By Carole Howard and the Library Staff

The highly popular Lifelong Learning fall lecture series begins this Saturday, October 6 when a talk called “Pagosa Springs: The beginning years,” will be given by historian and SUN columnist John Motter, author of “Pagosa Country: The First Fifty Years.” The second lecture on October 13 will be “Speaking truth to power: The art of political cartooning, the presidency and the run-up to the 2008 presidential election,” presented by Judith Reynolds, who is a journalist, history professor and political cartoonist. There will be no lecture on October 20.

October 27 brings us “A Land Alone: Colorado’s Western Slope,” presented by Duane Smith, Southwest historian, author and Fort Lewis College professor. November 3 will be “Birds of Archuleta County,” when Linda Newberry, Southwest Colorado Regional Director of Audubon Colorado, will talk about the wonder of birds -- our inherent relationship to them, their identification, appreciation and preservation. The last lecture is November 10, “A Comparison of Native American and European Worldviews,” when Raymond Dutton explores the Hopi/Dine comparisonof tribal and western views about values, relationships, land, property, rituals, myths, andthe supernatural.

All lectures take place on Saturday afternoons at 3 p.m. at the library and are free to the public. These presentations help keep your mind agile and your life interesting. We hope you will join us.

Yoga lessons

“Babar’s Yoga for Elephants” by Laurent de Brunhoof is a charming book with color paintings of Babar, Celeste and their friends doing yoga movements and stretches. It’s written from Babar’s point of view, but just because he is the famous elephant of children’s books fame, do not mistake this book for one that’s just for kids. Part-time library staffer Nancy Cole showed it to her yoga class and they all agreed it offered some of the clearest descriptions of yoga moves they had ever seen. “This is definitely a book for all ages,” Nancy advises.

Books about birds

In honor of Linda Newberry’s upcoming November 3 Lifelong Learning lecture on birds and the establishment of a local Audubon chapter here in Pagosa Springs, we wanted to tell you about four new bird books. “Hawks” by Roger Tory Peterson is part of the Peterson Field Guide Series. “Raptors: Birds of Prey” was written and photographed by John Hendrickson. “The Enchanting Owl” is a Voyageur Wilderness Book by Connie Toops. “Feed the Birds” by Helen and Dick Witty tells how to attract birds of your choice to your feeders.

Local author writes for teens

Pagosa’s own Colleen Sue Liescheidt has written “Hatti on County Rd. 335” for teens. It’s about adjusting to life in the country. The teens in the story are challenged with many obstacles, and they do a great job of resolving various tribulations.

Thrillers and mysteries

Karen Slaughter’s latest crime novel is “Beyond Reach,” about a detective charged with a horrific murder in Georgia. “The Well of Lost Plots,” “Thursday Next” and “Something Rotten,” all by Jasper Fforde, are fun mysteries for those who love literary allusions.

Books about family issues

“The Cloud of Unknowing” by novelist Thomas H. Cook is the story of a family dealing with schizophrenia and death. “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder” by journalist and child advocate Richard Louv links the absence of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation to some of the most disturbing childhood trends including obesity, attention disorders and depression. In “Gifts,” a book edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper, 63 mothers of different ethnicity, world views and religious beliefs describe the gifts of respect, strength, delight, perspective and love which their children with Down syndrome have brought into their lives.

Large print novels

“ 74 Seaside Avenue” is the latest installment in the Cedar Grove contemporary romance series by Debbie Macomber. “Bones to Ashes” by Kathy Reichs is a suspense story about the discovery of a young girl’s skeleton in Acadia, Canada.

Books about real people

“Ambulance Girl” by Jane Stern is this anxiety-ridden writer’s account of how she became an EMT and learned a great deal about her town and herself as she helped the sick and injured. In “It’s All About Him: Finding the Love of my Life,” country music star Alan Jackson’s ex-wife Denise tells of the excitement of their life and the problems of their marriage, proving that personal struggles and marital issues can trouble even the richest and most famous in our country.

Quotable Quote

“Library websites, rich in resource information, are experiencing tremendous growth now that patrons can put books on hold and renew materials online. Patrons also can access expensive databases for free on line.” Denver Post, September 17, 2007. To access all this information and more, go to www.pagosalibrary.org.

* * *