Book List 2016

1. Morton, Kate, The Forgotten Garden, A tiny 4-year-old girl is abandoned on an Australian wharf in 1913. She only has a small suitcase and a beautiful book of fairy tales. 560pp. litlover.com.
2. Binchy, Maeve, The Nights of Rain and Stars, In a small town in Greece strangers see a boating accident. Then subsequently become entangled in each others lives. 368pp. bookrags.com
3. Bauermeister, Erica, Joy for Beginners, What would you do with a second chance at life? Having survived a life-threatening illness, Kate celebrates by gathering with six close friends. 288p. litlovers.com
4. Richman, Alyson, The Lost Wife, In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there's an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers. 352p. litlover.com
5. O’Reilly, Bill and Dugard, Martin, Killing Kennedy, The End of Camelot, The authors go over the events before John F. Kennedy assassination and the aftermath. They also concentrate on the threat of Communists and the Cold War. 366p.
6. Brown, David, The Boys in the Boat, A group of rowers pursue Olympic gold during the 1936 Berlin Olympic games.llitlovers.com.
7. Irving, John,The Prayer for Owen Meaning, This book tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960's. 640p. litlover.com
8. Name-Naomi, Beautiful, blonde, materialist Delilah Levy steps into a life she could have never imagined when in a moment of panic she decides to marry a sincere Rabbinical student. 320p. litlover.co
9. Chamberlain, Diane, Pretend to Dance, Molly Arnette is very good at keeping secrets. She and her husband live in San Diego, where they hope to soon adopt a baby. But the process terrifies her. 384p.
10. See, Lisa, Shanghai Girls, This book centers on the complex relationship between 2 sisters, May and Pearl. They go through great pain and suffering in leaving war torn Shanghai. 314p. litlovers.com
11. Sendker, Jan-Phillip, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, A poignant love story set in Burma, tells the story of a successful New York lawyer who suddenly disappears until his wife and daughter find a love letter he wrote many years to a Burmese woman who they never heard of. 336pp. litlover.com

  1 3. Hepworth, Sally, The Things we keep,

    14. McClain, Paula, Circling the Sun.
     15. Hannah, Kristen, The Nightingale, Two sisters are in World War II France. One     sister is struggling in the countryside, the other one is joining the French Resistance. 444p. litlovers.com Check






  .

Book titles to select our future book discussions

Vogt, Virginia, Death By Moonlight  This book is a double mystery. Two terrible crimes mirror each other across nearly two centuries, and both must be solved to rescue a young girl threatened by an age-old evil.  376p. This book is written by a Morristown author. We could see if she would like to speak to our group. Norma’s friend also belongs to a book club and this author spoke to her book group. If we chose this book maybe we could have her speak

in April or after.

 

Brennert, Alan, Molaka’i,  Rachel Kalama is a young native Hawaiian girl growing up in Honolulu at the end of the 19th century. At age seven is diagnosed with Hansen's disease, taken from her family, and exiled to the leprosy settlement on a remote peninsula on the island of Moloka'i. 400p. readinggroupguides.com

 

Van Allen, Lisa, The Wishing Thread, This book  is an enchanting novel about the bonds between sisters, the indelible pull of the past, and the transformational power of love. 400p.

 

Erdrich. Louise, Round House, National Book Award Winner One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. 336pp

 

McLain, Paula, The Paris Wife, This deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley.352p readinggroupguides.com

Bostwick, Marie, Between Heaven and Texas, This book takes readers into the heart of a small Texas town and the soul of a woman who discovers her destiny there. 352p.

Phillips, Jayne Ann, Lark and Termite, Set during the 1950s in West Virginia and Korea, this is the story of two children--Lark, on the verge of adulthood, and her brother, Termite, a child unable to walk and talk but filled with radiance. 304p. readinggroupguides.com

 

 

Barbery, Muriel, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, This book that is set in France is a study in the dichotomy of the hidden inner self versus outer perceptions. Paloma and René are each careful to build a facade that hides their true nature from the world. Until a new tenant moves into their building, this plan has worked well — but no longer. What happens when you meet someone who can see who you really are? 336p. litlovers.com



Kingsolver, Barbara, Flight Behavior, a young Tennessee woman who stumbles upon millions of misguided Monarch butterflies. 434p. readingroupguides.com



Edwards, Kim, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, This novel begins on a winter night in 1964 in
Lexington, Kentucky, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. 444p. readingroupguides.com

Patton, Lisa, Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter, LeeLee moved from Memphis to Vermont for her husband to follow his pipe dream of managing a quaint inn. In this funny and sad fish out water book LeeLee learns she is more resilient than she thinks she is. 312p

www.lisapatton.com/DiscussionQuestions.pdf

 

Shaffer, Mary ,The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, In January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name. 304p. www.litlovers.com/.../405-guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie-society

 

Wait until in paperback

 

Walls, Jeanette, The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling. 269p.

 

O’Reilly, Bill, Killing Kennedy-

 

Thorn Birds

In October and November our book club read The Thorn Birds. We enjoyed this Australian epic book. We divided this book for two months because it is a 704 page book.

McCullough, Colleen, The Thorn Birds, Now, 25 years after it first took the world by storm, Colleen McCullough's sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback returns to enthrall a new generation. As powerful, moving, and unforgettable as when it originally appeared, it remains a monumental literary achievement.

 

Christmas books

In November and December I like to read Christmas books. These books put in the Christmas spirit. I also shared them with our book club.

Frank, Dorothy Benton, The Christmas Pearl, With her truculent family gathered at her stately Charleston mansion for Christmas, 93-year-old matriarch Theodora is having a hard time tolerating the lot of them. Theodora hankers for her 1920s childhood and her family's Christmas. 256p.

Ahern, Cecelia, The Gift, 320p This Christmas story is a winning tale of magic and redemption. Lou Suffern is a busy man, and his family's growing weary of constantly taking the backseat to his career. 320p.

Jacobs, Kate, Knit the Season: A Friday Night Knitting, With the holidays just around the corner, the Friday Night Knitting group women have reason to celebrate: There's a special wedding planned for New Year's Day.  260p. litlovers.com

VanLiere, Donna,
The Christmas Secret, When a struggling young single mother saves the life of an elderly woman, she sets into motion a series of events that will test her strength, loyalty, and determination, all the while setting her on the path to finding true love. 291p.

Lamb, Wally, Wishin' and Hoping, It is 1964. LBJ and Lady Bird are in the White House, Meet the Beatles is on everyone's turntable, and ten-year-old Felix Funicello (distant cousin of the iconic Annette!) is doing his best to navigate fifth grade—easier said than done when scary movies still give you nightmares and you bear a striking resemblance to a certain adorable cartoon boy. But there are several things young Felix can depend on: the birds and bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he's never going to forget. 274p.

Washburn, Livia, The Christmas Cookie Killer, The
Yuletide is here-and retired teacher cum amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom looks forward to finishing up this unlucky year. But she won't be hanging up her apron just yet-because this year's Christmas bake-off is going to be cutthroat. 272p.

Thayer, Nancy, Nantucket Christmas, Holidays on Nantucket are nothing short of magical, and the season's wonderful traditions are much loved by Nicole Somerset, new to Nantucket and recently married to a handsome former attorney. Their home is already full of enticing scents of pine, baking spices, and homemade pie. But the warm, festive mood is soon tempered by Nicole's chilly stepdaughter, Kennedy, who arrives without a hint of holiday spirit. 209p.

Our book list for our book club

I have continued to be the keeper of the list. I have included our Christmas selection and our New Year's 2014 selection. I have also included books that we will select from later in 2014.

December-Chris at Chris's house-Washburn, Livia, The Christmas Cookie Killer
The
Yuletide is here-and retired teachercum amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom looks forward to finishing up this unlucky year. But she won't be hanging up her apron just yet-because this year's Christmas bake-off is going to be cutthroat. 272p.

January-Ellen- Walter, Jess, Beautiful Ruins, The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. 352p. litlovers.com

February-Linda-library- Sotomayer, Sonia, My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayer, the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, she recounts her life with candor from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench. 416p

March-Fran- Hoffman, Alice, The Third Angel, Three women linked over time by love and redemption. Three weddings riddled with secrecy and betrayal. Three generations wounded by heartbreak and loss. Traveling backward through time, The Third Angel moves from modern-day London where Maddy Heller seduces her sister's fiancé to the wild days of the '60s where Frieda Lewis falls for a musician with in search of a muse, and finally to the buttoned-down '50s where Bryn Evans can't give up her complicated ex-husband. 304p. Litlovers.com

More books to select from

Franek, Valarie Four of a Kind, Brought together as committee members at their children's school, and four women assume they have nothing in common. Until they meet for each other.

 
 

Frank, Dorothy Benton, Sullivan's Island, Set on the coast of South Carolina, this book explores one woman's journey from a contentedly married middle-aged wife and mother to a newly divorced woman looking back on her past for reassurance and to the future for some means of regaining her self-esteem. 416p. litlovers.com

 
 

Vogt, Virginia,
Death By Moonlight is a double mystery. Two terrible crimes mirror each other across nearly two centuries, and both must be solved to rescue a young girl threatened by an age-old evil.
376p.
This book is written by a Morristown author. We could see if she would like to speak to our group. Norma's friend also belongs to a book club and this author spoke to her book group. If we chose this book maybe we could have her speak

in April or after.

Erdrich. Louise, Round House, National Book Award Winner One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. 336pp

 
 

Sotomayer, Sonia, My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayer, the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, she recounts her life with candor from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench. 416p

 
 

Walter, Jess, Beautiful Ruins, The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. 352p. litlovers.com

 
 

Hoffman, Alice, The Third Angel, Three women linked over time by love and redemption. Three weddings riddled with secrecy and betrayal. Three generations wounded by heartbreak and loss. Traveling backward through time, The Third Angel moves from modern-day London where Maddy Heller seduces her sister's fiancé to the wild days of the '60s where Frieda Lewis falls for a musician with in search of a muse, and finally to the buttoned-down '50s where Bryn Evans can't give up her complicated ex-husband. 304p. Litlovers.com

 
 

McLain, Paula, The Paris Wife, This deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley.352p readinggroupguides.com

 
 

O'Reilly, Bill, Killing Kennedy- Hardback will wait until it comes into paperback.

 
 

Patton, Lisa, Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter, LeeLee moved from Memphis to Vermont for her husband to follow his pipe dream of managing a quaint inn. In this funny and sad fish out water book LeeLee learns she is more resilient than she thinks she is. 312p

www.lisapatton.com/DiscussionQuestions.pdf

Wells, Jeanette, Silver Star, The Silver Star, This is story about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling. 269p. Wait until it comes out in paperback

Van Allen, Lisa, The Wishing Thread, The Wishing Thread is an enchanting novel about the bonds between sisters, the indelible pull of the past, and the transformational power of love. 400p.

 

 

I have continued to be the keeper for our book club list. The following are books that we discussed or we will discuss from  December 2012 to September 2013. One of our favorite was The Shoemaker's Wife.

December 2012-Trigiani, Adriana,The Shoemaker’s Wife, The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers, despite growing up in villages just a few miles apart. At the turn of the last century, when Ciro catches the local priest in a scandal, he is banished from his village and sent to hide in America as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Little Italy. Without explanation, he leaves a bereft Enza behind.496p. litlovers.com

2013
Sylvia-January-Findlay, William, Defending Jacob,

Linda-February- Simon, Rachel, The Story of Beautiful Girl, Lynnie, a young white woman is put into the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded. She meets Homan, an African American man. Deeply in love, they escape. They start a long journey. 340p. litlover.com

Kris-March- Sebold, Alice, Lovely Bones, Shockingly original and completely unforgettable, The Lovely Bones is the story of a family devastated by a gruesome murder -- a murder recounted by the teenage victim. 352p. www.litlovers.com

Karen-April- McFadden, Maryann, The Richest Season, When lonely corporate wife Joanna Harrison runs away to Pawleys Island, she has no idea what happens next. But as a new life takes root, thanks to a passionate fisherman and a commitment to save endangered turtles, demands from her old life may force her to return. The Richest Season is a stunning debut that will resonate with any woman who's ever fantasized about leaving home to find herself. 352p.

Ellen-May- Frank, Dorothy Benton, Porch Lights, May and after In the South Carolina Low country, three generations of a family--a grandmother, a mother, and a son--discover the indelible power of love as they share a memorable summer on Sullivan's Island.  324pp   litlovers.com 

Norma-June-Lannert, Stacey and Kristen Kemp, Redemption: A Story of Sisterhood, Survival, and Finding Freedom Behind Bars, On July 4, 1990, eighteen-year-old Stacey Lannert shot and killed her father, who had been sexually abusing her since she was eight.

336pp This is the book that Pat Andersen talked about at one our meetings. It is not in library. It is sold through Barnes and Noble. Please use the complete title.

Linda- July Flagg, Fannie, Fried Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café This book is the story of two women in the 1980s: of gray-headed Mrs Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women--of the irrepressibly dare devilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth--who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder. 416p. litlovers.com

Sylvia August-Landay, William, Mission Flats Nothing ever happens in the sleepy backwater town of Versailles, Maine. At least, that’s what everybody thought. When Police Chief Ben Truman finds a body in the tourist cabins by Lake Mattaquisett, he is plunged headlong into a murder investigation that leads all the way into Boston Proper. 400p.

September-Trigiani, Adriana, Very Valentine, Meet the Roncalli and Angelini families, a vibrant cast of colorful characters who navigate tricky family dynamics with hilarity and brio, from magical Manhattan to the picturesque hills of bella Italia.  401p. www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13

Public library Use

Public Library Use

Use your library card!!! A library card is free. We know that there are very few things in our lives that are free.

Find out what your libraries web site is. From your home you can reserve books.

Libraries have free internet. This is great for job hunting and for students who are researching for

school reports and papers.

Many libraries will show you how to use a computer or have free computer classes. There are free e- books and books on mp3 players.

Many libraries have special movie afternoon and evening viewing. Tomorrow night I am going to see

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. When I read it as a teenager I loved the book and I also saw the movie many many years ago.

Also libraries may have exercise groups, writer's groups, knitting, and needlework groups. I also found a gaming group with Wii gaming systems and board games. Then, I also found

an Omigiri club that pertains to manga and anime.

If you would like to join a book discussion group, check and see if there is one.

Also check for pre-school story times.

During the summer, libraries have special summer programs for children and teens.

One thing I love to do in the library when I have the time. I love to sit down and read the newspapers and magazines. We do subscribe to magazines but we cannot afford to subscribe to every magazine that we like to read.

You can find movies, video games and TV DVDs.

Public libraries offer its community many services and are a special resource, use it.

 

Library decorations and Library Displays

 

Decorations and displays are important part of a library. They make a library

welcoming to everyone who comes in the library. Over the thirty five years that

I worked as a librarian I have worked in interesting libraries. Some were revamped

classrooms. One was the size of a small office, another one looked so great. Until

I started to work in it. It was an open space building and the library was in the

middle and in the traffic pattern of many classes was through the library. I felt like

I was teaching in Grand Central Station. Then, there was the dungeon.

We did have plenty of books and book shelves but not much room for the

students. My office was the top of my desk. Then, my last library that I worked in

was a dream with a beautiful story time area that was a semi-circle with two

stairs. I had an office with two rooms. Where ever I was a librarian I tried to make

the best of it. In the "dungeon" to decorate I made a "clothesline" line with yarn. I

taped it to the shelves and I made the line taunt so that the volunteers and I

could hang the students' work. I collected small clothespins that I bought at

Michael's and Joann's with coupons. Or I also used the large clothespins.

What to put on the clothesline? In early December I read The Mitten by

Alvin Tresselt and then the second graders made and decorated mittens and the

volunteers and I hung the decorated mittens. In spring the first graders listened to

a kite story and we hung up kites on the clothesline. I already have written in the

quilt post about hanging up collage quilts.

At times I did not have a lot of money to buy decorations. I went to dollar

stores, garage and yard sales. Also I signed up for Joann's for coupons

and used coupons from Michael's and A.C. Moore. I also made some of the

decorations because I like to make crafts. I can't piece and make quilts like my

grandmother but I can hand quilt and my small stitches are like my grandmothers.

I made several hand quilted hoops and wall hangings. I also ordered library

decorations from demco.com and highsmith/upstart.

In the "dungeon" I used a basket to display books. In the "dream" library I had so

many places to display and I loved it

Also, be careful when you hang up decorations. Please ask for a ladder or the

janitor's help.

Quilts

I love quilts. My grandmother was a quilt maker. She made quilts for family and friends. When I was a baby my grandmother made a quilt for me. It is a beautiful flower garden. This pattern has six sided patches and edged with pale pink cloth. It is a beautiful reminder of my grandmother who died many years ago.
I also included in my storytimes my love of quilts. For second grade I read
The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. For an activity the second graders made a quilt collage cutting out pictures from catalogs. The quilt is a nine square with each square being 2". I made 2" templates from oaktag. Awhile ago I have limited space in the library to show the students work so I would make a "clothesline" with yarn and taped it to the shelves. Then, I would hang the quilts with small clothespins. It was a great activity. I would collect catalogs from Oriental Trading, Colorful Images, Upstart, and Demco. When we moved to a big beautiful library I also did the same story time but made the "clotheslines" and quilts on our large bulletin board.

Here is our Book Club selections for November through February Book Selections.
I also added our other books for consideration in the future.

November through February Book Selections Plus More

Haddon, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time,
Christopher Boone is a fifteen and has Asperger's, a form of autism. He knows a great deal about math and very little about human beings. When he finds his neighbor’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his world upside down. 240p.
www.readinggroupguides.com/.../curious_incident_dog1.asp
December Selection- Norma
Pearlman, Ann, The Christmas Cookie Club, Twelve closest girlfriends gather in the evening with batches of beautifully wrapped homemade cookies. Everyone has to bring a dessert. http://books.simonandschuster.com/Christmas-Cookie-Club/Ann-Pearlman/9781439158845/reading_group_guide - 55k - 274p.

January-Ellen
Hiassen, Carl, Skinny Dip, Chaz Perrone might be the only marine scientist in the world who does t know which way the Gulf Stream runs. He might also be the only one who went into biology just to make a killing, and now he’s found a way doctoring water samples so that a ruthless agribusiness tycoon can continue illegally dumping fertilizer into the endangered Everglades. When Chaz suspects that his wife, Joey, has figured out his scam, he pushes her overboard from a cruise liner into the night-dark Atlantic. Unfortunately for Chaz, his wife doesn’t die in the fall. 512p.ary

February -Kris
Lupton, Rosamund, Sister, When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. 366p. www.rosamundlupton.com Check under Sister and go Reading Group Questions.

Pilcher, Rosamund, Winter Solstice, Elfrida Phipps's untroubled life in a Hampshire village is cut to shreds when members of her neighbor's family die in a car crash, but, in a way this tragedy redeems her life. The warmth of this English domestic novel is reinforced by its closely delineated characters. Even Horace, the faithful dog, comes alive for us. 512p.

Simonson, Helen, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Retired British Army Officer Major Ernest Pettigrew has learned that his only brother has died. The doorbell rings Mrs. Ali, Pakistani shopkeeper has come to the door to collect the newspaper bill. She touched by his grief, she leads him into the living room and makes a cup of tea and offers him words of Comfort. A friendship blossoms. 384p.www.litlovers.com/.../13.../610-major-pettigrews-last-stand-simonson

Skloot, Rebecca, The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern tobacco farmer, was buried in an unmarked grave sixty years ago. Yet her cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medical research. Known to science as HeLa, the first "immortal" human cells grown in culture are still alive today, and have been bought and sold by the millions. Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey from the "colored" ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to East Baltimore today, where Henrietta's family struggles with her legacy. 381p.www.gobigread.wisc.edu/Discussion-Toolkit/Questions2011.pdf

Patchett, Ann, State of Wonder, When her co-worker dies in the Amazon Marina Singh, a pharmaceutical researcher, retraces his step to find out what exactly happened.www.litlovers.com/reading guides

Verghese, Abraham, Cutting for Stone, This first novel involves the trials of a medical family caught up in the turmoil of Ethiopia. 560p. www.litlovers.com/reading guides

Goodwin, Daisy, The American Heiress, Cora Cash is a spirited heiress who travel to England at the turn of the 19th century to find a titled husband. 480p

Stone, Robert, A Flag for Sunrise, is an emotional, dramatic and philosophical novel about Americans drawn into a small Central American country on the brink of revolution. and philosophical novel about Americans drawn into a small Central American country on the brink of revolution. 448p.

Walls, Jeannette, The Glass Castle. This is Jeannette Walls’s award-winning memoir of resilience amid a deeply dysfunctional childhood. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want to responsibility of raising a family. 304p. www.litlovers.com/readingguides

Walls, Jeannette, Half Broke Horses, a True-Life Novel, Lily Casey Smith, this novel's feisty Texas protagonist, is a frontier teacher, a rancher, a rodeo rider, a poker player, and bootlegger.288p. www.litlovers.com/readingguides
Blum, Jenna, Those who Save Us A professor’s mother refuses to talk to her daughter about her life in Germany during WWII, even though the daughter is interviewing survivors and writing a book. 496p. ReadingGroupGuides.com

Mullen, Thomas, The Last Town on Earth Set against the backdrop of one of the most virulent epidemics that America ever experienced–the 1918 flu epidemic. 432p.
ReadingGroupGuides.com
Monroe, Mary Alice Time is a River Breast cancer survivor Mia Landan returns home to find her husband in bed with another woman. Still weak from the cancer treatments, and not ready to make decisions about her failed marriage, Mia asks Belle Carson, a fly-fishing guide and the head of Casting for Recovery, if she can stay in Belle’s isolated mountain cabin. 384p.books.simonschuster.com
Roberts, Shelia, Love in Bloom, A funny, inspiring women's fiction novel about three women who share neighboring plots in a community garden and change each other's lives forever. 366p. readinggroupguides.com
Roberts, Shelia, Small Change, "At their weekly craft group meeting, Rachel, Jessica and Tiffany admit they share a difficult secret: they're all struggling with major financial problems. 352p.ReadingGroupGuides
Strout, Elizabeth, Olive Kitteridge, Olive Kitteridge is the kind of woman you would duck across the street to avoid meeting. She's abrasive as sandpaper rubbed across a scab and unapologetically rude. Now retired, she taught seventh-grade math in the small Maine town of Crosby for years, earning a reputation as the mean teacher who leaves her students flustered and trembling. 304p. http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction

.

Recommendations

I am recommending a great website for readers. It is goodreads.com. When I was an elementary librarian a wonderful parent sent me this website. It is a website that you can find great books to read and share your love of reading with others. I signed up for the monthlty newsletter.
Please read and see the movie, The Help. Our book club read it for our April book selection. This week some of our group went to see the movie. It was also wonderful and pretty much stayed with the book. It reminds how much the civil rights movement
did for our country's racical problems but also how far we must travel in the future.

Our New Book Selections

New Book Club Selections

In May our book club we decided to weed some titles that we didn't want to read. Also we added some new titles. For choosing the selections, I ask our members for selections. I also look at new books and read reviews. Also my friend who has belonged to a book club for 30 plus has good suggestions. I have also included some Christmas and holiday books for December and January. We also had decided along the way that it is best to have a moderator that will lead the discussion and the questions. We volunteer to be a moderator. In the future we may not always meet in the library. We may meet in our member's home. We like to socialize. Who doesn't?


Dallas, Sandra, Tallgrass During Word War II, a family finds life turned upside down when the government opens a Japanese internment camp in their small Colorado town. After a young girl is murdered, all eyes (and suspicions) turn to the newcomers, the interlopers, the strangers. 336p. ReadingGroupGuide.com

Ford, Jamie, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A friendship between a Chinese-American and a Japanese-American girl in Seattle During WWII. 320p. ReadingGroupGuide.com

Blum, Jenna, Those who Save Us A professor’s mother refuses to talk to her daughter about her life in Germany during WWII, even though the daughter is interviewing survivors and writing a book. 496p. ReadingGroupGuides.com

Mullen, Thomas, The Last Town on Earth Set against the backdrop of one of the most virulent epidemics that America ever experienced–the 1918 flu epidemic. 432p.
ReadingGroupGuides.com

Monroe, Mary Alice Time is a River Breast cancer survivor Mia Landan returns home to find her husband in bed with another woman. Still weak from the cancer treatments, and not ready to make decisions about her failed marriage, Mia asks Belle Carson, a fly-fishing guide and the head of Casting for Recovery, if she can stay in Belle’s isolated mountain cabin. 384p.books.simonschuster.com

Monroe, Mary Alice The Four Seasons., What a great story! The characters-four sisters-Jillian, Rose, Beatrice and Meredith are a study in relationships between sisters, If you have ever had a close sister relationship or one with another woman, you will find this a fascinating study... The Four Seasons is definitely recommended as a good read, It presents a way to learn a lot. about women and how perceptions differ depending on who you are and where you are in life, Enjoy! 422p

Flagg, Fannie, Can’t Wait for Heaven, Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and sidesplitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here? 384p
www.litlovers.com Type in the title

Mapson, Jo-Ann, Hank and Chloe, Hank and Chloe are as star-crossed as Romeo and Juliet but sexier and frankly, a lot more fun. This is a love story with a salsa bite and a winning heart. 310p. ReadingGroupGuides.com

Mapson, Jo-Ann, Solomon’s Oak, This book is the story of three people who have suffered losses that changed their lives forever. Though, it resonates with hope and love. 384p.ReadingGroupGuides.com

Roberts, Shelia, Love in Bloom, A funny, inspiring women's fiction novel about three women who share neighboring plots in a community garden and change each other's lives forever. 366p. readinggroupguides.com

Roberts, Shelia, Small Change, "At their weekly craft group meeting, Rachel, Jessica and Tiffany admit they share a difficult secret: they're all struggling with major financial problems. 352p.ReadingGroupGuides

Strout, Elizabeth, Olive Kitteridge, Olive Kitteridge is the kind of woman you would duck across the street to avoid meeting. She's abrasive as sandpaper rubbed across a scab and unapologetically rude. Now retired, she taught seventh-grade math in the small Maine town of Crosby for years, earning a reputation as the mean teacher who leaves her students flustered and trembling. 304p. http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/696-olive-kitteridge-strout

Kingsolver, Barbara, Animal, Vegetable and Miracle: A year of food Barbara Kingsolver describes her family's adventure as they move to a farm in southern Appalachia and realign their lives with the local food chain. 400p. www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13

Kingsolver, Barbara, Prodigal Summer, Over the course of one humid summer, as the urge to procreate overtakes the countryside, these characters find their connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with whom they share a place. 460p.
www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?&...

Simonson, Barbara, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Retired British Army Officer Major
Ernest Pettigrew has learned that his only brother has died. The door bell rings Mrs. Ali,
Pakistani shopkeeper, has come to the door to collect the newspaper bill. She touched
by his grief, she leads him into the living room and makes a cup of tea and offers him words of Comfort. A friendship blossoms. 384p.www.litlovers.com/.../13.../610-major-pettigrews-last-stand-simonson

Haddon, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time,
Christopher Boone is a fifteen and has Asperger's, a form of autism. He knows a great deal about math and very little about human beings. When he finds his neighbor’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his world upside down. 240p.
www.readinggroupguides.com/.../curious_incident_dog1.asp


Skloot, Rebecca, The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern tobacco farmer, was buried in an unmarked grave sixty years ago. Yet her cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medical research. Known to science as HeLa, the first "immortal" human cells grown in culture are still alive today, and have been bought and sold by the millions. Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey from the "colored" ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to East Baltimore today, where Henrietta's family struggles with her legacy. 381p.
www.gobigread.wisc.edu/Discussion-Toolkit/Questions2011.pdf


Holiday books for December and January

Roberts, Sheila, Angel Lane Keep the heart in Heart Lake. That’s exactly what three small-town shop owners hope to do when they launch their crazy-ambitious “Have a Heart” campaign—asking neighbors to commit one random act of kindness every day. Emma, Sarah, and Jamie love their lakeside community, but the little town is growing too big too fast, and a doing a good deed never hurt anyone. Or so they thought…

Andrews, Mary Kay, Blue Christmas, It′s the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to do up her shop for the Savannah historical district window decorating contest-which she intends to win.
Pearlman, Ann, The Christmas Cookie Club. Every year at Christmastime, Marnie and her twelve closest girlfriends gather in the evening with batches of beautifully wrapped homemade cookies. Everyone has to bring a dessert and a bottle of wine, but this year, it’s their stories that are especially important. Marnie’s oldest daughter has a risky pregnancy. Jeannie’s father is having an affair with her best friend. Taylor’s life is in financial freefall. Rosie’s husband doesn’t want children, and she has to decide, very soon, the fate of her marriage.
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Christmas-Cookie-Club/Ann-Pearlman/9781439158845/reading_group_guide - 55k -

Our book club selections June through November

I am now the keeper of the list for our woman's club book group. I have discussed how
books are placed on our list. After I compile the list e-mail it to our members who have e-mail. To our members who do not have e-mail I send via the USPS.

Our June through November Book Club Selections
June Selection Karen Moderator
Ford, Jamie, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A friendship between a Chinese-American and a Japanese-American girl in Seattle During WWII. 320p. ReadingGroupGuide.com

July Selection Estelle Moderator at Estelle’s house
Monroe, Mary Alice The Four Seasons., What a great story! The characters-four sisters-Jillian, Rose, Beatrice and Meredith are a study in relationships between sisters, If you have ever had a close sister relationship or one with another woman, you will find this a fascinating study... The Four Seasons is definitely recommended as a good read, It presents a way to learn a lot. about women and how perceptions differ depending on who you are and where you are in life, Enjoy! 422p

August Selection Norma Moderator
Flagg, Fannie, Can’t Wait for Heaven, Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and sidesplitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here? 384pwww.litlovers.com Type in the title
September Selection Louise Moderator

Kingsolver, Barbara, Animal, Vegetable and Miracle: A year of food Barbara Kingsolver describes her family's adventure as they move to a farm in southern Appalachia and realign their lives with the local food chain. 400p. www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13

October Selection Linda Moderator
Mapson, Jo-Ann, Solomon’s Oak, This book is the story of three people who have suffered losses that changed their lives forever. Though, it resonates with hope and love. 384p.ReadingGroupGuides.com

November Selection Pat
Haddon, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time,
Christopher Boone is a fifteen and has Asperger's, a form of autism. He knows a great deal about math and very little about human beings. When he finds his neighbor’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his world upside down. 240p.
www.readinggroupguides.com/.../curious_incident_dog1.asp

Adult Book Selections

Here are adult selections that you may want to read.
For February our book is Stockett, Kathryn, The Help In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women in Mississippi on 1962 to start a movement forever changes a town, and the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.
Please remember to reserve this book at the library if you do not have a copy.

Last week our book club discussed this book. We had a wonderful lively discussion.

Larrson, Steig The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo It s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. 672p.ReadingGroupGuide

Dallas, Sandra, Tallgrass During Word War II, a family finds life turned upside down when the government opens a Japanese internment camp in their small Colorado town. After a young girl is murdered, all eyes (and suspicions) turn to the newcomers, the interlopers, the strangers. 336p. ReadingGroupGuide.com

Dallas, Sandra The Persian Pickle Club.
It is the 1930s, and hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up, and there's not a job to be found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip, and putting their quilting skills to good use. 208p.

http://www.litlovers.com/guide_persian_pickle_club.html

Ford, Jamie, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A friendship between a Chinese-American and a Japanese-American girl in Seattle During WWII. 320p. ReadingGroupGuide.com

Wallace, Nicole, 18 Acres Eighteen Acres, a description used by political insiders when referring to the White House complex, follows the first female President of the United States, Charlotte Kramer, and her staff as they take on dangerous threats from abroad and within her very own cabinet. 322p.http://books.simonandschuster.com/Eighteen-Acres/Nicolle-Wallace/9781439194829/reading_group_guide


Blum, Jenna, Those who Save Us A professor’s mother refuses to talk to her daughter about her life in Germany during WWII, even though the daughter is interviewing survivors and writing a book. 496p. ReadingGroupGuides.com

Mullen, Thomas, The Last Town on Earth Set against the backdrop of one of the most virulent epidemics that America ever experienced–the 1918 flu epidemic. 432p.
ReadingGroupGuides.com

Steele, Danielle, Granny Dan, is about the magic of history. In The author reminds us how little we know of those who came before us—and how, if we could only glimpse into their early lives, and see who they once were, there is so much we would understand and learn. 242p.

Monroe, Mary Alice Time is a River Breast cancer survivor Mia Landan returns home to find her husband in bed with another woman. Still weak from the cancer treatments, and not ready to make decisions about her failed marriage, Mia asks Belle Carson, a fly-fishing guide and the head of Casting for Recovery, if she can stay in Belle’s isolated mountain cabin. 384p.books.simonschuster.com

Monroe, Mary Alice The Four Seasons., What a great story! The characters-four sisters-Jillian, Rose, Beatrice and Meredith are a study in relationships between sisters, If you have ever had a close sister relationship or one with another woman, you will find this a fascinating study... The Four Seasons is definitely recommended as a good read, It presents a way to learn a lot. about women and how perceptions differ depending on who you are and where you are in life, Enjoy! 422p

Flagg, Fannie, Can’t Wait for Heaven, Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and sidesplitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here? 384p

Mapson, Jo-Ann, Hank and Chloe, Hank and Chloe are as star-crossed as Romeo and Juliet but sexier and frankly, a lot more fun. This is a love story with a salsa bite and a winning heart. 310p. ReadingGroupGuides.com

Mapson, Jo-Ann, Solomon’s Oak, This book is the story of three people who have suffered losses that changed their lives forever. Though, it resonates with hope and love. 384p.ReadingGroupGuides.com

Roberts, Shelia, Love in Bloom, A funny, inspiring women's fiction novel about three women who share neighboring plots in a community garden and change each other's lives forever. 366p. readinggroupguides.com

Roberts, Shelia, Small Change, "At their weekly craft group meeting, Rachel, Jessica and Tiffany admit they share a difficult secret: they're all struggling with major financial problems. 352p.ReadingGroupGuides

Dickens, Charles, A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .” With these famous words, Charles Dickens plunges the reader into one of history’s most explosive eras—the French Revolution. From the storming of the Bastille to the relentless drop of the guillotine, 448p. Oprah.com

Gladwell, Malcolm Outliers The author takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. 320p.

Gladwell, Malcolm, The Tipping Point, Defining that precise moment when a trend becomes a trend, Malcolm Gladwell probes the surface of everyday occurrences to reveal some surprising dynamics behind explosive social changes. 301p.

Atwood, Margaret, The Tent, Incredible! This fascinating collection of stories, poems, and shorts is as intriguing as the many different voices Atwood uses to portray the pieces. The Works in this collection span many years of writing and many of the pieces have previously been published elsewhere in such works as: The Walrus, Harper's Magazine, New Beginnings, and a few small independent printings of smaller collections.

Strout, Elizabeth, Olive Kitteridge, Olive Kitteridge is the kind of woman you would duck across the street to avoid meeting. She's abrasive as sandpaper rubbed across a scab and unapologetically rude. Now retired, she taught seventh-grade math in the small Maine town of Crosby for years, earning a reputation as the mean teacher who leaves her students flustered and trembling. She is loud, unnerving, tart-tongued, and completely unforgettable. 304p. readinggroupguides.com

Book Discussion Groups

Hi everyone,
I know you have not heard from in awhile. After I retired I wanted to belong to book discussion. One of my friends had belonged for a book club for thirty years. Believe or not, I am now the Queen of Book club discussion groups. I belong to three book clubs. Yes, three! I love reading! My advice, be careful for what you wish for. Last summer in 2009 I joined a nearby library’s book club. Then, this summer a Jane Austen book club started at the same library. I joined that one. I liked the sound of it. It sounded quite literary. I like it. Then, the members of the Hopatcong’s Women’s Club wanted to start a book club. I helped start it. We have our meetings in our branch library. Truthfully, I do enjoy the book discussion groups. For me it is an extension of being a librarian.
If you have a group of people that would want to start a book discussion, type in Goggle
How to start a book discussion group. You will have so many hits. Everyone from Orpah to www.readinggroupguides.com/roundtable/start.asp
Also join one at your public library or local book store. It is a lot of fun to be with other people
who love or like to read. You have a chance to discuss points that your members want to. Also different people bring different opinion to the table.


Here is information for our future selections.
We have a great book club that meets at the Library every month.
It is on the second Monday of the month from 10:00 to 11:30. New members to the group are encouraged to join us. If you have any questions, call Linda at my phone number. Please also join the public library to hold or save books.

Our March book selection is:
Dallas, Sandra, The Persian Pickle Club.
It is the 1930’s hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up, and there’s not a job to found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip and putting their quilting skills to good use.

Our April book selection
Wallace, Nicole, 18 Acres, a description used by political insiders when referring to the White House Complex, follows the first female President of the United States, Charlotte Kramer and her staff as they take on dangerous threats from abroad and within her very own cabinet.

Our May book selection
Steele, Danielle, Granny Dan, is about the magic of history. The author reminds us how little we know of those who came before us--and how, if we could only glimpse into their early lives and see who they once were, There is so much we could understand and learn.

Count me as a library activist- advocate. In the past three months I have been advocating for New Jersey's public libraries. Governor Christie initially wanted to cut library funding by 74%. It would have meant horrific cuts for our public libraries. I wrote e-mails and letters to my New Jersey representatives in the Senate and Assembly. Also I e-mailed and wrote to Governor Christie, the Senate Majority Speaker and the Assembly Majority Speaker.
On June 29th the Governor signed the budget that included $5 million in restored funding for library network aid. Hurrah!!!

Saving New Jersey's libraries

Here in New Jersey we are having major problems with proposed
public library and public school cuts. The following letter is one that I am
sending to Governor Christie and state legislators. It is important
to save our libraries and schools.
Please visit the following websites to let your voices to be heard.
http://savemynjlibrary.org/
http://capwiz.com/ala/nj/mlm/verify/

April 24, 2010

Governor Christopher Christie
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625

Dear Governor Christie,
I am a retired school librarian. I am not in favor of a bill that may be introduced to end the formula for dedicated public library funding (A2555.) It is important to keep local libraries strong by leaving the dedicated funding as it is. I implore you to keep libraries vital and preserve this funding. We and others who use libraries see that they are a very good use of taxpayers’ money.
Reading is and always will be important !!! Libraries and Reading go hand in hand.
I am opposed to the drastic budget cuts to our public libraries and public schools. Public libraries are an integral and important part of our communities. Here in New Jersey we now are fortunate to have wonderful libraries that are busy. These libraries are for all of our citizens young or old. Books are expensive!!! Using libraries New Jersey citizens have saved money. In these economic times we have saved a lot of money by borrowing library books.
My family has used many of the programs that you want to do away with. My sons and I have used the interlibrary loans. My sons who are adults now participated in the summer reading club programs. These libraries are for all of our citizens young or old.
So many people are looking for jobs and libraries can help people find jobs. There are books about resume writing and computers so that jobseekers can use online job websites. Not everyone has a computer. Public Libraries have computers for people to use.
The Talking Book and Braille books will be eliminated. It is hard for anyone to lose their eyesight, but on top that, not to be able to listen or read books using Braille is traumatic.
Many school librarians have been cut or not replaced when they retire. They do not have the services that they had provided for their students. If you cut public library service, where are public school students going to find their books for book reports, projects and research papers? For public school students interlibrary library loans are important.
I am also deeply concerned about the public school budget cuts. We have excellent public schools in New Jersey. Such drastic cuts would wreck havoc with our schools. It is our children, grandchildren and great grand children who will suffer with these drastic cuts.
Sincerely,

My name

Collage

I love and am fascinated by collage illustration. I like Erza Jack Keats. He illustrates so beautifully with collage. When I was unpacking my children's books from the library that I last worked at I found many books that I had. I discovered I had seven books by Mr. Keats. I have The Snowy Day, Jennie's Hat, Regards to the Man in the Moon, A Letter to Amy, Louie, Peter's Chair and Whistle for Willie. I read the books to kindergartners and first graders.
I decided to make my own collage. First, I decided to make a heart collage. I love hearts so I knew it was a good choice for me. The beauty of making a collage it is your own and it is not hard to do. I started using red card stock and then I folded and made a heart. Or you can go to for a heart shape http://www.abcteach.com/free/h/heart_m.pdf Then, I used many different kinds of materials and I mainly carried out the heart theme. I used stationery, pictures from catalog, buttons, ribbon, cupcake papers, card stock and a paper plate. Later I also included pictures of my family to go around the heart. I found and used a very good glue stick. It was a fun adventure. I did not do it all at one time. It evolved as found things I wanted to place on the collage. After I finished the collage I find a frame that had a mounting surface. I mounted the collage on a large surface that is a sheet of foam and canvas like material over it. Now, my husband will finish it and put a frame over and it will be on our living room.
What a great project!!! It would make a great project with reading Ezra Jack Keats, Eric Carle,
Leo Lionni, and Lois Ehlert books. These author- illustrators use collage in their books.
To collect the materials here are a few suggestions. Save catalogs. This is one time you want to be on a catalog list. Also save ribbon, yarn, buttons, paper and gift bags, stationery or other materials. Use glue sticks for this project. It will make it easier for your students. Have Fun!!!

Favorite Book Characters We Love

Here is a great February and Valentine's Day bulletin board idea for librarians and teachers.
In the beginning of February I read Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting to the second graders. It is a short book with only 2 characters. Mrs. Bear decided that she would celebrate Valentine's Day with Mr. Bear. Before she goes to sleep to hibernate for the winter she sets her alarm for February 14th. After I finished the story I would ask the students who are the characters in this
book. Then, I would ask the students what are book characters? Then, I would
lead a discussion about who are their favorite book characters? It could be
Arthur or D.W. from the Arthur series by Marc Brown
Jack and Annie from the Magic Tree House book
Kermit from Bill Peet's Kermit the Hermit
the cat in the hat
Harry Potter
Nate the Great
Then, I would talk about my favorite book character Charlotte from Charlotte's Web. I would show the students a large red heart with Charlotte's name in black crayon and a drawing of a web and Charlotte. Then, I would give the directions. Please write on red, pink construction or white drawing paper (good quality) who your favorite book character is. (The hearts would be copied on to the paper). Please write your favorite book character in pencil first. Then, outline it in a darker color if you are using red or pink. We would discuss why we use pencil, first and what are dark colors. I would tell the students I will help you with spelling. Also I will tell the students to do their best work because this would be going to be on the bulletin board outside of the library. After the papers are passed out. I would monitor the students' work.
For the bulletin board I made a large circle with printing with marker, Favorite Book Characters We Love. I found beautiful red, white and blue lace that I would staple under the circle. You could also use small heart decorations. Then, I would staple the hearts on to the bulletin board. It was always fun to see the students' favorite book characters.
Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!

Reading as a solace in time of need

Reading is such an enjoyable way to live. I have found reading to be entertaining, fun, and informative.
Also I have experienced reading that has been a solace in times of stress and depression. For years I took care of my elderly mother. At the beginning of this painful journey, I had to go with my then young sons back to my home town. My 88 year old mother had fallen in her apartment and been taken to the hospital. I knew this was going to be a difficult trip. I told my husband that was not going to be taking a book to read. He gave me the best advice. Linda, take a book. I did and when I wasn't seeing my mother at the hospital, or talking to a social worker I would read my book. It was Witness by Sandra Brown. It was an exciting fast-paced read that gave me that solace to face the hard challenges that I had.