HCPL Happenings: December 2006

Friday, December 29, 2006

Curl up with a Cozy Mystery!

January is a harsh month. The parties and other festivities that lured us out in November and December are over and many of us are less than motivated to face the cold 13 hour-long January nights. Many of us prefer to find the warmest place on the couch, curl up with a few books or the TV remote, and stay there until signs of spring begin to show. I am one of those hibernators myself and this winter I am encouraging my brethren to fight the cold and dark with something that sounds comforting and welcome--a Cozy Mystery.

A Cozy Mystery is a softer answer to the graphic, rough world of the Hard-Boiled Cop Mysteries. In Cozies, the sleuth is normally a complete amatuer when it comes to investigating a crime. These days the amatuer might call anything from catering to genealogical research his or her day job, but in older Cozies the sleuth is often retired or a writer. Murders or other violent crimes take place off stage, with the sleuth(and readers) finding out about them from friends, the news, or another indirect source. Our sleuth rarely says anything stronger than "Heck!" or "Shucky-Darn" and while the sleuths often have a romantic someone special in his or her life, the reader never follows the sleuth behind the bedroom doors. Cozy Mysteries, in short, are a gentle read for those who love to figure out whodunnit.

Cozy-mystery.com has an extensive list of cozy mystery authors and other mystery authors the web page creator loves. Our librarians have taken the liberty to check this list for authors we have in our collection and have complied our own list of Cozy Reads. To see the results of this search, come by and see our Cozy display all month long.

This just in ... December's new materials

For those of you who like nice and neat organized lists (like librarians do), we have put together lists of the new materials that were added to the library's collection in the month of December. Click on the links below to see the lists and request items.

(Hint: You can see these lists every month in the "Best Bets" section of the library's online catalog, or in the library in the New Books section.)

Books

General Fiction
Mysteries, Westerns, and Science Fiction
Nonfiction and Biography
Large Print
Children

Audio-Visual

DVDs
Books on CD
Music on CD

Friday, December 22, 2006

DVDs and books on CD we ordered December 21

Below is a list of the DVDs and music recently ordered by the library. Click on the titles to see more and request a copy!

DVDs

Along came Polly
Bad day at Black Rock
Battle of the Bulge
The departed
Employee of the month
Getting played
A good year
Imitation of life
The last kiss
Marie Antoinette
Meteor man
Night of the living dead
On the beach
The pajama game
Portrait of Jennie
Pumpkin
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Stranger than fiction

History of World War II
I want to learn sign language!: Vol. 1
I want to learn sign language!: Vol. 2

Disguise the limit
Home alone 4: Taking back the house

Music

Mary J. Blige: Reflections by Blige, Mary J.

New books we ordered December 21, 2006

Below is a list of the books recently ordered by the library. They are grouped by Fiction, Non-fiction, and Children. Click on the title to see more and request a copy!

Fiction

Lost City Radio : a novel by Alarcon, Daniel
My sweet Audrina by Andrews, V. C.
Tarnished gold by Andrews, V. C.
Flesh and bone : a Body Farm novel by Bass, Jefferson
Beside still waters by Bateman, Tracey V.
Freedom of the soul by Bateman, Tracey V.
A love so tender by Bateman, Tracey V.
A stitch in time : no man's land blossoms with love in four novellas by Bateman, Tracey V.
A Christmas sleigh ride by Bateman, Tracey Victoria
The color of the soul by Bateman, Tracey Victoria
By the time you read this : a novel by Blunt, Giles
Big city, bad blood : a novel by Chercover, Sean
Iceberg by Cussler, Clive
Special operations : by Dugan, John Kevin
The garden of Ruth by Etzioni-Halevy, Eva
Sharp objects : a novel by Flynn, Gillian
The princess bride : S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love and high adventure by Goldman, William
Men in blue by Griffin, W. E. B.
The victim by Griffin, W. E. B.
Patriot hearts : a novel of the founding mothers by Hambly, Barbara
A case of need by Hudson, Jeffrey
Eye of the storm by Jones, Catherine
Over the edge by Kellerman, Jonathan
The collection by Little, Bentley
The ignored by Little, Bentley
The revelation by Little, Bentley
The town by Little, Bentley
Charity girl by Lowenthal, Michael
A game of thrones by Martin, George R. R.
Him, her, him again, the end of him : a novel by Marx, Patricia
Texas heat by Michaels, Fern
Indiscretion by Morgan, Jude
Fly me to the moon by Noel, Alyson
The vampire Lestat by Rice, Ann
Fair haven by Ross, JoAnn
Homeplace by Ross, JoAnn
The blade itself by Sakey, Marcus
Dear John by Sawyer, Kim Vogel
A seeking heart by Sawyer, Kim Vogel
That wilder boy by Sawyer, Kim Vogel
Waiting for Summer's return : a novel by Sawyer, Kim Vogel
A country affair by Shaw, Rebecca
Country wives by Shaw, Rebecca
Season of passion by Steel, Danielle
Mothers and sons : stories by Toibin, Colm
The eagle : the concluding volume of the Camulod chronicles by Whyte, Jack

Nonfiction

The rough guide to India
Army 101 : inside ROTC in a time of war by Axe, David
Internal combustion : how corporations and governments addicted the world to oil and derailed the alternatives by Black, Edwin
Dalai Lama : Man, monk, mystic by Chhaya, Mayank
Getting started in signing by Costello, Elaine
How to raise kids you want to keep : the proven discipline program your kids will love (and that really works!) by Day, Jerry R.
Fodor's exploring India by Dunlop, Fiona
The Hellenistic Age : a short history by Green, Peter
The happiness myth : why smarter, healthier, and faster doesn't work by Hecht, Jennifer
The needs of the dying : a guide for bringing hope, comfort, and love to life's final chapter by Kessler, David
India by Lamba, Abha Narain
A photographer's life : 1990-2005 by Leibovitz, Annie
My last wishes-- : a journal of life, love, laughs & a few final notes by Meredith, Joy
Why can't we be good? by Needleman, Jacob
Sharon Osbourne extreme : my autobiography by Osbourne, Sharon
You can do it! : the boomer's guide to a great retirement by Pond, Jonathan D.
The long road home : a story of war and family by Raddatz, Martha
The Shakespeare wars : clashing scholars, public fiascoes, palace coups by Rosenbaum, Ron
Bogie : a celebration of the life and films of Humphrey Bogart by Schickel, Richard
A long-shadowed grief : suicide and its aftermath by Smith, Harold Ivan
American Sign Language the easy way by Stewart, David Alan
The river of lost footsteps : histories of Burma by Thant Myint-U
The rough guides to shopping with a conscience by Unterberger, Richie
Storm from the East : the struggle between the Arab world and the Christian west by Viorst, Milton
First into Nagasaki : the censored eyewitness dispatches on post-atomic Japan and its prisoners of war by Weller, George

Children

The burning bridge by Flanagan, John
Signing for kids by Flodin, Mickey

Monday, December 18, 2006

Jigsaw puzzle fundraiser in January

The Friends of the Library has been collecting jigsaw puzzles for several months now and would like thank everyone who has donated to this effort. On Saturday, January 13, the Friends will hold a large public sale of several hundred jigsaw puzzles from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm in the Library's multi-purpose room.

There will be a large variety of puzzles to choose from in varying styles, shapes, and scenes, and they will all be reasonably priced.

The Friends group is still accepting donations of new and used clean puzzles in their original boxes during regular library hours. If you have any questions, please call the Library at 826-3712.

Back by popular demand - tai chi classes

Tai chi classes will once again be offered by the Library beginning in January. The classes will be taught by Diana Hobgood, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and certified massage specialist.

The class times are as follows:

2:00 pm on Mondays - January 15 through March 19
10:00 am on Saturdays - January 20 through March 24

There is a $30 registration fee which is due before classes begin. Class size may be limited, so please register early by stopping by the Library at 101 South Main Street.

Benefits of tai chi exercise, which is a slow, gentle exercise system based on Chinese martial arts, include improved posture, flexibility, balance, lower body strength, coordination, physical endurance, breath control and stress management.

If you have questions, please call the Library at 826-371.