JANUARY 21, 2012
Pie Time
It's time for some of those delicious Deppen pies! The library is now taking orders for the following varieties: blueberry crumb, double crust raisin, apple crumb, strawberry/rhubarb crumb, pumpkin custard, double crust cherry , shoo-fly, coconut custard, lemon sponge, no-sugar apple. The price is $8.50 for a 9 inch pie with payment due when ordering. Place your order by Tuesday, February 14 for a February 29 pick-up.
Categories: Fundraising activities,
Current Events
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JANUARY 21, 2012
Listen in-
Now that the bustle of the holiday season is over, I will try to get back to a better schedule for keeping you informed about library news. In the flurry of last minute buying of materials before the end of the year, we added two popular series to our collection of audio books on CD. The first is a very well-done version of Lord of the Rings narrated by Rob Inglis. I just loved going back to this epic story, and then rewatching the fabulous films directed by Peter Jackson. These are also available on DVD at the library. Also new to the collection are all seven of the Harry Potter series read by Jim Dale. His interpretation of the characters is perfect, as he brings to life all the detail of the books which the movies could not supply. Audio books make great listening in your car, as a bedtime treat, or while you clean or cook. Try one of these classics and enjoy a great 'reading' experience!
Categories: Audio Books,
New Materials,
Harry Potter
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NOVEMBER 21, 2011
Just finished reading...
The Magician King by Lev Grossman. A writer and critic for Time magazine, Grossman has certainly got a way with language. This fantasy for adults has been compared to
The Chronicals of Narnia and
The Harry Potter Series, and it does deal with themes common to both. Quentin Coldwater, the main character of Grossman's previous novel,
The Magicians, returns. He has become a King of Fillory, the imaginary land made real, when Quentin discovered that he had magical powers. But things are beginning to go wrong in Fillory, and needing a change of scene, Quentin sets out on a sea voyage which leads him not only back to Earth, but also to the End of the World. To me, this second installment seemed much more cohesive as a novel. It switches between Quentin's point of view and a flashback to the amazing journey of Julia, a friend from high school who was originally refused admittance to the magic school, Brakebills. Her struggle to find her way in the world of magic without much assistance is interesting and well-conceived. Quentin, however, remains the focus, and we can only hope that he will return for more adventures.
Categories: Adult fiction,
Current fiction,
New Materials
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OCTOBER 13, 2011
Just finished reading...
The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo. In this novel, Nesbo's Norwegian detective, Harry Hole, is crumbling under the stress of not being able to resolve the murder of his partner. A series of new murders, by what appears to be a serial killer, may be Harry's last case, as his drinking and absence from work may leave him with out a job. In spite of all his faults, however, Harry is still a character we want to succeed. Nesbo is a very effective writer, and his complex but fast moving plot makes you want to keep reading. Try this amazing series from one of the newest stars in the detective genre.
Categories: Adult fiction,
Current fiction
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2011
Just finished reading...
The Greater Journey:Americans in Paris by David McCullough. If you have ever been to Paris, celebrated American historian, David McCullough's latest book will have you wanting to go back, and if you haven't been there, you'll want to go. During the 19th century American painters, sculptors, musicians, aspiring doctors, and statesmen travelled to Paris in droves, seeking inspiration from its fine museums and acclaimed schools. In spite of a very chaotic political climate, Paris had become a center for the very latest ideas and trends in the arts and sciences. McCullough has conjured up a splendid picture of the city through the eyes of these young Americans, but the real stars of the volume are the Americans themselves. Like characters in a novel, their stories are exciting, compelling, and many times, surprising. I lived for three years not ten miles from Cornish, New Hampshire, where American sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, had a home and studio. I never visited it, however, because I had no idea who Saint-Gaudens was, nor of his importance in the art world of his time. McCullough's style of writing is clear and well-organized, very easy to read for history. I especially enjoyed the sections about the young doctors who went to Paris to study. The history of American medicine owes a lot to the French! You might never get to Paris for real, but this book definitely takes you there for free.
Categories: History,
Non-fiction,
New Materials
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2011
Pumpkin Festival Time
Only two weeks left until the Annual Frackville Pumpkin Festival! On Saturday, October 1, 2011 between 10AM and 2PM you'll find lots of autumn fun on Frack Street between Balliet and Lehigh. Pony rides, pumpkin crafts, music, lots of great food, and many contests with prizes provided by our local businesses. Join the scavenger hunt, write a pumpkin limerick, eat a pie very fast, enter your favorite pumpkin or squash recipe, or bid for a pumpkin art piece-you can do it all at the Pumpkin Festival. On Friday, September 30 at 5:30PM at the Schuylkill Mall, you can try your skill at Pumpkin' Chunkin'-throwing a pumpkin as far as you can in the parking lot to win Mall gift certificates. It promises to be a great weekend, so mark your calendar and plan to attend. Your friends and neighbors will be there-why not you too! Call the library for information about all activities at 874-3382.
Categories: Community events,
Library Activies,
Current Events
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SEPTEMBER 13, 2011
Louise Penny's new book
For fans of the Three Pines series by Louise Penny, the latest book in the series has arrived at the library. In her latest offering
A Trick of Light the series picks up on the day that Clara Morrow is about to have her long awaited art show in a prestigious gallery in Montreal. The exhibit is followed by a barbeque party celebration in Three Pines. The next morning as Clara sits in her garden awaiting her husband Peter’s arrival with the much anticipated newspaper reviews, a murdered woman’s body is discovered in their garden. Chief Inspector Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir are called to Three Pines to investigate. Readers can expect to be drawn into the hidden darker side of the Canada’s glittering art world, one in which completion between artists can have deadly consequences. Penny is at her usual brilliance in developing the tone and setting for her characters. Readers can expect the pleasure of being in the good company of Penny’s Three Pines characters and the satisfaction of an absorbing well written mystery.
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posted by missy-librarian |
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SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
Just finished reading...
Embassytown by China Mieville. Humans on a strange planet in the far distant future have forged a sort of alliance with the indigenous population, called Ariekei. In order to communicate with the creatures, pairs of Ambassadors have to be matched and trained to speak the Ariekei's unusual language. As you may have guessed this is science fiction, but it is also a book which challenges the reader to look at speech, communication, and writing in new ways. Mieville has created a world that takes a few chapters to absorb, but once you're there, the story effectively carries you along, and you find yourself rooting for his compelling heroine Avice to save her planet from destruction. Want something different? This novel is definitely that.
Categories: Adult fiction,
New Materials,
Current fiction
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AUGUST 20, 2011
Just finished reading...
Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell. The sentimental title of this novel is rather deceptive, although Campbell has managed to create a sort of fairy tale world set along an imaginary tributary of the Kalamazoo River in southwestern Michigan. The novel's focus, a teenager named Margo Crane, has grown up with the river as her companion. She is more in touch with its moods than with any of the people around her. A series of family disturbances forces Margo to leave home and search for a new place to center herself. She is determined to live off the land, and as a crack shot with a rifle or a shotgun, that may just be possible. The voice of the narrator, as it speaks from Margo's viewpoint, is filled with the essence of the river and those who live along it. Some critics have compared Margo to Huck Finn, and there are some similarities, but make no mistake, this is a book about modern times, even though the characters sometimes seem as though they are in another world. Campbell has won several awards for her fiction, and I'm sure we'll be hearing more from her.
Categories: New Materials,
Adult fiction,
Current fiction
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AUGUST 11, 2011
Just finished reading...
The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg. I picked this up in error as it is actually the second book in the series, but can easily be read on its own. Lackberg is another in the windfall of Scandinavian crime writers being translated into English these days. While not as cerebral a writer as Nesbo, as bleak as Mankell's
Wallander, or as violent as Larsson's
Millenium Series, Lackberg's prose is interesting and engaging to read. Her detective, Patrick Hedstrom, is a young policeman, about to become a father in this volume. When three bodies are found in a popular tourist area, Patrick is put in charge of the case, but he is plagued by a heatwave, a family feud, and a bunch of unwanted visitors at home. The translation of this novel seems a bit more straightforward and easier to read than some of the other writers in the genre. Try it, or choose the first in the series,
The Ice Princess, also available at the library.
Categories: New Materials,
Adult fiction
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AUGUST 8, 2011
Wishes granted
Thanks to a grant from the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation, the library will be expanding its audio book collection. A grant of award of $500 will be used to purchase 19 new audio books on CD with cases. These include favorites like Michael Connelly, James Patterson, and Debbie Macomber. Popular titles such as
Twilight,
The Kite Runner, and
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are also included. Audio books add a new dimension to the activity of reading, and a popular with commuters, those with impaired sight, and other who, like me, enjoy the opportunity to listen to a book while driving, walking, or even lying in bed. These new additions should all be ready for borrowing by the end of August.
Categories: New Materials,
Adult fiction,
From the Librarian
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AUGUST 4, 2011
Just finished reading...
Nemesis by Jo Nesbo. In this second Harry Hole novel, Harry is caught up in two cases-a bank robbery ending in murder, and the mysterious death of an old girlfriend. Unfortunately, Harry was probably the last person to see the woman alive! As he tries to reconcile his grief for his lost partner, a disturbing period of amnesia, and the pleasures and pains of a new relationship, Harry is once again forced to make his own rules to solve the crimes, much to the dismay of his superiors. These books are like potato chips-you can't read just one! Try them now before they get even more popular, and you'll have to be on the waiting list.
Categories: Adult fiction,
New Materials
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AUGUST 3, 2011
Summer
Did you ever hear the term "dog days of summer"?
Well this intrigued me and I looked it up in the
World Book Dictionary. This is a period of very hot
and uncomfortable weather during July and August.
It also refers to days of the dog star because this
is the period when the rising of the dog star (Sirius)
coincides with the rising of the sun.
If you are curious about other sayings and myths,
you can check out your local library for information.
The library's a
cool place in summer.
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AUGUST 1, 2011
Just finished reading...
.........
The Wood Beyond by Reginald Hill. I read this Dalziel and Pascoe series mystery while I was on vacation. I found it very fitting, as I was in Belgium and in this story Yorkshire policeman Peter Pascoe is taken back in time and place to that very country. After his grandmother's funeral, he finds himself left with the job of distributing her ashes as requested in the will. This task leads him to information about his great-grandfather, a soldier who served in Belgium during the first World War. Hill's mysteries are always complex, and he likes to blend the intricacies of the case with the everyday events in the lives of the detectives. An attack on a research company by a group of animal activists, soon connects with Pascoe's personal research into his family history, You can find this book in paperback at the library, and we also have several other selections in this long-standing detective series.
Categories: Classic Fiction,
New Materials,
Adult fiction
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JULY 20, 2011
Ebooks
On Wednesday, the
New York Review of Books published an essay on its blog by former U.S. poet laureate Charles Simic entitled “
A Country Without Libraries,” wherein he lamented the bygone days when “study and reflection [came] more naturally to someone bent over a book.” Then, on Thursday, Amazon announced it was now selling 105
ebooks for every 100 sold in hardcover and paperback. As for the gamers who gathered this night, they would come to delight in knowing that not only was the
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JULY 16, 2011
Staff Pick Week 4
This week I’m featuring my fourth and final staff pick,
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (GLPPPS) by Mary Ann Shaffer
. This is an unusually written book as the entire story is told in letters and would be of interest to fans of Helene Hanff’s
84 Charing Cross Road. The GLPPPS opens in 1946 right after the Second World War. Guernsey is one of Great Britain’s Channel Islands occupied by the Germans during the war. In the aftermath of the war, writer Juliet Ashton looked to the inhabitants of Guernsey as a topic for her next book. The islander’s stories are told in letters to and from Ashton who ultimately travels to Guernsey to meet her correspondents. The book centers on members of an impromptu book club launched by a spur-of-the-moment lie told by a handful of islanders in need of a quick alibi to avoid arrest for curfew violation.
Note: Sadly, the book’s author, Mary Ann Shaffer, died before the book was finalized. Her niece Annie Barrows (also a writer) worked putting the finishing touches and edits to the book for publication.
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posted by missy-librarian |
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JULY 13, 2011
Vacations
July is here and we are either on vacation, or contemplating going on vacation.
With these economic times it is sometimes difficult to plan a vacation.
If you live in Pennsylvania, there are plenty of day trips to take. We have many
parks to visit, state or national. There are parks for camping and also
local amusement parks close by. These can be inexpensive and yet maybe
the best family vacations to be remembered.
Check out your local library for resources. There are books and computers
available for maps and printed directions.
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JULY 11, 2011
Time for Pie
It's time for some of those delicious Deppen pies! The library is now taking orders for the following varieties: blueberry crumb, double crust raisin, apple crumb, strawberry/rhubarb crumb, pumpkin custard, double crust cherry , shoo-fly, coconut custard, lemon sponge, no-sugar apple. The price is $8.50 for a 9 inch pie with payment due when ordering. Place your order by Tuesday, February 14 for a February 29 pick-up.
Categories: Library Activies,
Fundraising activities
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JULY 9, 2011
Christmas in July
On Saturday, July 30, 2011, the Frackville Recreation Board will be holding their Annual Christmas in July event at the Frackville Elks. This fun-filled evening will feature music by DJ Ed Collins, a local favorite and a light buffet. The real attraction of the event is the long list of great prizes donated by local merchants and Frackville supporters. Gift cards, cash, services, and great Yuengling items will be in the drawing. In addition to a chance to win the prizes, each ticket holder will also receive a collectible Yuengling beer glass. Tickets are $15.00 per person, and can be purchased at the library or from any Recreation Board member. Call 874-3382 for more information. Proceeds go to the Recreation Board to cover the cost of free community events such as the Christmas Parade.
Categories: Community events,
Fundraising activities,
Current Events
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JULY 5, 2011
Just finished reading...
Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendell. In Rendell's latest psychological thriller, she examines a group of dwellers in a suburban neighborhood. Stuart Font has just inherited a bit of money, and he uses it to buy a flat. He invites his neighbors to a party- a trio of college girls who share a flat, a woman who is trying to drink herself to death, a middle-aged bachelor, and even the building's handyman. The party is soon interrupted, however , by a man with a cudgel, who breaks Stuart's arm and threatens further damage. As the tenants begin to learn more about each other, secrets are revealed which soon lead to more frightening events in the housing complex. Dark and sinister, like all of Rendell's work, this novel deals with a familiar theme-seemingly ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. You can find this and more of her work at the library.
Categories: Current fiction,
New Materials,
Adult fiction
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JULY 1, 2011
Art of the Pumpkin
Once again the library is sponsoring its Art of the Pumpkin contest in conjunction with the Frackville Pumpkin Festival, being held September 30 and October 1, 2011. Wooden pumpkin blanks are being sold at the library for $10 each ($5 for students or adults over age 65). These blanks can be decorated in any medium-paint, paper, fabric-the possiblilities are endless. The finished art pieces will be displayed around town prior to the festival, and will be judged to determine a winner. Prizes will be announced soon. The pumpkins will then be awarded to the highest bidder in a Chinese auction. All procedes go to the library's general fund. So put on your creative thinking cap, and create a one-of-a-kind pumpkin for this unique contest. Entries must be returned to the library by Wednesday, September 21.
Categories: Community events,
Library Activies,
Current Events
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