Library Brunch July 3rd

Smokin' Seventeen by, Janet Evanovich~~Review

Smokin' Seventeen by, Janet Evanovich
Synopsis from GoodReads:
Where there's smoke there's fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum. The bail bonds office has burned to the ground, and bodies are turning up in the empty construction lot. To make matters worse, Stephanie is working out of a motor home she shares with a dancing bear, and Joe Morelli's old world grandmother has declared a vendetta against her. And just when Stephanie decides it might be time to choose between the two men in her life, Morelli and Ranger, a third man from Stephanie's past moves back to Trenton...

Break out a cold drink and slap on some sunscreen, this summer is sure to be a scorcher with Smokin' Seventeen.



My Review:
Oh Janet thank-you so much for the the laughs I was laughing so hard for the granny panty scene I had tears running down my face! I love these books they always cheer me up with the humor and fun writing. Stephanie’s been cursed a couple of times by Morelli’s Grandma one isn’t so bad but it does seem to add more confusion to who Stephanie will choose and when it is removed it kind of backfires too!. Lula again brings me some hearty belly laughs “Did you just call me fat” thems fightin’ words for Lula and there always seems to be something fun coming when these words are uttered.

We have a new man in the mix and he cooks which I think would be a plus for Stephanie but he may not be as wonderful as her mother thinks he is. I do hope she eventually chooses Morelli.

There is a serial killer in the Berg and he/she seems to be targeting Stephanie by dropping dead bodies all over with notes to Stephanie attached to them. This may be the creepiest and scariest bad guy ever in one of these books.
What a crazy cliffhanger!! Oh Janet that was just plain mean! Warning the ending is very abrupt and a major cliffhanger!

As usual Lorelei King does a wonderful job on the narration of this audiobook!

4 Stars would have been 5 if not for the ending!

The Art Thief by Noah Charney

Rarely do I come across a book that I simply cannot finish for the reason that I can derive no enjoyment out of the novel. Such is the case of The Art Thief. The title is what caught my eye initially. After all, white-collar crime, intrigue, and the fascinating cat-and-mouse game that follows always provide some excellent thrills. The Art Thief, however, fails to deliver in all of the aforementioned aspects. The writing is awkward, the perspective jumps at seemingly arbitrary points, and the plot already appears quite convoluted. Any one of these flaws on its own may be forgivable if, at the very least, the characters were well thought out and compelling. Unfortunately, this is not so. There was no way to “connect” with these characters since they were bland, forgettable, and uninteresting. Perhaps one redeeming character may have been Gabriel Coffin (a sort of Sherlock Holmes of art theft from the introduction), yet it wasn’t enough to maintain interest in the novel as a whole. The story plodded along with long tangents explaining the quirks of the art industry, the auctions, etc. but never found its stride. That fact is painfully disappointing considering how much potential it had when taking into account its subject material. Bottom line, books are meant to be enjoyed whether it be from a thrilling plot, a fastidious character study, or some other form of exhilaration that comes with the appreciation of the art of the written word. Life is too short for it to be spent on dismal literature. 1 star.

Ranger"s Apprentice Book One~ John Flanagan

Summary:
In this book a ward of the fief Redmont has been living at the Castle Redmont since he was born. His mother and father died in at time and he he was left on the castle steps. Fifteen ears later he and four other in his age group are ready to choose their jobs for life. The others are all approved by their Guild Masters but Will is not. Just when he thinks he is doomed to a life of farm work the Ranger of the fief decides to take him on as his new apprentice. Will has always thought Ranger ways were strange at best and knows little about what his future will hold. Just when hes getting settled into the routine of his new life Morgarath, the same man who warred with the Kingdom 15 years ago decides to start another war. What is Will in for now and would have been better off as a farmer? Find out in Ranger's Apprentice.

Rating:
This book was a good read. The story was simple but made you want to read more. About fifteen pages into the book I wanted to know what was going to happen to Will. I thought is was a great easy reader!
4 Stars ****

Announcing The Libri Grant Books

The New Rockford Public Library is proud to announce that it has received the Libri Grant books for children. The Libri Foundation was established in 1989 for the sole purpose of helping rural libraries acquire new, quality, hardcover children's books they could not otherwise afford to buy. Since October 1990, the Foundation has donated almost $5 million worth of new children's books to more than 3,000 libraries in all 50 states.

The Foundation works with the library's Friends of the Library or other local organizations because we believe in community involvement and want to encourage and reward local support of libraries. The Friends, or other local sponsors, can contribute from $50 to $350 which the Foundation matches on a 2-to-1 ratio. Thus, a library can receive up to $1,050 worth of new, quality, hardcover children's books through the Foundation's BOOKS FOR CHILDREN program.

Thanks to our wonderful Friends of the Library, we have received 66 new books through this grant plus we were awarded an extra 16 Math & Science books .We ordered mostly non-fiction, as this was the area with the most need.

We will be having an open house to introduce these books to the community, from May 31-June 3rd.Everyone is welcome to join us. If you are home schooling your children you will find these books very useful.

Also on June 3rd we will be having the Summer Reading Kick-Off from 1-3 all kids K-12are welcome to come and sign up our theme this summer is One World Many Stories. If your kids can’t make it on the 3rd they can sign-up anytime.

Here is a list of the great books we received:

Non-Fiction:
Cool Stuff Exploded by, Cliff Woodford

Exploratopia by, Pat Murphy

Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature's Mysteries From Perilous Places by Donna M Jackson

Forensic Science by Ron Fridell

Recycling by Charlotte Wilcox

Spy Technology by Ron Fridell

Outbreak: Science Seeks Safeguards for Global Health by Charles Piddock
Using Coal, Oil, and Gas by Sharon Katz Cooper

Robots: From Everyday to Out of This World by Yes Mag.

Computer Animation by Hal Marcovitz

Virtual Apprentice. Computer Game Designer by Don Rauf; Monique Vescia

Rocks! Rocks! Rocks! By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Our farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on one Family's Farm by Michael J Rosen

14 Cows for America by, Carmen Agra Deedy

Nubs: The True story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by, Major Brian Dennis
Years of Dust by, Albert Marrin

The Dust Bowl Through the Lens by, Martin Sandler

Black Elk’s Vision a Lakota Story by, S.D. Nelson

Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond by Joseph Medicine Crow; Herman J Viola

Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom by, Chris Van Wyk

The Ride the Legend of Betsy Dowdy by, Kitty Griffin

Lafayette and the American Revolution by, Russell Freedman

Listen to the Wind the Story of Dr.Greg and Three Cups of Tea by, Greg Mortenson

Bylines a Photo Biography of Nellie Bly by, Sue Macy

Rachel Carson: A Twentieth-Century Life by Ellen Levine

My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier By, Lynda Durrant

A Savage Thunder Antietam and the Bloody Road to Freedom by, Jim Murphy

Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War : How the North used the telegraph, railroads, surveillance balloons, ironclads, high-powered weapons, and more to win the Civil War by Thomas B Allen; Roger MacBride Allen

The War to End All Wars, World War I by, Russell Freedman

Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy

Ellis Island Coming to the Land of Liberty by, Raymond Bial

Who Was First? Discovering the Americas by, Russell Freedman

M.L.K.: journey of a King by Tonya Bolden

Marching for Freedom Walk Together Children, and Don’t Grow Weary by, Elizabeth Partridge

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman

Moonshot The Flight of Apollo 11 by, Brian Floco

Mission Control, This is Apollo: The Story of the First Voyages to the Moon by, Andrew Chaikin & Alan Bean

The Many Rides of Paul Revere by James Giblin

John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M Walker
John Brown: His Fight for Freedom by John Hendrix

Eleanor, Quiet No More: The Life of Eleanor Roosevelt by, Doreen Rappaport & Gary Kelley

No Easy Way: The Story of Ted Williams and the Last .400 season by Fred Bowen; Chuck Pyle

She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer by Sally Hobart Alexander; Robert Joseph Alexander

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II by Lita Judge

Boys of steel: The Creators of Superman by Marc Tyler Nobleman

Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford
Once Upon a Time: Traditional Latin American Tales = Había una vez: cuentos tradicionales latinoamericanos by Rueben Martínez

The Girl Who Helped Thunder and other Native American Folktales by James Bruchac

Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa by Jeanette Winter

One Grain of Rice: a Mathematical Folktale. by Demi

Fiction:

How I Learned Geography by, Uri Shulevitz

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (according to Susy) by Barbara Kerley; Ed Fotheringham

Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don't) by Barbara Bottner

Buffalo Music by, Tracey Fern

Jazz Baby by, Lisa Wheeler

Miss Bridie chose a shovel by, Leslie Connor

Madam President by Lane Smith

A remainder of one by Elinor J Pinczes

The doorbell rang by Pat Hutchins

Fred stays with me! by Nancy Coffelt

Yellow star by Jennifer Rozines Roy

The Boy Who Dared A Novel Based on the True Story of a Hitler Youth by, Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls

Worth by A LaFaye

The Grimm legacy by Polly Shulman

The London Eye mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Lawn Boy by, Gary Paulsen

Notes from the Dog by, Gary Paulsen

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

The Leanin' Dog by K A Nuzum

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin