February in Your Library

Facebook Contest marking the start of the Iowa caucuses, Feb. 1st. These caucuses represent the start of our great democratic election process.Participate in this one-day event and enter to win a prize! Log onto Facebook on Feb. 1st to see more details.
Stitch with Friends, 2nd & 4th Tuesdays @ 6:00pm
Online Resources "Open House," Feb. 12th, 19th & 26th from 2:00-4:00pm (or give us a call). Come learn about all the incredible resources we offer.
Book Group Basics, Feb. 18th @ 6:30pm. Find out how to start and run a book club.
Color Me Happy, Feb. 22nd @ 6:00pm. All supplies provided. Adults only.
Nevermore Tea honoring Edgar Allan Poe, Feb. 28th @ 2;00pm. Sign-up starts Feb. 1st. Cost is $5.

MEET OUR STAFF

Meet Jean our Adult Program Coordinator. She created a fabulous set of library adult programs from scratch just over a year ago (and has several more in the works). She also maintains our nonfiction collection for adults.

Her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin.

Her preferred literary genre is historical mystery.

She has worked at the library for over 3 years.

Jean's hobbies include weaving, drawing, creative writing and family genealogy.

Interesting fact: Jean has met 3 presidents of the United States: Carter, Clinton and Obama.

Her favorite food is French Onion soup.

We have Craig Johnson's Longmire book series and DVDs available. (Also available in large print and on CD.) Read his books, see the series, then see him in person...more to come!

ONLINE RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT

Have you ever wanted to learn how to use aromatherapy, decorate a cake, or update yourself on geology or astronomy? Universal Class has over 500 online courses to teach you what you have always wanted to know!
· Get started by going to our website and clicking on ONLINE RESOURCES.
· Scroll down to Universal Class and click GO TO SITE
· New Users: enter your library card in the box and click GO.
· Create a username and password.
· Enter user information. Click CONTINUE.
· Start searching classes!

WHAT'S NEW in DVDs?

NEW BOOKS

WHAT DOES JEAN RECOMMEND?

Isabel Allende’s latest novel, The Japanese Lover, possesses the indefinable feel of a fairy tale. Alma Belasco has settled into an offbeat San Francisco retirement home, cared for by Irina Bazili, a young immigrant with repressed childhood memories she cannot escape. Irina, with the help of Alma’s grandson, Seth, digs into Alma’s mysterious past. Together they unearth the story of her lifelong affair with Japanese gardener Ichimei Fukuda. Time and circumstances separate the lovers again and again. Ichimei’s incarceration in a WWII Japanese-American internment camp in the United States highlights a little-known part of the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack. While this is not one of Allende’s best books, it is a beautiful and dreamlike tale of the enduring power of love and friendship.
--Jean Looff

David Guterson’s award-winning 1994 novel titled Snow Falling on Cedars is a wonderful companion read to The Japanese Lover. In 1954, a local fisherman on an island in the Pacific Northwest drowns under suspicious circumstances. A Japanese-American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with murder. As the trial gets underway, more than Kabuo’s guilt or innocence is at stake. Memories emerge of the love affair between a white boy (now a journalist covering the trial) and a Japanese girl (now Kabuo’s wife). Even more, it is the tragic tale of an entire cultural community taken away by US officials to a Japanese internment camp in WWII while their white neighbors watched. Atmospheric and suspenseful, this is an unforgettable novel which was adapted to film in 1999.
--Jean Looff