Annual Sweet Corn Book and Bake Sale

Be sure to drop by the library on Saturday, July 18th for the Annual Sweet Corn Book and Bake Sale, sponsored by Friends of the Chatham Area Public Library.  The sale starts at 9:00 a.m. and will end at 3:00 p.m. $2 bags start at 2:00 p.m.  So mark your calendars and plan to stop by to pick up a few treats and books.

Jodi Picoult Read-Alikes

Are you on the waiting list for My Sister’s Keeper?  Or are you an ardent Jodi Picoult fan who has read all her books and can’t wait for her next one to come out?  Well, here’s a list of books and authors that just might tide you over until your book comes in.

Jodi Picoult’s novels tend to focus on ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations.  She takes on contemporary issues, and shows characters on both sides.  Her books are thought provoking and raise many questions–but Picoult takes the stance that there are no easy answers.  The novels on this list share many of those traits.

ELIZABETH BERG

Open House – A woman whose husband leaves her makes ends meet by taking boarders into her house.

The Art of Mending – Two siblings, home for a family reunion, are shocked by abuse allegations their sister makes against their mother.

 

CHRISTOPHER A. BOHJALIAN

Before You Know Kindness – When a man is hurt in an accident with a hunting rifle, his family must cope not only with their own feelings and grief, but also the fact that the man’s employer wants to use his story in aid of their opposition to guns and hunting, which divides the family.

Midwives – When a woman dies during childbirth while under a midwife’s care, the midwife is charged with involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license.  The whole town is ignited, and everyone is taking sides.  But does anyone know what really happened?

ALICE HOFFMAN

Blue Diary – A popular, well-liked citizen’s arrest for murder shocks his town and his family.  He claims to be repentant and that he’s a different person now from the one who committed the crime, but can (or should) guilt be shed so easily?

The River King – Town/gown conflicts and class tensions complicate relationships at a New England prep school.  When one of the students is found dead in the river, things become even more complex.

ANN HOOD

The Knitting Circle – After the sudden death of her child, a woman joins a knitting circle and learns not only how to knit, but also how her grief may be healed.

The Properties of Water – A woman in a depressed Rhode Island town deals with various family difficulties such as her father’s Alzheimer’s disease and her own daughters’ growing pains.  Her life is further complicated when her sister comes back to town.

SUE MILLER

The Good Mother – A divorced couple become enmeshed in a custody battle for their daughter.  At issue is the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of the main character’s romantic life and her daughter’s exposure to it.

The World Below – After uprooting herself from San Francisco to her grandmother’s house in Vermont, which she has recently inherited, Catherine finds her grandmother’s diary.  While reading it, she is surprised to find the many parallels between their two lives.

JACQUELYN MITCHARD

The Deep End of the Ocean – A three-year-old boy is kidnapped from a crowded hotel lobby.  How will the family cope with his loss?  Nine years later, a twelve-year-old boy shows up on the family’s doorstep, offering to mow the lawn.  Is it the same child?

A Theory of Relativity – When the parents of a one-year-old girl die in a car crash, the two sides of the family descend into a heated custody battle, complicated by questions about adoption and “blood” relatives.

LUANNE RICE

Follow the Stars Home – Diane is forced to raise her daughter alone after her husband abandons them when he learns about their daughter’s health problems.  His brother, the local pediatrician, however, stands by mother and daughter.

Home Fires – After the breakdown of her marriage due to the death of their child, a woman leaves New York and her husband to return to the small New England town where she grew up to rebuild her life.

ANITA SHREVE

Body Surfing – Tutoring a couple’s daughter one summer in their New Hampshire beach cottage, the main character is caught up in unexpected family drama.

Light on Snow – Grieving dad and daughter find an abandoned baby in the snow.  Matters are complicated further when the baby’s mother turns up.

ANNE TYLER

Digging to America – Two families meet at the Baltimore airport as they await the arrival of their adopted Korean daughters.  Despite their differences (one family is American, one Iranian-American), they continue to meet each year to celebrate the girls’ Arrival Day.  But when one of the family members dies, it’s not only culture clash that complicates their relationships.

Ladder of Years – Tired of her life and feeling dissatisfied in her relationships with her husband and grown children, Delia drops it all to start a new life in a nearby town.

Midday Movie – July 8 @ 2:00 p.m. – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Join us for our monthly Midday Movie!  On the second Wednesday of each month at 2:00 p.m., we show a movie in the library’s Conference Room.  Come in for the movie and refreshments, and plan to stay after for a great discussion of the film.  Everyone is invited to attend–so plan to be there and bring a friend.

On July 8 at 2:00 p.m., we will be screening the Frank Capra classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, and Claude Rains.  Watch Jimmy Stewart playing the idealistic young politician, Mr. Smith, who gets appointed to the Senate as a replacement by senior politicians who suspect he’ll be a clueless pushover.  Little do they suspect that Mr. Smith’s idealism will spur him to take on the political corruption he finds in Congress–and win!

Also mark your calendars for next month’s Midday Movie on August 12, when we will be showing the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical State Fair.

Library Lines – June 18, 2009

If there is one thing that you can count on, it is that things will change. Very little in life remains constant. No matter how slowly or swiftly, changes are occurring in our bodies, on our planet, in our situations. Changes even affect the Chatham Area Public Library.

That does not mean that we have no control. The opposite is true, and the Library is the perfect place to examine changes or plan for them. For instance, many people will change their career at some point, and The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success offers some useful tips for those planning to do so. Others look to change the way they eat. Superfoods Healthstyle: Proven Strategies for Lifelong Health contains the appropriate techniques. Keeping up with changes in styles can be an expensive proposition, but it doesn’t have to be, as Born-Again Vintage: 25 Ways to Deconstruct, Reinvent, and Recycle Your Wardrobe demonstrates.

Everyone’s appearance changes over time, and we all want to look our best. Forget the Facelift: Turn Back the Clock with Dr. Day’s Revolutionary Four Step Program for Ageless Skin is one way to stay on top. For Men Only: Looking Your Best Through Science, Surgery, and Common Sense shows guys how to retain and regain that which is threatened by time. Women have always had to go through “the change,” and Honey They Shrunk My Hormones: Humor and Insight from the Trenches of Midlife may help make that transition easier to deal with.

One of the most difficult things to do is to change someone’s mind. On the collective level, The Tyranny of Dead Ideas: Letting Go of the Old Ways of Thinking to Unleash a New Prosperity addresses the ideas that no longer work for our nation and presents new mindsets that will better serve us. Individually, How to Change Anybody: Proven Techniques to Reshape Anyone’s Attitude, Behavior, Feelings, or Beliefs offers methods for changing people rather than “dealing” with them.

Climate change is a hot topic, and With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change explains why. The issue is also changing our society in new ways. The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy: Achieving Energy Independence through Solar, Wind, Biomass, and Hydropower is in response to it. But there is also opportunity in the challenge. Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying contains ideas for prospering while responding appropriately. While climate change is affecting societies in a number of ways, Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilizations End exposes other threats to mankind from space, the sun, super-volcanoes, and other long overdue phenomena.

Change is not a bad thing; it is a constant. The Chatham Area Public Library has grown and changed to accommodate the changing needs of a growing community. If you haven’t been by in a while, stop in and see how the changes help us to better serve your needs.

Come Check Out Some of Our Newest Books!

The Chatham Area Public Library recently added many titles to our Fiction and Science Fiction/Fantasy collections! Come in and check out our new additions–both long time readers of the genre and those new to it can find something to enjoy!

Ready for more bloodcurdling (and tingling) tales of vampires and werewolves now that the Twilight series is done? Who isn’t! Check out some of these titles:

Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Series inspired the popular HBO series True Blood. The first book is Dead until Dark and the whole series is available now!

Laurell K. Hamilton recently released a new installment of her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series entitled Skin Trade. Check out the rest at Chatham Library!

Patricia Briggs’s Urban Fantasy novels have delighted fans for years.  Check out Mercy Thompson in Moon Called if you like your heroines shape-shifting and able to hold their own with the boys!

Wizards with magical solutions to real world problems are in particular demand after the void left by the end of the Harry Potter series.  What better way to fix them than with “Wizard for Hire” Harry Dresden?  The complete Dresden Files series is available now at Chatham Library!

For fans of fantasy, the ability to build worlds as compelling and real as our modern one is highly prized.  Many of our new books reflect the best in modern epic fantasy.

Jacqueline Carey’s world may resemble the early days of European History, but the resemblance ends there. Her world is home to an amazing heroine who stands every fantasy trope on its head. The newest book, Naamah’s Kiss, is forthcoming so start with Kushiel’s Dart, available now!

George R.R. Martin has been praised as one of the best fantasy writers in decades.  If you have missed his Song of Ice and Fire series, now is the time to check it out!

The full list of new science fiction and fantasy titles is below:

Patricia Briggs: Raven’s Strike; Raven’s Shadow; Dragon Bones; Dragon Blood; Cry Wolf; Moon Called; Blood Bound; Iron Kissed; Bone Crossed

Max Brooks: The Zombie Survival Guide; World War Z: The Oral History of the Zombie War

Jim Butcher: Storm Front; Fool Moon; Grave Peril; Summer Knight; Death Masks; Blood Rites; Dead Beat; Proven Guilty; White Night; Small Favor; Furies of Calderon; Academ’s Fury; Cursor’s Fury; Captain’s Fury

Brian D’Amato: In the Courts of the Sun

Guillermo Del Torro: The Strain

Jacqueline Carey: Kushiel’s Dart; Kushiel’s Chosen; Kushiel’s Avatar; Kushiel’s Scion; Kushiel’s Justice; Kushiel’s Mercy; Naamah’s Kiss; Santa Olivia

Laurell K. Hamilton: Guilty Pleasures; Circus of the Damned; Lunatic Café; Bloody Bones; The Killing Dance; Burnt Offerings; Blue Moon; Obsidian Butterfly; Narcissus in Chains; Cerulean Sins; Incubus Dreams; Micah; Skin Trade

Charlaine Harris: Dead until Dark; Living Dead in Dallas; Club Dead; Dead to the World; Dead as a Doornail; All Together Dead; From Dead to Worse; Dead and Gone; Grave Sight

George R. R. Martin: A Game of Thrones; A Storm of Swords; A Clash of Kings

Karen Miller: The Innocent Mage; The Awakened Mage

Brent Weeks: The Way of Shadows; Shadow’s Edge; Beyond the Shadows

Library Lines, June 4

There is one thing that everyone likes to do. It has been called everything; it has been overemphasized and deemphasized. At the Chatham Area Public Library, there are a variety of guides that can help you to do this more often. It is usually good to win.

Competitive sports is one area where many people enjoy winning, and a great many people are engaged in sporting activities. Skills training is one way to get the edge, and many books contain ways to improve upon these such as Winning Racquetball: Skills, Drills, and Strategies. Some are geared toward girls like Winning Soccer for Girls and Winning Volleyball for Girls. Winning Wrestling Moves will show you how to go to the mat, and Winning Bowling can help you be a kingpin. Winning Chess Piece by Piece is one of many guides to that intellectual sport, but for those who like to up the ante Casino Gambling for the Clueless: A Guide to Playing and Winning is a must read.

Other books address our collective success as a nation and a planet. For instance Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How takes on security, our nation’s and civilization’s. Win-Win Ecology: How the Earth’s Species Can Survive in the Midst of Human Experience advocates bringing the man made habitat into mutual beneficial coexistence with the natural habitat. The family is the topic in Winning Them Over: How to Negotiate Successfully with Your Kids. Winning Scholarships for College: An Insider’s Guide shows high school students how to maximize their potential to be awarded scholarships for further education beyond just their grade point average. Making It All Work: Winning the Game of Business and the Business of Life demonstrates new principles that apply to professional and personal success.

Losing isn’t always bad either. Valerie Bertinelli attests to that in her new book Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound At A Time. Dump ‘Em: How to Break Up With Anyone From Your Best Friend to Your Hairdresser supplies techniques for losing unwanted baggage. Many times things that are lost by one person become found by another. Requiem for a Paper Bag: Celebrities and Civilians Tell Stories of the Best Lost, Tossed, and Found Items From Around the World is a collection of tales about thing that turn up in people’s lives.

There are many ways to be a winner; in business, in sports, in life. No matter what the challenge, the Chatham Area Public Library has all the tools you need to succeed. Knowing that makes you a winner already.

Mamma Mia! – June 10 @ 2:00 p.m.

On Wednesday, June 10 at 2:00 p.m. , come down to the Chatham Area Public Library’s Gallery A to enjoy the free Midday Movie.  The Midday Movie is a monthly event at the Library, and this month’s featured film will be Mamma Mia! starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard.  This movie musical features the music of 1970s supergroup ABBA, and the story involves a young woman’s attempt to determine which of three possible candidates is her father before her wedding so that he can walk her down the aisle.  It’s sure to be a great time, so join us on June 10 for snacks, discussion, and our screening of this popular recent film.  It’s free, and everyone is invited, so we hope you’ll come (and bring a friend)!

For July, gear up for a true classic.  In honor of Independence Day, on Wednesday, July 8 at 2:00 p.m. in Gallery A we will be screening director Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, and Claude Rains.  Mark your calendar for our showing of this exceptional film.

Library Lines, May 21

While you have been doing all of those Spring projects around the house, maybe you have noticed that the place could use a little sprucing up, or you are just in the mood for a change. An inexpensive and fun way to decorate is with a new coat of paint. There are lots of colors, styles, and even textures to choose from that can make your space truly personal. If you are looking for some fresh ideas, look no further than the Chatham Area Public Library.

To get acquainted with a variety of ideas, have a look at The Complete Book of Paint: A Sourcebook of Techniques, Finishes, Designs, and Projects. To get an idea of what you’re in for, Decorative Painting 1-2-3: From Prep to Clean Up: A Complete Guide to Interior Painting will clue you in. Paint Your Home: Skills, Techniques, and Tricks of the Trade for Professional Looking Interior Painting explains how to get the job done right the first time.

One might think that that is about it to painting in and around the home. In fact, there are a myriad of ways to decorate around the home with paint. Want to add a little texture? Look in The Paint Effects Bible: 100 Recipes for Faux Finishes to see what is truly possible. Want to go beyond texture, or beyond walls? There are few surfaces in the home that cannot be painted. The Stenciled House: An Inspirational and Practical Guide to Transforming Your Home confronts solid color surfaces with designs and patterns for truly beautiful walls, furniture, and floors. Projection Stenciling demonstrates techniques for creating mural sized designs and effects on surfaces from floors to glass, walls to refrigerators. Does painting the floor sounds like less than a good idea? No problem. The Complete Book of Floorcloths: Design and Techniques for Painting Great Looking Canvas Rugs and Floorcloth Magic: How to Paint Canvas Rugs for Decorative Home Use offer great ways to make nonpermanent changes to the areas below the feet.

Other household objects are not immune from being painted. Painting Fabric: How to Use the New Paints to Introduce Color to Clothes, Cushions, Curtains endeavors to turn the whole interior universe into something remarkable. Likewise, Great New Ways to Paint on Glass and Glass Painting Projects: Decorative Glass for Beautiful Interiors both contain colorful ways to bring life to jars, bottles, windows, tables, shower doors, and more. Painted Wooden Furniture: Easy to Follow Templates for Decorating Over Twenty Stylish Projects takes the ordinary to the extraordinary. Are you ready to move outside? Take routine outdoor items like trash cans, flower pots, fences, and watering cans over the top with Painting Garden Décor with Donna Newberry. For some projects that truly have to be seen to be believed, have a look at Painting Flowers on Rocks. You will be amazed.

Painting around the house doesn’t have to be a chore. The Chatham Area Public Library has a spectrum of great ideas for putting some fun and creativity into your home decorating plans. Personalize with paint and individualize you space.

Illinois Emerging Writers Competition

Attention all creative writers! Have you got a great poem or short story collecting dust in your desk drawer or file cabinet? Why not submit it to the Illinois Emerging Writers Competition? The contest is open to Illinois residents who are 18 years old or older and is designed to promote creativity, support local writers, and identify and recognize new talent. The deadline is June 30. More information about the competition and entry forms can be found here: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/lda96.pdf

Library Lines, May 7

The art of being able to reach conclusions and to make judgments using facts and information in a rational manner is known as reason. This requires the ability to think clearly and coherently. As with any skill, practice improves one’s abilities and capacities for success. Why bring it up? Keep reading.

Some authors take exception to what they perceive as a wave of anti-intellectualism that has swept across American culture. In her book The Age of American Unreason, Susan Jacoby combines historical analysis with contemporary observations in order to dissect what is described as “an anti-rationalist landscape extending from pop culture to a pseudo-intellectual universe of junk thought.” In The Assault on Reason, Al Gore chronicles how a presidential administration fostered a culture disinterested in fact-based reasoning, and challenges us all to do what we can to restore the role of reason in the public and political spheres in order to safeguard our future. The famous humorist Steve Allen examines the symptoms of the problem and offers some thought-provoking ideas on self and collective progress in the recently updated version of his work Dumbth: The Lost Art of Thinking: With 101 Ways to Reason Better & Improve Your Mind.

These concepts may be alarming. True or not, it never hurts to exercise the mind and take on a mental challenge, and there are many works at the Chatham Area Public Library that dare us to do so. In the classic 1951 book The Art of Clear Thinking Rudolf Flesch, drawing upon a diverse range of scientific disciplines, offers up useful, easy-to-read approaches to mental and emotional conditioning. The author noted that “It would be impudent to tell intelligent, grown-up people how to think. All I have tried to do here is assemble certain known facts about the human mind and put them in plain English.” Maggie Greenwood-Robinson wrote 20/20 Thinking: 1000 Powerful Strategies to Sharpen Your Mind, Brighten Your Mood, and Boost Your Memory. She advocates strategies from foods and dietary supplements to physical and mental exercises. In Sherlock’s Logic, author William Neblett draws the reader into the world of deductive demonstrate the principles. David Gamon and Allen D. Bragdon co-authored the book Building Mental Muscle: Conditioning Exercises for the Six Intelligence Zones. Information on how the brain functions is presented alongside puzzles, exercises, and self-tests for each of the executive and social, memory, language, emotional, mathematical, and spatial areas of the mind. Robert J. Sternberg’s Successful Intelligence: How Practical and Creative Intelligence Determine Success in Life demonstrates how creative, practical, and analytical thinking, as opposed to IQ or emotional intelligence, are the keys to achievement in life’s most important endeavors, and offers ways to improve upon these skills.

As a reminder, while you’re thinking about thinking, don’t forget to remember that Sunday is Mother’s Day. And to quote a song by Ronnie James Dio, “Hanging from the cobwebs in your mind, looks like a long long way to fall.” But it doesn’t have to be if you land at the Chatham Area Public Library.