September is off to a beautiful start!  We would like to thank the Art Bilden Family for their donations of several books, ranging from history, to school yearbooks, to political commentaries.  

One of these books- which will be of interest to American history lovers-  is Worthy of Their Esteem, by Iain C. Martin, a collection of timeless quotes from Abraham Lincoln, as well as an exploration of his character and beliefs.  Illustrated with fascinating portraits and photographs, this book contains Lincoln’s thoughts on marriage and family, death and bereavement, faith and religion, equality and freedom, and much more.  “With its attractive presentation and concisely told stories, it’s a vivid and true reminder of a great man’s life and why we’re still celebrating him to this day. I read it cover-to-cover and wished it wouldn’t end.”  — Maureen Mackey, Reader’s Digest

This week we would like to draw your attention to our collection of Northwood school yearbooks, donated by several of our community members.  With yearbooks from 1958-2006, and all the memories they hold, this collection is available for you to browse through any time you like during our open hours.  

Parents, if you’re looking for an opportunity to come to the library, consider coming in on a Tuesday morning at 10:30, during our children’s story time!  Let your little ones sit down for a fun read-aloud storytime, while you find your favorite books and enjoy a cup of coffee! We’d love to have you and your children join us at any time, and especially during this time of sharing stories and books.  It’s great to inspire an early love of reading in children, and the library is a wonderful way of doing it. Hope to see you soon!

Fall is just around the corner!  And although it’s sad to say goodbye to the warm days of summer, the cool crisp winds of September and gray skies of October set the perfect mood for reading.  

For a warm, entrancing tale of wonder and mystery, try Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland.  In this unusual novel, the reader follows the story of a mysterious painting, whose secretive and cryptic owner believes wholeheartedly that it is one of the great painter Vermeer’s lost masterpieces.  Is Girl in Hyacinth Blue truly what he believes it to be?  And why is he unwilling to have it tested, if he is so certain of its origin?

For those who prefer true-life literature, we have Five Days in London, May 1940, by John Lukacs, which explores the tempestuous time in London when Churchill and the members of his cabinet painfully considered their war responsibilities.  Hour by hour, Lukacs takes us through the events that influenced them, including the plight of nearly 400,000 British soldiers bottled up in Dunkirk.

For lovers of suspense and mystery, check out Ruth Ware’s latest novel, The Death of Mrs. Westaway!  After The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Lying Game, Ware brings us this eerie novel about a young woman, Hal, who receives a letter bequeathing her an inheritance from a grandmother she didn’t know she had.  Drawn into the odd and unsettling world of her estranged family, Hal must uncover the truth about her grandmother’s household and the mysterious inheritance.  

Described as “gothic”, “captivating”, and “classic” by reviewers from Library Journal, the Washington Post, and more, fans of Ruth Ware  and the suspense genre may find this to be their next favorite novel.

 

Our online resource this week is Business Source Premier, which offers information and analysis from top management and marketing journals.  For more information on this resource, come visit us at the Northwood City Center Library!

The three latest novels in Janet Evanovich’s New York Times’ bestselling  Stephanie Plum series have made it to our shelves in the Northwood City Center Library!

Tricky Twenty-Two, Turbo Twenty-Three, and Hardcore Twenty-Four (published in 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively), continue the wild and raucous saga of spunky bounty-hunter Stephanie Plum, as she tackles the crazy and often humorous adventures that come her way.  Though incredibly average and certainly not the best at her job, Stephanie’s carefree nature gives way often enough to heroics.

With familiar characters like Grandma Mazur and her indestructible car, Big Blue, and handsome former-bad-boy-turned-cop Joseph Morelli, these three books are here to delight fans of the series.  The next book in the series,  Look Alike Twenty-Five, is expected to release in November, so now is the perfect time to catch up!

 

Also available now from author Janet Evanovich is Hero At Large, a romance novel written and released during the early days of Evanovich’s career, now reprinted at the height of her fame.  

 

This week our highlighted resource is Tutor ND, a service which connects users with live teachers from across the state in order to help in all major  academic subjects. For more information, come visit us at the library, or go to lhh.tutor.com and create a free account today.

Readers of the “cozy mystery” genre will be delighted to hear that we have a new series of books titled Annie’s Quilted Mysteries, which follows a group of crafty and talented women known as the Nimble Thimble club as they attempt to track down the murderer of their dear friend, Rose.  Annie’s Quilted Mysteries was donated by Ima Dahlen.  

Another fine set of donations comes from the family of Norma Maristuen in the form of a set of beautifully bound history books.    We would like to thank these patrons for their thoughtful gifts!

 

This week we are featuring the New York Times Bestseller There There, by Tommy Orange.  In this story, we are shown a glimpse of the lives of twelve Native Americans as they make their way- for their own various reasons- to the annual powwow in Oakland, California.  Each character is given their own unique voice as we see from their perspective… and through these different viewpoints, a magnetic and intriguing story unfolds. Said to be a striking portrait of life in modern America, laced with humor, pain, and love, There There has received high praise from the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and People.

“Groundbreaking.  Extraordinary. Tommy Orange has written a tense, prismatic book with inexorable dimension.” – The New York Times

 

This week let me draw your attention to RBDigital- a digital collection of books from all genres, both fiction and non-fiction.  RBigital also includes an excellent collection of magazines, which used to be part of a separate service known as Zenio Magazines.  To use this resource, go to http://www.rbdigital.com, make an account with your library card number, and start finding the books you want!

We would like the Carl Rasmussen family for their donation of a storage shelf and two totes of books to the Northwood City Center Library!  We very much appreciate these gifts.

 

This week we’re featuring  As Bright as Heaven, by Susan Meissner, and Artemis, by Andy Weir.

In As Bright As Heaven, 1918 Philedelphia is a city of promise and hope.  Pauline Bright, her husband, and their three daughters arrive with dreams of a new beginning and a chance at a better life.  But just as they begin to make their place, their dreams are shattered when the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of North America.

As the deadly  pandemic claims more and more lives, Pauline and family find themselves in a world that looks nothing like the one they knew.  But even as they lose loved ones, they take in an infant, orphaned by the disease, who becomes their single source of hope.

Through tragedy and trials, they learn what they cannot live without, and what they are willing to do about it.  “A family saga, coming-of-age tale, and riveting historical fiction all in one. A must read!”—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale

 

Artemis,  a sci-fi heist adventure, follows cheeky smuggler Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara, a resident of Earth’s first and only Lunar colony, as she seeks to escape a life of tiny apartments, constant debt, and disgusting lower-class food by agreeing to orchestrate a plot to secure a huge score.  This is a giant leap from her small-time smuggling, but she’s never met a challenge her intellect couldn’t handle.

But as it turns out, becoming a criminal mastermind turns out to be the least of her problems- because this heist is the door to a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.  Trapped between competing forces and pursued by the Law and a killer alike, Jazz is forced to admit to herself that maybe for once she’s in a little over her head… “Weir excels when it comes to geeky references, snarky humour and scenes of ingenious scientific problem-solving.” —Financial Times

And our highlighted resource this week is NoveList- a tool that allows us as librarians to recommend books for you no matter what genre you like to read.  Featuring links to a vast collection of read-alikes and reviews of hundreds of books, this site makes it easy to find your next read when you’re unsure.

 

Come visit us at the Northwood City Center Library- we look forward to your visits!

 

This week we added two children’s books to our collection, thanks to a donation from Salli Lou Anderson.  Thank you, Salli Lou! Your help and patronage is always appreciated.

One of the new books, Goodnight, Numbers, by Danica McKellar, is a counting book written to reinforce number-knowledge in young children.  With soft, dreamy watercolor illustrations, this book also includes on its title pages ten different ways to express the numbers 1-10, including French, Spanish, German, and Chinese!

 

Another book recently added to our collection is the true-life memoir,  The Sun Does Shine, by Anthony Ray Hinton, with Lara Love Hardin.  

In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama.  Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.  

But it was not to be- and for twenty-seven years, Hinton languished on Death Row.  But after the first shock of despair and anger, Hinton found a way to not only survive, but live in his desperate circumstances.  A beacon of hope to the other inmates, Hinton formed touched lives friendships he had never expected to make, until he finally won his release in 2015.

According to Kirkus Reviews, this book is “A heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful story about truth, justice, and the need for criminal justice reform.”

 

This week we are featuring Global Newsstream, a product which enables users to search the most recent global news content, as well as archives that stretch back into the 1980s, featuring content from newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format. This product provides one of the largest collections of world-wide news. Local papers archived include the Grand Forks Herald and the Bismark Tribune!

 

All titles are cross-searchable on the ProQuest platform allowing researchers easy access to multiple perspectives, resources, and languages on the topic they are researching.

If you are interested in using this resource, come visit us at the Northwood City Center Library and get started!

Our featured fiction for this week is The Wife Between Us, by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.   In this slow-burn thriller, Nellie, a young teacher, is engaged to handsome and mysterious Richard hedge fund manager.  However, as her wedding day approaches, Nellie becomes convinced that his ex-wife Vanessa is stalking her. Yet despite appearances, no one in this story is who they seem to be, and through the eyes of the characters, the mystery unfolds in the most unexpected of ways…

“Readers who were enthralled by B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed Doors and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl will love the skewed psychology and shifting perspectives of this domestic thriller.” ―Library Journal

And the highlighted online-resource today is  Britannica Library, which offers reliable reference material for kids and adults!  Come to the Northwood City Center Library to access this resource.

 

On Saturday, the 28th of July, the Northwood City Center Library hosted a book-signing with Tami Lawrence, author of Are There Dirtbikes in Heaven!   In this children’s book, a young boy wonders about what Heaven will be like, and his mother does her best to answer based on what the Bible teaches.  

Miss Lawrence did a reading of her book as well, and it is now available for to be checked out by patrons.  Thank you to those who dropped by for a visit, and to Tami Lawrence for being here with us.

 

Our featured book this week is The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn.  In this eerie thriller,  lonely and agoraphobic Anna Fox finds relief from her seclusion as she watches her neighbors, and eventually becomes friends with the Russells, a new family that moves in next door.  However, even as her life begins to look more hopeful, she witnesses something in the Russell’s household that rocks her world in the most unsettling of ways. Suddenly it becomes a battle to know what’s real and not real, and even the house that has been her shelter can no longer protect Anna from this nightmare…

“Crackling with tension, and the sound of pages turning, as twist after twist sweeps away each hypothesis you come up with…”  -Kirkus Reviews

 

This week we are highlighting NDSU Extension Service- which offers region-specific agricultural, gardening, and nutritional information.  Their mission is to empower North Dakotans to improve their lives and communities through science-based education, so if you’re interested in this resource, come by the Northwood City Center Library and check it out!

 

We will soon be starting a new book for Kid’s Reading Hour as we finish up our current book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  For those who wish to join in, we will be reading Arf , by Spencer Quinn.  In this unusual mystery story, Birdie Gaux and her beloved dog Bowser are concerned and confused when someone breaks into their home, despite there being nothing to steal.  As they try to find the perplexing intruder, a strange girl begins asking odd questions about Birdie’s father, a policeman who was killed in the line of duty years ago. Bowser smells something fishy… or rather, cat-like, in the neighborhood, and things just aren’t adding up.  Birdie knows only one thing for certain- someone is coming after her family, and it’s up to her and Bowser to solve the case before it’s too late!

This book is great for kids 9 and up, so make sure to bring yours by and join in the fun!

An anonymous patron donated ten children’s books and a two non-fiction books this past week.  We would like to thank you, whoever you are, for helping us in this way!

Our featured books this week are The Silver Bowl, by Diane Stanley, and Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng.  

In Diane Stanley’s middle-grade novel The Silver Bowl,  young Molly leaves a home where nobody wants her, and goes to work as a scullery maid in the king’s castle.  Little does anyone in the castle know that Molly carries a deep secret- she sees visions, and when she does, those visions always come true.  

When Molly is entrusted with polishing a beautiful silver basin, she experiences a vision unlike any she has seen before: one that foretells doom for the royal family, threatening the life of Prince Alaric, whom  she has begun to fall for. With the help of her friends, Molly resolves to do everything she can to protect the prince and destroy the curse that follows his family…

Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere takes us away from the realm of fantasy and into Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland.  Shaker Heights is highly organized and planned, from its streets, to its people. Elena Richardson, no exception to this rule, finds the flow of her world interrupted when newcomer Mia Warren and her teenage daughter rent a house from her family.  Elena and Mia soon develop an unexpected friendship, which is put to the test when Mia’s mysterious past becomes an important piece in a family friend’s custody battle for an adopted infant from China. The conflict dramatically divides the town, and Elena’s determination to uncover Mia’s past devolves into an obsession that could cost her more dearly than she could ever imagine.  According to Kirkus Reviews, “With her second novel, Ng further proves she’s a sensitive, insightful writer with a striking ability to illuminate life in America.”

 

For our online resource of the week, I give you Business Source Premier, which offers information and analysis from top management and marketing journals.  Those who might benefit from this resource can access it through our computers here at the Northwood City Center Library. Come visit us to find out more!

 

Two new additions to our collection of children’s fiction have been donated by Salli Lou Anderson- thanks, Salli Lou!

One, a chapter book in the  Great Illustrated Classics series, is an abridgment of Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo —  a thrilling tale of betrayal, imprisonment, revenge, and redemption!  This book condenses the weighty classic into a story easily understood by young readers, outlining the important arcs of the original story in order to provide a solid foundation of general knowledge that will come in handy as the child grows into their reading abilities.

The other is a charming bilingual picture book, combining English and Spanish in a whimsical and applicable story called  I Hear A Pickle.  This book teaches children about the five senses in both languages, back-to-back, making this an ideal (and fun!) tool to use whether your child is learning either Spanish, or English!  Parents will note the differences in the onomatopoeias, or “sound” words between the languages; In English we may say that the bird says “Tweet, tweet!”, whereas in Spanish it would be “¡Pìo, pìo!” 

We’ve also had additions to our YA collection, Christian Fiction collection, General Fiction with a donation from Wendy Wolfe.

Willo Davis Roberts’ The Girl with the Silver Eyes, the story of a girl with supernatural powers, is perfect for teen readers.  

A Woman’s Place, by Christian author Lynn Austin, explores the stories of four women in the 1940s, each with their own private ghosts to conquer, as they enter into the conflict of World War II together.  

And Nicholas Sparks’ novel, The Best of Me, is the love story of a boy and a girl, torn apart by tragic circumstances, then unexpectedly reunited years later, and their quest to recapture the past…

Thank you, Wendy, for these exciting new books!

And now, for your online resource of the week, see National Agriculture Library Digital Collections, or NALDC- where you can explore three collections of full-text historical documents on the agricultural and food sciences.  This resource is made available to us by the North Dakota State Library. If you are interested in this resource, see us at the Northwood City Center Library!