The Library’s books and materials budget is given to us by the state. When the state budget is tightened, so is ours. Of course, the past couple of years have seen our budget decreased again and again. Over the course of the past five years, the county has been cut $37,460 from what our “full-funding” would have been had the Library of Virginia been able to follow the funding guidelines determined by the General Assembly. And each year, the cuts, being cumulative, get worse.

Therefore, this year, our Christmas tree will also have paper “book angels” with titles that we would love to have in our collection. We ask anyone who would like to participate to bring us either a copy of the book or a monetary donation to the Library for the purchase of the book. We will put a bookplate with the donor’s name on the title page.

Thanks for helping the Library and for reading! Have a great Thanksgiving and GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!

Adult non-Fiction:

     Knit Together: Discover God’s Pattern for Your Life by Debbie Macomber

     Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America by Mark R. Levin

Adult Fiction:

     A Spoonful of Poison by M. C. Beaton

     The Quilter’s Kitchen by Jennifer Chiaverini

Young Adult non-fiction:

     Phenomena: Secrets of the Senses by Donna M. Jackson

Young Adult Fiction:

     In Mozart’s Shadow: His Sister’s Story by Carolyn Meyer

Junior Non-Fiction:

     Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Trucks and Trains by Ed Emberly

Junior Fiction:

     The runaway dolls by Ann M. Martin

     The Porcupine Year by Louise Erlich

Easy Non-Fiction

     Art From Her Heart: Folk Artist Clementine Hunter by Kathy Whitehead

Easy Fiction:

     Gus, the Pilgrim Turkey by Ellen Joy Sasaki

     That Book Woman by Heather Henson

The James L. Hamner Public Library, in partnership with Amelia Community Outreach, is offering a Fine Amnesty for Food November 22, 24, 25, 26 and 29. For all the hours that we are open, we will be forgiving ALL FINES owed if patrons bring us canned or packeaged food for the hungry in Amelia.

This is a little different from previous fine amnesties, because owing patrons must come into the Library, rather than simply using our outdoor book return. We will remove the fines from each patron’s record upon the return of the material and the donation of the food. If you don’t have a fine, but would like to contribute to the Food Drive, please bring us donations. So many people in the community really need our help right now!

We will be open for the Thanksgiving Holidays using the following schedule:
Saturday, November 22: 10-2
Monday, November 24: 10-6
Tuesday, November 25: 10-8
Wednesday, November 26: 10-12 (yes, only TWO HOURS!)
Thursday, November 27: CLOSED (eat lots of turkey!)
Friday, November 28: CLOSED (see you at the mall!)
Saturday, November 29: 10-2

Other community donation programs for which we are a drop-off site:
Toy Drive: Christmas Mother
Coat Drive: Amelia Community Church

Fantasy has grabbed my imagination ever since I can remember.  With the new release of Gregory Maguire’s A Lion Among Men, I rushed to check out the copy when it came in. 

The story is about Brrr, or as we know him, the Cowardly Lion of Oz, on a mission from the Emerald City to get information about a book of magic.  He encounters a pride of tigers, ghosts, and a lady who helps him remember his past.  Brrr’s personal mission is to find his family.  He was orphaned as a cub and saved by Elphaba, who we know as the Wicked Witch of the West.  During his journey of discovery, he meets up with Dorothy, is almost criminally charged, and is called a traitor among his fellow Animals. 

Maguire leads his readers into a darker world of Oz than we are accustomed to from either the 1939 movie or the series by L. Frank Baum (whom Elphaba is named after).  This is the third in the Wicked series by Maguire.  The first one, entitled Wicked is about the Wicked Witch, the second, Son of a Witch, is about her supposed son, Liir, with this title being the third.  There are rumors that the next book will be about Glinda, one time friend of Elphaba and ruling Good Witch of the South.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that it didn’t have a definite ending, as if it were going to be continued like the old time movie serials.  I am definitely looking forward to the next installment.

Every now and then, the cover of a book just grabs your attention.   House on First Street by Julia Reed grabbed mine this week.

It is a story about a New York journalist who, when doing a piece on New Orleans, fell in love with the city, moving her base of operations.  This was Pre-Katrina, the hurricane that devastated much of New Orleans.  She fled, with her husband, to her parents’ house in Greenville, North Carolina, feeling bad that she left her adopted home behind.  After it was safe to go back, she helped feed the people before the government decided to lend a helping hand.  

It makes you think about how people can lean on each other in times of disaster.  Ms. Reed also made me appreciate the things around me more, my dealings with my friends, and hopefully vacationing in New Orleans, the “Big Easy”.

These are just a few title that have just been added to our collection.

Non-Fiction:

      Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How It Can Renew America, by Thomas L. Friedman.

     Things Japanese by Nicholas Bornoff & Michael Freeman

     Giada’s Kitchen, new Italian Favorites, by Giada de Laurentiis.

Fiction:

     Hounded to Death, by Rita Mae Brown.

     I Heard That Song Before, by Mary Higgins Clark

Young Adult non-fiction:

     Mao’s Last Dancer, by Li Cunxin

     The Surrender Tree, by Margarita Engle

Young adult fiction:

     Paper Towns, by John Green

     The Door of No Return, by Sarah Mussi

Children’s non-fiction:

     Ed Emberley’s Fingerprint Drawing Book, by Ed Emberley

     Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, EVERY Punctuation Mark Counts!, by Lynne Truss

Children’s fiction:

     Masterpiece, by Elise Broach

     Ways to Live Forever, by Sally Nicholls

Many, many people go “huh?” when I go around chanting this, but Anglofiles just smile and nod. In England, November 5th is Guy Fawkes Day, or sometimes Bonfire Night. Children would dress up dolls as poor Guy Fawkes and parade him through the neighborhoods, asking “A penny for the Guy?” In the evening, bonfires would be lit and fireworks set off. As Poirot mentioned to Hastings one fateful November 5th in Murder in the Mews, it’s “a perfect night for a murder.” But what about the origins of the holiday?

The answer to the first is both easy and complex. Guy Fawkes plotted, with twelve other Catholic malcontents, to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5, 1605, the day of their opening session. The timing was crucial, because all members were required by law to be present on that day, both the Commons and the Lords, and the King would address the assembly.  In other words, this act of terrorism was designed to wipe out the entire government in England in one huge boom. They would then kidnap the King’s children, and control the throne. Guy Fawkes was the munitions expert that was supposed to guard the kegs of gunpowder and set them off at the appropriate time.

Of course, the plot failed and most of the conspirators were tried, convicted and hanged as traitors. Guy Fawkes endured two weeks of torture before he finally confessed the names of all of them, and even went so far as to implicate the pope. For years, people simply thought that the plotters were evil Catholics trying to take over the government. Nowadays, research is beginning to show that the situation was a bit murkier than that, and that the true conspiracy was designed to use the Gunpowder Plot conspirators to discredit all Catholics. If you are interested, you can read about it in Antonia Fraser’s Faith and Treason: The Story of Gunpowder Plot.

For those of you who wanted to see what photos we took, check ‘em out! If you HAVE photos you’d like us to put up, please email them to me or bring them in. The more, the merrier!

Calling all frustrated writers! The Library wants to see you on Tuesday nights between 6 and 8 to work on your NaNoWriMo project. What’s NaNoWriMo, you ask? It’s National Novel Writer’s Month, a time when lots of writers get together online and try to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

It sounds impossible, but I have done it, and I know that there are others in the county that can as well. I challenge you all to write at least 1,666 words each day. On Tuesdays, we will host Write-Ins between 6 and 8 pm. The Library will provide coffee, tea and snacks, and the Teen Council will make their sodas, chocolate and other goodies available for donations.

 Oh, and if you would like to see our Halloween and Teen Masquerade photos, check back here in another day or so. They should be uploaded and ready then!