A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Saved My Life by John Kralik

Author John Kralik was heading downhill emotionally, physically, socially, and professionally. Relationships with family and friends were estranged. At one of his lowest moments he got an inspiration - a voice from nowhere, “Until you learn to be grateful for the things you have, you will not receive the things you want.” After a lot of thinking about his grandfather, who gave the same advice, John decided to change his ways and become more thankful.

John looked at the Christmas gift his son had sent to him. Their relationship was failing, mostly because John had been too busy for him. He realized his son had spent time thinking about what gift to get, and then spent time shopping, wrapping, mailing the gift. John had opened it thoughtlessly and gone on with his life. What would happen if he wrote a thank you note to his son?

He did. As you can imagine, the results were surprising to John. Not only did their relationship take an immediate turn for the better, but John felt really happy about what he had done. Happiness had been a stranger.

This event was just the beginning of a major up-swing in John's life. I won't spoil the story, but I will tell you he devised a plan of action that eventually led to many positive results in his life.

Two New Yarnies Books

Knitters, we have a new book for you entitled Warm Mittens and Socks: Dozens of Playful Patterns and Skillful Stitches to Knit, Crochet, and Embroider by Eva Trotzig.



I glanced through the book and found something that will make almost anybody happy. Warm hands and feet sound pretty good this winter.

Crocheters, this one's just for you. Crochet Red: Crocheting for Women's Heart Health by Laura Zander has 30 patterns for sweaters, hats, cowls, jackets, and other assorted goodies. Each pattern is shown in red, but can be worked in the color of your choice.



You can currently find both of these books in the New Book section.

Kathi Linz

Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch by Haywood Smith

St. Martin's Press

C 2003

Ride along with Lin Breedlove Scott as she returns to her family home after she divorces her husband of thirty years.  Lin finds out that a lot of things have changed since her childhood.  Her uncle who has Alzheimer's is living with her aging parents as well as her brother who is a recovering alcoholic.  Lin ends up working at the local pharmacy/diner while also going to school to get her Realtor's license.  She becomes involved with her neighbor, a divorced pharmacist.  Lin also volunteers to help a friend with his campaign for mayor in order to "clean up" the town's corrupt politicians and cronies.  

A very interesting read about adapting to change and family dynamics, this book was recently discussed by the Fantastic Fiction group at the Seymour Library.-Kim D.

The eat-clean diet vegetarian cookbook: lose weight--get healthy--one mouthwatering meal at a time! by Tosca Reno, with Kierstin Buchner.

I recommend this book for its tasty recipes--a lot of quick recipes and the more complicated ones--for people who are trying to cut down on meat or go meat-free. JCPL has a lot of other vegetarian cookbooks and diet books, too.--Becky B. 

March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom August 28, 1963

I Have a Dream by
Martin Luther King, Jr.

This week's Kidz Korner book display celebrate's the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and  Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. 

Extraordinary People of the Civil Rights Movement
by Sheila Hardy and P. Stephen Hardy

Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Jill Wheeler

Riding to Washington
by Gwenyth Swain

Heart and Soul
by Kadir Nelson

Heroes for Civil Rights
by David Adler

King for Kids
featuring recordings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

My Uncle's Big Heart by
Angela Farris Watkins

Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Leader
by Patricia and Frederick McKissack

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Even though I've never read any of his other books, it seemed kind of unusual that Bill Bryson wrote A Short History of Nearly Everything, a book about the sciences, because I thought it was a rather different subject from what he usually writes. At the beginning of the book, though, Bryson explains that the reason he wrote the book was because he realized how little he knew about his home planet. He, therefore, started doing research so that he could write a book that explained enough about the sciences to be educational but that was not so in-depth or filled with jargon that it wouldn't be easily accessible. As an average person who doesn't work in a scientific field, I enjoyed his final product.

As the book's title implies, beginning with the Big Bang, Bryson covers a broad range of sciences and scientific history. To various extents, he covers topics as diverse as the forming of the universe, the make-up of Earth, atoms, gravity, weather, cells, DNA, evolution, fossils, and extinction. However, this isn't just a textbook to discuss the facts associated with these topics. While discussing these topics, Bryson also tells stories of the people who made the discoveries. Some of these stories are about famous people you know, such as Isaac Newton, but some are about more obscure people who were probably never discussed in any of your science classes. The stories are often interesting, some of them revealing eccentricities of the people involved in our scientific history.

I think Bryson put a lot of time and effort into learning more about our planet. We are lucky that he shared the fruits of his labors with us because his book is an educational and entertaining experience.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

You've seen the movie, but have you read the book?  Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind is an enjoyable Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.  Yes, I'd seen the movie multiple times, but I decided to try the book, and I'm glad I did.  Given how some movies are quite different from the books on which they are supposed to be based, I was surprised how well the classic movie followed the book.  Even many of the conversations seemed to be quoted word-for-word!  Having said that, even if you've seen the movie, the book will still give you new things to appreciate.  You'll learn more of Scarlett's family's backstory as well as meet characters who weren't in the movie.

Of all the new things that I encountered in the book, though, what I probably liked the best was knowing more of what Scarlett was thinking and what motivated her to do what she did.  From watching the movie, I think I had misunderstood some of her feelings and motivations.  Having a better understanding of them probably made me like her character better and, perhaps, made her into more of a sympathetic character than I had previously considered her to be.  I also really enjoyed Rhett's character and, after finishing the book, probably sympathized more with him than I already did.  In the end, I'm so glad I've now experienced the book instead of just the movie.  I encourage you to do the same!

What is your favorite kid's book? JCPL Seymour Branch Staff Picks

What is your Favorite Children's Book?  

Seymour Library Staff Picks

Julia Aker
Director
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
by Judy Blume

Becky Brewer

Head of Information Services

A Girl of the Limberlost 
by Gene Stratton-Porter

Janet Hensen
Information Services
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing 
by Judy Blume

Kim Dringenburg
Information Services
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Kathi Linz

Information Services
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by Frank L. Baum

Joanna Jackson

Information Services
Dear America: Color Me Dark
The Diary of Nell Lee Love 
by Patricia C. McKissack

Beth Duncan

Technical Services
The Secret Garden 
by Frances Hogson Burnett

Benjamin Boyer
Information Technology Specialist
Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

Christina Hime
Circulation Manager
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Kelsey Killion
Circulation
Rainbow Fish
by Marcus Pfister

Lyndsay Lyons
Circulation
Misty of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry

Erika Scott
Shelver
You Are Special by Max Lucado

Melessa Wiesehan
Head of Youth Services
Rabbit's New Rug by Marc Brown

Ashley Vega

Youth Services
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
by Judi Barrett

Shannon Sumner
Youth Services
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
by Eric Litwin

Kathe McIntosh
Youth Services
Lilly's Big Day
by Kevin Henkes

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is not an easy book emotionally, because you know from the first page that someone is up to something experimenting with late children and early teens - and you don't know for sure if they have good or evil intentions.

It took a few pages, but not too many, for me to become attached to Thomas, to empathize with his confusion, anger, and fear. It also doesn't take very long for the world as it is first given to change in large and dramatic ways.

 

Maybe this is giving away too much, but the "Creators" are looking for young people who won't give up no matter what. That should tell you about the types of issues these children face, as well as how the odds are stacked.

I can't say I "enjoyed" it or "liked" it, but I'm interested enough in the story line and the characters to have grabbed the other books in the series. I want to find out what happens once the kids get back to the real world.

 

The other books in the series are The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. There is also a prequel called The Kill Order.

Inferno by Dan Brown

Imagine waking up in a hospital in Florence, Italy and not remembering how you got there.  Then a few moments later, a doctor tells you that you have been shot in the head.  That is how Dan Brown's newest book, The Inferno begins.  Robert Langdon, a symbologist from Harvard, flees the hospital with Dr. Sienna Brooks because he is being hunted down.  Langdon soon discovers an artifact in his jacket pocket.  Robert's journey to flee his adversary takes him past architectural wonders, through secret passageways, and by famous paintings and sculptures in Florence and Venice.  While attempting to solve a riddle based upon Dante's Divine Comedy, Langdon is asked to assist the director of the World Health Organization in battling a terrorist who has threatened to release a toxin that could cause a world-wide plague.  An intriguing read

I've had a heads-up on the arrival of this book in our library. It is being cataloged as I write this and will be on the New Books shelf soon.

 

Knit your own moustache : create 20 knit and crochet disguises / Vicky Eames, a.k.a. wife of Brian.

Eames, Vicky, author. 

Kathi

Victoria Square Mysteries by L.L. Barnett

Of the three Victoria Square mysteries by L.L. Barnett, I have read two so far and am working on the third.

The first one is called A Crafty Killing. As I love crafts, the title called out to me as I walked by the book rack. If I don't care about the main character somewhere near the beginning, I don't waste my time finishing the book. In this case, I not only finished the book, but grabbed the other two in the series and have stacked up four more books from another series by the same author.

Katie, a young widow, suddenly inherits a huge building which houses booths for the local artists. She finds that she has also inherited the business debts - and two people are killed inside the building. Any publicity seems to be good publicity and the curious public comes in droves to see the scene of the crime.

If that weren't enough, she has to sift through the rubble left by vandals (?) and deal with the irate nephew of the previous owner. Two handsome men claim her attention and she is accidentally voted in as the president of the local merchants' association.

The book is fun at the same time that it is suspenseful.

The second book in the series is called The Walled Flower. One of Katie's elder booth renters, Rose, lost her only niece some 20 years earlier. Katie accidentally finds the bones behind a wall she was helping to demolish.

Katie has a love/hate relationship - mostly hate - with the officer on the case, Detective Davenport. He never seems to make any progress or even to care about the dead woman until another woman, one who had information about the first murder, is killed at the same house.

Katie asks questions to help ease Rose's mind about her niece which riles the murderer.

The side complications in Katie's life are that she has to move in only two weeks and another of the older vendors asks her to be her matron-of-honor. Katie thinks that all she will have to do is show up for the wedding, but no, that is not the bridezilla's plan at all. She hands Katie a list with all of the duties she expects her matron-of-honor to do and turns on the tears whenever Katie hesitates. Add to that the mother-of-all-complainers as one of Katie's vendors, and you have huge sympathy for the woman who has to juggle all of these with the skill of a diplomat.

Again, I found this book entertaining throughout the whole mystery.

P.S. Odds are you won't guess the murderer until it's too late.

Kathi Linz

Boston Jane: The Claim by Jennifer Holm

Boston Jane: The Claim by Jennifer Holm is the third book in a trilogy. Jane Peck's story wouldn't necessarily have to end here. There are obviously more adventures to be found in the great wilderness of northern California in the days of the first settlers.

Jane has guts.  She stands up for what's right no matter who she has to challenge to do it.

The settlers and the Chinook Indians lived comfortably as neighbors, helping each other out until Jane's former fiance and Mr. Biddle show up for the purpose of land speculation. Arriving with Mr. Biddle is his daughter, Jane's arch-nemesis, Sally. Sally is determined to ruin Jane's life - and she does an admirable job of it. When Jane tries to right things, she only manages to look jealous or spiteful.

An election gone horribly awry makes things MUCH worse, not just for for Jane, but for the whole community, the Chinooks, and Katy, a sweet child of mixed parentage whose white father dies.

The situation deteriorates to such a point that, not more than 20 pages from the end of the book, I asked myself, "How is this going to come out right with only this much to go?"

The author tells a cracking good story. I'm sorry that this is the end of Jane Peck's story - for now.

Kathi Linz

The Art of Handmade Living: Crafting a Beautiful Home by Willow Crossley

The Art of Handmade Living: Crafting a Beautiful Home by Willow Crossley gives you ideas for ways to decorate ordinary things or use them in ways other than their original purpose.

I enjoyed this book and noted some of the projects I would like to try in the near future.

Kathi Linz

ReCraft: How to Turn Second-Hand Stuff into Beautiful Things for Your Home, Family, and Friends by Sara Duchars and Sarah Marks

 

 

Recraft: How to Turn Second-Hand Stuff into Beautiful Things for Your Home, Family, and Friends by Sara Duchars and Sarah Marks has some wonderful ideas for fixing, refinishing and repurposing cast-offs and vintage items in ways you might not have considered.

I thought this was an imaginative and interesting book.

Kathi Linz