Talk to the Frackville Library

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.

     Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber: The New Musical by Stephen Citron. I happened to be watching a concert celebrating the 80th birthday of Stephen Sondheim, one of America's most accomplished composer/lyricists, when I was reminded of this book. I had come across it several times as we were weeding(removing books no longer in demand) or rearranging shelves. The concert was a real treat if you are any kind of Broadway musical fan. Elaine Stritch doing a number from Follies, Patti LuPone singing 'The Ladies Who Lunch' from Company, Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters reprising their roles from Sunday in the Park with George.  This biography tells the story of not only Sondheim, but also of his rival of sorts from the UK, Andrew Lloyd-Webber. By chronologically alternating between these two musical icons, he follows their careers, the great musicals they created, and the ways in which their music has changed over the years. Fans of A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd. The Phantom of the Opera, or Jesus Christ Superstar-read this book!  

      the Karla trilogy by John leCarre. Well, honestly, I'm not quite finished yet on my second time around. This well known series of books about the Cold War era are some of the best  spy thrillers ever written. In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, leCarre's famous intelligence officer, George Smiley, is asked to conduct a secret investigation of friends and colleagues in order to discover the double agent lurking at the top of the British Secret Service.  Promoted to the head job himself, Smiley assigns Jerry Westerby, The Honorable Schoolboy, to sniff out the details of a suspicious bank account in Hong Kong. Jerry soon has his own agenda, and in this second volume, Smiley is less successful. Once again, however, in
Smiley's People, the enigmatic old man is called back into service when an old emigre agent is found shot to death. Smiley is faced with another opportunity to finally bring down his longtime adversary in Moscow, the powerful agent known as Karla. These three novels make for a great summer read, and might even lead you to more of leCarre's great writing. All three are available for loan at your library.  

    Being such an ardent Janeite (that's a devoted fan of Jane Austen, the creator of the modern novel in my opinion), I couldn't let the presentation on PBS of the newest dramatization of Emma go by without a mention. Now Emma is not my favorite among Jane's six completed novels, but it is a masterful piece of writing and can bring forth a wealth of discussion among fans. As much as we older readers may regret the need to modernize the language and add bits in order to make it more appealing to the modern viewer, this was a nicely put together version-mostly true to the book in terms of plot  and characters, and full of charming country scenes and luscious Regency costumes. If you had a look at it, and you'd like some of the real thing, try reading the original. It's here for you at the library. 

     The library has recently been the recipient of three grants which have provided us with funding for much needed materials and equipment. The Schuylkill Area Community Foundation and the Ben Franklin Trust has awarded us a grant for 30 new DVD's which will include selections for family viewing, award winning popular films, and films of interest to teens. These DVD's should be available for lending within the next several weeks.  The Frackville Rotary has awarded us funding for some new computer furniture to allow us to place a computer in our children's area. The computer will be loaded with educational games. We will also be receiving a color printer from this grant for our patrons who have a need for color copies. The third grant will provide for new materials for young children including books, audio/visual items, and computer materials. This grant was awarded to us by the Snayberger Memorial Foundation. We are really grateful to our community partners for their generous assistance in these touch economic times. Be sure to visit the library and enjoy these new resources over the coming months!   

Check out our September featured author Mary Shelley, who wrote the all time Gothic classic, Frankenstein. Had it not been for a dark and stormy night, this book would not have been written. 

Check out July's featured author - J.K. Rowling, just in time for the final Harry Potter book.