All patrons, residents and library lovers are invited to the Friends Annual Meeting this Sunday at 2:00 pm, in the Library. We are very excited this year to be able to host Nancy Wright Beasley, the author of Izzy’s Fire and Reflections of a Purple Zebra. She has also been a frequent contributor to Richmond Magazine, and is known throughout the region as a gifted writer and speaker. Limited copies of her books will be available for sale, and she will of course be signing them.

Izzy’s Fire, a People’s Choice award winner, is the moving story of Edna Ipson, her family and five other families as they struggled first to escape from the Kovno Ghetto during the Holocaust and then to survive in hiding until their miraculous emergence into freedom. Some of the surviving members of the Ipson family still live in Richmond, and their story formed the genesis of the Virginia Holocaust Museum. If you have never heard this story, this is one program you do not want to miss.

Reflections of a Purple Zebra is a collection of Ms. Beasley’s favorite articles and essays that she has written for Richmond Magazine. Humorous and poignant in turns, these stories present life as we all know it in vibrant and eloquent words. Each offering is like a new present to be opened and savored.

Fern Michaels has written a series that I have thoroughly enjoyed called the sisterhood or also the revenge of the sisterhood.

They are about a group of women who have joined forces to bring their own justice where the system has failed them.  You will meet Myra Rutledge, a wealthy woman who finances their adventures.  Myra has also lost her only daughter to a drunken driver; Nikki Quinn, a lawyer and adopted daughter of Myra; Kathryn Lucas, a trucker; Alexis Thorne, a former securities broker; Julia Webster, a plastic surgeon; Yoko Akia, a flower-shop owner; and Isabele Flanders, an architect.  Each of these women have been failed by the justice system but they intend to correct this.

Join these women in their adventures as each woman has her day, so to speak.

The action is fast faced and I found it very hard to put these books down. 

You might want to start with the first book, “Weekend warriors”.  For our commuting friends the library also has the entire series on CD audio-books.

Most people know that I really enjoy British mysteries, but not many people realize that it’s because I enjoy historical mysteries. Set something in the past, and I’ll jump for it. Then, I’ll taste it for accuracy and decide if I want to keep reading.

 One author that recently passed my test was Elliott Roosevelt. Granted, his series is old, and he actually died about 15 years ago, but he’s an author that I hadn’t read. His books are short, fairly well written for the genre, and set in the past. Specifically, set in the 1940’s White House of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt.

While the story of the first one was somewhat predictable, what I found truly interesting was depiction of Eleanor and FDR. While I have no doubt that many of the details received a fresh coat of paint, as it were, I can’t help but believe that the characterizations were for the most part accurate.

Let’s bactrack for a moment. Elliott Roosevelt writing about Eleanor Roosevelt. Surely, there’s a connection, you think. Indeed, he was Eleanor and FDR’s fourth child, and the co-author of a non-fiction biography, The Roosevelts of Hyde Park.

I came across his mystery series as I was re-evaluating books in the collection. Several of them have not been borrowed for a while, so I thought I’d give them a read before I discarded them. They are currently on the wait-and-see pile.

If you have an interest in American mysteries, they are worth a read. They aren’t heavy, nor are they particularly twisty. But, they are fun, and the reader (that’s you!) gets a dollop of history in with it. Can’t get much better than that when you are in a spring fever, can’t-get-up-the-energy-to-do-anything sort of mood.

BOOK: Murder and the First Lady by Elliott Roosevelt.

Another favorite resolution has to do with money. Americans have the reputation of being spendthrift, and having far more debt than they can pay. When the Christmas bills roll in (for me, right about now!) it’s easy to feel “buyer’s remorse.” Did I really need to spend that much on a gift for so-and-so? And then comes the reminder and the resolve: “I will get my financial house in order this year!” In fact, my mother used to tell me that she was taught that a fiscally sound household owed no more than could be paid if all the creditors came at the same time.

Ah, that is so easy to say. But, how can we achieve this so wonderful goal? Well, we are a library, so of course our recommendation is to find some good books to read – although a financial specialist would probably be helpful, too. Some of the books that are perennially popular are Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Orman’s The Nine Steps To Financial Freedom, and Miller’s Kiplinger’s Practical Guide To Your Money. Others fun (and useful) reads at the Library include The Beardstown Ladies’ Stitch- in-Time Guide To Growing Your Nest Egg, Petillo’s Building Wealth In A Paycheck-To-Paycheck World, and Loos’ I Haven’t Saved a Dime, Now What?! Of course, not all “money” books are fun, so if you wanted a more serious tone with lots of good tips, you might like to try Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover Workbook, Mary Hunt’s Debt-Proof Living and Chris Rich’s Debt Control.

The last two books that I would suggest are not really “how to get out of debt” books, but are more books about how our economy runs. Both Freakonomics  and The Tipping Point have had far more adept recommendations than mine, however, and I invite you to look at one of my favorite web pleasures – the Sunday Book Club features at a daily webcomic devoted to libraries. It’s a great place to discover some neat new books to read!

A new year has begun, so of course it is time to consider new ways of doing things, new paths to wander, and new thoughts to think. The Library can help you find just the method to use to best effect a change.

If you have weight-loss aspirations, for example, you may like to read Dr. Phil’s book, The Ultimate Weight Solution, which we have both as a book and on CD. Personally, I enjoyed reading Jordin Rubin’s The Maker’s Diet. We also have copies of the Duchess of York’s Reinventing Yourself if you are a Weight Watchers fan and Arthur Agatston’s South Beach Diet. And then, there are the “classics” written by authors like Dean Ornish and Robert Atkins.

If, however, you are more interested in fitness, you may be more interested in our DVD collection, with its concetration of yoga, Pilates and aerobic exercises. We’re a library, of course, so we also have many good books on the subject. These can all be found in the non-fiction section of the  collection in the Dewey 600’s — specifically, 612-616. Or, combine both topics and laugh your way through George Burns’ How To Live To Be 100–Or More.

Over the next few weeks, we will look at other topics near and dear to the hearts of Resolution Makers everywhere. Let’s hope we can keep them all!

We just put out many new DVD’s for all age groups.  For children, we have eighteen new Sesame Street videos including videos to teach children letters, numbers, manners, and honesty.   We also added several Sesame Street sing-a-long and dance videos.  I know that many children will be excited to learn that we just put Pokemon Indigo League, Season 1 and a ten disc set featuring over eleven hours of Pokemon Adventures, which is titled Pokemon All-Stars on the shelf.

Its impossible to list all of our new titles here and we still have many new DVD’s that we are working on getting out to the shelf!

Over the last couple of months we have added many titles to our large print collection in all genres.  What may be of particular interest is the addition of many large print western books.  There are far too many to list here, so I chose two that I especially recomend.  The descriptions are below.

The Wind River Kid by Will Cook

You either worked for Cadmus Rindo and liked it, or you owed him money and you hated him.  Old Cadmus owned the town and everyone in it.  Until the day he picked a nameless drunk out of the jail and set him up as sheriff.  The nameless drunk turned out to be a deadly gunslinger called the Wind River Kid, and old man Rindo found he had a tiger by the tail… Packed with hair-trigger action, The Wind River Kid is a blazing, bullet-rimmed tale of the Northwest.  (Taken from the cover of the book)

Blood to Burn by Jack Curtis

Even when Billy Faraday lay wounded, his hand shot off in the Civil War, he didn’t ask his friends for favors.  So when his loyal army buddy, Sam Benbow, got word that Billy needed his help, he quit the Kansas cattle trail to find the Cavalier who had saved his life.  Billy’s young daughter, Elizabeth, has just two leads:  a brief letter from her father and a mysterious twenty-dollar gold piece.  Before Sam can gather his wits, a cunning and crooked banker is claiming the coin is his — and that Billy has stashed thousands more.  (Taken from the cover of the book)

These books and selected others can be found in the display area of the large print section.  Other new titles have already been shelved in the large print section.

We just added new graphic novels to our juvenile section that are recomended for children in grades 2-6!  In The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far! And The Diabolical Dr. Santos, readers follow the Fantastic Four:  Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing as they battle supervillains like Dr. Doom and Mole Man in New York City.

In Four’s a Crowd there is a rift between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Raphael storms off in anger.  Meanwhile, his brothers continue their fight against enemies but wind up locked in a vault at a museum!  Will Raphael come back in time to save his brothers?  Or will he come back at all?

In Blackout the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles work to save the city when the electricians working on the power lines are injured.

 In Doom with a View and Here Comes Spider-Man readers follow Peter Parker, who was an average teenage boy until bitten by an irradiated spider.  Peter learns that with great power here must also come great responsibility, and therefore, uses his gifts to fight supervillainns in New York City.

Last, but certainly not least, in Big Trouble at the Big Top and Costumes On! Readers follow the youngest superheroes in the Marvel  Universe as they team up with their idols, the X-Men.  Zero-G controls gravity, Mass Master changes forms, Lightspeed flys, and Energizer uses destructive bolts! Together, they keep the world a safer place.

On Wednesday, October 31, 2007 the library was crawling with everything from vampires to fairy princesses.  The festivities began with Mr. Neiman reading “10 Trick-or-treaters:  A Halloween Counting Book” by Janet Schulman.  Story time was followed by a lollipop hunt, which was led by Robyn Whittington.  Barbara Richards, Maureen Wright, and Mary Jane Neiman led various games, which were enjoyed by all.  The finale of the evening was a costume contest, which was divided categories based on age.  Pictures of the winners for each category can be found below.

 Throughout the party, everyone enjoyed punch and loads of goodies.  Robyn Whittington, provided hospitality on behalf of the Friends of the Library, and worked very hard to organize all of the food and activities.  Many members of the Friends also donated food and baked items for all of the ghosts and goblins to enjoy.

The following members of the Teen Council artfully designed and created a chocolate “haunted house” complete with a graveyard in front:  Shannon, Katherine, Travis, Katelin, and Mathew.  John, a teen volunteer, also graciously helped with the project.

We extend a huge “thank you” to the Friends of the Library as well as the Teen Council for making this an unforgettable event for all of the youth who participated.  In addition to the above-mentioned volunteers, Dawn Scotto, Roy Manning, and Colin Whittington worked very hard to help with the party. 

Crystal Condrey was kind enough to take the following photos to capture the memories of this year’s Halloween festivities.

What is better at this time of year (especially with the much-needed rain) than curling up with a scary book?  We now have the entire Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shan.  The twelve book series features an average boy, Darren Shan, whose life becomes much more complicated (and less average) when he and his friends obtain tickets to the Cirque Du Freak (french for “circus of freaks”).  The ghoulish excitement turns into terror as Darren’s friend  realizes that one of the performers is a true vampire.  This series can be found in our Young Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy section. 

We have many other spooky stories that are perfect to get you into the Halloween spirit.  To mention a few we have:   The Ghosts of Virginia by L. B. Taylor; The Ghosts and Glories of Monroe Park, Richmond, Virginia:  A Sesquicentennial History by David M. Clinger; and Haunted Hikes:  Spine Tingling Tales and Trails From North America’s National Parks  by Andrea Lankford.

For our younger readers we have a great selection of spine-tingling stories including:  Dudes, The School Is Haunted! by R.L. Stine; In A Dark Room, and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwarts; and Short and Shivery:  Thirty Chilling Tales by Robert D. San Souci.

For our youngest readers we have many wonderful Halloween stories, a few of which are:  Who Goes Out On Halloween? by Sue Alexander; A Woggle of Witches by Adrienne Adams; and 10 Trick-or-treaters:  A Halloween Counting Book by Janet Schulman.

Happy haunting and happy reading!