Join an Email Book Club!

Have you ever wanted to join a book club but can’t find one that matches your book taste or meets at a convenient time?  Have you ever faced the dilemma of trying to decide which book you want to check out of the library or check out a book only to find out that you don’t like it after the first chapter or so?  The answer to these questions is as simple as logging onto the Haltom City Public Library’s website and clicking on this photo of Suzanne, of dearreader.com.

Then sign up for the Email Book Club of your choice and start reading.    There is Fiction, Nonfiction, Teen, Business, Romance, Good News, Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Audio, Classics, Authorbuzz and Kidsbuzz to choose from.

Every day, Monday through Friday, you will receive in your email a five-minute selection from a chapter of a book.  By the end of the week, you'll have read 2-3 chapters and will know if this is a book that you'll want check out of the library to finish reading.  Each Monday, deareader.com starts with a new book.  The Email Book Club is free, fun and you will make a new friend, Suzanne,  the face behind dearreader.com. Her comments are delightful and helpful and she evens shares her favorite recipe for Chocolate Chip Muffins with you.

Fun Escape-From-The-Heat Read

From Guest Book Reviewer, Carolyn Davidson Brewer.....

I decided this time that I wanted a light, fun read and selected Pampered to Death by Laura Levine.   This title is part of the Jaine Austen Mystery series – a modern day sleuth.  I expected a tale similar to a Murder, She Wrote TV episode.   And I was not disappointed.

Even though a murder is involved, this was a fun read.  Jaine Austen is headed to a retreat, which she believes to be a quiet time to read, nap and enjoy culinary treats.  What she gets is sweaty hikes, a hunger diet and the joy of being badgered for her muffin top.   I could really identify with this character, very aware of her flaws, but has accepted them, put on her lipstick and is heading out to skip through life. 

There are several quirky characters: Mallory Francis – a mouthy, diva movie star, studly Clint – another movie star and Cathy – who is always babbling and happy – even while starving!  And I can’t forget the cat, aptly named Prozac.  If you have ever owned a cat, you get the name. 

Pampered to Death is a quick read that is a great get-away book.  Be a sleuth, have some fun and get some snacks – the talking about food will make you head out for pizza.  A side note are the emails sent by Jaine’s parents – not part of the plot – but hysterical. 

As always, Carolyn, we love your book reviews and we really appreciate your support for this blog.  Again, folks, this is your blog so if you read a book that touches you in some way, please submit your book review to the: libraryblogmistress@gmail.com.  All ages of readers are welcome to contribute book reviews and suggestions for other subjects to include in your Haltom City Public Library blog.

Haltom City Stories Project

The year-long Haltom City Public Library’s 50^th Celebration has not only honored the library’s beginning, it has honored its future with their evening of To Kill a Mockingbird panel discussion and dramatic readings this past Thursday. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram said it best in their editorial on Saturday, August 6^th, 2011. “The Haltom City library, which began in small, cramped quarters five decades ago in a community that still practiced segregation, now has sprawling facilities offering a variety of entertaining and challenging programming. It is symbolic of the change that has occurred in America and the community that it serves over the past 50 years.” 

The library continues to stretch out to their community to embrace its history with an upcoming program on Saturday, August 20, 2011 titled “Haltom City Stories Project”.  This unique program, held by artist Christopher Blay in collaboration with the library and a grant from the Arts Council of Northeast Tarrant County, offers an opportunity for Haltom City residents to share and document their personal stories of what it was like to live in Haltom City.  Christopher Blay's inventive project will create an artistic audio/visual archive that defines the city and it residents.  Participants will be photographed and have 3-5 minutes to tell their story for this project.  The recordings will be available for check out from the library and will become part of the library’s archives. 

The standing-room-only audience last Thursday evening got to be part of a “frank, passionate exchange…on their lives, their experiences with race and class and the state of American justice.” as written in the Star-Telegram editorial.  The “Haltom City Stories Project” is now an opportunity to record your personal experiences in Haltom City and its significance in your life.  I hope that you don’t miss it.  Artist Christopher Blay, the library, and the Arts Council of Northeast Tarrant County is giving you a chance of a lifetime to help define the special qualities of Haltom City that has made it a special place for you to call home.

Ann's Travel Tips

I love to travel, but I just might love to PREPARE for travel more. I can extend an eight-day vacation to weeks and even months by making lists:  what to pack or leave at home, what to turn off or unplug. After the airline or train tickets are purchased, the rental car reserved, the hotel/B & B/vacation home is found, I then get to the FUN part. I go to the library and search for books SET IN my travel locale and books by authors FROM that city, region, or country. 

 

 

In the late 1970s, I read Watership Down by Richard Adams when planning--—and during --a trip to England and Scotland. The main characters (rabbits) Fiver, Hazel and Bigwig made engaging travel companions.

Traveling to New Mexico (Santa Fe, Taos and Cimarron)   I read Georgia O’Keeffe, the artist’s illustrated autobiography and The Stone Garden, the biography of Billy to Kid.  I also checked out books about Anasazi ruins, the Philmont Scout Ranch, the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and Tony Hillerman mysteries.

Touring from Calgary to Vancouver by rail  I read about the construction of the Trans-Canadian railroad and resorts like Banff. I found an intriguing novel by Timothy Taylor about Stanley Park in Vancouver.  Taylor’s main character is a chef whose father lives in a crude camp in the city’s 1,000-acre park.

Going from Montreal to Halifax by rail   For this recent trip, I learned a new trick: read juvenile non-fiction if you are looking for a concise overview of your topic.  (the picturesque and efficient St. Lawrence Seaway, the remarkable tides in the  Bay of Fundy, the settling of British Halifax).   I should have read up on coping mechanisms. I slept on the floor at JFK Airport after a thunderstorm (and heavy air traffic from dignitaries attending a UN meeting) delayed our flight home.

Get thee to a library as part of your travel planning. Pick a vacation spot like Vermont, Newfoundland, New Orleans or Wyoming. Pulitzer-Prize winning-author Annie Proulx says her characters “fall out of the landscape” and has written about each in Heart Songs, Shipping News, Accordion Crimes, and Close Range: Wyoming Stories. 

Happy Reading and Traveling from Guest Blogger, Ann Bastable

Many thanks to Ann for submitting this article to the blog and giving the Library Blog Mistress a much-needed vacation.  The Haltom City Public Library Blog is YOUR blog so please feel free to submit articles or a book review to: libraryblogmistress@gmail.com.  No editing will be done without your permission and you will always be credited for your piece.