Best of 2005 @ your library!

Voted to be the best books in 2005 by the Los Angeles Times, World Fantasy Award, New York Times, Publishers Weekly, National Book Awards, and Amazon.com; and they are found in your library! Click the links below to request a copy of one of these titles.

Adult:
102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann
1776, by David McCullough
At First Sight, by Nicholas Sparks
Black Juice, by Margo Lanagan
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, by Jared Diamond
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Empire Rising, by Thomas Kelly
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Final Solution, by Michael Chabon
Follies and New Stories, by Ann Beattie
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, by Alexander McCall Smith
God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It, by Jim Wallis
The Ha-Ha, by Dave King
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss
The Hummingbird's Daughter, by Luis Alberto Urrea
In the Shadow of the Law, by Kermit Roosevelt
John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth, by Elizabeth Partridge
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by susanna Clarke
The Lincoln Lawyer, by Michael Connelly
The March, by E. L. Doctorow
The Lost Painting, by Jonathan Harr
March, by Geraldine Brooks
Mother of Sorrows, by Richard McCann
My Jim, by Nancy Rawles
The Painted Drum, by Louise Erdrich
My Friend Leonard, by James Frey
Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, by Tony Judt
Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Runes of the Earth, by Stephen R. Donaldson
Saturday, by Ian McEwan
Saving Fish from Drowning, by Amy Tan
Shalimar the Clown, by Salman Rushdie
A Slight Trick of the Mind, by Mitch Cullin
Specimen Days: A Novel, by Michael Cunningham
Teacher Man: A Memoir, by Frank McCourt
The Tender Bar: A Memoir, by J. R. Moehringer
Tilting at Windmills, by Julian Branston
The Time of the Uprooted, by Elie Wiesel
The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks
The World is Flat: A Brief Hisotry of the the Twenty-first Century, by Thomas L. Friedman
The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion

Juvenille and Young Adult:
Autobiography of My Dead Brother, by Walter Dean Myers
Each Little Bird That Sings, by Deborah Wiles
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood, by Ann Brashares
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling
Leonardo da Vinci, by Kathleen Krull
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sister, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall
Reaching for the Moon, by Wendell Minor
The Scarecrow and His Servant, by Philip Pullman
Stained, by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Tiger, Tiger, by Lynne Reid Banks
Where I Want to Be, by Adele Grifin

Picture Books:
Bears, by Ruth Krauss
Cinderella, by Barbara McClintock
The Hello, Goodbye Window, by Norton Juster
The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper
Terrific, Jon Agee

Holiday Resources @ your library!

Are you looking for:

Christmas videos or DVDs? Click here, to see a list of Christmas videos!
Last minute holiday decorating projects?
Children's books for Christmas? Hanukkah? Kwanzaa?
New holiday recipes?
Christmas music?

Check out the CMRLS online calendar for programs throughout the holiday season!

Happy Holidays! from CMRLS.

Happy Halloween!

Click the links below for Halloween resources @ your library.

Enjoy cute children's Halloween books, or children's Halloween crafts and cookery at your library! Maybe you are looking for a quick costume idea.

Could you be looking for true horror books for adults or young adults, or maybe scarry movies?

Are you planning Halloween decorations? Click HERE to see books full of decoration ideas for this creepy holiday! Or, click HERE if your kids are wanting to make their own decorations!

Enjoy these Halloween sites...
Ghost Stories

http://www.halloweenghoststories.com/

http://www.macscouter.com/Stories/GhostStories.html

http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/ghost-stories.html

http://www.americanfolklore.net/spooky-stories.html

http://www.castleofspirits.com/spookiest.html

http://www.secstate.state.nc.us/kidspg/legends.htm

http://www.visitorinfo.com/ghoststories/index.htm

Halloween Jokes

http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/jokes.htm

http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/halloween/games/jokes.html

http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/jkscary.html

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/pumpkinave/jokes/

http://www.haunteddoghouse.com/Halloween_Joke.html

Halloween Games

http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/halloween/

http://www.gamekids.com/hallow1.html

http://www.night.net/halloween/party-games.html-ssi

http://www.partygameideas.com/halloweengames.htm

History of Halloween

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/

http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm

If you still didn't find what you are looking for, ask a librarian.
Happy Halloween!
BOO!

The New York Times Best Sellers @ your library

Follow the link to the title in the catalog to make a request.
FICTION
Goodnight Nobody, by Jennifer Weiner
The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
The March, by E. L. Doctorow
The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
Polar Shift, by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos
Lipstick Jungle, by Candace Bushnell
Point Blank, by Caterine Coulter
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, by Alexander McCall Smith
Chill Factor, by Sandra Brown
Shalimar the Clown, by Salman Rushdie
High Druid of Shannara: Straken, by Terry Brooks
Thud!, by Terry Pratchett
Slow Burn, by Julie Garwood
Cinnamon Kiss, by Walter Mosley
The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk
Lifeguard, by James Patterson and Andrew Gross
The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom
Sweetwater Creek, by Anne Rivers Siddons
Vanish, by Tess Gerritson
Without Mercy, by Jack Higgins
Tyrannosaur Canyon, by Douglas Preston
The Last Days of Dogtown, by Anita Diamant
Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
Spell of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning
The Undomestic Goddess, by Sophie Kinsella
True Believer, by Nicholas Sparks
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
The Painted Drum, by Louise Erdrich
The Interruption of Everything, by Terry McMillan
Miracle, by Danielle Steel
Pirate, by Ted Bell

NON FICTION
The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman
1776, by David McCullough
Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, by Alan Alda
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, by Bernard Goldberg
Where God Was Born, by Bruce Feiler
Bait and Switch, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Talking Back, by Andrea Mitchell
1491, by Charles C. Mann
The Universe in a Single Atom, by Dalai Lama
America (The Book), by Jon Stewart
Collapse, by Jared Diamond
Good to Great, by Jim Collins
The Shame of the Nation, by Jonathan Kozol

September is...

Follow the links to websites and book lists.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Month - check out your libraries books on ADHD.
Baby Safety Month - take a look at books and videos on child safety.
Childhood Cancer Month - Books on coping with cancer.
Children's Good Manners Month - check out these etiquette books for children and teens.
College Savings Month - books, audios, and videos to help you save!
Fall Hat Month - books about hats.
Healthy Aging Month - your library has these books on the subject of aging.
Library Card Sign-up Month
Menopause Awareness Month - and take a look at these books, also.
National Biscuit Month - try these recipes for great biscuits.
National Chicken Month - check out these cookbooks!
National Honey Month - learn all about honey.
National Piano Month -
National Potato Month - take a look at these potato recipes
National Rice Month - check out these recipe books at your library.
National School Success Month - a book and video to help begin a successful experience.
National Sewing Month - take a look at these great books.
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month - your library has these new books on ovarian cancer.
Pain Awareness Month - check out these books on chronic pain.
Self-Improvement Month
Southern Gospel Music Month
Update Your Resume Month and check out these books on fixing up your remume!

How to Save Your Water-damaged Treasures

Try these links for information:

Save Your Treasures the Right Way
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/news/SaveTreasRight.htm

Tips for the Care of Water-Damaged Family Heirlooms and Other Valuables
http://aic.stanford.edu/library/online/disaster/tentip.html

Emergency Management Suppliers and Services
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf36.htm

Emergency Salvage of Wet Books and Records
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf37.htm

Emergency Salvage of Wet Photographs
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf38.htm

Emergency Salvage of Moldy Books and Paper
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf39.htm

Salvage Operations for Water Damaged Archival Materials: A Second Glance
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn19/wn19-2/wn19-206.html

Emergency Salvage of Flood Damaged Family Papers
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/disasters/primer/narafam.html

Salvaging Water-Damaged Textiles
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/floods/textils.shtm

Preventing Damage from Mold: Tips for Homeowners
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/floods/mold.shtm

Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/catalog/Wheel1.htm

Resources for Recovery: Post-Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/Aid%20Brochure.pdf

AUGUST is...

It's back to school time! Let the library help you help your preschooler succeed or your senior get ready for those ACTs.

August is Black Business Month, National Immunization Awareness Month, National Inventors Month, and National Toddlers Month.

For those of you with an interest in music, August is the month for you.
8/1/1942 - Jerry Garcia: Rock musician of Grateful Dead fame; Birth
8/1/1981 - MTV, TV Premiere
8/4/1900 - Louis Armstrong: Jazz musician; Birth
8/5/1957 - American Bandstand, TV Premiere
8/12 - Vinyl Record Day
8/15/1969 - Woodstock
8/16/1977 - Elvis Presley: Musician, singer; Death
8/19/1946 - William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton: President, saxophonist; Birth
8/20/1924 - Jim Reeves: Country musician; Birth
8/20/1942 - Isaac Hayes: Singer, songwriter; Birth
8/22/1847 - Mormon Choir: Later known as The Mormon Tabernacle Choir; First performance
8/22/1862 - Claude Debussy: French musician, composer; Birth
8/23/1912 - Gene Kelly: Dancer, choreographer of "Singin' in the Rain" fame; Birth
8/25/1918 - Leonard Bernstein: Conductor, composer; Birth
8/25/1933 - Wayne Shorter: Jazz musician; Birth
8/25/1939 - Movie, "The Wizard of Oz", released
8/25/1954 - Elvis Costello: Songwriter, musician; Birth
8/26/1960 - Brandford Marsalis: Musician; Birth
8/27/1942 - Daryl Dragon: Musician, songwriter, as Captain of Captain & Tennille fame; Birth
8/27 - International Sing-Out Day: Break out with song and dance just like they do in the musicals!
8/28/1982 - LeAnn Rimes: Country singer; Birth
8/29/1920 - Charlie Parker: Jazz saxophonist; Birth

Check out these links or ask a librarian!

JUNE...

Follow these links to books at your library and information on gardening. June is Perennial Gardening Month and National Rose Month.

It is also Dairy Month and Turkey Lovers' Month! Follow the links to hundreds of recipes and nutrition tips.

Famous anniversaries in June include:
Births: Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926), Richard Scarry (June 5, 1919), Dean Martin (June 7, 1917), Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867), Cole Porter (June 9, 1891), Vince Lombardi (June 11, 1913), George H. W. Bush (June 12, 1924), Anne Frank (June 12, 1929), William Butler Yeats (June 13, 1865), Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (June 17, 1882), Lou Gehrig (June 19, 1903), Anne Morrow Lindbergh (June 22, 1906), George Orwell (June 25, 1903), Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819), Pearl S. Buck (June 26, 1892), Helen Keller (June 27, 1880), Bob Keeshan (June 27, 1927)

Weddings: Duke of Windsor (June 3, 1937)

Deaths: Robert F. Kennedy (June 5, 1968), Cochise (June 8, 1874)

Events of Historic Significance: Susan B. Anthony fined for voting (June 6, 1872), First Drive-in Movie opens (June 6, 1933), D-Day (June 6, 1944), VCR introduced (June 7, 1975), Flag Day (June 14, 1777), Warren G. Harding becomes first President to broadcast on radio (June 14, 1922), PSYCHO film premiere (June 16, 1960), Lizzie Borden verdict (June 20, 1893), Battle of Okinawa ends (June 21, 1945), United Nations Charter signed (June 26, 1945), Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919), Interstate highway system born (June 29, 1956)

Pearl Public Library Update

Pearl Public Library will be closed until further notice while the staff is getting ready to move into the new building. Library programs have been canceled until June 13. If you need assistance with checking out or returning materials, please call or visit your nearest library.

The New York Times Best Sellers @ your library

Hardcover Fiction:

• HONEYMOON, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. An F.B.I. agent who is investigating a beautiful and mysterious woman finds himself becoming obsessed with her.
• THE RISING, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. The Prince of Darkness chooses a Romanian woman to be the mother of the Antichrist.
• IMPOSSIBLE, by Danielle Steel. A romance blossoms between the owner of a Parisian art gallery and a bohemian painter.
• THE BROKER, by John Grisham. The C.I.A. arranges a presidential pardon for a power broker who may know crucial secrets, laying a trap for the foreign intelligence service that wants him dead.
• THE DA VINCI CODE, by Dan Brown. The murder of a curator at the Louvre leads to a trail of clues found in the work of Leonardo and to the discovery of a centuries-old secret society.
• THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, by Mitch Albom. (Hyperion, $19.95.) An old man who died while trying to rescue a little girl from danger discovers that all will be explained to him in the afterlife.
• VANISHING ACTS, by Jodi Picoult. A woman who undertakes search-and-rescue missions in rural New Hampshire discovers that she herself has been a missing person for nearly 30 years.
• PRINCE OF FIRE, by Daniel Silva. Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and an occasional spy for the Israeli secret service, investigates a terrorist bombing in Rome.
• PREP, by Curtis Sittenfeld. A scholarship student from South Bend, Ind., encounters a world of privilege when she attends an expensive boarding school in Massachusetts.
• SHADOW OF THE GIANT, by Orson Scott Card. The latest entry in the "Ender" science fiction series.
• SURVIVOR IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb. In 2059, Lt. Eve Dallas has an eyewitness to the brutal murder of a family: the sole survivor, a 9-year-old girl; by Nora Roberts, writing pseudonymously.
• STATE OF FEAR, by Michael Crichton. Reverse eco-terrorists create natural disasters to convince the public that global warming is real.
• THE FORGOTTEN MAN, by Robert Crais. The Los Angeles private eye Elvis Cole searches for the truth about his father.
• BLOOD MEMORY, by Greg Iles. A forensic scientist probes recent killings as well as a decades-old crime — the murder of her father.
• THE KILLING CLUB, by Marcie Walsh with Michael Malone. A police detective investigates the deaths of friends of hers from high school.
• MISSING PERSONS, by Stephen White. The psychologist Alan Gregory looks for a young girl who has either run away or been abducted.

Hardcover Nonfiction

• BLINK, by Malcolm Gladwell. The author of "The Tipping Point" explores the importance of hunch and instinct to the workings of the mind.
• AMERICA (THE BOOK), by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin and David Javerbaum. "The Daily Show" offers a lavishly illustrated parody of a civics textbook.
• COLLAPSE, by Jared Diamond. A historical investigation, by the author of "Guns, Germs, and Steel," into why some societies succeed while others fail.
• TAKING HEAT, by Ari Fleischer. A White House memoir by President Bush's former press secretary.
• GOD'S POLITICS, by Jim Wallis. An evangelical Christian argues that Democrats must "take back the faith" and not allow conservative Republicans to hijack the Bible.
• 102 MINUTES, by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn. Two journalists at The New York Times describe people's struggle to survive inside the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
• WITNESS, by Amber Frey. A memoir by the California massage therapist who testified for the prosecution in the murder trial of Scott Peterson.

If you need further help finding something to read, check out CMRLS Reader's Advisory pages...or, just ask a librarian!

Get in the mood for GREEN!

Saint Patrick's Day is March 17, when even those of us without Irish roots tend to skip a little and maybe even hope for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

You can listen to the music of Ireland, get a leprechaun book to read to your child, find videos and books on travel in Ireland, read about the history of Ireland, try an authentic Irish recipe, or read a book of fiction set in Ireland @ your library.

And, as always if you don't find what you are looking for...ask a librarian!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from CMRLS!

Reading Recommendations by CMRLS Staff

• Bayou, by Pamela Jekel - This is one of my favorite historical fictions about Louisiana. It goes into the history of Cajuns and covers four generations of women. It's a wonderful saga that teaches you much about the history of our sister state. (S., Lake)
• Night Fall, by Nelson Demille - This story is based on true events concerning the crash of TWA Flight 800 that went down on July 17, 1996, south of Long Island, New York. Fast moving, and thought provoking, with a very engaging main character. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. (M., D'Lo)
• Wind Singer: An Adventure, by William Nicholson (Wind of Fire series) - A young adult series, I'm looking forward to reading them all. (A., Flowood)
• Praying God's Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds, by Beth Moore - Great! (A., Flowood)
• Bryson City Tales: Stories of a Doctor's First Year of Practice in the Smokey Mountains, by Walt Larimore - It is the story of a doctor's first year of practice in the Smoky Mountains. Since it is about his actual experiences, the feelings seem very real and down to earth. I had a ver good feeling after reading this book. There is good in the world and in the medical profession. (L., Brandon)
• A Year Down Yonder; A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories; The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts, by Richard Peck - Great juvenile books! (J., Raleigh)
• Leave Me Where I Lie, by Ellen Williamson - Ms. Williamson is a Mississippi writer who grew up in the state and based this, her first novel, on the life of her grandmother who lived at the turn of the 20th century in a small, rural Mississippi town. Williamson does a wonderful job of bring her characters to life on the page, and the reader becomes completely involved in the wonderful and somewhat tragic story. 5 stars!!!!! (D., Richland)

*****Ellen Williamson will discuss her book at the Richland Public Library on Thursday, April 14, 6:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.*****

More staff picks will follow. And as always, if you need help...just, ask a Librarian!