View From My Window

Chickies Rock County Park overlooking the Susquehanna River. A great place to have lunch, just west of Columbia.

Wreck of the Bookmobile - Antsy McClain

Bookmobile Rocks the British Empire

The Uncommon Reader: a Novella
by Alan Bennett
reviewed by Becky

What happens when Queen Elizabeth II follows her errant corgis onto a bookmobile parked near the palace kitchen? Why, one feels compelled by protocol to check out a book, of course. One book leads to another, and soon Her Majesty has enlisted Norman, the kitchen boy, as her reader’s advisor. So begins a tale of royal awakening with surprising outcomes. Told with wit and a taste of queen-speak this novella will delight bookmobilers and all readers who have found their lives enriched by books.

This book is now available at the Bookmobile.

Library Fines

It looks like the editorial cartoonist at the The Onion had a bad day at the library. You can see the entire cartoon here. Those of you who use our bookmobile know that we do not collect fines, unless you insist, as some of you do. There are a number of reasons for this. 1)we do not have predictable access to the fully functioning circulation system and have to rely on off-line back-up systems for keeping track of books. This invariably causes mistakes or problems that will trigger fines for you, our patrons. 2) We recognize that for many of our patrons, mobility is an issue and sometimes it is just not possible to make it to the bookmobile. Some of our patrons do not have telephones or internet access either. 3) We have practical and philosophical issues with the practice of collecting fines. Studies have shown that fines are a deterrent to people bringing their books back to libraries. Also, people who need access to the libraries the most are those least able to pay fines, some of which can be quite exorbitant.

Do librarians deserve the negative stereotype as evidenced above? Of course not. But a few do. You know who you are.

New Fiction @ the Bookmobile

Stone cold // Baldacci, David
Kissing Christmas goodbye// Beaton, M. C.
The tell-tale horse // Brown, Rita Mae
Book of the dead // Cornwell, Patricia
The chase // Cussler, Clive
Protect and defend // Flynn, Vince
World without end // Follett, Ken
Dead heat // Francis, Dick
Playing for pizza // Grisham, John
Finding Father Christmas // Gunn, Robin Jones
A spot of bother// Haddon, Mark
A lick of frost // Hamilton, Laurell K.
Pandora's daughter // Johansen, Iris
Home to Holly Springs // Karon, Jan
Between Sundays // Kingsbury, Karen
A Christmas visitor // Kinkade, Thomas
Mark's story // LaHaye, Tim F.
The parting // Lewis, Beverly
Rhett Butler's people // McCaig, Donald
Bloodfever // Moning, Karen Marie
Blonde faith // Mosley, Walter
Now and then // Parker, Robert B.
Bones to ashes // Reichs, Kathy
Creation in death //Robb, J. D.
Exit ghost // Roth, Philip
Bridge of sighs // Russo, Richard
Dark of the moon //Sandford, John
Beginnings //Sawyer, Kim Vogel
The almost moon // Sebold, Alice
The choice //Sparks, Nicholas
Amazing grace // Steel, Danielle
Every secret thing // Tatlock, Ann
Shoot him if he runs // Woods, Stuart
The Wednesday letters // Wright, Jason F.

New Audio books @ the Bookmobile

American creation // Ellis, Joseph J.
Beyond the White House // Carter, Jimmy
Pontoon // Keillor, Garrison
Now & then // Parker, Robert B.
You've been warned // Patterson, James
Pick me up! //

New Nonfiction @ the Bookmobile

The World almanac and book of facts //
Woman, thou art loosed! // Jakes, T. D.
If Democrats had any brains, they'd be Republicans // Coulter, Ann H.
The conscience of a liberal // Krugman, Paul R.
The White House staff // Patterson, Bradley H.
Listening to cougar //
The art of simple food // Waters, Alice
Seasons of central Pennsylvania // Corr, Anne Quinn
Craig Claiborne's southern cooking // Claiborne, Craig
New rooms for old houses // Shirley, Frank
Fantasy art now // McKenna, Martin
Chimneys and towers // Fahlman, Betsy
Kodak guide to digital photography // Sheppard, Rob
American creation // Ellis, Joseph J.
Boom! // Brokaw, Tom
Clapton // Clapton, Eric

View From My Window

Snowy Day- November 19, 2007 White Oak, PA at Community School West

What You're Reading Now

With this post we're introducing a new occasional feature to our blog, "What You're Reading Now." The "Martinez" family* agreed to share their current reading selections to kick this feature off.

"Every man for himself : ten short stories about being a guy" edited by Nancy E. Mercado.
"Jude" by Kate Morgenroth.
"True confessions of a Hollywood starlet" by Lola Douglas.
"L.O.S.T." by Debbie Federici, Susan Vaught.
"Then he ate my boy entrancers : confessions of Georgia Nicolson" by Louise Rennison.
"The almost moon : a novel" by Alice Sebold.
Joyeux Noël [videorecording]
Pontoon [sound recording] by Garrison Keillor.
Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone [sound recording] by [J.K. Rowling].
"A Spot of Bother" by Mark Haddon
"New England White" by Stephen L. Carter
"Last Night I Dreamed of Peace : The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram"
"I Killed Adolf Hitler" by Jason
Angela's ashes [videorecording] /
Dead poets society [videorecording]
Anne Frank remembered [videorecording]
Signs [videorecording]
Tuck Everlasting [videorecording]

By my count, that comes to 10 books, 6 video recordings, and 2 audiobooks. I think it is fair to say that libraries enrich people's lives in many ways.

If you'd care to share your current selections, please be in touch.

*name changed

New Nonfiction @ the Bookmobile

Slightly bad girls of the Bible // Higgs, Liz Curtis.
A treasury of Christmas miracles // Kingsbury, Karen.
The nine // Toobin, Jeffrey.
Mozart and the whale // Newport, Jerry.
Plain secrets // Mackall, Joe.
The book of werewolves // Baring-Gould, S.
Desk reference to nature's medicine // Foster, Steven
Dangerous encounters-- avoiding perilous situations with autism // Davis, Bill
Louder than words // McCarthy, Jenny
Breaking autism's barriers // Davis, Bill
Entrepreneur's notebook // Gold, Steven K.
I am America (and so can you!) // Colbert, Stephen
The coldest winter // Halberstam, David.
National geographic almanac of American history // Miller, James
Celebrity detox // O'Donnell, Rosie
My grandfather's son //Thomas, Clarence

New Fiction @ the Bookmobile

The betrayed // Bergren, Lisa Tawn.
Armageddon's children // Brooks, Terry.
The hope chest // Brunstetter, Wanda E.
Looking for a miracle // Brunstetter, Wanda E.
A sister's secret // Brunstetter, Wanda E.
Like always // Elmer, Robert.
World without end //Follett, Ken.
The bloody trail // Galloway, Marcus.
Playing for pizza // Grisham, John.
On the fifth day // Hartley, A. J.
Echoes // Heitzmann, Kristen.
Forty to life // Jackson, Dave.
Summer // Kingsbury, Karen.
Just Jane // Moser, Nancy.
Run // Patchett, Ann.
Where my heart belongs // Peterson, Tracie.
Greywalker // Richardson, Kat.
Poltergeist // Richardson, Kat.
Bridge of sighs // Russo, Richard,
The orc king // Salvatore, R. A.,
Bygones // Sawyer, Kim Vogel.
Where willows grow // Sawyer, Kim Vogel.
Demon thief // Shan, Darren.
Love don't live here no more // Snoop Dogg,
The choice // Sparks, Nicholas.
Blood retribution // Thurlo, David.
Shoot him if he runs // Woods, Stuart.
When the heart cries // Woodsmall, Cindy.
When the morning comes // Woodsmall, Cindy.

The Hat Stays!

Back when I first started bookmobiling 7 years ago, our community relations department had some nice hats made up with the Library System of Lancaster County logo emblazoned on the front. "The Hat" quickly became established as a crucial element in this bookmobiler's uniform. Besides the jaunty curved bill and the stylish green color, The Hat served some useful purposes. 1) It keeps the sun out of my eyes. 2)It's just like a name tag. When I wear The Hat, people know I'm in charge. 3) A necktie decidedly does not go with The Hat.



Just recently, some of my image conscious co-workers have been giving me a hard time about The Hat. It's ugly. It's unprofessional. It doesn't project the image we want to project. It's low-brow. I beg to differ. In fact, The Hat has made some remarkable appearances in art throughout history, and likewise is making in-roads into popular culture. Take a look at Modigliani's rendition of The Hat.




Not convinced? El Greco also slipped The Hat into more than one of his iconic paintings.



Botticelli's fondness for The Hat is well documented.



My sources in Japan tell me that a new Manga series featuring "The Hat" is now in development. Here is an early concept drawing that was leaked exclusively to me.



So, my friends. The Hat Stays!

View From My Window

Fairmount Homes -West Earl Township

Spellbound

Look what happens when you put books into the hands of kids? They sit down and read!

Do you have pictures of people reading that you'd like to share with us? We'd love to post them. Our contact information is available in the column on the right.

Remembering our Tragedy

Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy
By Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher

October 2 marks one year since the tragic events at the West Nickel Mines Amish School in Lancaster County. The shooting of ten girls brought horror to this quiet, rural community. The evening of the same day Amish men visited the Roberts family—Charles Roberts’ widow and father—to offer comfort and to let the family know that Charles was forgiven. The men were speaking for the Amish community not just themselves.

Amish Grace explores the faith and community roots of Amish forgiveness. It offers a window into the culture of a people who look to the teachings of Jesus and the stories of their spiritual ancestors for guidance in their personal and collective lives. For those of us who were startled by the seemingly spontaneous and immediate forgiveness of a killer, the book is enlightening. Could it also be transforming?