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!