The Big Book of Baby Quilts!

The library just received a gorgeous new quilting book!  The Big Book of Baby Quilts published by The Patchwork Place contains 87 cute and cuddly baby quilt patterns with patterns, color photos and easy to follow directions.  The patterns range from easy to hard, and from traditional to abstract patterns.  The full-color photographs make creating the quilts an easy process, and the detailed directions make it easy to figure how many different fabrics you need to buy and the amount of each fabric you need.  The book includes quilts that are pieced and appliqued and many different quilting techniques are explained in the book too.  This book would be a great read for any quilter, as the quilt patterns can be used for baby quilts and/or modified to make bigger quilts.  This book is currently housed on our new nonfiction book shelves and can be checked out for a three week period. 

Take a Stroll Through the Pines

Blake Crouch has written an unnerving novel titled the Pines.  Wayward Pines, Idaho is a quintessential small town in America, or so it seems on the surface.  Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke visits the town in search of two missing federal agents but is sidelined by an auto accident when he arrives.  He wakes up at the edge of town with amnesia, a killer headache and soon realizes that this "little corner of paradise" is not what it seems.  Although the townspeople are friendly and act "normal," little cracks in their facades begin to appear.  Ethan has no ID or cell phone and is thwarted whenever he tries to contact his family or his Secret Service boss.  As Ethan continues to drag up more questions than answers, he realizes that he

may never leave this creepy town alive!  Blake Crouch was a fan of the television shows Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure and The X-Files and he wrote Pines in order to create something that made him feel the way Twin Peaks did-- a story about a small town in the middle of nowhere that is beautiful on the outside but with a pitch-black underbelly.  Blake Crouch was born in North Carolina in 1978 and earned his undergraduate degrees in English and Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and published his first two novels within five years of graduation.  He has since published eight novels, many novellas and short stories and three novels cowritten with J. A. Konrath, Fully Loaded, Run,  and Stirred.  He currently lives in Durango, Colorado.

Philomena

I like to watch as many Academy Award Nominated films that I can every year, and I was just able to view Philomena, which was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay in 2013.  Judi Dench and Steve Coogan star in this wonderful story about Philomena Lee, an Irish mother who conceived a child out of wedlock and unwillingly gave him up for adoption.  Almost fifty years after his birth, Philomena meets Martin

Sixsmith, a former BBC reporter looking for his next big break, With a few clues in hand, they set off on a journey to find Philomena's long lost son---a journey that takes them from the Abbey in Ireland where Philomena lived and had the baby, then to America and back again.  Based on the 2009 book by Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, the movie is a wonderful story about an unlikely friendship full of humor and warmth.  The movie is rated PG-13 and contains special features such as "A Conversation with Judi Dench," "The Real Philomena Lee," a "Q & A with Steve Coogan," and "Feature Commentary with Steve Coogan and Screenwriter Jeff Pope."  The library has The Lost Child of Philomena Lee in both book and audio format.

Last Vegas

I recently watched a really fun movie that I checked out on DVD from the library.  Last Vegas stars Michael Douglas, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline.  Best friends since childhood, the four "older gentlemen" decide to fly to Las Vegas to celebrate Billy's (Michael Douglas') marriage to his long-time, 32-year-old girlfriend.  Billy is the group's sworn bachelor and the group promises to stop acting their ages and relive their glory days in Vegas before the big wedding.  When they arrive, they realize that the decades have changed them and Sin City and they test the boundaries of their friendship as they take Vegas by storm.  The movie is a hilarious exploration of life and what it means to grow old gracefully.  The movie is rated PG-13  and contains special features such as filmmaker commentary and stories about "The Flatbush Four."

Fizz! Boom! Read!

It's almost time for the start of our Summer Library Program.  This year's theme is science based and called 'Fizz! Boom! Read!'.  Each week will be dedicated to a different topic like colors, weather, oceans and our five senses.  The weekly Storytimes (Tuesdays and Wednesday at 10:30 am) will reflect the theme of the week as will the craft projects.

Registration for the Summer Library Program will begin on Monday, June 2 and end on Friday, June 20.  Ages from preschool through 12th grade are welcome to participate.  Participants will be placed in one of three categories : Preschool, School-age (Kindergarten - 5th grade) or Teen (6th - 12th grade).  Even if your child can't read on their own yet, take part with the 'Read-To-Me' program.

Each child will set his/her own reading goals.  We recommend that the goal be set low enough for the child to realistically reach while leaving time for other summertime activities.

The last day to report on books that have been read is Friday, July 11 and the closing celebration for all participants who meet their reading goals will be on Wednesday, July 16.

Have a happy summer of discovery!

"Death of a Policeman"

     This latest installment of the Hamish Macbeth series by author M.C. Beaton finds our intrepid police sergeant at odds with his superiors. Hamish Macbeth has managed to keep his little station at Lochdubh open so far, but if Chief Inspector Blair has his way, Macbeth and the station will go the way of the dodo. Blair insists that Macbeth does nothing important on his beat, but the people of the small communities surrounding his station rely on him to settle disputes, look in on those who have no one, and to generally put up with all manner of nonsense from the locals. Blair has decided to send policeman Cyril Sessions to spy on Macbeth and gather as much evidence as he can to shut down the Lochdubh station. However, Macbeth is onto Cyril's game almost from the moment he arrives and he is having none of Cyril's nonsense. The only trouble is that Cyril is murdered while following Macbeth in the countryside. At first, it looks like Cyril is killed by a criminal drug ring operating in the highlands. Even while trying to solve Cyril's murder, Macbeth must try to save his station, deal with his lovesick policeman Dick, and his own pitiful attempts at romance.

    The author, Beaton, excels at her descriptions of the Scottish Highlands as well as the myriad of colorful local characters she uses to populate her books. While the ending is a bit of an out-of-nowhere twist, the last part of the book does seem a little hurried. Some may say that this series is getting a little tired, but fans of the series will not be disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book for what it is: a fun, cozy mystery and an easy read.

Share a Meal with Anne Burrell

If you are a food network fanatic like me, you will be happy to learn that the library has a copy of Anne Burrell's newest book, Own Your Kitchen:  Recipes to Inspire and Empower.  This book is about being in charge when you cook--this includes discovering how flavors work together, creating meals with the ingredients you have in your pantry and also how to feel confident and stress free when you are making meals.  Anne Burrell does these three things by sharing the recipes that she makes at home when she's relaxed and wanting to share

something good with her friends and family.  The 100 recipes in this book have been designed to teach the reader how to be comfortable with essential cooking techniques such as:  making an omelet, butterflying a chicken for an easy roast and how to bake focaccia bread.  She also offers tips, such as items that can be prepared ahead (marinades) or how to coax flavor out of a chicken by using a garlic rubdown.  The book contains seasonal as well as everyday recipes and ways to bounce back after you make a mistake.  Anne Burrell is the New York Times best selling author of Cook Like a Rock Star, and the host for many years of Food Network's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.  She is co-host of Worst Cooks in America and host of Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell.  She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, worked at Lidia Bastianich's Felidia and Peter Hoffman's Savoy and taught at the Institute of Culinary Education.  She currently lives in New York City.

Tales of the D'Artigo Sisters

By some interesting twist of fate, I just read two Yasmine Galenorn novels at the same time:  Shaded Vision and Crimson Veil.  Both are novels in the "Otherworld" series, and Shaded Vision comes in the series before Crimson Veil.  I listened to Crimson Veil in audio book form and read Shaded Vision in book form.  The narrator of Crimson Veil is Cassandra Campbell and she did a wonderful job with bringing the characters of the story alive.  The D'Artigo sisters are three half-Fae, half-human ex-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency.  Camille is a witch, Delilah is a werecat and Menolly is an acrobat turned vampire. The sisters have been charged with finding seven spirit seals and keeping them away from a demon lord.  In Shaded Vision, the sisters are trying to find an arsonist who keeps bombing supernatural businesses such as the Supe Community Council and several vampire bars.  In Crimson Veil, the sisters are trying to stop Lowestar Radcliff (the demon in charge of a supernatural corporate power grab) from awakening Suvika, the lord of vice.  Both stories are full of complex characters and it is enjoyable reading (and listening to) how they interact with each other.  The novels are wonderful paranormal stories with romance and fantastical creatures thrown in the mix.  I do suggest you read the books in order as the events of each book build upon each other.  

                                        

Aiming for Scholastic Success

A new addition to our Children's Department is a series of books called 'The 7 Character Strengths of Highly Successful Students'.  Each book of the series is dedicated to one of the character strengths : Curiosity, Gratitude, Grit, Optimism, Self-control, Social Intelligence and Zest.

The books define the featured character strength as well as explain how they help students, both in school and in life.  Each book also has the following helpful sections in the back :
1) Glossary
2) For More Information
3) For Further Reading
4) Bibliography
5) Index

Help your student by showing them these tools that will help them gain success in both academics and, later on, in the workplace.

Judith Ann Rush Signs New Poetry Book

Judith Ann Rush will host a signing of her poetry book on Wednesday,April 23, 2014 from 4:30 to 6:30
PM in the library auditorium. Her book, My Testimony of God’s Love and Mercy: God Speaks to Me Through Poetry, is about the trials and tribulations that Ms. Rush went through and survived, only by the grace of God, a testimony of his love and mercy. Ms. Rush feels that her poems will inspire anyone who is struggling in life to look to God because he is the solution to every problem. Judith Ann Rush grew up in Vicksburg and began going to church at the early age of six. She was raised by her grandmother, who insisted she and her siblings go to church every Sunday. Ms. Rush was very shy and rarely said anything, but met many women and men in various churches of various denominations and made many friends in her life. Ms. Rush graduated from Vicksburg High School in 1977 and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Alcorn State University in Secretarial Science in 1981. Ms. Rush thanks her many friends for the encouragement they gave her to write her book.