Thrills and Chills for Halloween

Since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I have been enjoying reading some "creepy" stories to get myself in the mood! One of the best collections I have read recently was 50 Great Ghost Stories, which was written by John Canning. The stories are of English origin, and are more on the "chilly" rather than the "gory" side of scary. Especially during the last few days of 50 degrees (brrr), it has been great cuddling up with a blanket and losing myself in these small nuggets of creepiness. If your cravings for ghost stories leans towards typical ones, try reading A Treasury of Victorian Ghost Stories, edited by Everett F. Bleiler. This collection explores traditional legends of ghosts and ghouls and is a real treat for the history lover. This time of year always creates in me a yearning to re-read classic ghost stories such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving or Dracula by Bram Stoker. Take some time to read (or re-read) a classic story!

When I first saw this title “How to Cheat at Organizing” by Jeff Bredenberg my first thought was only a man would think to cheat at organizing. But to give him a fair shake, I decided to look further. There were some good ideas, but to me it seems this man had a wife to help him out with some of these.

There seems to also be a heavy reliance on technology such as the internet. While some Moms I talked to said these ideas have their merits, one mom said that some days she doesn’t get a shower so how would she find the time to surf the internet for some of the ideas mentioned?

In fact, one of his suggestions was met with great skepticism by my child owning friends. He suggested not putting a portable DVD player in your car, but instead to spend the time singing and playing car games to focus of family togetherness. While they all said the idea was commendablet, this guy never spent very much time with kids in the car or he would know what a godsend the DVD was. One Mom said the only quiet she had was when the kids were watching a show.

One idea of his found particular favor with Moms: providing an “I’m Done with It” bag. The idea is to let the child put clothing or toys they had outgrown or were tired of in a bag and when the bag was full taking it to a local charity.
He has another book called “How to Cheat at Cleaning.” Hmm seems they all do that, don’t they?

Making the Jump

MAKING THE JUMP
Two of my favorite authors who have previously been published in paperback have made the jump to hardcover. They are both cozy mysteries.


“Espresso Shot” by Cleo Coyle continues the adventures of Clare Cosi, manager and head barista of the bustling New York coffeehouse The Village Blend. Clare’s been hired to create a gourmet coffee and dessert bar for a New York wedding to be held at the world-renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art. Famous chefs will be there, celebrities, members of the press, well-known politicians—so why isn’t she thrilled to have this chance to shine? Because the person tying the knot is Matteo Allegro, her ex-husband and current business partner. And while Clare has no plan to ever marry Matt again, she’s afraid he’s making a terrible mistake.
The bride-to-be is “Trend” magazine editor Breanne Summour. Beautiful, wealthy and sophisticated, the snarky tastemaker has never been a low maintenance kind of gal and now she’s in full blown bridezilla mode. The only way Clare can possibly deal with her is to put her misgivings aside and focus on business. But as a successful amateur sleuth, murder is Clare’s business, too, and when fatal accidents begin befalling people close to Breanne, Clare becomes suspicious. Is someone trying to sabotage the wedding? To kill Breanne?


“The Chocolate Snowman Murders” by Joanna Carl features premier chocolatier Lee McKinney Woodyard, part owner of TenHuis Chocolades. With the Warner Pier Winter Arts Festival just days away, everyone in the West Michigan town is looking forward to the big art show—and, of course, the unveiling of TenHuis Chocolade’s special holiday chocolates.
As treasurer of WinterFest, Lee is up to her elbows in the arguments, egos, and last-minute mix-ups that happen behind the scenes. But she’s coping, even when the guest juror of the arts festival shows up drunk. Lee leaves him to sleep it off, but she is stunned the next day when her husband, Joe, discovers that someone has put the visiting dignitary in a permanent state of repose. As the last people spotted near the crime scene, Lee and Joe are in a sticky situation. But after another murder and a run-in with a deadly snowman, they’re more determined than ever to find the real killer before someone else comes to a bitter end.

Halloween is Not Just for Kids!

The creepy, crawly, Halloween season is fast approaching! If you’ve been invited to a party and can’t quite figure out what costume to wear, do not fear. The library has plenty of books that can help you find the perfect outfit. Halloween: A Grown-up’s Guide to Creative Costumes, Devilish Décor and Fabulous Festivities by Joanne O’Sullivan is a great book that can help you create fabulous adult costumes with a small amount of effort. This book contains directions to create costumes designed just for adults; you'll find everything from a sublime dancing queen to a fierce samurai warrior. It also includes suggestions for creating the right atmosphere for your home and yard with decorations that range from eek to chic. I especially enjoyed the “tried and true” projects that demonstrated transformations of old favorites -- jack-o'lanterns -- as well as yard figures, window and mantel treatments, and seasonal tableaus. In my opinion, why should you settle for an ordinary Halloween party that centers around apple bobbing or taffy pulling? Go for something more sophisticated and pick one of three themes with full party plans that guide you every step of the way, from the invitations to the activities. This book proves that Halloween bewitchment appeals to adults, too!

POPULAR CHRISTIAN FICTION

I’ve finished reading Sunset by Karen Kingsbury, the fourth and final book in the Baxter Family Sunrise Series. You can follow the tragedies and triumphs of the Baxter family starting with the Redemption Series where the family learns faith and forgiveness after a husband’s infidelity. Follow up next with the Firstborn Series where John Baxter promises his dying wife that he’ll find their firstborn son given up for adoption. The following Sunrise Series continues with John Baxter and the children moving on with their lives after the death of his wife and their mother. While reading these novels with true life experiences you’ll find yourself feeling a part of the Baxter family. Karen Kingsbury is known as the “Queen of Christian Fiction” and her books are on the New York Times bestseller list. You can view her website at www.karenkingsbury.com

Christian Fiction has risen in popularity. For those of you searching for a new author, the library has a Christian Fiction bookmark with a listing of authors.
For further help with choosing Christian books with topics such as Mystery, Romance or Westerns, take a look in our Reference Department and you’ll find a helpful book titled,
Christian Fiction: A Guide to the Genre by John Mort.

A Dog-Gone Great Mystery

I just finished reading Hounded to Death, a new mystery written by one of my favorite authors, Rita Mae Brown. A bonafide Southern writer (she resides in Afton, Virginia), Ms. Brown’s books truly reflect the social graces, culture and food that all Southerners know and love! Hounded to Death is the latest book in Rita Mae Brown’s foxhunting series starring Sister Jane Arnold, Master of Foxhounds. Sister Jane is a feisty widowed woman in her seventies who has done her share of living and is very respected by the members of her hunt club. When murders occur in her community, Sister Jane can not resist joining the investigations. As with the other books in this series, Ms. Brown gives wonderfully detailed descriptions of the day-to-day operations of a hunt club, including particulars about the foxes, hounds, horses, farm animals and the lives of the hunt club members. Readers can trust the accuracy of these details because Rita Mae Brown is also the Master of Foxhounds of a hunt club located in Afton. The animals in this series do take part in the narration; however, whenever any animal speaks, their narration is in italics and only other animals are able to understand their dialogue. The books in these series are cozies- the murders that occur are gruesome but not gory. Ms. Brown has written many stand-alone books as well as other series such as three novels about the Hunsenmeir sisters, Juts and Weezy, and the Mrs. Murphy mystery series (co-authored by her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown). If you have not read any of Ms. Brown’s books, you should definitely “treat” yourself to one of her mysteries!