Writing to an Author

Posted on by

Do you ever read such an awesome book you feel you just have to tell the author how much you loved their work? Yeah? Then go ahead and do it! Believe it or not, authors love to hear from you.

Recently, one of the employees here wrote to an author she’d been thoroughly enjoying, and well, it paid off! Check it out below.

————————————

From: Theresa
Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012 8:51 AM
To: Kristan Higgins
Subject: Thank you…

I haven’t finished the book “All I ever wanted”, yet, because I stop and laugh uproariously at the characters.  But just wanted to say I am thoroughly enjoying my first book.  I will definitely be reading the rest of your books.  Thank you for a breath of fresh air in the Contemporary romance genre. Please don’t ever write those awful vampire books.  Just kidding, I would read one by you it would be fantastic.

Sincerely,

Theresa
“Be who you are and say what you feel,because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
— Dr. Seuss

————————————

From: Kristan Higgins
To: Theresa
Sent: Sat, June 23, 2012 6:45:54 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you…
Thanks, Theresa! So far, no vampires…I really can’t imagine writing one of those. No sparkling here. No scintillating arms (the phrase at which I stopped reading Twilight).

You quote my favorite author of all time! He’s got a shout-out in my upcoming book…

Hope you like all the other books, and thank you so much for writing!

Kristan

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author
www.kristanhiggins.com
www.Facebook.com/KristanHigginsBooks

A Game of Thrones

Posted on by

What’s a fan of George R.R. Martin to do? Season Two of HBO’s acclaimed miniseries A Game of Thrones has just finished up and only God knows when Book Six (tentatively titled The Winds of Winter) in A Song of Ice and Fire saga will be published. May I suggest that fans of George R.R. Martin’s medieval fantasy try out A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Companion Cookbook newly available at the library.

The cookbook is the product of the immense Internet fandom inspired by Martin’s works. Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer’s curiosity led the duo to a start a blog documenting their attempts at cooking up some of the dishes mentioned in the stories. They still maintain that blog – innatthecrossroads.com  – which includes additonal recipes and commentary not featured in the book.

But what if you haven’t read the Fire and Ice books or seen the miniseries? The Library has those too! There is little I can add to the lauds already heaped on Martin and his Locus Award winning series. It’s a riveting story well told. And don’t let the “fantasy” label scare you away. There are some fantasy elements to be sure –  dragons, a bit of magic, etc. But these stories are primarily focused on complex characters who struggle with competing loyalties, ambitions for power, greed, lust, and honor. Martin’s eye for detail brings to life everything from the byzantine machinations of the Seven Kingdoms politics to the sumptuous heraldry and feasting of the noble families. A Song of Ice and Fire is a highly entertaining, suspenseful series. 

Whether you’re looking to cook up some Honey-Spiced Locusts to poison a queen, recreate King Joffrey’s 77 course wedding feast, or simply whip up a delicious meal to enjoy while you re-watch A Game of Thrones, A Feast of Ice and Fire will delight fans and risk-taking cooks alike.

-Matthew

The Mayans and the End of the World: By Tony Perona

Posted on by

**Today’s blog is by a special guest… local mystery author Tony Perona!! Visit his website at www.tonyperona.com.**

Whenever someone finds out my latest book, the thriller THE FINAL MAYAN PROPHECY, is about December 21, 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar on that date, they ask if it really means the end of the world.

I don’t want to talk too much about the book and give away the end because I hope you’ll read it 🙂 –so let me answer it in a completely different way. Let’s take a look at some of the more popular ways people are predicting the earth will be destroyed in 2012, some in conjunction with this Mayan end date:

  1. Asteroid hits earth: According to recent reports from NASA, the odds of a really big asteroid hitting the earth in the next 28 years are 1:625. That’s .0016 or .16%, or way less than a 1% chance, and that’s within 28 years.
  2. Nuclear war: The Doomsday Clock sits right now at 5 minutes to midnight. The closer the clock is to midnight, the closer the world is estimated to be to global nuclear disaster. (All of this is according to Wikipedia, not always reliable but as best as I can tell, is accurate in this case.) The latest adjustment, made on January 10, advanced the clock one minute to its present position. To me, that means nuclear war is a little more possible (1.67% more; one minute more out of 60) than it was last year, when we successfully escaped global disaster, so, rounding up, I’d go with maybe 2% as the odds for global nuclear destruction. Keep in mind, I’m no statistician.
  3. Solar flare sends us back to the Stone Age: According to a report in last month’s Christian Science Monitor, which gets this information from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, “When aimed at Earth, strong solar flares and CMEs [Coronal Mass Ejections] …  can pose a danger to astronauts and satellites in space, as well as power grids, navigation and communications systems on Earth.” Reporter Amina Khan, writing in the Los Angeles Times, quoted space weather scientist Mike Hapgood at the Rutherford  Appleton Observatory near Oxford, England about the odds of this happening,. “A recent paper (published in February in the journal Space Weather) tried to estimate the chance … and came up with a value of a 12 percent chance of it happening in the next 10 years.” It’s probably not technically correct for me to average this over ten years, but if I did, it’d be a 1.2% chance each year.

So, after looking at these scenarios, I think the odds are small that December 21, 2012 will be the end of time.

Did the Mayans think that way? My personal philosophy is always one of great hope, that even out of the worst situations, good emerges. To find out if and how I carry this through the plot of THE FINAL MAYAN PROPHECY, you’ll need to read it. I thank you if you do.

**If you read this blog and would like to read one of Tony’s books, he will give you for free the e-book version of his first novel, SECOND ADVENT, which was published by Five Star in 2002. Write him through the Plainfield Public Library at communitycentral@plainfieldlibrary.net to obtain it with “Tony Perona” in the subject line or body.

THE FINAL MAYAN PROPHECY, written by Tony and television producer Paul Skorich, is available in all e-book formats through his publisher at www.smashwords.com ($3.99 US, and at other popular e-book sites like www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com. You can also obtain a paperback version ($9.99 plus taxes and shipping) through amazon.**

Eat Your Veggies!

Posted on by

People that follow me on Facebook or Twitter know that I am a hardcore vegetable advocate. I don’t eat a 100% vegetarian diet, but I would rather eat roasted Brussels sprouts any day than a hamburger. Here are some of my favorite vegetarian/vegan cookbooks that you can check out if you want to include more delicious veggies in your diet…and you do…trust me!

Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: *THE* end-all-be-all vegan sourcebook for simple, everyday foods. Veganomicon has been cited as one of the best vegan cookbooks by Goodreads readers, and I agree. There are many simple recipes in here that don’t require crazy ingredients. If you want to round out your cookbook shelf, this book would be my top recommendation.

The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook by Donna Klein: Want to run to the pantry and whip up a great veggie meal? With PDQ, you can definitely do it! Klein makes it easy to make simple meals with ingredients that are already in your kitchen. The format is easy to follow, and the food is really good.

How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman: This book is HUGE but full of anything vegetarian that you could ever dream of. The chapters are very in-depth with many variations-on-a-theme type recipes. I learned how to make roasted Brussels sprouts from Mr. Bittman…he is one of my heroes!

Appetite For Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: Most vegetarians or veggie enthusiasts are leaner than our Standard American Dieter counterparts. Moskowitz helps everyone out by compiling some skinny vegan dishes for us in one of her latest cookbooks. Along with Moskowitz’s humor, the book is a fun read and the recipes are delish.

The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without by Molly Katzen: This lovely book, illustrated by Katzen, is a delightful book to read. Her recipes are simple, and the vegetables’ characteristics aren’t lost in any of the dishes. If you have read any of the Moosewood cookbooks, and were put off by difficult recipes, this is much more pared down.

Peas and Thank You by Sarah Matheny: One of my new favorites! Matheny has two adorable kids and showcases family-friendly vegan meals in this fun cookbook. Try the roasted rosemary-lemon chickpeas…you will not be sorry, but you may eat the whole batch. (Not that I did that or anything…)

Simple Food for the Good Life by Helen Nearing: Next to Thoreau, Scott and Helen Nearing were “extreme” examples for the back-to-the-land movement. If you dislike cooking, and want super easy “recipes” to fill your belly, this is a quirky book for you. Try “horse chow” for breakfast: toss together oats and whatever else you have, then eat! Nearing also includes quotations from early cookbooks, complete with medieval spelling, to show how far we’ve come in the culinary world.

Check out some of these books, and eat your vegetables!

~~Michelle

Living a Frugal, Simple Life

Posted on by

Even before I became a mom of two adorable boys, I have always been interested in home economics and frugality. Making dinner on a budget, running a household, fixing things, saving money are all subjects I can read all day about (but sadly, don’t get to).

I don’t feel like being frugal is a punishment, or something that should make one upset. I think being frugal is a way to live so one has more choices in life. For example, if you run up your credit card on widgets, and have to work overtime for a year for your widgets, you are a slave to your widgets. If you don’t buy all those widgets, perhaps you can take a staycation and buy one widget with cash. What the heck is a widget anyway?

Regardless of the size of your household and income, you can streamline your life by making the choice to do so. Here are some books about simplifying and being thrifty that have been the most helpful to me:

The Complete Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dayczyn. Dayczyn’s dream was to own a huge farmhouse in the country, have a brood of children (6!), and take care of business on her husband’s Navy income. She started a newsletter because she figured that other folks would have the same dream of having a good life on a shoestring budget, and the newsletter exploded into a phenomenon that she never imagined. The newsletters have now been compiled into one handy book, which is honestly my favorite book ever. The last issues were written in the late 90’s, so some of the information is out of date (Is it worth it to get the Internet, for example) but there are many tips applicable to today. And the general idea is still valid: if you want to live a happy life on less money, it’s definitely doable. You just have to keep the goal in mind and align your actions to reach it.

Miserly Moms and Frugal Families by Jonni McCoy. These books are “less extreme” than The Tightwad Gazette. McCoy basically states in the first few pages that she isn’t interested in making crafts out of dryer lint or reusing Ziploc bags, but she is willing to make less expensive choices to fit her budget. Personally, I don’t mind the “extreme-ness” of The Tightwad Gazette, but for people who want to ease into a more frugal lifestyle, these books may be a good choice for you.

America’s Cheapest Family series by Steve and Annette Economides. These books are relatively new and are very helpful for people who are just starting out on their frugal journey. The Economedes are a huge family, and employ many different methods to keep their costs down, such as grocery shopping once a month, and planning inexpensive fun for their family.

Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World by Kelly Coyne. For the do-it-yourselfer in you, Making It is a modern guide to self-reliance. From making your own bath scrub, to keeping backyard chickens, there is a wide range of information packed in this volume. This book isn’t as much about frugality, but it will save you money, give you peace of mind, and make you feel accomplished all at the same time.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Muller Lockwood. I’ll go ahead and clarify, “simple living” does not always mean “frugal living,” however this book is a gem as well on this subject. What really matters to you? Do you want to have gourmet meals every day for the rest of your life? Do you want to travel extensively? Do you want to have a beautiful garden? This how-to is a great springboard to figure out what you really want and how to get there. It has multiple tips on how to save money in different areas, while using resources and time on what you really want and want to be doing.

The New Good Life by John Robbins. Robbins was the heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, until he left it all behind when he realized the correlation of dairy products and illness in his family. In this book, Robbins tells all about his loss of life savings due to the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, and how he rebounded from it. More memoir than how-to, but there is a good story here, and Robbins does have a clear vision of what the “New Good Life” should be.

Personally, at times I am still working on my spendthrift ways. Some days I go to the grocery store and really just want to buy all junk food, which is neither frugal, nor healthy! However, I have learned that if you spend a bit of time learning about yourself, and how you relate to your home, family, and money, that you can achieve your most important goal of creating the life you imagine.

~~Michelle

Donate Blood @ the Library

Posted on by

Do you have 15 minutes to donate blood? If so, the Indiana Blood Center could really use your help this summer.

The Indiana Blood Center is experiencing a shortage of blood donations this summer so the library is jumping in to help out by hosting a blood drive on Saturday, June 30 from 10:00am – 1:00pm.

All blood donors will receive:

  • a collectible, limited-edition Indiana Blood Center/The Bob & Tom Show t-shirt
  • a ticket to the Def Leppard/Poison concert at Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville on August 24th
  •  and a voucher for a free Cinnamon Raisin biscuit from Hardees while supplies last.

Here are a few interesting facts about blood donations, provided by the Indiana Blood Center:

  • Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
  • More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day to keep up with demand.
  • Each year over 5 million people in the U.S. will receive a blood transfusion.
  • A single car accident can require over 100 liters of blood.
  • Type O-negative can be transfused to all blood types so it is constantly in demand and often is in short supply.

If you are interested in donating blood please contact Joanna Carter at 317-839-6602 or jcarter@plainfieldlibrary.net.

Nothing is Old to Young Children

Posted on by

There are a lot of new picture books every year, and competition for sales is intense. Many new picture books are really written to appeal to adults who shop for books, and they are sophisticated, full of references to other things and jokes that kids don’t get. It’s a good marketing strategy and everything. But… first things first.

The simple story of The Three Bears is still a new and exciting story to little kids. I read it to preschoolers because they really like it. Of course I know what will happen, and I’ve read it a thousand times! Most of the kids have never heard it though, and they don’t know.

The Gunniwolf, The Turnip, The Gingerbread Man. These books are not trying to be clever, they are just simple, interesting stories for kids. They have been around for hundreds of years because they are timeless.

Author/illustrator Paul Zelinsky says, “From the point of view of very young children, nothing is old or hackneyed. Isn’t it important for them to be exposed to the most basic forms of things? Variations should come second. And winking third.” (You can read his article here: http://www.hbook.com/2012/05/authors-illustrators/interv%20%20iews/five-questions-for-paul-o-zelinsky/.)

 My suggestion: when you are reading a traditional kind of story, start with a basic version like The Little Red Hen by Galdone. Play around with it. Read it with goofy animal voices if you do that – your child can do those parts if you don’t. Later, pretend you are the hen. “Who will help me put away these groceries?”

Next read different versions and expansions like The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Sturges. and compare the pictures and story. Guess what? Not all versions of The Little Red Hen have the same ending. Sometimes the animals get to share the bread (or cake, or pizza) with the hen and sometimes they don’t.

Then go for take-offs or parodies like The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Sciesza (which rhymes with Fresca.) Your child will have the context to get the joke then.

A young child may latch on to a favorite story and choose it over and over again until you think you can’t stand it one more time. Studies have shown that it’s normal and developmentally appropriate. (Ever watched a TV box set or movie more than once? I thought so. Me too.) Don’t worry, the child will move on eventually!

Are You Ready for Memorial Day Weekend?

Posted on by

Memorial Day Weekend: a time for spending with family…

…in the car…

…for hours.

Why not read a book while you’re in the car?

Or are you like me, a control freak, and drive everywhere? No offense…

Or do you get carsick while reading directions when forced to be the trusty navigator?

Well here are some fabulous non-book options furnished by your fabulous library, to entertain you instead of being bored, sick, or forced to play the license plate game again.

Audiobooks: PGTPL has a fabulous collection of books on CD. Whether you like non-fiction, historical fiction, or even teen fiction and children’s books, we have something for you. Pop in a CD, and listen to great authors, actors, and professional voices read you great books. Many more audiobooks are available for download on Overdrive as well. My favorites: Beauty Queens, written and performed by Libba Bray via OverDrive; and Horton Hears a Who and other stories, performed by Dustin Hoffman available through Evergreen.

Playaways: If your trusty vehicle doesn’t have a CD player, don’t fret! We have these cute little do-dads called Playaways. You just plug a set of headphones in and listen to the story.

DVDs: If you have a fancy vehicle with DVD players, we can load you up with great movies from our collection. You can even find movies about wherever you’re going with our extensive non-fiction DVD shelves. One movie I like that’s good for all ages: IMAX Under the Sea, narrated by Jim Carrey. Popcorn not included.

CDs: Tired of trying to find a great radio station in the middle of nowhere? Grab a handful of CDs and create your own playlist. I enjoy exposing my kids to music that I like, so I don’t have to listen to the Hokey Pokey a million times. However, Barenaked Ladies have a great kid’s CD called Snacktime that rocks!

Especially for Kids:

Playaway Views: Got kids? Got kids that love Elmo, Arthur or fairy tales? We have Playaway Views in the Children’s room! These nifty handheld buddies are personal movie players. They are pre-loaded, so you don’t have to fuss with DVDs or extra pieces. Earphones can be plugged in, but aren’t necessary…unless Elmo’s voice will make the drive feel like Purgatory. My child’s favorites: Between the Lions and Strega Nona.

Kid Kits: Help yourself and help our children’s room staff flex their creative muscles by compiling a kid kit for your child. Stop by the children’s room a week or so before your trip and fill out a kid kit form. You will let the librarians know how old your child is, what his interests are, and what kind of materials he would like. Then, the librarian will pull together materials for your child to take with him on his trip! You can pick them up when convenient for you, and have all the items you need to keep your kid excited about being in the car for eight hours…well…maybe.

I hope you have a safe trip to wherever your three day weekend takes you. Me? I’m thinking a couch staycation is in order!

-Michelle

2012 Plainfield Garden Tour

Posted on by

The 2012 Annual Friends of the Plainfield Library Garden Tour will be Saturday June 23, and Sunday, June 24.

Tickets for the tour are $12.00 and are available online now on the Plainfield Garden Tour website. Tickets will be available the week prior to the tour at the following locations:

  • Plainfield-Guilford Twp. Public Library*
  • Marsh Supermarket in Plainfield*
  • Ferguson Hardware*
  • Gear Up Cyclery*
  • Cox’s Plant Farm*
  • Plainfield Chamber of Commerce

*Tickets available at these locations the days of the tour.

2012 Plainfield Garden Tour Art Auction

This year the Friends asked people to submit their artwork in a contest to be used on the Garden Tour tickets. There were so many wonderful submissions! The winners were:

  • First Place: Olivia Roath
  • Second Place: Carol Mongan
  • Third Place: Barbara Harris
  • Under 12 Winner: Audrey Havenor

The artwork is now on display in the library, and you’re invited to purchase it! The starting price for each piece was selected by the artist, and is listed in the book in front of the large display case. Bidding will end May 31st, at which time the winning purchasers will be contacted by phone.

Money from both Garden Tour tickets and the Art Contest Silent Auction directly benefit the library. Have you ever attended a program at the library? If so, you’ve benefited from our Friends group! Friends money helps support library programming, including speaker fees, supplies, and snacks.

Joanna’s Top 10 Movies

Posted on by

One Fine Day
This is one of my favorite romantic comedies. Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney are both amazing in this movie as they play characters who get thrown together for a day when they need help finding a babysitter for their children. They end up having a wild time and learn a few things about themselves along the way.

Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee is about a single father searching for a nanny to tend to his seven children. After the children drive away 17 nannies, Nanny McPhee mysteriously comes into the picture to give the children some much needed discipline. I especially love that Emma Thompson and Colin Firth are together in this movie as they are two of my favorite actors of all time. This is a great movie to see with the family!

The Queen
Another favorite actor of mine is Helen Mirren, who does an excellent job playing Queen Elizabeth II in the movie The Queen. This movie focuses on the tragedy of Princess Diana’s death and the difficulty Queen Elizabeth II faced when it came to leading the nation in mourning in the loss of the People’s Princess. The inside glimpse into the Royal perspective during this difficult time in England’s history is riveting to say the least.

Gone With the Wind and Scarlet
Gone With the Wind is a classic for many reasons. My main reason for loving GWTW is the psychology behind the characters Scarlet and Rhett. They always think about what is in it for them and don’t care if someone gets trampled along the way. Scarlet is a sequel movie to GWTW and I like it because it does a fairly good job of continuing the GWTW story. 

The Silence of the Lambs
This is my #1 favorite movie of all time. Those of you who have read my True Crime: Serial Killers blog will know why. I saw the movie poster for SOTL in D. Rose (the local video store in Plainfield back in the 1990s) and I remember seeing this giant moth over Jodie Foster’s mouth, and in the design of the moth’s back were the bodies of five women. Clearly the image stayed with me for years and when I was in college I saw the movie for the first time. I was horrified by the serial killer Hannibal Lecter and his insights into the twisted mind of Buffalo Bill. Even after seeing this movie more than 50 times I still get freaked out.

Gone Baby Gone
This movie is about two detectives investigating the disappearance of a little girl in Boston. The police are making very little progress and something just doesn’t seem quite right. The detectives run into all sorts of criminals from gangs to pedophiles along the way to finding the missing girl. At the end there is a scary twist that earns the movie a place on my Top 10 Library Movies to see.

The Prince and Me
I’m a bit of a sucker for a sappy romance every now and then. The Prince and Me is about a young Danish prince who is sowing his wild oats. The prince takes a hiatus to Wisconsin to seemingly “get it together” and attend college, which is where he meets and falls head over heels for a woman with determination and drive. This movie is pretty much a “wash, rinse, repeat” romance, but I love it for its sentimental predictability.

Into The Wild
True-life stories are one of my favorite things of all time. Into The Wild is based on a true story about a young man named Christopher McCandless who leaves his life behind to pursue his own path in the wilderness of Alaska . The movie is adventurous, funny and truly inspiring. Other favorite true-life movies include: Grizzly Man, which is about a man who video taped his close interactions with bears; Kinsey is another great movie that is about the Alfred Kinsey, the American biologist who studied and taught human sexuality at Indiana University in the 1940s and 1950s; 127 Hours is about a young man who gets trapped between a boulder in a canyon crag in Utah. It is not for the faint of heart and is also an amazing movie!

Jurassic Park
OK, so here’s the deal: I could watch Jurassic Park every single day for the rest of my life. I’d even throw in Jurassic Park II and III and I would be a happy camper. Every single time I watch the “real life” dinosaurs walking around I get a giddy excitement that I just cannot compare to any other movie. I recall vividly back in 1993 when Jurassic Park was released I wanted to see it soooo badly but my parents would not let me. A few years later I watched it and loved it.

Fargo
Fargo is about a Minneapolis car salesman who is in a lot of trouble. He hires some thugs to kidnap his wife in hopes that the ransom will help him with his troubles. Many things go wrong during the kidnapping, and when Police Chief Marge Gunderson gets on the case things begin to unravel at a rapid pace. The Coen brothers do an excellent job making this movie. Just be prepared for some dark comedy if you decide to see it!