Fiction

So, Poppets, we are now into the 1st big holiday season and it's time to locate the turkey roaster and the platter, the gravy boat, polish the silver, set the table--whoops! I forgot!--by the time you are reading this, the turkey's all eaten, most of the ham, and only 2 pieces of pie left--the kind you don't really like! Well that gets you off to a good start on your calorie intake, when you don't care for what's available and so you don't eat it--right? Right a the moment, my right arm is in a sling due to Rotator Cuff surgery and I cross each day off until we get to Dec. 15 and then I'm hoping I can get rid of the sling entirely instead of just the times each day that my arm is out of the sling 'cause I have to do exercises.

The exercises will continue at a very good therapy place here where I went when I had my left knee replaced earlier this year, and the crew there is very nice and helpful but relentless--"pushy" comes to mind--and even though I say "Absolutely not!" when they ask if I'm ready to do another exercise or add to an existing one--I do what they say 'cause if I don't, a knee or a shoulder remains "locked" and painful and I want to move about freely.

Rufus Cooper lies beside me when I'm doing the circles and, later, the pulleys and we "talk" about how the day's gone (Rufus Cooper is our dear dog and he feels, I think, that Jim and I are slowly getting the hang of what he considers the best dog-schedule of eating, walking, napping should be but there are times he thinks we're just dumb!) So, if any of you are "putting up" with pain or just inconvenience, there's a place in Heaven for all of us who "put up with it" (whatever "it" is) and think how much more sympathetic and patient and sunny-natured we'll be! Yeah, right. Anyway, we all have a lot to be thankful for in our friends, family, jobs, and in books to read--did that segue pretty well, I thought.

There's a bunch of excellent authors coming out with titles in time for the holidays and to take on trips, so, let's look at a few. (As an aside that is pretty important--this column will be a notch shorter 'cause one can only type for so long, in a sling--but we'll hit the highlights.) The cover of the first Fiction book, "The Infernals", by the excellent author, John Connolly, has a cover that looks like Hell--no, really--with red flames, the devil's head and what look like chalk-white beckoning arms or, perhaps, flames. One reviewer said Connolly mixes science with the supernatural to produce a creepy/comical jaunt for young adults and fans alike"--and since most of you are not Young Adult readers, this leaves the rest of us.

This is about a boy, his dog, and their struggle" to escape the wrath of demons. Samuel Johnson's eyesight is bad. How bad is it? He asked a postal letter box to go out with him. Got it? However, Samuel has also foiled the invasion of Earth by "the forces of Evil" and earned the enmity of a demon and he wants to get its claws into Samuel--"and when Samuel and his faithful dachshund, Boswell, are pulled through a portal into the dark realm--which is the home of the Infernals--he gets his chance." But the Infernals have not counted on the bravery and cleverness of the boy and his meddlesome dog or a different demon--the hapless Nurd--"or the presence of two clueless policemen---to say nothing of the unlucky, eternally optimistic driver of an ice-cream truck." Now, there's a combination. As if all these weren't enough to keep track of, there's an unexpected band of little men "and if you thought demons are frightening, just wait until you meet Mr. Merryweather's Elves." Emotions are well-expressed, humor is a given in this story, Bad and Good do exist, and choices must be made. A book to "fly away on" and chuckle at--while, perhaps, shuddering slightly.

This is a Large Print book, "One Dog Night", By David Rosenfelt, and there is such a pretty dog's head on the cover, and I think it's the lawyer in the story, Andy Carpenter, who's dog it is, named Tara. Actually, my first English Setter was named Tara--such class and what beautiful eyes she had. To continue, the defense lawyer, Andy, is not in the market for a new client but for 6 year as Noah Galloway "has lived with a terrible secret", knowing his life could be shattered at any time. So, since both men have, at one time or another, had Tara in their homes and hearts, "Andy has little choice but to take on a cold case turned white hot." It's written in first person, which is not one of my favorite styles, but it can--and, in this case does--move the action along and the plot--always important to a story--is solid and, while using "Legalese' is easily understandable to the reader. Come and get it and while I didn't find a lot of Tara's thoughts in it, she's certainly a part of the story.

Okay, let's peek inside the pages of "The Night Strangers" by Chris Bohjallan. Now, here's a lead descriptive sentence that would make anyone feel a slight shifting of the ground but a greater curiosity as to the mystery involved--"In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with thirty-nine 6-inch-long carriage bolts." See what I mean? The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year old girls. Chip was an airline pilot who had to ditch his plane after both engines quit and 39 people died, "a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door."

Emily finds herself wondering about the women in the village and their interest and focus on her daughter and wonders if the women are mentally disturbed and what about her husband "whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous?" One of the big differences in this situation and "real" ones is that some of these people are dead. What are the real voices and what are visions that Emily is experiencing? What's out-of-body, what still relates back to the plane crash and the people who died? This one I've got to read and I'd suggest you do, too, on a dark Winter night with only one light on--you will find it entertaining but upsetting, at the same time.

Dear readers, please accept my wishes for a good Winter season ahead, sunshine even in cold weather, and if you have ice, for Heaven's sakes step carefully--we've all known of friends who've slipped and broken a bone here and there. Do get out and exercise when you can, re-vive your memories of hot choc. and Ginger cookies and remember those far less fortunate then you are--and pray for Congress to manage to really work together or go home! Take care and put fresh water out for the animals every morning and give them shelter overnight. Bye!

Make a stop at library this holiday season

Vacances heureuses mes amis. C'est un beau temps pour visiter la bibliotheque!

The Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Brunch and Soiree will be held on Saturday, December 3 at 9:15 a.m. for gals and lads ages four to eight. Reservations (are required and) can be made over the telephone or by stopping by the library as spaces are limited. Gals and lads are invited to come bedecked in their most festive holiday attire for a marvelous holly jolly time.

This will be the third year for this wildly popular event. Last year's attendees arrived sporting frills, tiaras, and feather boas. The event features exceptional Fancy Nancy stories, extraordinary crafts, and exquisite refreshments. From years past, everyone has a glamorous time. The bedazzled program looks magnifique!

The library is excited to once again welcome the Redskin Singers for their annual holiday appearance on Thursday, December at 7 p.m. in the library. This year, we welcome one of our staffers as part of the singing entourage. Light refreshments will be served.

Library and Lunch will be held on Tuesday, December 13 at noon for Debbie Macomber's Call Me Mrs. Miracle. Emily Merkle works in a toy department at Finley's a family owned department store in the Big Apple and her boss is none other than the owner's son. The family needs a miracle to keep the business afloat. Holly Larson on the other hand needs a miracle for her eight-year-old nephew Gabe, whose father won't be home for Christmas. Maybe Mrs. Miracle (Emily Merkle) will play a role in bringing the two together.

A current New York Times bestseller will be the first Library and Lunch pick for the New Year. Plenty of time to stop by and pick it up. The book discussion of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes will be held on Tuesday, January 9 at noon. The English author had been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize three times in the past and became the winner this year for this particular book. It is narrated by Tony Webster who recalls how he and a circle of friends met Adrian Finn at school and vowed to be friends for life. He reflects on the paths he and his friends have taken.

The library invites young adults to Teen Gaming/Teen Reader's Advisory meetings on Thursday nights which will run every two weeks at 4 p.m. Upcoming dates include December 1, December 15, and December 29.

Book and Movie will take a brief hiatus during the month of December. The group will be back in full force the third Thursday in January for Didier van Cauwelaert's Hors de moi/Out of My Head translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti. There is a 2011 thriller film based on this 2003 French novel directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Queen, Bruno Ganz, and Frank Langella. Dr. Martin Harris awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man has assumed his identity. With the help of a young woman he sets out to prove who he is.

As always, for the latest library programming take a peek at the library website or grab a newsletter from the circulation desk. Stay tuned and connected through our social media pages. If you have any questions or suggestions about books or programs don't hesitate to ask. Hope to see you at the library this holiday season!

Kansas EZ Library

For those of you who download audiobooks and ebooks through the State Library's Audiobook, Music and More program, a change is about to take place. The name of the program is changing to Kansas EZ Library, and there will be a new provider too. The company Overdrive, who currently provides the service platform for these services, will no longer be doing so after December 5, 2011. The State Library was unable to negotiate favorable terms with Overdrive which resulted in the need to find new vendors who could provide access to audiobooks and ebooks.

Some of the reasons why the State Library chose not to renew its contract with Overdrive were: substantial subscription charges to individual libraries in the consortium; a 700% increase from 2010 to 2013 for the platform fee; and a removal of the language that acknowledged consortium ownership of the material. Removal of this language also eliminated the opportunity to transfer the materials (materials purchased by Kansas libraries) to a different vendor. These changes, especially the substantial increase in the platform fee, were ones Kansas libraries could not afford to accept.

The State Library has found two new vendors who will provide downloadable services to Kansas libraries. But before the change can be made, the State Library is required to obtain permission from each of the 163 publishers of purchased audio and e-book content so that the content can be moved to the new providers. As of today, the State Library has received 88 publisher permission forms and has permission to move the content of 3804 audio and 875
ebooks to the new providers.

The econtent vendors are not new companies, but providing downloadable products is a new venture for them. One Click Digital (Recorded Books) will provide audiobooks, and 3M Cloud Library will be used for ebooks. At this time the target dates for the changes are sometime in November for the audiobooks and sometime in January 2012 for the ebooks. Unfortunately, this schedule will result in a gap between the time the contract with Overdrive ends on December 5, and the date that all econtent will be available to Kansas residents. In order minimize this disruption in service, the State Library will be providing a list of free downloadable audiobook and ebook services at www.kslib.info/digitalbooks. This link will also be available from our website at www.lmlibrary.org. Here are a few examples of sites that provide access to free ebooks and audiobooks:
For ebooks:

• Project Gutenberg--Download books in the public domain (out of copyright). Browse by popularity, genre, and subject. Can transfer to or directly use on a portable device.
• ManyBooks--Searches free ebooks from around the web. Converts the free books to more formats than they would previously have been available.
• Inkmesh--Book search that includes a browse by subject alongside promotional free ebooks from companies including Baen (science fiction).
• AddAll Books--Free ebook browsing includes eHarlequins.
• Google eBooks--Download free or pay for books here.

For Audiobooks:

• Spoken Alexandria--Great narration of books and other works in the public domain.
• LibriVox--Volunteer narration

If you are not currently using Kansas' econtent service Kansas EZ Library and would like to, just stop by the library and sign up for a Kansas Library Card. If you have any questions, please contact the library at 626-0180.

Kansas Reads to Preschoolers

Hope all our readers remembered to turn their clocks back and got an extra hour of sleep. Or maybe you put that hour to use in another way. Some people are more sensitive than others to changes such as this, but everyone is sure to notice the difference around suppertime tonight when darkness descends.

If you missed our Geek Day Carnival on the 29th, you missed out on a good time. In spite of chilly temps and a brisk south wind, it was a great event. The kids enjoyed the games, Poppa D clown, the popcorn, and, of course, the balloons. Parents, grandparents, and other adults enjoyed visiting with library staff, getting geek info, and writing on our geek board. Musical entertainment was provided by Watson's Warriors, and it really added to the festivities. There were lots of great volunteers who helped out wherever needed. A big 'thank you' to each and every one of you!

And now it's time to move on to November activities. November 13 through 19 is Kansas Reads to Preschoolers week, a statewide effort to read to as many preschoolers as possible. The intent is to raise awareness of the importance of early literacy in the lives of young children. This is the seventh year for this event, which has seen a great selection of titles, personal appearances by some of the authors, and wonderful companion activities. This year is no exception, as the chosen book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. This rollicking alphabet book is sure to please preschoolers everywhere. A bit about its author - Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) has been called "America's favorite children's book author." Born and raised in Hiawatha, he experienced difficulty reading until he attended Kansas State Teacher's College at Emporia (now Emporia State University). There he memorized poems an instructor read aloud, then related the words to what was on the page. After graduation, Martin taught English and journalism at Newton and St. John, Kansas. Martin continued as an educator, became a school principal in Illinois, and earned a doctorate in early childhood education. He then moved to New York to join publisher Holt, Rinehart and Winston as editor-in-chief of the school division and developer of innovative reading programs. In 1972 Martin became a full-time writer, eventually publishing over 300 books. (taken from Kansas Center for the Book website, Martin biography).

During Kansas Reads to Preschoolers week, the library provides both in-library and outside of the library programs. The special in-library story time for Kansas Reads to Preschoolers will take place at 9:15 a.m. on Thursday, November 17. For those outside programs, preschools and larger daycares throughout Liberal are visited by library staff members who present the featured story. The smaller in-home daycares are the ones that are sometimes most difficult to connect with. This is where our readers can help out.

If you operate a home daycare, please phone the library so that a visit to your facility can be arranged during that week. If you know someone who operates a home daycare, please encourage them to give the library a call at 626-0180, ext 4. It's great that Liberal joins in reaching out to so many little ones and in making a good showing for the state-wide tally, making a statement of the importance of early literacy.

The November 17 story time session will be the final one in this series. The next set of storytimes will begin December 8. Be sure to check the library's website or pick up a monthly events newsletter at our circulation desk to get all the latest on activities in the library. The month of December will be bringing some fun events for youngsters.

Recently we received a generous donation from the Seward County Conservation District earmarked for books on soil. We are acquiring those titles. Those now on the shelf include: Growing and Eating Green -- Careers in Farming, Producing, and Marketing Food by Ruth Owen; Different Kinds of Soil by Molly Aloian; How is Soil Made? by Heather L. Montgomery; Soil Erosion and How to Prevent It by Natalie Hyde; and Micro Life in Soil also by Natalie Hyde.

Growing and Eating Green is part of a series called Green-Collar Careers. As is typical of many information books for youngsters these days, this book contains, in addition to the main text, additional little boxes of information. Chapter 1 is entitled The Future is Green and includes push pin 'attached' information on various careers. In addition, terms such as organic and fair trade are defined in other boxes. Other boxed items include information about caged hens and about mad cow disease and vCJD. The back of the book provides both a glossary and a page of websites for further information.

The other four titles listed above are part of a series entitled Everybody Digs Soil. The publisher describes this series by stating, "Soil is second only to oceans as the most important living area on planet Earth. This amazing series goes under ground to show children how soil is as important as the atmosphere in sustaining life on Earth and keeping global warming under control. Kid-friendly examples and fun activities help young readers understand complex processes." So, if your child 'digs' soil, come on in and check out these great titles! See you at Memorial Library!