Descent into the library and browse for a book

Monday marks President’s day.  It’s a federal holiday in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States.   He is often referred to as the Father of Our Country known for his love of the land and farming and not a proponent of war.  He was a distinguished general and commander in chief of the colonial armies in the American Revolution. 

In the 1950s a committee was set up to attempt a generic day with the purpose not to honor any particular President but to honor the office of the Presidency. That was stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee. So the holiday celebrates George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, observes the community, and honors veterans and Purple Heart recipients.

The library has a couple of newer books on Washington including “Washington: a life" by Ron Chernow, “General George Washington: a military life” by Edward G. Lengel, and “Arguably: essays” by Christopher Hitchens.

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President known for leading the country through the Civil War. He is famous for the Gettysburg Address.  The phrase “With malice toward none, with charity for all…” is inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. a phrase he used during his second inaugural address.

A couple of newer books on Lincoln include “The hour of peril: the secret plot to murder Lincoln before the Civil War” by Daniel Stashower, “”38 nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the beginning of the frontier’s end” by Scott W. Berg, and “A. Lincoln: a biography” by Ronald C. White Jr.

This week the library will be closed on Monday and on Tuesday, February 19 at noon Library and Lunch will be meeting for “Safe Haven” by Nicholas Sparks.  I haven’t finished the book yet so there might have been a bit of running the other night when a patron started chatting it up at the circulation desk in preparation of seeing the film that is currently out.

Book Chat will be meeting on Thursday, February 21 at 6:30 p.m.  Come and chat up the books you are reading, what you have read recently, and discover what books have come into the library.  If you haven’t read one in a while stop by anyway!

Recipe Swap will be meeting on Monday, February 25 at 6:30 p.m.  We had a wonderful turnout last month with dessert, soup, and entrée recipes shared.  For the next meeting, bring a pink, green, or pancake inspired recipe in honor of Valentine’s Day, St. Patty’s Day, or Pancake Day respectively.

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. See you at the library this month!

Drop by the library this fall

Autumn is slowly yet surly approaching.  The library has lots of activities planned over the next few months.
Our newest book display in the adult and young adult area is "Crafting". A scarf for cold weather, grab a knitting book! A quilt to adorn a sofa, grab a quilting book!  See if there’s a book on the display just calling your name.

The young adults are busy hanging out at the library every two weeks (this past week being a Teen Advisory Committee meet day) and the next being Teen Gaming on Thursday, September 29 at 4 p.m. The current project is for a prospective spring performance featuring a musical play.  The plans are in the works.  There may also be something in the works for the holiday season.  The group is slowly growing with an exuberant mix of young adults.

Lidia Hook-Gray will be at the library for a book signing on Tuesday, September 20 at 6 p.m. Her book entitled "Liberal and Seward County" was published on August 22.

The Library and Lunch book discussion will be held on Tuesday, October 11 at 12 p.m. The book "The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford will be discussed.  The novel is a debut for Ford whose plot revolves around Henry Lee, a Chinese-American in Seattle who's lost his wife and he finds out that the belongings of Japanese immigrants interned during the WWII have been found in a hotel basement.  The story shuffles between the present 1986 and the 1940s chronicling the losses of old age and the bewilderment of youth.

Book and Movie Series will meet on Thursday, October 20 at 6 p.m. for "Doubt" by John Patrick Shanley. Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Shanley also directed the film version of the play starring Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. Shanley is the writer behind the classic 1987 romantic comedy titled "Moonstruck".

What’s new in the library? As of this upcoming Wednesday, the Kobo eReader will be available for check-out to library patrons.  E-readers are portable electronic devices designed for one to read digital books and periodicals. The Kobo uses an electronic ink screen so the screen tries to depict ordinary ink on paper.

There are over seventy different varieties of e-readers out on the market.  Stop by and see if a Kobo might be one for you.  E-readers are perfect for someone who travels.  There is less space taken up by books.
There are many classics downloaded on the library device for perusal including The "Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams which I read for the first time on the Kobo.  Pages may be more colorful in paper format or in another version of device.  See for yourself.

As a still quite devoted physical book aficionado whether in everyday life or whilst traveling (paperbacks for discovering new authors like Ian McEwan prior to his "Atonement" fame on a long flight years ago) one might see the advantage of eventually reading Tolstoy's War and Peace in an e-reader format.

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 fall

Spring into the the library this spring

Spring fever is starting to hit. About three weeks early. What do you do to treat your spring fever? Suggestions include to add flowers to your home or office, take a walk in the mid-afternoon, wear light clothing, add some fruit to your diet, shop!, and to stay busy. Stay busy by tackling a new project. Stay busy by visiting your local library to tackle that project or stop by one of the activities at the library.
The 8th annual Children's Healthy Fun fair will be held at the Fairgrounds from on Saturday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Computer classes started up again a few weeks ago. Computer classes in English are every Tuesday at 9 a.m. and computer classes in Spanish are every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Reservations are needed so call or stop by the circulation desk to reserve your spot.

The library received a grant to replace fiction shelving in the adult area of the library. The library will be closed Monday, March 7 until Friday, March 11 as staff get underway in relocating the fiction books, taking down the old shelves, putting the new shelves up, and getting the area back in order. The library will be open on Saturday, March 12 at 9 a.m. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have items that need to be returned to the library that week, return them to the book-drops. All items may be placed in the book-drops. All activities at the library are canceled for the week.
The week will be full of books, pancakes, and paczki.

Due to the library being closed the second week of March, Library and Lunch is rescheduled for a special date, Tuesday, March 15 at noon as we discuss a special book, the Kansas Reads 2011 pick by the Kansas Center for the Book, 'What Kansas Means to Me' edited by Thomas Fox Averill.

The book consists of seventeen selections put into perspective by the editor's headnotes and introductory essay. The essays and poems are arranged from the earliest 1910s to the most recent 1990s. The book is lead by historian Carl Becker's classic 1910 essay 'Kansas' and the writers try to map the spiritual topography of Kansas and explain why this particular patch of prairie is so dear with the conviction that Kansas represents something powerful, significant, and noteworthy. So join us on Tuesday, March 15 at noon for the discussion.

The Book and Movie gang will meet on Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m. for Kurt Eichenwald's 'The Informant.' "The FBI was ready to take down America's most politically powerful corporation. But there was one thing they didn't count on." reads the cover of this true crime story. Eichenwald, an investigative reporter, covered the story for the New York Times. A bizarre financial scandal with quite a few plot twists. A willing witness to a vast international price-fixing company. The recorded tapes should have cinched the case but the star witness was manipulative, deceitful, and unstable.

Add a biography to that spring list! Check out the latest book display in the adult area on presidential and founding fathers biographies and answer the question of 'Who's my favorite president?' I like several yet I have a fondness for Jemmy "James" Madison after hanging out with him for four years (my department was named for him) during college. Yet founding father Ben Franklin has my heart after forming the first public lending library in America.

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!

Plot a healthy heart this month... with a good book

Have you worn red this week? Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The month of February is all about the heart and is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and increasing knowledge about prevention. It's still the beginning of a new year and educating yourself on the dangers of the disease is a fine way to get on track with better heart health this year.

Books to assist you on your journey to heart health pulled off the non-fiction stacks might include:

Change your brain, change your body: use your brain to get and keep the body you have always wanted: boost your brain to improve your weight, skin, heart, energy, and focus' by Daniel G. Amen,
Stop the inflammation now!: a step-by-step plan to prevent, treat, and reverse inflammation - the leading cause of heart disease and related conditions' by Richard M. Fleming,
The women's heart book: the complete guide to keeping your heart healthy' by Frederic J. Pashkow,
Strong women, strong hearts: proven strategies to prevent and reverse heart disease now' by Miriam Nelson,
Syndrome X: overcoming the silent killer that can give you a heart attack' by Gerald Reaven,
Born to run: a hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen' by Christopher McDougall.

That's an interesting book on my January to read list to empower running in the cold and non-existent snow. Did it happen? Not really. Two friends recently invested in vibram shoes and though they look a little silly I've heard that they're really comfortable. I'm not at a stage where I could pull it off.

My philosophy is to pull a great romance (oh la la) off the shelves. You can add some chocolate!  It is National Celebration of Chocolate Month. Check out our current library display entitled Love Makes The World Go Round. There's a couple of classy Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel's in addition to novels such as 'Adele: Jane Eyre's hidden story' by Emma Tennant, 'Lost in translation' by Nicole Mones, 'Lulu in Marrakech' by Diane Johnson and 'A sight for sore eyes: a novel' by Ruth Rendell. You can hit your heart with a shot (or beat) of music and pull out 'Between a heart and a rock place: a memoir' by Pat Benatar off the new book shelves as well as a collection of romance and chick lit. Apologizes to the neighbor who has been listening to the same blaring song on repeat for the past week and then voila all of a sudden Pat Benatar.

For a dose of happy heart, check out a performance by Amelia Earhart at the library this Monday, February 7 at 7 p.m. The performance is in sponsorship with the SCCC/ATS Library who will be hosting Ms. Earhart at 12 p.m. Following the performance at the college, Ann Birney of Ride into History will give a workshop on historical performances and how to choose a historical figure to research, interpret, and create. It should be an entertaining flight back to 1937, just before Earhart's disappearance over the Pacific Ocean.

For a dose of conversation, drop by Library and Lunch on Tuesday, February 8 at 12 p.m. and a discussion of Emily Giffin's 'Heart of the matter', a fitting title for the month, a layered, absorbing read or the Book and Movie Series on Thursday, February 17 at 6 p.m. for John Le Carre's 'The Constant Gardener'.

For a dose of learning heart, sign up for Beginning Chess Instruction, a workshop by Emile Darga on Saturday, February 19 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and master the game of chess. All ages are welcome.

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!