Hop into the library this spring

Oh the Ides of March! The date reflects the assassination of Julius Caesar and in many circles is the original date for new year celebrations and picnics. For film buffs, it’s the movie starring Ryan Gosling and George Clooney. For others, it means March is half way over and spring is in the air!  

Book Chat will be held on Thursday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m.  Come discuss what books you are currently reading. Discover what new books have hit the shelves and what others are reading.  If you haven’t read one in a while, stop by, and share what books you adore. 

The library will be hosting a Recipe Swap on Monday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. Our first session went quite well. Recipes shared included Chocolate Mousse Pie, Honey Glazed Chicken with Curried Apples, Lasagna Stoup, Layered Ham Dinner, Spicy Shells with Vegetables, Pork Chops with Sauerkraut and Dressing, Choco-Oatmeal Brownies, Jamaican Coconut Pie, and Taco Soup. Due to the weather, the library was closed the last time the group was meeting so the Irish recipes stand for March! 

The library display of the week in the adult area of the library is all things Ireland, mostly adult fiction set in the country.  Speaking of displays, check out the alcoves the next time you hop into the library. There’s one on Women’s History Month and one filled with quilts for National Quilt Month done by the quilting guild in town.  The members are quite talented.  Personally I’m enamored with the Harry Potter bookcase.  Whoever quilted that one, give me a call.   

The next Library and Lunch will meet on Tuesday, April 9 at noon. The book chosen for the month is "The Storyteller" by Jodi Picoult. The group had a great turnout this month for “Sutton” but was a little quiet. Not the harried world of a bank robber.  This pick is making a buzz as most of Jodi Picoult’s books do. Sage Singer is a baker who befriends an older and beloved man in her community. They strike up a friendship and he confesses a long buried and shameful secret, one that no one in town would suspect and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor.  One that if she says yes to will cause her to face moral and legal repercussions. Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations that she’s made about her life and her family.  This one is going to be good. Where does one draw the line between punishment and justice, forgiveness and mercy?

The Gardening Club will meet on Tuesday, March 18 and April 16 at 6:30 p.m. The club didn’t meet up during the winter.  Interested to see what others are working on. This gal is in the process of planting English daisies and an herb garden. 4-H has a display in the adult area to recruit more cloverleaves into their midst.  4-H makes me think of chickens… memories of chickens following this five year old around my grandparents’ farm.

Teen Pizza Party will be held on Thursday, March 21 and April 18 at 4 p.m. All high schoolers are welcome to come and hang out at the library.

Preschool storytimes meet Mondays from 11:15 a.m. to 12 p.m., toddler storytimes meet Tuesdays from 11:15 a.m. to 11:35 a.m., and infant storytimes meet Thursdays from 11:15 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. with Ms. Debbie.  Ms. Casandra, our new children’s librarian is busy settling into Liberal this week.  The staff is very excited to have her start. Look out for a library column from her one of these days! 

As the resident attender of Catholic schools for twelve years, a suggested topic for this week’s column was Pope Francis. Instead, I’ll leave you to discover the books we have at the library documenting the papacy and its process: “The Vatican collections" by H. N. Abrams, “An illustrated history of the popes: Saint Peter to John Paul II” by Michael Walsh, and “The rise of Benedict XVI: the inside story of how the Pope was elected and where he will take the Catholic Church” by John L. Allen, Jr.

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 meida pages.  If you have any questions or suggestions about books or programs don’t hesitate to ask.  See you at the library this spring!

Nonfiction Column

Allo, Chickies—I'm back from several weeks somewhere in outer space—Christmas, kidney stones, and extra volunteering at the Kroc Ctr. here (the Salvation Army has built nine of them and is on their way to a tenth outside of Washington which will be 84,000 sq. ft.!) and unfortunately, due to a computer crash and replacement and learning how to “do” this column in a new setting, plus a deadline, this will be a short column I will, however, list the books I was sent from the library, and say something about a selection of them as I have an appointment in about one hour and I need to get this column sent. Okay, here are the Non-Fiction books that the library sent me—and, by the way, the main reason I’ve run out of time is that our Liberal mail is, apparently, sent to Amarillo for further distribution, so these titles were three days later than usual.

Okay, "Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog; 98 Essential Tips and Techniques"; "The Heavy; a Mother, a Daughter, a Diet", by Dara-Lynn Weiss; "When Spiritual But Not Religious Is Not Enough; Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church", by Lillian Daniel ( who is a minister); "Grand Central; How a Train Station Transformed America", by Sam Roberts; "The Real Jane Austen; A Life in Small Things", by Paula Byrne.  I was so very pleased by this selection, sent to me, and I will say a few things about each of them, as I have time available—but—pay attention!—they are at the “liberry” (as the kids say) for you to check out and enjoy and learn from.

Ready—Set—Go!  Millan is, as we dog people know, a dog expert who believes in Control, humans being the ones displaying it and it does not—not—mean harshness or yelling or, as I’ve been known to do, doing sharp pulls on a leash when annoyed on a walk, or raising my "stage voice" in annoyance. He says, "to be a pack leader you must be in control, i.e. if you are on a walk and your dog starts to pull ahead, take control by changing and immediately going in another direction; if your dog is exhibiting a behavior you do not want, stop it then.

Control is not being unkind; humans have trouble with the words, "control" and "dominance" but, says Cesar, if these words disturb you, then substitute other words that mean the same thing but has pleasanter images—identify why the words bother you and, if necessary, replace them with words that are neutral to you, if necessary because, to dogs, our words don’t mean anything—they are just tones of sound. Dogs communicate with energy and—pay attention!—they respond best to us when we are calm and assertive, not hurried, angry, or impatient. This book will bring you plenty of knowledge, says Cesar, "achieving calmness, however, is up to you—work with me and read this book with an open mind."  I  loved one sentence that said, in effect, their mothers never talked to them!

The book, "The Heavy", was in column form, for about a year, in "Vogue" magazine and raised a furor when the mother of a 7-year-old, Bea, was diagnosed as being obese and the mother was told to teach her better eating habits—women, for or against, weighed in (little pun there!) and the biggest point that Dara had to confront was her own eating habits as well as those of her husband and son, and compounding the challenge "were eating environments that set Bea up to fail and unwelcome judgments from her own friends" who, while applauding the idea for Bea’s sake, often were the cause of distress by saying , "Oh, it’s just one cookie—that won’t hurt her." Dara, the mother, "was criticized as readily for enabling Bea’s condition as she was for enforcing the rigid limits necessary to address it—she was made to feel so wrong for trying to do the right thing."  It’s funny in places, uncomfortable in others, but all mothers can identify with it—either from their young years or as a mother today—and,yes, Yogurt does have calories, I learned, and since I think it tastes strange anyway, I was amused ‘cause it is touted to be a necessity on all diets. Nonsense!  How does Bea ultimately do—and the rest of the family? Read the book!

The book, "Grand Central; How a Train Station Transformed America", by Sam Roberts is just wonderful—its beginning, its deterioration and the struggle to save it (which had Jackie-O in the lead), also the homeless people, the great clock in its center, its history through wars—you start reading it and resent any interruptions.  Get it and enjoy.

Since beginning this particular column, I have learned there is a little more time to devote to it than I first thought—thank heavens! I loved the points made, in a funny yet definite way, in "When Spiritual But Not Religious’ Is Not Enough; Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church", by Lillian Daniel. She is well-qualified to speak on such matters as she is the senior minister of the First Congregational Church, outside the Chicago area, since 2004 and the author of two previous books.

She has a knack of making her points with pointed humor and begins by describing a conversation with another passenger during a plane ride, he said, "Let me give you my testimony, if you will allow it, about why I do not attend church" and, after the explanation (by then, I would hazard a guess, they were well over the Rio Grande!) of early years, said his marriage had ended, it was, really, "my wife’s church" and so he found himself spending his Sunday mornings putting on his running shoes and taking off through the woods---"I see myself in the trees and the butterflies.  I am one with the great outdoors. I find God there, and I realized that I am deeply spiritual but no longer religious."

"I was not shocked or upset by the man’s story—I have heard it a million times before—there’s always the long walk, the trees, the walk on the beach—and don’t forget the sunset ‘cause these people always want to tell you that God is in the sunset but push a little harder on this satisfying and self-developed religion and you don’t get much depth—you find God in the sunset and trees—so do I.  But how about in the face of Cancer? Cancer is part of nature, too—as is homelessness, Leukemia, frailty in older people. I think God does want us to feel gratitude. I do not think God particularly wants us to feel "lucky"—I do think God wants us to witness pain and suffering and appalling conditions, and get angry and want to do something about it."

Great writing, funny stories—always ending with words of compassion, wisdom or, yes, even stinging sarcasm to "move" us. Get the book and look up from it, when a point hits you, and think about what Ms. Daniel is saying.

I’m heading to Lawrence for the K.U. basketball game in 2 days and can only assume that the highways will be okay for traveling—and don’t let anyone ever tell you that South Texas does not get cold days in the Winter—it ain’t necessarily so, but blizzards are relatively  rare.

Find a good book at the library and sit in an easy chair, sip hot tea, chocolate or coffee (with dark choc. bits of candy) and figure that Spring will, indeed, come fairly soon. Don’t leave pets out in the cold outdoors overnight, please, and to make my point, go out, just before bedtime, in average wear of jeans and a sweater, stay there 40 minutes and you’ll see how unpleasant it can be.  Buy some small chocolate bunny candy and give some out to others and enjoy the pleased looks on the faces of the recipients. Spring will be here soon, I promise. Bye!