An Unexpected Surprise!

     Recently, the library received a letter--dated March 10, 2015--from Jenel Looney, assistant to New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery. It read:

"Earlier this week, author Susan Mallery asked her friends at Facebook.com/SusanMallery to nominate their favorite library to receive a hardcover copy of her latest women's fiction novel, The Girls of Mischief Bay. From almost 2,000 nominations, 20 libraries were chosen at random--and Vicksburg-Warren County Public Library was one of them! (Yay you!) You were nominated by Betsy Farr. Congratulations."

     So, we here at the library would like to thank Susan Mallery for being an awesome author and for being so generous to her readers! We would also like to thank Betsy Farr for thinking of her local library and nominating us!

     The Girls of Mischief Bay is Mallery's latest work and it is the first book in a new series. According to the author's website (susanmallery.com), the book is about three friends on the verge of a new life.
First, Nicole Lord wants to be a good wife, but her husband has quit his job to write a screenplay that Nicole has yet to see. She is left to work full time, take care of the household, and raise the couple's young son. Is she being supportive or merely supporting her husband?
Throwing all of her energy and determination into her career, Shannon Rigg is now V.P. at her firm, but she questions whether or not she has made the right choice. A new love shows her that it's not too late, but will the bombshell that he drops keep Shannon from having it all?
Pam Eiland is a bit restless now that her children are grown. She adores her husband and has taken to finding sexy new ways to put the humor and romance back into their relationship. When she finds herself confronting an unexpected change, Pam must decide if she can redefine herself again.
Through the heartbreaks, romance, laughter, and tears these three women will find out that it is much easier to face life's ups and downs with a friend at your side.

Don't forget to check it out!

Income Tax Help Available for Seniors and Low to Moderate Income Taxpayers

The last date to file taxes is now less than a month away.  AARP is again offering tax assistance for senior and low to moderate income taxpayers.

The remaining days of their schedule are as follows:

Wednesday, March 18

Wednesday, March 25

Wednesday, April 1

Wednesday, April 8

On each of the scheduled days, the doors will open to begin tax assistance at 9 am.  First come, first served - no appointments.  The tax preparers will prepare up to 25 returns a day.  Once the 25 return threshold is reached, the doors will shut for the day.  AARP membership is not required for this assistance.

Documents and Helpful Information that you will need to provide:

• A copy of your 2013 Income Tax Return
• All income documents for 2014 (W2 - 1099 - Retirement - Pensions - Social SEcurity - Unemployment - etc)
• 2014 Mortgage statement showing interest and property taxes paid
• All 2014 Tax Receipts from Tax Collector's Office (Home, Land & Tags)
• All Social Security Cards (Taxpayers & Dependents)
• Driver's License or other valid picture ID

Are You Ready for Spring?

     Spring is in the air! I know a lot of people who are still getting used to the time change from daylight savings and a few are still cleaning up from all the muck created with the recent batch of winter storms. But don't get discouraged! St. Patrick's day is coming up next week on March 17th and Spring begins on March 20th. The weather is supposed to clear up and I know that a great many of our patrons will begin preparing those garden plots. So, I'm including some of our most recent books on gardening to help you get started.

     First up is Deep South Month-by-Month Gardening: what to do each month to have a beautiful garden all year by Nellie Neal. As the long title suggests, the author gives you the tips and tricks needed to keep up your garden all year long. You will learn which plants grow best in our area and when you should plant, prune, or dig them up. She gives you an easy-to-follow format and includes step-by-step pictorial guides.

     One of the biggest challenges for gardeners is how to keep pests at bay without spraying all those harmful chemicals. Fear not, dear patrons, because we have Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control by Jessica Walliser. This book is all about beneficial bugs--who they are, how they work, what they eat, and how to attract them. The author profiles nineteen bugs which are helpful to gardeners, with descriptions, illustrations, and a list of their benefits, along with planting and zone details about thirty-nine plants which can be used to attract them.

     Not sure you want to plant and take care of a big garden? Don't really have the space to plant a garden? No problem! We have a couple of new books on gardening in small spaces. First, there is Grow Vegetables in Pots which gives you tips and tricks about how to plant tasty tomatoes and luscious herbs in small containers, so that you can enjoy the "fruits" of your labor without having to till up a garden plot. The author lists the plants that grow well in small spaces and which plants grow well together.

We also have the book All New Square Foot Gardening: the Revolutionary Way to Grow More in Less Space by Mel Bartholomew. This author covers how to build planter boxes, how to use vertical space to plant your crops, and how to extend your seasons to get the most out of your crops.

     All of these books (and more) are located in the library's non-fiction section between the call numbers 628 and 636. Feel free to come in and check some out or just flip through them to get some ideas. We have books for the novice gardener as well as the seasoned horticulturalist! Enjoy and Happy Planting!

Life in an Internment Camp in America During World War Two

In 1942, the United States began searching the homes of immigrants who had come to America from Germany, Japan and Italy and, even with no evidence of any crime, many were taken away in handcuffs and removed to what was referred to as "custodial detention" with no charges, no trials and no recourse.

Even though their cause was supported by President Roosevelt's wife Eleanor, Executive Order 9006 was signed requiring the forced removal of all people of Japanese decent from certain areas - including the entire state of California.  Families were forced to leave their homes and were shipped to internment camps - even those who were born in the United States.  The plan was to trade these 'prisoners of war' for Americans being held overseas.

'The Train to Crystal City' is the story of the upheaval and struggles faced by the families forced to leave everything behind them.  The author, Jan Jarboe Russell, focuses the story on two teenagers whose families were sent to the Crystal City internment camp - Ingrid, born in New York in 1930 to German immigrants who had migrated to the United States in 1923, and Sumi, born in 1928 to Japanese immigrants.

Putting personal faces on a little known and often forgotten portion of American history, the stories of the two girls and what happened to their families are not easily forgot once the book is finished.