January 2016 Volume 3, Issue 1

Tracy Public Library Newsletter

CALENDAR

Friday, Jan. 1

Library closed.

Happy new year!

Thursday, Jan. 7

6:30 p.m. Library board

Saturday, Jan. 16

1 p.m. Marlin Meyer

presentation on Yosemite

National Park

Thursday, Jan. 21

2-7 p.m. Open lab computer

class

6 p.m. Writing Group

7 p.m. Book Club

Thursday, Jan. 28

2-7 p.m. Open lab computer

class

Tracy Public Library

189 Third Street ~

Tracy, MN 56175~

507.629.5548

www.tracypubliclibrary.org Hours:

Monday-Friday

10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Saturdays 10 a.m.-

noon

FEATURED READS

Check it Out

“Forgiven: The Amish School Shooting, a Mother’s Love, and

a Story of Remarkable Grace” Terri Roberts

They knew his name, the man who tried to brutally attack 12-year-old Madeline in her grandmother's hotel. They thought they knew his fate. He wouldn't be bothering them anymore...ever. Still their lives would never be the same.

Madeline has returned to Washington after her grandmother's mysterious death. And at the old, abandoned hotel—a place she never wanted to see again—a dying man’s last words convey a warning: the secrets she and Daphne believed buried forever have been discovered.

Now, after almost two decades, Madeline and Daphne will be

reunited in friendship and in fear. Unable to trust the local police, Madeline summons Jack Rayner, the hotel chain’s new security expert. Despite the secrets and mysteries that surround him, Jack is the only one she trusts...and wants. Jack is no good at

relationships but he does possess a specific skill set that includes a profoundly intimate understanding of warped and dangerous minds. With the assistance of Jack's brother, Abe, a high-tech magician, the four of them will form an uneasy alliance against a killer who will stop at nothing to hide the truth....

After a son does the unthinkable, how can a mother go on?

On October 2, 2006, a gunman entered an Amish one-room schoolhouse, shooting 10 girls, killing five, then finally taking his own life. This is his mother's story. Not only did she lose her precious son through suicide, but she also lost her understanding of him as an honorable man. It was a trauma that none should ever have to face.

But the biggest headlines came when her Amish neighbors did the unimaginable, reaching out to the family of the shooter with comfort and forgiveness. Today Terri lives in harmony with the Amish and has

built lasting relationships beyond what anyone could have thought possible. From the grace that the Amish showed Terri's family from day one, to the visits and ongoing care Terri has given to the victims and

their families, no one could have foreseen the love and friendship that have been forged from the fires of tragedy.

“Secret Sisters,” Jayne Ann Krentz

By Librarian Valerie Quist

As another year draws to a close and another begins, I enjoy

looking back at the books I’ve read over the past 12 months.

It’s pretty rare for me to give a book five stars. In 2015, I gave six

books (about 7.5 percent of what I read) five-star ratings. (This

doesn’t include books that I re-

read). They are:

The Oxford Project, Peter

Feldstein and Stephen G. Bloom

— In 1984, Feldstein set out to

photograph every person in

Oxford, Iowa (population 676).

Twenty years later, he returned

along with Bloom to document

what happened to the

community’s residents during

the intervening years. What I

liked about this book was that it

did a great job of representing

small-town life. I knew these

people, because you’ll find them

in every small town across the country. The photographs really

helped send the message home about how much can change in 20

years.

The End of Your Life Book Club, Will Schwalbe — This was the

first book I finished in 2015, and it has really stuck with me. The

heart of this book is about connecting with people over books. As

someone who does that every day, it really touched me.

Plainsong, Kent Haruf — Sometimes a book just grabs you from

the start and makes you feel invested in its characters. “Plainsong”

is that kind of book. When I was finished, I cried just because it was

over and I wanted more. It was that good.

Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson

— This book of poetry is a National Book Award

winner, and deservedly so. Each poem is a peek

into Woodson’s life growing up in the 1960s

and 1970s, living with the remnants of the Jim

Crow era and her increasing awareness of the

burgeoning Civil Rights movement. I don’t read

poetry often, but when I do, I’m struck by how

important each and every word is. Woodson

makes them all count.

Rabbit, Run, John Updike — I picked this up out of pure

curiosity, when I kept seeing Updike’s books on lists of highly rated

literature. I had a hard time getting into this book about a man who

decides to walk away from his family, but it ended up blowing me

away. What happens in this book is still

sitting like a stone in the pit of my stomach.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest, J. Ryan

Stradal — This book grabbed me from the

start, and I absolutely could not put it down.

It tells the story of a chef named Eva

Thorvald, through the perspective of people

around her. I loved how all of the characters

— each unique in his or her own way —

connected to one another and to Eva. Plus,

it’s set in Minnesota!

Twenty-eight books earned four-star ratings

from me in 2015. In order to get an even top-10

for the year, I decided to select four books as

“honorable mentions.” They are:

The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan —

This is a fascinating historical fiction about two

sisters, ballerinas who are used by Degas in his

artwork. The main character, Marie, is

immortalized in the sculpture “Little Dancer

Aged Fourteen.” It’s a beautifully written book,

and I loved being able to look up the real

sculpture and see it for myself.

The House We Grew Up In,” Lisa Jewell —

This is an intense novel about the

repercussions a family tragedy can have. The

characters are very flawed and well-written,

and I found myself drawn into their world.

Station Eleven, Emily Mandel — I love a

good post-apocalyptic novel, and this one hit

all the right notes. It follows a troupe of

traveling actors who perform Shakespeare

and music in the years following a flu

pandemic that wipes out much of civilization.

Longbourn, Jo Baker — I’ve been burned

more than once by books that claim to be

retellings or extensions of Jane Austen’s

books. “Longbourn” is an exception; I found it

very well done. It tells the story of the servants

who worked in the Bennet household (“Pride

and Prejudice”), and gives depth to Austen’s

famous story.

Eventide, Kent Haruf — “Eventide” is the

follow-up to “Plainsong.” It’s less hopeful than

“Plainsong,” but still a beautifully told story.

Yes, I know that was five books, not four,

but I found I couldn’t leave any of the

“honorable mention” books off the list. So, that’s my top-11 list for

2015.

Overall, it was a great reading year. I’m now looking to a fresh

start in the new year, and the great books that will come into my

life.

What I read in December:

“The Goldfinch,” Donna Tartt

“My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories,” ed. by

Stephanie Perkins

“A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens (my annual re-read)

What I’m reading:

“The Winter Girl,” Matt Marinovich (advance copy)

“The Swan Gondola,” Timothy Schaffert

“The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every

Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed,” Shea

Serrano

Up next:

“Cranford,” Elizabeth Gaskell

“The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy,” Stewart

O’Nan

LIBRARIAN’S CORNER

NEW ON THE SHELVES

Adult

“After She’s Gone,” Lisa Jackson

“Ashley Bell,” Dean Koontz

“The Christmas Bells,” Jennifer Chiaverini

“Forgiven,” Terri Roberts

“The Lost Heiress,” Roseanna M. White

“My Kind of Wonderful” (Cedar Ridge #2), Jill

Shalvis

“The Painter’s Daughter,” Julie Klassen

“Precious Gifts,” Danielle Steel

“Secret Sisters,” Jayne Ann Krentz

“Splinter the Silence,” Val McDermid

“Tom Clancy: Commander in Chief” (Jack Ryan

#19), Mark Greaney

“Until the Dawn,” Elizabeth Camden

Audio

“After She’s Gone,” Lisa Jackson

Children

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” David

Fentiman

“I Funny TV,” James Patterson

“Mouse Overboard!” Geronimo Stilton

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens Mix & Match,” Benjamin Harper Movies “Ant-Man” “Minions” “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” “Fantastic Four” “Ted 2”

STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS “The Book Thief,” Markus Zusak

It’s just a

small story

really, about,

among other

things: a girl,

some words,

an accordi-

onist, some

fanatical

Germans, a

Jewish fist-

fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in

Germany, Markus Zusak’s

groundbreaking novel is the story

of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl

living outside of Munich. Liesel

scratches out a meager existence

for herself by stealing when she

encounters something she can’t

resist–books. With the help of her

accordion-playing foster father,

she learns to read and shares her

stolen books with her neighbors

during bombing raids as well as

with the Jewish man hidden in

her basement before he is

marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story

about the ability of books to feed

the soul.

“Absolute Zero,” Chuck Logan

In the icy jaws

of an early win-

ter, three big-

city profession-

als joined Phil

Broker on a ca-

noe trip across

Minnesota's

remotest lake.

Nature's unexpected fury bat-

tered and nearly killed them.

But it was Man who left one of

them worse than dead . . .

Haunted ex-cop Phil Broker

owes Hank Sommer his life -- and

now the wealthy writer is in a co-

ma, thanks to a “freak” mishap on

a hospital operating table. Broker

knows from hard experience that

accidents are not always what

they appear to be. He suspects

foul play, and he's not about to let

Sommer fade out of this world so

easily. But the trail to answers is

twisted and deadly, winding

around the comatose man's beau-

tiful wife -- a former exotic dancer

-- and the ring of dangerous men

still surrounding her. And Bro-

ker's determined search for jus-

tice and truth is taking him to a

dark and terrifying place where he

will be forced to fight for his very

survival on the coldest night in

Minnesota's history . . .

In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl—her

father long since disappeared, her mother unwilling to have her in the house—is pregnant, alone herself, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they've ever known.

From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together—their fates somehow overcoming the powerful circumstances of place and station, their

confusion, curiosity, dignity and humor intact and resonant. As the milieu widens to embrace fully four generations, Kent Haruf displays an emotional and aesthetic authority to rival the past masters of a classic American tradition.

The Tracy Public Library Book Club meets on the third Thursday of each month. For a full schedule, visit www.tracypubliclibrary.org.

BOOK CLUB BEAT

“Plainsong,” Kent Haruf

Computer classes offered We are excited to start offering computer classes in

January in our new Computer Learning Center, with the support of Southwest Minnesota Adult Basic Education and Tracy Area Public Schools. The format will be informal, covering whatever participants would like to learn, with one-on-one help provided. Classes will begin Thursday, Jan. 21 and will be offered each Thursday from 2 to 7 p.m. Pre-registration is preferred, by calling (507) 629-5548, by email to terdpro@gmail.com, or by stopping at the library.

Winter Reading Program The 2016 Winter Reading Program will take place Jan.

1 through March 31.

Sign up at the library. Must be 16 years of age or older and have a current library card.

You will receive a punch card or reading log to record the number of books you read. Use these to keep track of the number of books you read between Jan. 1 and March 31.

You are encouraged to read as many titles as you can, in any format including audio and eBooks. Books must be checked out from the library, or from our eBook catalog.

Turn in as many reading logs or punch cards as you wish; however, in order for your card or reading log to be counted as "completing the program," reading a minimum of 12 books is required.

Prizes will be awarded for each 12 books read.

Yosemite National Park slideshow

On Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m., Marlin Meyer of

Tracy will give a presentation on Yosemite National

Park. Meyer has many photographs to share that he

has taken at Yosemite.

The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program is open to children from birth to age 6 (who have not yet entered kindergarten). The goal is to read 1,000 books before entering kindergarten. Children who sign up for the program receive a book tote, and small prizes are given out for each 100 books that are read. A graduation ceremony is held once a year or as needed. The program is made possible through a partnership with the United Way of Southwest Minnesota.

How long does it take to read 1,000 books? If you read three books a day to your child, that’s 1,095 books in one year!

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten