LIBRARY NEWS

Free fun activities and classes for all ages start next week

By Carole Howard and the Library Staff

With school starting, fall activities at the library are about to get underway as well. They cover a wide range of fun classes and activities for all ages, and every one is free for you and your family. We hope you will review the list below and take advantage of these offerings. Some are popular favorites and others are entirely new.

• Homework Power Hour Mondays through Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. for students of all ages starting Monday, September 10. Computer access and help with homework will be available.
• Beginner bilingual adult computer class Tuesdays from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. starting Tuesday, September 11. For this class, please register in advance at the library September 6-8. Clases de computacion para adultos los Martes a las 9:30 de la manana.
• Story Club for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. starting Wednesday, September 12. Every week has a different theme, such as sock monkeys, cloud pictures and ducks.
• Sisson Chess Club for adults and students on Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m.
• Youth Chess Club at 1:45 p.m. Fridays starting Friday, September 14.
• Friday Fun for students of all grades from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. will focus each week on different activities including board games, puzzles, reading and storytelling.

For more information on the chess clubs, contact David Bright at dbright58@hotmail.com. For more information on the other activities contact Mable Martinez Barber. Both are available at the library or by calling 264-2208.

Postcards on sale at library

Special thanks to Pagosa Photography owner Jeff Laydon for his donation of 250 postcards featuring his beautiful photo of the Pagosa Skyrocket, lpomopsis polyantha in Latin, a rare pink and purple flowering plant that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes grows only here in Archuleta County. The postcards are on sale at the library for 50 cents each.

Historical novels

“ Pearl Harbor” is a novel by politician Newt Gingrich and novelist William R. Forstchen that combines real history with fiction. “Buddha” by Deepak Chopra is a novel about the life of a young prince who abandoned his inheritance to discover his true calling. “Code of the West” by Aaron Latham is an epic story of success, love and the complexities of the Old West.

New non-fiction

“Possible Side Effects” is a provocative collection of true stories by Augusten Burroughs, bestselling author of “Running With Scissors.” “Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA” by Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner covers the good and bad over the last 60 years at the agency.

Mysteries and thrillers

“Black Order” by James Rollins starts with a fire in a Copenhagen bookstore that ignites a relentless hunt across four continents. “The World To Come” by Dara Horn is a mystery that begins when a million-dollar Chagall painting is stolen from a museum during a singles’ cocktail hour. “Set Sail for Murder” by Carolyn Hart is another in the popular Henrie O. detective series. In “Spare Change,” Robert B. Parker’s Boston PI Sunny Randall joins forces with her father to crack a 30-year-old case. “Hollywood Tough” is the latest thriller by Stephen J. Cannell, this one involing murders among the glamorous Hollywood set. “Resolved” is a complex, suspenseful tale of justice in New York City, the 15 th in the series by Robert K. Tanenbaum.

Sea stories

“Empire of Blue Water” by Stephan Talty is a story of English pirates in the Caribbean – not the movie, the real thing. “The Sea’s Bitter Harvest” by Douglas A. Campbell tells of the thirteen days in January 1999 when four commercial clam boats sank in horrifying succession. “Abandon Ship!” by Richard F. Newcomb is the saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the Navy’s greatest sea disaster.

Humor

“Sun Tzu Was A Sissy” by Fortune magazine columnist Stanley Bing is a humorous advice book about how to succeed in business and life. “Plato and Platypus Walk into a Bar …” by Harvard philosophy majors Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein bills itself as a crash course in philosophy via jokes.

Thanks to our donors

For books and materials this week we thank Shari Barcus, Paula Bain, Diane Bower, Norm and Teri Fragui, Bamma Laizure, Allen Layton, Janet McCoy, Susan McKnight, Richard Shildt, Eva Jean Sparks, Bonnie Stamford, Jim Van Liere and Lynda Van Patter.

Quotable quote

Socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor, who died at age 105 a few weeks ago, was asked who she wanted as guests at her 100 th birthday luncheon. She replied without hesitation, “One hundred librarians.” Mrs. Astor was famous for her incredible generosity to a wide variety of New York City causes, most notably the New York Public Library.

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