Advice from Five Wise Women for the New Year

By Jan Pease

Litchfield is a town of many book clubs.  Someday I should call around and make a list of all of the book clubs in our community.  We have two book clubs for adults that meet here at the library, the Mystery Book Club and the Noon Book Club.  We have two book clubs for children: the Beginner Book Club, for grades 1-3, and Book to Movie club, for grades 4-6.  I’m involved with Dragon Lunch Bunch at Wagner school. But my personal favorite is a book club that we refer to as Classic Book Club (or the Bluestockings, depending on mood.)

Jane Austen

Classic Book Club is not a library-sponsored book club, but many of its members have close ties to the library.  We haves read various well-known authors of the past. We’ve tackled Austen, the Bronte sisters, Dickens, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Elliot, and I don’t remember who all.  We meet a bit  irregularly at Cricket Meadow Tea on a Saturday most months. As I said, it’s a bit irregular. 

I treasure the time spent with these women.  They are wise and witty, with varied life experiences.  The conversation flows as quickly as the coffee.  I recently polled them for advice for the New Year.  Here are five savory thoughts that I’m adopting for 2015.

Be Kind.  First and foremost, if this characterizes every day of our new year, it will be a great year.

Be Mindful.  The moment to live in is now, not regretting the past or putting off for the future.  Eat, breathe, and live mindfully.  No one knows what tomorrow will bring.  There might not be a tomorrow.

Be Forgiving.  All is well, all is well.  Just let go of betrayals, anger, sadness and guilt.  Forgive yourself. Forgive others.

Choose Life.  Every life matters.  No matter the age or color, gender, or belief system.   Every life matters.

Rise Above.  More than forgiving, rise above whatever is bogging you down.  Don’t let the darkness grind us into the lowest common denominator.  Rise above.

Classic Book club will get together January 17 at 8:30 a.m. at Cricket Meadow.  The book for January is “Death Comes to Pemberley” by P.D. James.  A modern author!  This book is her loving homage to Jane Austen, and we agreed that it would be a good book for beginning a new year. 

Anyone who would like to read a great book, enjoy wonderful conversation and sample Cricket Meadow’s delicious menu is welcome.   Jane Austen herself stated: “Men were put into the world to teach women the law of compromise.” 
                  

So of course a male person would be welcomed. 

I resolve to make these simple statements part of my life in the coming year.  Be kind, be mindful, be forgiving, choose life, and rise above. 

                                          Happy  New Year!

Holiday schedule

We will be closed on Wednesday, December 24, and Thursday, December 25.  We will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 31, and be closed on Thursday, January 1.  We will be open our regular hours all of the other days these weeks.  Happy holidays!

Fun flicks for winter days

by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian

Christmas is almost here!  As you enjoy days off from work and school, I know many of you will be looking for some movies to watch.  Following are some of our newest additions.  Look for them on our new releases shelf or place a hold to make sure you get them, since new usually means popular.

Dolphin Tale 2 is a family-friendly story about an aquarium that needs to find a new companion to share a pool with Winter, the dolphin from Dolphin Tale.  While the reviews aren’t as glowing as they were for the original, critics say it’s a good old-fashioned movie that adults can enjoy with kids.  It stars Harry Connick, Jr., and Ashley Judd.

 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, continuing the story of Caesar and the other genetically-modified apes.  The human population has been nearly killed off by the virus that made the apes intelligent, and the fight is on to see which creatures will dominate the earth.  Critics were overwhelmingly positive, calling it intelligent and emotionally rich.  It’s a special effects-laden movie that isn’t all about the special effects.

Have you seen the Golden Globe-nominated movie The Theory of Everything about Stephen Hawking? It will be a long time until that comes out on DVD, but you can check out A Brief History of Time, the 1991 motion picture that was just re-released on DVD.  This documentary examines how Hawking has lived with ALS while doing pioneering work in astrophysics.

 Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the huge hits of the year.  Marvel has done it again, this time with superheroes that most of us had never heard of: Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot.  The movie begins on a sad note and then turns into a wacky space adventure.  Audiences and critics loved it.  If you like funny action movies, don’t miss it. (Grove City Library also has Awesome Mix Vol. 1 on CD.)

The Hundred-Foot Journey is based on the novel by Richard C. Morais.  This romantic comedy tells the story of a young Indian immigrant in France.  He is a naturally talented chef who plans to open an Indian restaurant near a classical French restaurant.  The owner of the French restaurant vehemently opposes it.  Naturally he falls in love with one of her employees.

Love Actually isn't a new movie, but it’s a new addition to Litchfield’s collection.  It’s a 2003 cult classic that many people watch at Christmas time.  As you watch it, you might wonder if every British actor is in the star-studded cast.  It’s like a short story collection, with nine different storylines that intersect.  Some are funny, some are sweet, and some are sad.  Nearly all are preposterous, but fans of the movie don’t care.

The Maze Runner is the movie adaptation of the James Dashner YA novel.  The first book in a dystopian series for teens, it’s been compared to The Hunger Games and the Divergent series but with a boy as the main character.  In fact, nearly all of the characters are boys.  The consensus seems to be that the movie is reasonably faithful to the book, and a good movie on its own. 

The Pioneerland libraries will be closed December 24-25 and January 1.  We will close at 5 p.m. on December 31.  We will be open regular hours all of the other days around the holidays.  Go online or give us a call to request the movies or books you’d like to find, or stop in to see what’s on the shelf.  Have a very merry Christmas!

Oh the weather outside is frightful! Let Us Read! Let Us Read! Let Us Read!

By Jan Pease

It’s the season of buying last-minute gifts!   If you could give your child or grandchild a gift that would practically guarantee their success in school, what would be a reasonable price to pay?  $250.00? $500.00? $10,000.00? The Litchfield Library is in partnership with a national organization, Read Aloud 15 Minutes, which, according to their website, is “working to make reading aloud every day for at least 15 minutes the new standard in child care.”

What if reading out loud was just a part of everyday activity?  What if every family with children or grandchildren made sure that reading aloud is as common as brushing teeth?  Can you remember when the campaign to get children to brush their teeth every day was part of life?  I remember the 1958 commercial in which a child says, “Look, Ma, no cavities!”  In my childhood everyone had fillings in their teeth, even in baby teeth.  Now children routinely have perfect checkups. 

The Readaloud.org website also states that “ when every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, more children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten, more children will have the literacy skills needed to succeed in school, and more children will be prepared for a productive and meaningful life after school.” This is quoted from the Readaloud.org website.

The goal is to engage parents, grandparents, and caregivers in reading aloud 15 minutes a day with children from birth.  That seems to be the magic number that helps children be ready to enter kindergarten.  Their statistics show that 1 in 3 children aren’t ready for kindergarten.  I asked local kindergarten teachers who reassured me that here, with a high percentage of children in preschool programs, it’s about 1 in 4 or 1 in 5.  I think we can do better.

 Some libraries are part of the 1000 Books before Kindergarten initiative.  We are very supportive of that program, but it might seem daunting for parents to keep track of that 1000-book goal.   It   may be difficult to be consistent in keeping track of that many books.  But just like brushing teeth, anyone can make sure that 15 minutes of reading aloud will happen. 

If you need a little help, we have parent handouts and reading charts available at the library, or visit readaloud.org and download copies of their handouts and reading charts.   It’s free.  It’s fun. It’s easy.  Just add reading into your routine.   Every day.

 I agree with Read Aloud that this is the single most important thing a parent or caregiver can do to improve a child’s readiness to read and learn.  By making 15 minutes of daily reading aloud the new parenting standard, we will change the face of education in this country.  Instead of worrying about the perfect gift or party, please invest your time in your children and grandchildren.  

No gaming in December

Our regular Monday gaming night will not be held in December.  People are so busy!  Gaming will resume in January.

Santa Claus came to town!

by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian

Santa visited the library on Thursday, December 4, at 6:30 in the evening.  He was very popular!  Mrs. Pease stopped counting people at 207 and she thinks she must have missed a few who came in the door.  That may be our record for the largest number of people to come to an event at the library. 

The whole children’s department was full of excited young faces.  Mrs. Pease led them in chanting “Santa! Santa!” before the man himself emerged from the back room of the library, ringing his jingle bells. 

Santa sang his own version of “Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer”.  He read the book Is It Christmas Yet? by Jane Chapman.  Then the crowd divided up to make Christmas crafts and eat cookies in the meeting room or to take turns telling Santa what they want for Christmas.  Even with the huge crowd, everyone was very patient and polite in waiting their turn.  We have such nice families here. 

We did see new faces in the crowd, as well as library regulars.  We even set up a number of new library cards that night.   If you were visiting the library for the first time but had your hands full with little ones, stop back another day to apply for library cards and take another look around.

We're down to our last few storyhours of the month.  On Wednesday, December 10, we'll have our baby and toddler storytime at 10:15.  On Friday, December 12, we’ll have our preschool storyhour at 10:00.  And on Saturday, December 13, we’ll have our 2^nd Saturday storyhour at 10:00, as well.  Mrs. Pease is planning on holiday themes for those.  Then we’ll take a break from storyhours until January, since the holiday season is such a busy time.

We will be holding our monthly family movie night on Monday, December 22, at 6 p.m. in the children’s department.  We’ll be showing a kids’ Christmas movie about an army of elves.  It’s rated G and it’s just a little more than an hour and a half long.  Call the library if you’d like to know the name of the movie.

The monthly Friends of the Library book sale will be held on Saturday, December 20, from 10 to 4, with potential gifts for all ages.  Most of what we have for sale is donated by members of the community, and there really are some nice books and movies available.

The library will be closed on December 24 and 25 for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We will be open our regular hours the rest of that week.  We will close at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and be closed on New Year’s Day.

Thank you to all of you who came to our Santa event and made it such a success.  We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Popular books for the people on your shopping list

by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian

As you work on your Christmas shopping, are you looking for some book ideas for people on your lists?  I can tell you which new titles are popular in our library system.  One of these might be just the right thing for someone you know

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Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General is the latest in the Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard “Killing” series.  In this one, the authors question whether the general’s death from injuries sustained in a car accident was really accidental.  It’s the in-demand book in our library system right now.  For the history buffs and conspiracy theorists on your list.

The last book in Nora Roberts’ Cousins O’Dwyer trilogy has just come out.  Blood Magick wraps up the series about the Dark Witch gift shop in County Mayo, Ireland, and the owner’s forbidden romance.  For fans of Nora Roberts and paranormal romance.

John Grisham has a new novel out, Gray Mountain.  This is his 27^th to be published.   A young lawyer is laid off from her comfortable New York job and ends up working in legal aid in Appalachia.  This is the first time Grisham has had a female main character.  For fans of legal thrillers and those who care about environmental causes. 

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiography has just been published and is expected to be available from booksellers this month after a couple of delays this fall.  Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography is a project of the South Dakota State Historical Society, which is a very small publisher.  This is Laura’s first draft of her life story, written in 1930 before she began her novels.  This book contains new background research by the historical society that gives context to Laura’s story.  It should be interesting to see which stories were left out of the eventual series because they were too mature for children, as well as to find out what Laura’s original writing was like.  This book is on my Christmas list, and I keep hearing that other people are asking for it, too.  For Little House fans, obviously.

Stolen from the Garden: The Kidnapping of Virginia Piper is the true story of a wealthy socialite who was kidnapped for ransom in Orono in 1972.  Author William Swanson reviewed documents about the case and interviewed many of the people who were closely involved.  In the end, Swanson makes his case for what he thinks really happened.  For fans of true crime.

James Patterson books are always popular, and this is true for the latest Alex Cross novel, Hope to Die.  Patterson has a new book out every other month or so, pairing up with other writers to pump them out.  This one appears to be written by Patterson himself, and the reviews are good.  Detective Alex Cross is battling a psychotic genius to get his family back.  This isn’t the place to start reading the series, so it would be for people who are already fans of these thrillers.

Lila is the latest novel from Pulitzer Prize-winner Marilynne Robinson.  It tells the story of the minister’s wife from Robinson’s novel Gilead, who is the mother of the main character of her novel Home.  It isn’t necessary to have read the other two books, however.  This novel tells of Lila’s difficult years of abuse and homelessness and how she adjusts to her new life with such a past.  For literary readers. 

One good thing about library books is that you can check them out for free before you decide if you want to buy a copy for yourself.  The titles I’m covering here have waiting lists because they are so popular, so you may or may not have the chance to borrow these before Christmas.  But we have shelves full of so many other things that you can preview before you make your Christmas list or do your shopping.  Have a happy holiday season!