LIBRARY NEWS
New policy will bring more large-print books to our shelves
By Carole Howard and the Library Staff
If you have noticed more frequent mentions in recent library columns of new large-print books being added to our collection, you are right. A new policy adopted by library director Jackie Welch already is bringing a greater number of large-print books to our library shelves – a benefit not only to seniors but also to everyone with aging eyes.
As Jackie and her staff purchase books for our collection – especially those on the Publishers Weekly and New York Times bestseller lists – they are checking to see if any of the titles are available in large print. Because of budget constraints, we rarely can afford to purchase two copies of the same book. But on average now, we are purchasing about half our new titles in large print, and feedback from our patrons has been good.
As of today, we have 294 large-print books at the library – 257 fiction and 37 non-fiction. In fact, we have just added two more bestselling novels: “Hitched” by Carol Higgins Clark, the latest in her Regan Reilly mystery series; and “The Alibi Man,” another mystery by the ever-popular Tami Hoag, this one set in Palm Beach.
We also have the large-print edition of Reader’s Digest magazine. And many people with sight problems enjoy the more than 1,800 audio books on tape (1,507) or CD (374) that are available at the library. The newest CD we just got is “Nineteen Minutes,” the latest by Jodi Picoult, an unabridged novel about high school violence in a small town.
Remember also that Colorado Books for the Blind/Colorado Talking Books provides free services to the visually impaired. With a letter from your doctor, any resident will be given a tape recorder and free delivery and return of recorded books. The necessary forms are available at the library. Colorado Talking Books also provides free downloadable audio books at their web site www.cde.date.co.us/ctbl. There you also can order books on line.
Serious fiction: Religion and persecution
“Kingdom Come: The Final Victory” by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is the final title of the Christian Left Behind series. “Suite Francaise,” about life under the Nazis by Ukranian-born Irene Nemirovsky, is finally in print because her daughters hid the manuscript after their mother was arrested and deported to Auschwitz.
Non-fiction: Einstein and doctors
“Einstein: His Life and Universe” by Walter Isaacson is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers became available. “The Lost Keys of Freemasonry” by Manly P. Hall is the author’s classic work on this secretive brotherhood, collected with two additional of his volumes on this subject. “How Doctors Think” by Jerome Groopman, M.D. is a useful book for patients, especially if you believe the assertion by the author that on average a physician interrupts a patient describing symptoms within 18 seconds.
Masons donate books to explain their organization
Concerned about how their organization is depicted in Dan Brown’s bestselling “Angels and Demons” and “The DaVinci Code” books, members of the Pagosa Masonic Lodge #114 have donated three books about the Masons to the library. “The Lost Keys of Freemasonry” by Manly P. Hall is the author’s classic work, collected with two additional of his volumes on this subject. “The Lodge and the Craft: A Practical Explanation of the Work of Freemasonry” is by Rollin C. Blackmer. “Dungeon, Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades” is by John J. Robinson.
New fiction: Fantasy, history and fun
Jim Butcher’s “White Night,” part of the Dresden Files series, chronicles the adventures of Chicago’s only professional wizard. “People of the Nightland: North America’s Forgotten Past” by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear tells of a young boy trying to save his people after receiving a vision. “Boomsday” is another book of humorous fiction by Christopher Buckley, this one about generational warfare between Baby Boomers and younger Americans who don’t want to be stuck paying the bill. “Sleeping with Strangers” by Eric Jerome Dickey is the story of a powerful hit man in a jet-setting world dominated by money, women and violence.
A selection of new mysteries
“What the Dead Know” by Laura Lippman is a mystery going back 30 years when two sisters disappeared from a shopping mall. “Simple Genius” by David Baldacci is the story of a highly unusual laboratory and an elite CIA training camp shrouded in secrecy. “Absolute Fear” by Lisa Jackson tells of murders in New Orleans which may be the work of the heroine’s lover. “Laced” by Carol Higgins Clark is another in the Regan Reilly mystery series, this one set in Ireland.
Thanks to our donors
Our thanks this week for books and materials from Carole Bode, Ralph and Lyn Frank, Teri Hoehn, Vivi Hriscu, Rosa Layne, Judy Lynch, Richard Miller, Janice Nicholls, Anna Royer, Glenn Rutherford and Gwen Taylor.
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