn out to be very amusing. There is a bit of "gruesome-ness" in this story, but it's more of the dark humor variety (think Creepshow) rather than gory. Try this book out and let us know what you think about it! And, if this blog has stirred up nostalgia for your old favorite "zombie" movies, check out the library's DVD and VHS collections - we have plenty of your favorites to choose from. :)

Little Brother

If you were struck by the similarity of this title to the phrase "Big Brother" from George Orwell's classic book, 1984, you would be correct! Little Brother is a book written by Cory Doctorow, who was heavily influenced by George Orwell's work. Little Brother is classified as a Juvenile book, and is set in San Francisco, in the highly-technologically-oriented, not-too-distant-future! The hero of the story is Marcus, a brilliant, seventeen-year-old who has figured out how to "outsmart" many of his school's surveillance systems (i.e., the "gait-recognition" system that supposedly can track your movements through the school by the way you normally walk), as well as systems installed througout San Francisco. Marcus is just having a normal day when he convinces his friends to slip out of their respective schools to play a round of the Alternate Reality Game, "Harajuku Fun Madness," a problem-solver game that is played on the Internet and around the streets and buildings in San Francisco. Marcus and three other friends meet up to figure out the clues when suddenly there is a tremendous explosion and Marcus and his friends are caught in the afternmath of a major terrorist attack. They are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security, detained for several days, and released to find the city has become a police state. Marcus makes the decision to fight back the only way he knows how- by taking down the Department of Homeland Security. Little Brother is an intense, action-packed book that speeds along and leaves you gasping. The story is filled with information about technology and gadgets, and is a perfect book for teens and adults who admire "gizmos." Cory Doctorow is the former European Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation who hopes that readers will "use technology to change the world." The book contains two great Afterwords (one was written by the guy who hacked the XBox) and a fabulous Bibliography for further reading. This book was truly a great and thought-provoking read!