Lists

At the end of the year, library list-servs and message boards are always full of librarians’ lists of favorite books of the past year. Librarians like to outdo one another with odd book titles that the rest of us have never heard of. I think it makes them feel smart to have read something peculiar. I also think that if a librarian claims to find great value in a book that nobody else read, it makes the money spent to buy that library book seem less foolish.
Me (I?), I’m a pretty ordinary reader. If it’s on the New York Times Bestsellers List, I probably read it and loved it, or at least plan on reading and loving it. Two of the best books I read in 2010 weren’t brand new. The Book Thief was a terrific story of World War II Germany told through the voice of a young, female narrator. I also loved Driftless by David Rhodes. I heard Rhodes speak at a library conference. He said that he was inspired to write the book after attending the funeral of a friend. It was there he realized that each of the attendees knew the deceased in a different way. A couple of brand new books I enjoyed were Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel by Tom Franklin. The title refers to the way kids learn to spell Mississippi. The other book is Room by Emma Donoghue. These are both mysteries and are “must reads” for any mystery fan.
When I polled the library staff for their favorite 2010 books, I received a motley, assorted list of titles. Oddly enough, two suggestions from two different staff members involve elephants: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Hannah’s Dream by Diane Hammond. The only other animal book that made anyone’s list is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The narrator in that one is Enzo, a lab-mix. He is the side-kick of a race car driver. Even a non-dog lover would like this story about love, parenthood and following one’s dreams.
One librarian discovered author Pat Conroy this year. Several of his novels made it to her top ten list. The library owns his newest one, South of Broad. It is a good, if not particularly plausible story. Any group of high school friends that had that many shared major events and catastrophes would never make it to adulthood.
Books by many of the standard, popular writers made our lists: Danielle Steel, Jude Deveraux, Phillipa Gregory, Nora Roberts and Barbara Delinsky, for example. A couple of classics were mentioned: Giants in the Earth and To Kill a Mockingbird. And, lots and lots of mysteries by Harlan Coben, Linwood Barclay, Andrew Gross and Preston & Childs.
A library patron just stopped by the office. Her favorites of 2010 included Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. Not coincidentally, Crow Lake will be our February reading group selection for Humboldt Reads!. The January choice is Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos. We will meet January 20 at Vinny’s at 5:30 to discuss it, so you still have plenty of time to get it read.
Whatever your reading mood, there’s a book for that at your library.

Old Andrew

Last week I read a book review that brought back such disturbing memories that I wanted to run home and pull the covers over my head. This book brought back one of those humiliating moments when I was forced to face the fact that I’m not really as smart or well-read as I like to think I am.
One frigid early January day when I worked at the Denison library, an older woman, a farm-wife who only came into town for library books and livestock feed approached me at the front desk. She had a list of ten or so book titles. She handed it to me and asked if I could find these books somewhere or other and borrow them through the state interlibrary loan program. I replied that I would do my best. The books were mostly fifty to one hundred years old and a little difficult to acquire. When the first one arrived, she came in promptly to pick it up.
“Oh, I’m so excited to get started on this” she said. “You see, I decided to study up on Andrew Jackson’s cabinet as my winter project.” Andrew Jackson’s cabinet? That type of intellectual curiosity just leaves me dumbfounded. I could (maybe) tell you in what century Jackson lived, but nothing else I ever learned about him comes to mind.
This new book is A Being So Gentle: The Frontier Love Story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson. Now that’s a title that catches my eye! It was enough of a clue to Jackson’s life that I googled him and read a short internet encyclopedia biography. Rachel and Andy were rather “free thinkers” of their day. The fact that they married while Rachel was still married to another man was quite the scandal. Eventually she was persuaded to obtain the first divorce in the (young) history of the state of Kentucky and remarry Jackson in a legitimate ceremony. Jackson fought thirteen duels, several over his wife’s honor. Charles Dickinson was the only man he ever killed in a duel, but not before Dickinson shot him near the heart. It was said about Jackson that he was shot so frequently in duels that he “rattled like a bag of marbles.”
Jackson was heartbroken when his beloved Rachel died a few weeks before he took office. He wrote the following inscription for her tombstone:
"Here lie the remains of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, wife of President Jackson, who died the 22d of December, 1828, aged 61. Her face was fair, her person pleasing, her temper amiable, and her heart kind; she was delighted in relieving the wants of her fellow creatures, and cultivated that divine pleasure by the most liberal and unpretending methods; to the poor she was a benefactor; to the rich an example; to the wretched a comforter; to the prosperous an ornament; her piety went hand in hand with her benevolence, and she thanked her Creator for being permitted to do good. A being so gentle and yet so virtuous, slander might wound but could not dishonor. Even death, when he tore her from the arms of her husband, could but transport her to the bosom of her God."
So, when it comes in, I’ll read that book, and perhaps feel a little more confident in my knowledge of Andrew Jackson. However, I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from hearing my younger sister say recently “I just read the best biography of Genghis Khan.”

Last week, all week long I looked forward to finding time to pop open the December issue of Library Journal. LJ isn’t the sort of magazine that can be paged through in a few minutes. I need a stretch of quiet time, a cup of coffee, and a bright orange highlighter when I open my copy, don’t you?
I paged through the articles looking for whatever information might apply to our public library. This issue was devoted to library architectural projects that opened in 2010. Most of them are huge academic libraries or public libraries in big cities that have more in common with an airplane hangar than with our cozy building.
I scanned an article about an upcoming American Library Association meeting in San Diego. Big time authors will be there…Stewart O’Nan, Kathy Reichs and Ted Danson. Ted Danson? He’s that guy from Cheers, isn’t he? Sam Malone. Apparently as he grew older, Ted became an environmental activist with a new book about to be published. They will have to enjoy the California sunshine without me. I’ll be here shoveling.
Along about page 84 I came to the heart of the magazine….the book reviews. The first section is a prepublication alert. These are books that have created some buzz in the book industry and among those lucky folk who have access to advance reader copies. These book reviews end with statements like “Bought in a two-book deal at a hotly contested publisher’s auction” and “A real thought-provoker for book clubs” and “Essential for thriller collections.” I highlighted about one in four reviews in that section of the magazine. Those I will order for sure. A few more I marked with a question mark. Those books I will look up on Amazon.com to get a glimpse of the book cover, if it is available. Although we hear “don’t judge a book by its cover” we all do it anyway. If the cover has a robot or alien on it, nobody will pick it up and give it a chance. If a book has a muscle-bound hero and a damsel in distress on its cover, no one will check it out unless it is a small paperback that can be easily hidden from view. If a book has a fighter plane or battle ship on the cover, most women will pass right over it.
In addition to the book covers, I need to worry about the binding. I’ve written before about how library patrons will pass right over those “trade” paperbacks. They are the larger sized ones, not the kind found on a revolving rack at a truck stop. Over and over I try to explain that these aren’t (necessarily) inferior books. They can be by unknown authors. The publisher hopes it will be a big seller, but just isn’t sure enough to spring for the added expense of a hard binding. Other times it might be a terrific book that appeals to a smaller “niche” audience. Sometimes that “niche” might just be people who are smarter than average. That’s the niche I’m striving for!
Once again, I’ve been swayed by very promising book reviews for “trade paperbacks”. I’m going to throw a bunch of them in a basket and invite you all to join my niche and give a book a chance, at your library.

More About E-readers

I’ve had even more questions about electronic readers, those e-book things. Several people want to surprise a loved one with an e-reader for Christmas. I will tell you what little I know. Keep in mind, I have not ever used any of them, so I’m not endorsing particular products.
The most well-know e-reader is the Kindle. It is sold in several models at Amazon.com. The only books that can be downloaded into a Kindle must come from Amazon. They must be purchased from the Amazon website. Other brands such as the Sony E-reader and the Nook sold by Barnes and Noble are compatible with books sold on their websites and with books available (for free) from NEIBORS , on the library website. Remember Beta and VHS? Reel to reel and 8-Track? It’s the same idea. Different, incompatible formats.
Before you purchase an e-reader, or put one on your own Christmas list, do a little research. The various formats of e-readers (and audio book devices, too) is explained on the NEIBORS website. You can reach it through the library’s website www.humboldtpubliclibrary.com or go directly to http://neibors.lib.overdrive.com .
Our last Humboldt Reads! book discussion for the year was held last week at Rustix. The book we read was The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. It was an interesting book, originally published for young adult readers. It takes place in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The narrator of the story is Death. Oddly enough, by the end of the book, Death has turned out to almost be likeable. If you missed reading it in time for the book discussion, there are still copies available at the library. The crowd at our book discussion varies from month to month. Newcomers are always appreciated.
The book for the next discussion is the All Iowa Reads Book of 2011. It is chosen each year by the Iowa Center for the Book. This year’s choice is Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos. Copies of the book will be available soon at the library. We will meet for dinner and book discussion on January 20, at Vinny’s at 5:30pm. Sing Them Home is the story of a trio of adult siblings who gather in their Nebraska home town when their father suddenly dies. These three have lived with unresolved grief since their mother disappeared during a tornado when they were young. Entertainment Weekly magazine says that “the ending may leave you feeling so wistful for these strange, sad people that you find yourself fantasizing about a trip to Nebraska.”
It must be one powerful book. When Iowa is home, why would anyone want to visit Nebraska? Whatever your dreams, make them come true at your library.

Non-fiction or nonfiction is an account, narrative, or representation of a subject which an author presents as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition.
This, according to Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, is the definition of nonfiction. Lots of library users never cross the aisle to read nonfiction. I understand why they might feel that way. There are so many new books published each month that even a dedicated reader can’t get through all the books that he or she might like to read. Why step over to the nonfiction section and add even more books to our “to read” lists?
I try to mix up my reading. Some from every section of the library every so often. Not only does it help me when choosing new books for the library, but it adds to my life experience. I hope that it makes me more compassionate to read about those with difficult lives. I hope to be motivated to appreciate life more. I hope to learn how to do something new or learn how to do something better. Below are just a few of the newest nonfiction books at the library.
The Beauty of Love: A Memoir of Miracles, Hope and Healing by Laura and Jorge Posada. Jorge is a professional baseball player, Laura is an attorney. Their first child, Jorge Luis, was born with craniosynostosis, a birth defect that causes an abnormally shaped skull. This book is their story of the challenges of his diagnosis and treatment.
You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face Blindness, and Forgiveness by Heather Sellers. One time Heather ran up and kissed a stranger in the airport, thinking it was her husband. Can you imagine what it must be like to be unable to reliably recognize faces? It’s an illness with which I was unfamiliar. Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, may result from a severe brain injury, but 2.5% of the population has an inherited form.
The Art of Comforting: What to Say and Do for People in Distress by Val Walker. We all have felt helpless at the suffering of another human being at one time or another. This gentle little book will help us draw on our character strengths to provide just the right kind of comfort the occasion calls for.
A Brilliant Darkness: The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Ettore Majorana, the Troubled Genius of the Nuclear Age by Joao Magueijo. Majorana was among the group of scientist who accidentally discovered nuclear fission in 1934. In 1938, he boarded a ship and was never seen again. His mother never gave up on his return. When she died many years later, in her nineties, she left him a share of her estate.
Little Girls Can Be Mean: Four Steps to Bully-Proof Girls in the Early Grades by Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert. Every mother of daughters could have used this book at one time or another. If your daughters are still in elementary school, it’s not too late to be pro-active by giving your child the skills she’ll need to face growing up female.
The Cure for the Chronic Life: Overcoming the Hopelessness That Holds You Back by Deanna Favre and Shane Stanford. A forty-day spiritual treatment plan to guide you out of hopelessness. If the rumors about Mrs. Favre’s famous husband are true, she’s probably a real expert on recovery from hopelessness. I’m curious to read what she has to offer.
The Grace of Silence: A Memoir by Michele Norris. Norris is a radio and television commentator. She earned both an Emmy and a Peabody award for her coverage of 9/11 for ABC news. In this book she traced her family’s roots to the deep south and unearthed some painful family secrets.
Whatever you need to learn, start at your library. There’s a book for that!

The library has lots and lots of computers. Lots and lots of people use them. Every month more than 700 people use the library computers. Some are writing resumes, some checking out Facebook, some play solitaire. Whatever the rest of us do on our home and office computers, other folks do on the library computers.
When I moved to Humboldt almost nine years ago, we had three public computers upstairs in the adult and teen department. After awhile, we scooched those computers closer together and added two more. Soon five wasn’t enough so we added wireless internet (which means the computer doesn’t need to be plugged into a phone line) and bought two laptop computers that we use for especially busy times. When seven wasn’t enough, we bought two more for a high table without chairs. These will do in a pinch for patrons who “just need to check their email” or something else relatively quick. I wouldn’t want to stand there and write a research paper or balance my checkbook, ‘though.
We have finally reached capacity. I guess we could add more laptops, but anyone using them might be hard-pressed to find a comfortable chair to sit in some days. Also, when the battery is low the laptop needs to be in reach of an electrical socket.
What we have done to ease the strain, is add a new feature to our system. It’s called Envisionware. We bought this software product, something that I can’t see or touch, and had our local IT service install it. Unlike some other new gismos, this one is fairly user (librarian) friendly. What it does is lock the public computers. When someone comes in to use them, the user must log in with his/her library card number. Then, the user will receive up to one hour of computer time per day. This smart invisible system knows if you have a big fine or overdue books. You’ll be sent away to pay your debt to society before it allows you to use the computer.
Envisionware does require a Humboldt Public Library card. If someone comes to town to visit Granny for a few days, we will be happy to issue a guest pass that will allow the same computer privileges as a library card holder. I suppose that someone could come in and pretend to be passing through town and ask for a guest pass. That will work once or twice, but when we catch on you will be required to have a card.
Last week, we had a fairly new resident who hesitates to get a library card because “a bunch” of women are out to get him to pay back child support. I’m not sure how they could track him down through a library card; we don’t register them with any Big Brother Main Library or the IRS. We told the gentleman that it was his decision to make. He can continue hiding out and not use the library computers or man-up to his responsibilities and do things the right way. His choice, at your library.

What'sup @ the library

Things are just hopping at the library! I have a few upcoming activities to tell you about. First is our loosely constructed book club, Humboldt Reads! We meet today, September 23 to discuss Driftless. If you haven’t read it, that’s ok- join us anyway. Rustix at 5:30. If that isn’t enough notice for you, try next month. We are going to discuss To Kill a Mockingbird on October 21, at 5:30 at Rustix.
This is the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird. If you haven’t read it since high school, pick up a copy at the library and join us for our book discussion. I always intend to re-read it every five years. I’m several decades behind on that plan. In November we will read and discuss The Book Thief. That one will also be held at Rustix on November 18th.We usually move around town to various restaurants, but right now we owe Rustix a huge favor. In September we hosted a meeting of 15 or so children’s librarians. When Sarah phoned to reserve a table for lunch, she found out that Rustix is closed at lunch time. But, they graciously opened just for our group! Isn’t that a neighborly gesture? We appreciated it!
Something new we have planned for grownups is Thrilling Tales. It’s a storytime for adults. From October through March, we’ll have an exciting story for you to listen to on the 3rd Friday of each month at 12:05pm at the library. If you are on your lunch hour, we promise to have you out in time to get back to work by 1pm. Bring your lunch in with you, if you like. We’ll have the coffee pot on. The Seattle Public Library has offered programs like this for several years. I thought it would be worth trying here, too. If nothing else, the staff is having quite an adventure reading and choosing stories to be read at the sessions. Mark it on your calendar and join us for the first Thrilling Tale on October 15 at noon.
There are two more programs remaining in our travel series. Join us on October 21 for a vicarious visit to Kenya led by John and Denise Hartford and a trip to India led by Susan Tomlinson on November 11. Each program will begin at 7pm. If you are interested in our new BYKI online language learning program, be sure to come early to the November 11 program. Paul Gillespie from Recorded Books will be here at 6pm to help you get signed up for BYKI. You will need to come in and get one of our beautiful new library cards first. The cards have a photo of our lovely old building and its crab apple tree in full bloom, so you’ll want one even if you aren’t a library user! On program nights we’ll leave the north door open for you!
New at your library:
We just received extra copies of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy and extra copies of Hunger Games young adult series. If your name is on the list for one of these books, the wait will be a little shorter now.
New on DVD:
Letters to Juliet
Our Family Wedding
Marmaduke
City Island
Just Wright Prince of Persia

Never Judge a Book By Its Movie

The book display at the library right now reads “Never Judge a Book By Its Movie.” Of course, it’s a word play on last week’s topic “Never Judge a Book By Its Cover”, but with a twist. Just as an illustrator can never quite accurately convey the tone and feeling of a written work onto its two dimensional book jacket, a script writer can never take a book and adequately turn it into a movie. The finished product may be terrific, but it is a different product, just not the same as the book.
Reading a book and enjoying it requires an imagination. One needs the ability to see the settings and characters in one’s head. An engrossed reader will hear the words spoken. I know this because on occasion I have answered aloud a question posed by a character in a book and I’ve screamed back at a literary villain or two over the years.
My youngest child had an imaginary friend, Cousin Freddy. Years after Cousin Freddy had stopped showing up around the dinner table, the whole family had a conversation about what he might have looked like. We had five different imaginary versions in our heads. None of our‘s even vaguely resembled the vision Cousin Freddy’s creator had in mind. I was rather startled to find that the little boy I had fed and tucked into bed for years wasn’t a redhead in overalls.
Imagine what it must feel like for an author to sit in a theater and see his/her work come to life on the big screen? Will the appearance of the actors in the movie surprise or disturb the author? I’ve read that Meryl Streep has signed on to star in the film version of Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. Assuming that she is scheduled to play the librarian (and not the cat), it’s an odd bit of casting. Dewey author and Spencer, Iowa librarian Vicky Myron is about my size, my height, my age. Oh, never mind. I understand. I, too, always wanted to be a tall willowy blonde.
Several movies coming out this fall are based on recent books. Eat, Pray, Love is in theaters right now. I tried unsuccessfully to read the book. I was irritated with the heroine who was attempting to heal a broken heart with exotic travel adventures. I wanted to tell her “Just get over it. Countless generations of us have been able to mend without a trip to Bali.” The book was a bestseller, and now a movie, so perhaps, my opinion is not shared by very many.
Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist is the story of two teens that discover the body of a teenage boy. One of the book reviews states that its “part revenge fantasy, part horror story and part police investigation gone wrong.”
The Romantics by Galt Niederhoffer is about Laura and Lila, college roommates. One girl, the maid of honor for the other, has long-hidden and complicated feelings for the groom and it seems that the groom may not be ready for the walk down the aisle, either.
The American by Martin Booth. George Clooney stars in this one-need I say more? It was previously published as A Very Private Gentleman.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The story o f three English boarding school students now all grown up. This one is by the author of The Remains of the Day.
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. Juli first flipped for Bryce in the second grade. Six years later life is slightly more complicated.
Whatever you are in the mood for---movies, books or audio books, you’ll find what you are looking for at your library.

Meetings.....

An organization I to which I belong had its regular meeting last week in Charles City. This group is called LINC. It stands for Libraries in North Central (Iowa). It is a legitimate group composed of the directors of the larger libraries in our part of the state. However, its by-laws include such items as:
PURPOSE
A. To share ideas, information and experiences among the administrators of member libraries.
B. To develop and promote administrative level continuing education opportunities.
C. To write and administer cooperative grants or preferably to encourage others to write and administer them for us.
D. To have lunch at every restaurant of acceptable quality in North Central Iowa.
So, although we do meet to share ideas and plan for the future of library service in our area, we also enjoy one another's company and have a good time in the process. This meeting had a rather somber tone. Two of the long time directors were attending for the very last time. Virginia Ruzicka of Charles City and Carol Bailey from Belmond are retiring. Virginia's acerbic sense of irony has kept us laughing through the worst of times and Carol has led us all by example in her quiet, gracious manner. I have traveled to conferences around the country with each of them. Librarians make the very best traveling companions. As a group we are patient and resourceful and not easily flustered. I will miss both of them. Each in her own way was kind and nurturing to me when I was new at my job and uncertain where to begin.

Barb Shultz, area administrator, shared information she learned at a meeting held earlier last week in Pleasant Hill. It appears that the state library's proposal to roll the library service areas into the state library will come to pass. The state legislature issued a request (demand?) last year that a plan be developed to spend less, while delivering comparable service to Iowa libraries. Apparently, this innovative new plan will save around $22,000 of a multi-million budget. The library service areas furnish us with invaluable advice, moral support and information that make every librarian's job easier and improve library service to all Iowans. I'm afraid this is a glaring example of that old adage "penney-wise, pound foolish."

On a brighter note, we learned all about our new language learning program, BYKI. If you are interested in learning to speak another language, contact the library to get signed up. After that one visit to the library, you will be free to go through the lessons on your home computer as fast or as slowly as you like. It is an amazing program and would have been unaffordable to a library our size without the help of Barb Shultz at North Central Library Service Area. Barb formed a consortium to give us group buying power. The Recorded Books Company, the provider of BYKI, had never supplied this service through a consortium before, but was willing to work with us to make it available to north central libraries. I'm working through the lessons in Spanish. I'm learning lots-mostly how much one can forget in 30 or 40 years.

You can read about BYKI and more in our newsletter found on the library's webpage www.humboldtpubliclibrary.com Just click on Bookmarks.

Last week a couple of our former library kids got married. I’ve lived in Humboldt almost nine years and I watched these two grow from middle school to married couple. Kayla was a member of our Teen Advisory Board for several years. Adam was our hero when we first started video games at the library. Dance, Dance, Revolution was our first adventure into gaming. Adam knew all about it and the younger kids thought if DDR had Adam’s approval, it must be socially acceptable. Those two helped get our teen library corner and programs off the ground. We are grateful for their contributions.
Attending that wedding made me realize that this is probably the time of year I ought to tell you about wedding-planning resources at the library. I usually don’t think about it until late spring when the invitations begin to arrive in the mail. By then, summer weddings are all planned. It’s too late for the library to help out.
First, we have a subscription to Brides magazine. Sure, like any other magazine, this one is chock full of advertising. Isn’t that the fun of all fashion magazines? Even a bride on a budget can drool over the designer gowns and track down a less expensive version. Any mother of a bride could tell you that bridal magazines are expensive. Check out an armload of them at the library when planning gets underway.
One of my favorite wedding guides is Wedding Goddess: A Divine Guide to Transforming Wedding Stress into Wedding Bliss by Laurie Sue Brockway. This book is about five years old, but it hasn’t lost any of its punch. It divides the whole process into do-able chapters, beginning with a “What Is your Bridal Personality” quiz to get you started off in the right direction. A Wedding Goddess is a Bridezilla but with more grace and poise. The bride will still have the perfect day of her dreams, but she accomplishes it with tact and a winsome smile.
Green Wedding: Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration by Mireya Navarro is filled by ecologically sound suggestions such as : the invitations shouldn’t require trees to die, and the food should be local, seasonal and should never have said “moo”. Some of the photos in this book scream “hippy, dippy wedding” or “I got married in a cow pasture”, but many of them don’t. Many of them are gracious and classy. Whatever your style, it never hurts to hug a tree.
How to Plan Your Own Wedding and Save Thousands Without Going Crazy by Tracy Leigh is another one to consult. It’s loaded with charts and checklists. There is a short list of duties for every member of the wedding party and lots of I-probably-wouldn’t-have-thought-about it lists, such as the right time of day and location for various styles of tuxedoes.
Colin Cowie Wedding Chic: 1001 Ideas for Every Moment of Your Celebration is worth looking through for no other reason than to appreciate the lovely photos. No one I know can afford to do the stuff in this book (cuffs for the reception room drapes made of a particular variety of roses?), but it is full of many wonderful ideas that could be adapted to any budget.
The Portable Wedding Consultant by Leah Ingram is full of the practical stuff. Rules and rules of thumb for almost any decision a bride or groom may be required to make. One thoughtful nugget I read in this one says “Remember that planning the wedding is a dress rehearsal for the rest of your life.” I think that must mean that if all the members of each family are still speaking to all the members of the other family when the wedding is over, the marriage may have a pretty good chance at success.
Stop by the library. We will start you off down the aisle on the right foot.

Last week the Humboldt Reads! book group met to discuss The First Desire by Nancy Reisman. It was the 27th book we’ve discussed. I’ll confess, I didn’t finish this one. I wanted to, I intended to, but I didn’t . Often when I give up on a book, someone will tell me that I should have stuck it out a few more pages because it got “really good” later on. No one said that about The First Desire. Only one of the participants loved it. She was impressed by the author’s use of language to describe characters. I think I can appreciate a good turn of phrase as well as the next reader, but please, give me a plot to go along with the pretty words!
The book choices for Humboldt Reads! took a turn down a pretty rocky road a year or so ago when I began to choose books I wanted to read, but hadn’t read yet. I grew tired of the necessity of re-reading a book so that I could remember enough about it for a discussion. I thought if I chose something I hadn’t read yet, I could experience it for the first time with the other discussers. Unfortunately, there are plenty of potholes and bad books on that road.
Our next book is Driftless by David Rhodes. It is a little longer than most of the books we choose, so we are going to skip an August meeting and convene on September 23 at Rustix at 5:30 for our book discussion. Grab a copy, give it a try and join us for dinner on the 23rd. I hope enough of us finish it so we can have a really good discussion.
The October Humboldt Reads! book is To Kill a Mockingbird. 2010 is the 50th anniversary of its publication. Although most everyone over the age of 12 has read it, how many of us have read it lately? It’s worth reading at least once per decade. It will be interesting to see if this year’s impressions of it will be any different than the other times we’ve read it.
For November I’ve chosen The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. It has been a really big hit with the teen crowd for awhile. More and more frequently an adult comes in looking for it on the recommendation of a friend or relative. It seems a bunch of book clubs in the Cities have read it and shared their enthusiasm with those of us in the hinterlands.
Humboldt Reads! is a book club without a membership list. People come and go. Last time we had two people attend for the first time. Some attendees have been coming since the very first. The crowd varies from 5-15 people. We always have a good time. Stop by the library for a copy of Driftless and join us at Rustix on September 23. I’ll save you a seat.

I read an article last week on the National Public Radio website titled “Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries.” Who knew cupcakes were at high-tide? Then, again, who doesn’t love ‘em? Can’t the same be said for libraries?
The reasons listed in the article for the growing popularity of libraries are as follows:
Libraries get in fights. Libraries stand up for your rights to information and your right to privacy about the information you seek. Libraries stand up to the powers-that-be for adequate funding to provide you with the goods and services you require. Apparently today’s librarians have a “pleasantly plucky” quality.
Librarians know stuff. The article states that as the words “geek” and “nerd” have lost their negative connotation, so have librarians. It’s no long embarrassing to “know stuff”. (Well, it’s about time!) Truly, it isn’t that librarians know everything, so much as it is that we know where to start looking to find it. And whom to ask for help if we can’t find it ourselves.
Libraries will give you things for free. We don’t actually give stuff away, we just make it available for borrowing. Cancel your Netflix account, stop ordering boxes full of books from Amazon! The library will loan you almost anything you want to read or view free of charge. Who doesn’t like free?
Libraries are green and local. Can’t argue with that one, either. Is it ecologically sound for each of us to purchase every book Nicholas Sparks spits out? No, of course not. We buy a few copies at the library and take turns with anyone in town who is interested. What is on the library shelves is chosen locally just for us. No big-box retail executive in New York sending out our reading material. A local library selects what its users want, not what someone else wants us to want to read.
Libraries are open to the public. The author of the article writes that “some days, you really have to wonder about people.” Perhaps in some libraries, but not ours. Our library is where you see the best in people. Everyone here adores little Kate who comes in with her mother to ride our alligator (elevator). We appreciate the curmudgeonly attitudes of the daily newspaper readers, except when they snore. Our library is Humboldt’s living room but without a tv and with more personal interaction.
There seems to be a preposterous level of goodwill. No one doesn’t like libraries. Even the goofiest of YouTube videos, if it is about libraries, will engender warm fuzzy feelings. One Humboldt snowbird told me this story: She was in the Minneapolis airport waiting for the last leg of the trip bringing her back to Humboldt after an Arizona winter. Her cell phone rang. It was the Humboldt Public Library with a book on hold for her. We pretty well know her schedule and we start reserving her favorite authors when we know she is on her way home. Janet said “that’s a small town, for you.” Not really, that’s just libraries.
Be sure to check out the Lady Gaga-inspired YouTube video on our website, www.humboldtpubliclibrary.com. Click on the Bookmarks Newsletter. You will see librarians in a whole new light.

Summer Mysteries

For the past 102 years, your face has been your passport to the all the materials in the library. Recently we have added an actual, physical library card. If you don’t wish to carry a library card around, your smile will still work to check out books, movies and stuff. But, if you want to use all the fancy frills on our webpage you will need a real card with a barcode. Soon, all those who use our library computers will need a card, too. Our computers are used around seven hundred times each month, so even allowing for repeat users, that’s a lot of folk who may need to sign up for a card. If you or someone you know might want to use our public computers, get your card soon. There may be a big rush at the front desk when that aspect of the program kicks in.
Anyone interested in genealogy or updating your scrapbooks might want to check out http://humboldtpl.newspaperarchive.com. It is an archive of the first 130 (or so) years of Humboldt newspapers. It’s searchable by name and/or date. The content of the archive is based upon the microfilm of the old newspapers, so some of the images aren’t quite perfect. It’s loads of fun to look at the ads for various businesses around town and to read about the issues of eras past. You will need the user name of “humboldtpl” and the password “archive.” There is also a link on our webpage www.humboldtpubliclibrary.com.
Even if you don’t need anything, check out our webpage occasionally. Steve Bohan does such a nice job of keeping it up to date. He even adds a waving flag for each country we visit on our “Tour the World” travel programs. Also, you will find dates, times and location for all library programs. Check us out!
New True Stories @your library:
Denial: A Memoir of Terror by Jessica Stern. The author is a world expert on terrorism and holds a doctorate from Harvard University in public policy. In 1973, 15 year old Jessica and her 14 year old sister were raped at gun point in their Massachusetts home. The girls buried their trauma until a police lieutenant re-opened the case 30 years later.
I am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage by Mary-Ann Kirkby. Mary-Ann was born into a reclusive, religious Hutterite colony in Manitoba, Canada. In 1969, her parents left the colony with their seven children to start a new life. She had never heard of Walt Disney, never ridden a bicycle or tasted macaroni and cheese. The transition into popular culture was overwhelming. This is a story about retracing steps and understanding how our beginnings can define us.
Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home by Laura Ling and Lisa Ling. Laura Ling and a colleague were working on a documentary about North Korean defectors when they were apprehended and imprisoned by North Korean soldiers. Laura writes of their capture and incarceration, while her sister Lisa writes of the efforts to secure their release.
New Fiction @your library:
Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo. This is the second book in a series of fictional thrillers about a small, mostly Amish community in Pennsylvania. The chief of police is the formerly Amish herself, Kate Burkholder. This one is the story of the Plank Family who recently moved to the area. On a cold October night, the entire family of seven was found slaughtered. If this one is checked out, try the first one: Sworn to Silence. It will keep you up all night!
Snowbound by Blake Crouch. I don’t know a thing about this book except what I read on the cover. It received a terrific review in Booklist magazine and several of my favorite mystery authors, John Hart, John Lescroart and Gregg Hurwitz filled the back cover with glowing praise. We have his earlier book, Abandon, too.
If you are looking for suspense, whether fact or fiction, there’s a book for that @your library.

It’s summer again and June is summer’s most perfect month in Iowa. It’s warm enough that I want to be outside all day, every day, but not so hot that I can’t enjoy it once I’m out there. June is the perfect month for outdoor projects of all kinds.
A new book, Back Yard Recreation Projects, arrived last week. It’s just full of all sorts of projects, from a simple “Classic Tree Swing” to the more complicated pools, spas and tree houses. One of my daughters grew up with an enormous maple tree outside her Kentucky bedroom window. She spent an entire summer in the mid 1980s drawing plans for a playhouse to be built in that tree. She had plans to connect the tree house to her room with a swinging gangplank. She also had plans that I would build all this for her. She’s my third child and I had learned a thing or two while raising her brothers. I told Anne that I would gladly build it, but, she was responsible for financing the project. After a quick call to the lumber yard for a price check, she decided that by the time she held enough lemonades stands to pay for the tree house, she would be too old to play in it. I hope she never sees this book-she might try to hold me to the promise as there are instructions for some delightfully charming structures.
Those brothers of hers could also have profited from this book. They spent many a summer afternoon constructing a neighborhood skateboard ramp. There was always at least one component that they couldn’t scrounge from garages on the block. That would leave the whole apparatus too shaky and wobbly to hold up the smallest neighbor kid. Plans for a very sturdy version are available in the book along with plans and rules for many other games. Ever wondered how to play Bocce Ball? This book’s for you!
Another favorite outdoor summer activity is cooking on the grill. The Tex-Mex Grill and Backyard Barbacoa Cookbook by Robb Walsh is crammed full of funny anecdotes and 85 recipes. They range from the very simple (sounding) Armadillo Eggs and Atomic Deer Turds (don’t jump to conclusions) to the more complicated Republic of the Rio Grande Grilled Tuna and Grapefruit Supreme Salad. Tex-Mex Asado de Puerco requires 24 ingredients and a whole day to cook, but , wow, does it sound yummy.
If gardening is more your idea of summer fun, give a good look at Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses by Adrian Bloom. There are lots of photos to give a gardener some good ideas of varieties that go and grow together well. Choosing plants whose appearance and growth requirements are complementary is an art that can escape even the most serious gardener.
If you are in need of some serious summer inspiration, stop by the library…….there’s a book for that!

The library staff has asked that I thank everyone for your patience as we stumble our way through the first weeks with our new system. Library users are being very kind and understanding. We promise to improve!
Don’t forget our Summer Preview Party tomorrow, May 7. Outdoor games for kids at 1:00 pm, ice cream for everyone at 2:00 pm and a rock n’ roll concert at 3:00. If it rains, we’ll have it on May 21st instead.
Also, another big event coming up is the Library Foundation’s annual pie event. This year we will have actor Duffy Hudson’s Einstein show. It is at 7:00 pm May 14 at Morehouse Hall. Tickets are $5.00. They are on sale at the library and at the door. Duffy promises that one does not have to understand mathematics to enjoy the program. Remember: buy a ticket for the event and pie and coffee afterwards are part of the package. No better deal in town!
May 20th, at 7:00 pm at the Springvale Room in the library, we will take a tour of Norway with our own Vivien Hansen as our guide. Viv used to regale us with stories of her Norwegian travels, so I know we will all have a good time. Please join us-everyone is welcome.
New @ the library:
Jenniemae & James: A Memoir in Black & White by Brooke Newman. The author’s father, James Newman, was a famous mathematician and a friend of Albert Einstein. Jenniemae was the family’s illiterate African American maid. The book is the story of their unlikely firiendship.
The Ten Things to Do When Your Life Falls Apart: An Emotional and Spiritual Handbook by Daphne Rose Kingma. Who hasn’t needed this book a time or two? I’ll give you a clue…Step One is “Cry Your Heart Out.” Apparently, I’ve been using her method all along!
This Is Not the Story You Think It Is…A Season of Unlikely Happiness: A Memoir by Laura Munson. This book is an expanded version of her essay that appeared in the “Modern Love” column of The New York Times. One of my kids told me about this column and I often read it on line. I missed her essay, but apparently it was very wise and comforting. A hint: the column is not always based on romantic love.
A Twisted Faith: A Minister’s Obsession and the Murder That Destroyed a Church by Gregg Olsen. The body of the wife of young youth minister in Bremerton, Washington was found in the burned remains of her home. It was discovered years later that she was dead before the fire even began. This one is a true story.
Paul and Me: 53 Years of Adventures and Misadventures with My Pal Paul Newman by A. E. Hotchner. Hotchner and Newman met in 1955 and remained friends until Newman’s death. It was the two of them who founded Newman’s Own food company as a prank, only to watch it grow into a major enterprise that has donated all of its $300 million profit to charities.
Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas. This one is fiction. It is the story of an avalanche that destroys everything in its path in Colorado in 1920. Every one of Dallas’s eight earlier books is worth reading, but The Persian Pickle Club is my very favorite. She has a talent of putting her readers into the moment of the book. If this one is checked out when you come in, give one of her others a chance.
The Pallbearers: A Shane Scully Novel by Stephen J. Cannell. Cannell writes terse, hard-bitten crime fiction. They are always a dependably good read. Anyone could put him/her self in the roll of Skully. It’s hard not to feel affection for the guy-he’s had a hard life.
The Mapping of Love and Death: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie is the intrepid psychologist/detective heroine of this series set in the 1930s. Her stories are both gripping and satisfying.
The One Amazing Thing: a Novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. This short little book had the most amazing reviews in Booklist and Library Journal magazines. It’s the story of nine assorted folk who find themselves trapped in a struggle to survive in an American passport office when an earthquake strikes.
Whether you need a book of inspiration, jubilation, confrontation or friendship, we have just what you need @ your library.

At long last, Beacon!

Next week the library will be closed Monday through Thursday while we install a new library system. I’m dreading it the way I dreaded teaching my kids to drive. My kids all learned and we will live through this transformation. While my girls still aren’t really comfortable with a standard transmission, I hope we will learn to love our new system.

Our library adopted an automated, computerized library system in 1992. It is a no-frills, workhorse of a system that is showing its age. The company that sold the system is no longer supporting it. It’s as if I were driving the same old van I drove in 1992 and GM no longer makes fan belts to fit.

Beacon is a new library system consortium. Approximately 100 school and public libraries in north central Iowa have gone together to purchase a system with all the bells and whistles that would have been prohibitively expensive for each individual library. Beacon will have lots of modern advantages for librarians such as email patron notification, simplified cataloging and a streamlined check-in, check-out system. Once Beacon is installed and running, patrons in the library will not notice any difference.

Patrons using the library’s webpage will see lots of differences. You will be able to log into your account, see what you have checked out, see when items are due, renew books online, and create lists of books you’ve read and books you want to read. The online card catalog will feature book covers, best seller lists and the option of searching not only our catalog, but the catalogs of all member libraries. Once Humboldt patrons have an actual library card they will be able to use our card at any Beacon library.

As of last week, the library has halted dvd checkout until the new system is in place. We didn’t want you to be racking up movie fines while we learned to operate the new system. We do have a large selection of donated dvds which we will loan to you on the honor system. Take a couple home with you. Watch and return to trade in for a couple more. The library will be closed next week April 19-22. The whole library staff will go for training for a day and a half. The rest of the time will be spent installing the program and making it operational. We hope to reopen at 10:00 a.m. Friday, April 23, with everything functioning perfectly. Life rarely goes that smoothly and for awhile we will be checking things into both the old system and the new one, to make sure that all checked-in items actually are removed from your account.

Nothing worthwhile comes without challenges. Bear with the library staff as we move into the new system. I promise it will be worth the wait @ your library.

Conferences, conferences

My Winter of Discontent

I have just had one of those Rip Van Winkle moments. I feel that I must have fallen asleep and awakened in my office chair in some future decade. Only my messy desk looks the same.
Earlier I was remembering a book my parents read when I was small. I don’t know anything about it except the title. It is called The Winter of Our Discontent. I was thinking that this, of all years, truly IS a winter of discontent. I began to wonder about that book, so I looked it up on Amazon. I typed in the title and hit “search”. I should have remembered to check the category “books”, but I didn’t and my search results sent me into a world where nothing made sense.
The book title was listed first, but then several entries followed it that I didn’t recognize. First was The Winter of Our Discontent/ Echoing Green. After a little research, I found out that Echoing Green is either a global nonprofit organization dedicated to early-stage social sector investing (whatever that means) or a rock group. I chose rock group because I didn’t want to research early-stage social sector. The next entry was The Winter of Our Discontent/Warhammer. I’m scared to look up that one, so I decided it must also be a rock group. The next entry was The Winter of Mixed Drinks by Frightened Rabbit. I couldn’t leave that alone. I was hoping it was a book of recipes of spicy, warm drinks to while away a long winter. Alas, it is another rock group.
If you are an Amazon shopper you will be familiar with the feature on Amazon that says “customers who viewed this also viewed…..”. It is a method of showing you some other related items that Amazon hopes you will buy, too. When I looked up Frightened Rabbit, Amazon suggested I might be interested in tickets to Vampire Weekend. Only $40. Seemed reasonable until I found out it was rock performance in Edmonton, Alberta on March 14. Boy, I’m not that discontent. I was a little more tempted to travel to Miami Beach on April first to see the Arctic Monkeys perform for the same bargain price.
Finally, after 20 minutes of reading everything Amazon randomly threw at me, I did find out that The Winter of Our Discontent is a book written by John Steinbeck in 1962. I would have been old enough to read it, but probably not old enough to appreciate Steinbeck. All that chasing down information is a normal trait for a librarian. We all have found ourselves still researching some bizarre fact long after the person who asked for the information has thanked us and gone home. Librarians just can’t stand not knowing something. That doesn’t mean we will necessarily remember it next time someone asks, but the second time we’ll find it faster.
About half of the library material checked out in Humboldt is children’s material. That means about half of our patrons are children. They are smaller than adults, so you wouldn’t think they would take up much space, but since they don’t stay put, they seem to command about twice as much area. They also produce about triple the decibels. Thus, all these years, early-out-Wednesdays here in Humboldt have been busy enough to try any (and every) librarian’s soul. School dismissed an hour early on Wednesdays, so we had an extra hour of chaos. Now, without asking my permission, the school district has given up early-out-Wednesdays in favor of even earlier-out-Fridays.
Not every week, but sometimes, school will dismiss at 1:00 pm. on Friday. The library closes at 5:30 on Friday. Think what that means to a child who is told “just go to the public library until mommy/daddy gets off work.” He/she/they will be here at least four hours. Is there any four hour stretch of time in a day when a child doesn’t need a snack and some physical activity? Of course not. No one, especially children, can come to the library and behave well for four hours running. The adults begin to snore after an hour or so and the kiddies lose control. Please, please, before you send your young’uns over for us to babysit after school, consider their maturity level. No child is equipped to sit quietly and calmly for long stretches of time. Please don’t ask that of your children. Nor of your library.

In big city libraries with lots of branches and bookmobiles and fancy stuff, there is an ILS (integrated library system) that connects them all to one another. If you were to go into the Springvale branch, the computerized card catalog could tell you that Gone With the Wind is checked out at Springvale, but both the Dakota City and Jerry Hatcher branches have a copy on the shelf. Those big libraries will also use the ILS to order books, catalog them (put the records of the book into the card catalog) and keep track of how many times Gone With the Wind is checked out.
We aren’t so backward that we don’t have an ILS; we’ve had one in Humboldt since 1992. We just haven’t had a very modern one with all the bells and whistles. Not only is our system of the bare bones variety, the company that sold it to us not longer supports it---the warranty is up. No more customer service. Lots of libraries in our part of the state are in the same situation. We could replace our systems for around $5000 per library. Multiple that by about 50 libraries and we are talking REAL money. Enough money to buy one of those fancy systems. In addition to all of us public libraries, there are many, many schools with the same outdated system.
Hey! Let’s pool our money and buy a real Cadillac of a system! We called our baby BEACON. The schools, including Fort Dodge, began using it last August. Now, it is time to begin to merge the public libraries into BEACON. Every library is different, different books, different movies, different checkout times, different library hours, different everything. Some pretty sophisticated computer programmers were required to make it all work. Now the time has come that we cannot enter any more books into our old system. And, we can’t enter any books into the new system until mid-April.
We add around 300 new items every month. We don’t have enough storage space to stack up boxes and boxes of new books, magazines and movies until April, so we came up with a sort of work-around method to carry us through. It is very old fashioned and not at all without flaws. We will probably create a real muddle to pull ourselves out of come spring.
The Bestsellers Club is a program at our library that allows readers to sign up for every new book written by particular authors. Just fill out a short form and we will always put you on the waiting list for a new James Patterson or Danielle Steel book. You will never miss a new Nicholas Sparks or Stephen King again.
Are you beginning to see our problem? Since we won’t be able to enter new books until BEACON is up and running, we won’t be able to put your favorite books on reserve for you. We don’t want to just stack them up in a corner and deal with them in April-we buy books so that people can read them. For the duration, all Bestsellers will be up for grabs. We will try to shelve them together in one spot for you. There will be no new waiting lists. If you are on the list for a book that we already have in the library, great. We’ll call you when it’s your turn. But, if a new book comes in that should have a waiting list, it won’t.
If we could figure out any other way to do this, we would. We are going to have to ask your patience through this process. We will keep a list of books that should have had a waiting list. When BEACON is going, if you’ve missed one, just ask. We will put you on reserve for it.
Meanwhile, have patience. I promise that Beacon will be worth the wait. By the time May rolls around, all 100+ libraries will be linked with shared system. Change happens. @your library.

Home Therapy: Fast, Easy, Affordable Makeovers by Lauri Ward. I was so excited when I saw that book on the library shelf. All winter long I’ve known therapy was desperately needed. I’m delighted to learn that it’s my house that’s in the doldrums, not my psyche!
This slender book has been around for a few years. It’s full of real-life home decorating stories. Each chapter tells the story of a particular room. The homeowner feels his/her room isn’t right, but can’t quite decide what needs to be changed. The author swoops in, evaluates the problem, moves a couple of furniture pieces, changes the slipcovers and the room looks like a design magazine centerfold. The real message of this book may be that it takes an unfamiliar eye to spot decorating problems. Perhaps, in our own homes, we are just too close to see things as they really are, or as they should be.
A library patron and dear volunteer, Sherri Crowley, once mentioned that she loves to move furniture. I, also, love a change, so I invited her (begged is more like it) to give my living room a new look. Like all rooms, mine has certain requirements….the tv can only be moved a short distance from the cable outlet, the rickety antique pie safe can be moved, but not too often, the front door needs room to open. Also, my house is very tiny. The backyard playhouse my daddy built for me when I was little wasn’t too much smaller.
Sherri took one look at my living room, shoved the sofa to a new wall, stuck it out at a peculiar angle, moved a few end tables and I have a whole new room! Every chapter in Home Therapy has a small section call “I never would have thought of that!” That’s just the way I felt when Sherri got through with my living room.
Every year I save a few days of vacation time “for an emergency”. Just like every year, no emergency arose, so I had those days available for a decorating project. A few years ago, I remodeled the upstairs and added a bath. Since that time Brady –the-Daschund and I have both grown older. I can still climb steps, but Brady needs to be carried up and down. This year’s emergency days can be used for a downstairs bedroom makeover. I’ll save the charming attic space for guests.
The Impatient Decorator: 201 Shortcuts to a Beautiful Home by Glenna J. Morton must have been written for me. Glenna knew I only have three days to spare. Chapter one is Color. Rule #1 is You Are the Boss of Color. Right away I knew this was a book for me. Color Rule #5: Any Color + White = Crisp. Wow! This is easy!
The first day I spent cleaning out the closet and under the bed. I found a couple of rawhide doggie treats Brady had stored when I moved the furniture out. The second day I painted a little, took a nap, finished a book (Think No Evil: Inside the Story of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting) and started a new book. The third day I ran out of paint.
Now, I’m back at work. Not only is one downstairs bedroom unusable since I still have to finish the second coat and paint the woodwork, but the second bedroom is full of all the stuff I moved out of the other one. Watch! Someone else will have an emergency and need to sleep over. That relative or neighbor will end up on my rather short, but artfully arranged sofa.
Other books that I’m taking home to consult for decorating advice are $500 Room Makeovers by Lisa Quinn, Decorate Rich by Jo Packham and 500 Quick & Easy Decorating Projects and Ideas. Surely, I will have this room finished in no time!
If you and/or your home are in need of a little winter therapy, before you call a psychiatrist, look over the decorating books @ your library.

Winter Blues

One day last week the library staff gathered to grumble about the weather. We compared notes on the length of the icicles hanging from our eaves and how many times we’ve been stuck in our own driveways. We griped about leaky roofs. We whined over scraping ice from our windshields several times in a day. I bemoaned that my short-legged dog keeps getting mired in drifts over his head and over the tops of my boots. We were feeling pretty sorry for ourselves.
All at once Demi exclaimed to Marj “I love your socks.” Marj raised her trousers a little and proudly showed off the warm-looking socks that she KNITTED HERSELF! I was so impressed. Many decades ago my left handed grandmother tried to teach right handed me to knit with very poor results. I am always amazed that anyone can knit, especially anything as complicated as the heel of a sock. Not only had she knitted her socks, she was carrying a darling little handbag that she also knitted and then felted.
Jean Holste is another quite accomplished knitter. Before Jean retired I asked for her advice on choosing a knitting magazine for the library. She suggested Creative Knitting. The first issue has arrived. It’s just full of good ideas.
If this winter seems interminably long, check out (pun intended!) some of these new books. They are sure to light a spark of creativity and imagination.
Pretty Little Presents – lots of suggestions for small homemade gifts such as honeymoon luggage tags for a new bride; magnetic bookmarks for a reader, a sleep mask for your favorite insomniac.
The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook by Erin Chase. If Curried Pumpkin soup doesn’t sound just right for your family, perhaps Pulled Pork Sandwiches or Mango Chicken might.
Tiles Gone Wild: New Directions in Mixed-Media Mosaics by Chrissie Grace. Contains some really big projects like mosaic tile tables, but also some little projects like picture frames and coasters.
Carry Me: 20 Boutique Bags to Sew by Yuka Koshizen. Laptop bags to zippered clutches, bags of all styles and degrees of complication.
One-Yard Wonders: Look How Much You Can Make with Just One Yard of Fabric! By Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins. More bags and belts and jumpers and sundresses than you can imagine, and all from just one yard of fabric.
Paper Cuts: 35 Inventive Projects by Taylor Hagerty. I can’t give an explanation worthy of this book. This is waaay beyond paperdolls or snowflakes. This is art to be admired, not imitated.
Eco Books: Inventive Projects From the Recycling Bin by Terry Taylor. 40 innovative bookmaking projects using recycled and green materials. This is another of those that can be admired just as art-it isn’t necessary to duplicate a project to enjoy or appreciate this book.
Knitting in Plain English and Crocheting in Plain English, both books by Maggie Righetti. They promise to provide easy-to-follow, sensible solutions to problems and the only knitting (or crocheting) book you will ever need.
50 Sensational Crochet Afghans & Throws by Bobbie Matela. The projects in this book have the nicest names: Warm Weavings, Snuggle Up and Great Big Hug. Each pattern is rated by level of expertise required to complete the project.
Afghans & Throws by Luise Roberts. The patterns in this one seem a little more complex. Beaded Knitting, Crochet Appliqué Motif, and Knitted Lace are way beyond my skill set, but if you are looking for a challenge, cables and twists and cross-stitched afghans await you in this pretty little book.
We have what you need to get you through the winter @your library.

January Miscellaneous

This week I have an assorted lot of news to share with you. The first is from the Humboldt Area Arts Council. Keep your calendar clear….HAAC will be offering another Valentine’s weekend dinner theater at Rustix. As is usual with the Council, dinner theater tickets will be less expensive for members. If you have never been a member, this is your year! If you pay membership fees when you buy dinner theater tickets, you will get 14 months of membership for the price of 12. What a deal! Tickets will be on sale soon at Witz End.
Also, if your email address has changed in the last year or so, HAAC needs to know in order to keep you up on the latest news and events. Contact Lisa Rasmussen at kljras@humrec.com to update your information.
Next: we are looking for a quilt to display during the month of February. Do you have something appropriately Valentine-ish that you would like to share? Give Kathy or Nikki a call at the library….332-1925. It doesn’t have to be a newly made quilt. We appreciate quilts of all ages.
This week we are having some special lighting installed to highlight the quilts we hang each month. After I made arrangements to have the lights installed, we began to worry about the extra light fading the quilt fabrics. Tom Detrick did some checking for us and found that Teflon coated light bulbs block UV rays which are responsible for fading. Isn’t that a nice bit of trivia? The bulbs were originally designed for heavy duty service, the non-fading aspect is an accidental byproduct.
Readers have been coming in to grab up the books that are under consideration for our Humboldt Reads! book club. If you read one, be sure to fill out the quick questionnaire concerning the book. Our next Humboldt Reads! dinner/book discussion is scheduled for February 12 at Family Table at 5:30. The book I had chosen for that date is turning out to be just as poor a choice as the last two. So, I’m thinking that perhaps we will just meet anyway, without a book in mind. We can discuss the various books we’ve each read in the last month or two and then choose one book for our next session.
Lastly, our winter reading program, “Books….The Other Channel” is underway. Unlike the summer reading program, this one is for everyone. Kids who are read to, teens, and grownups. There will be drawings for prizes when the program finishes up at the end of February. Adult and teen prizes will be Chamber Bucks and the grand prize in the children’s library will be a swim pass to the Aquatic Center for the whole family for the whole summer. Readers of all ages will be able to win extra credit for simply giving up television on Wednesdays. We’re calling that “Wednesdays Unplugged.” Come on in and get reading. The books are ready and waiting @your library.