By Carole Howard and the Library Staff

If you are one of the many millions of Americans who are contemplating New Year’s resolutions right now, we have several new books at the library that might inspire you. Among them:

• “Reposition Yourself” is six hours of taped sacred and secular advice by T. D. Jakes to help you adjust to the many changes that life brings.
• “Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)” is advise from advertising pioneer and dynamic corporate executive Cathie Black, especially relevant for women.
• “Come on People: On the Path from Victims to Victors” by Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint tells inspiring stories of people who have turned their lives around – at home and in their community – rather than becoming victims of their circumstances.
• “Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day” is a religious and inspirational book by Joel Osteen that also is available on CD.
• “You: Staying Young,” part of the bestselling YOU series by Doctors Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz, is now available on CD.
• “Just in Time!” is a new cookbook by Rachael Ray to help you put healthy, home-cooked meals on the table any night of the week in 30 or fewer minutes. It is one of more than 250 cookbooks we have at the library, many concentrating on healthy meals.

Holiday cookies

If you’d like recipes for holiday cookies from some very good local cooks, the library has recipe booklets from Pagosa holiday cookie exchange parties over the last six years. They are available in a binder called Holiday Cookies behind the circulation desk. You’re welcome to review them but not take them out of the library. If you want to copy any of the recipes, you may do so free on the library’s copy machine.

Christian fiction

“’Twas the Night Before: A Love Story” by Jerry B. Jenkins is a story about a professor and a newspaper reporter facing life questions and concerns about faith with a plot that brings romance, good cheer and hope for the Christmas season.

Science fiction

We have all three of the Distant Cousin series – “Distant Cousin,” “Reincarnation” and “Repatriation” – by Al Post, who lives on a ranch in south Texas. Also, sci-fi fantasy fans might want to try Christopher Stasheff’s “Wizard in a Feud.”

Books making headlines

Retired NBC-TV anchor Tom Brokaw’s latest is “Boom! Voices of the Sixties,” stories of famous people and ordinary citizens from that remarkable decade. We also have this book as a CD. “The Tao of Warren Buffett,” by Mary Buffett and David Clark, offers you a collection of pithy and inspiring sayings by America’s favorite businessman and most famous investor.

Novels for youth

For kids in the third through seventh grades, we have four new books. “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” is a spellbinding tale of intrigue and murder on the high seas by Newbery Honor author Avi. “The Wanderer” by Sharon Creech is another sea story by another Newbery winner, this one about a 13-year-old girl sailing across the Atlantic to England. We have two new books from the Dear America historical series. “Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell” tells of her experiences on the trail in 1847 on the way to Oregon. “The Journal of Jesse Smoke, a Cherokee Boy” tells of his experiences on the Trail of Tears in 1838.

Adventure for teens

“Shackleton’s Stowaway” by Victoria McKernan is a novel about a fictional 18-year-old stowaway on the famous Ernest Shackleton exploration of the Antarctic continent in 1914.

Puzzles for all ages

“Crime and Punishment: My Cousin Phoebe” is another in the highly popular series of solve-them-yourself picture mysteries. Aimed at ages 8 through 80, this would be a fun book for grandparents to read with grandchildren. Or you can try to solve the mind twisters on your own.

Large print bestsellers

“Blood Brothers” is book one of a new Sign of Seven Trilogy by Nora Roberts. “T is for Trespass” is the latest in Sue Grafton’s alphabetical series featuring private eye Kinsey Millhone. “Alibi Man” is the latest thriller by Tami Hoag, bringing back the street-smart heroine of “Drak Horse.” “Anthony and Cleopatra” is Colleen Mc Cullough’s follow-up to “The October Horse.”

Books on CD

“Creation in Death” is the latest thriller by Nora Roberts, writing as J. D. Robb. “Ken Follett’s latest is a 36-CD audio version of “World Without End,” a sequel to his highly popular “The Pillars of the Earth.” “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer is the true story of a man who abandoned his well-to-do life to hitchhike to Alaska to live alone in the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. “Clapton: The Autobiography” is the memoir of rock star Eric Clapton. “Now & Then” is another Spenser mystery by Robert B. Parker.

Non-fiction books

“Playing for Real: Stories from Rocky Mountain Rescue” by Mark Scott-Nash conveys the passionate commitment and rewards of mountain rescue work. “Dateline: Troy” by Newbery Medal winner Paul Fleischman brings relevance and meaning to the Trojan War in a unique way, juxtaposing it with modern events from World War I to the War on Terror. “The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill” by David Ovason takes a closer look at the hidden magic and meaning of the money you use every day.

Thanks to our donors

Special thanks to Giving Tree contributors Dennis Caruzzi and Lisa Scott. Our gratitude also to Susan Kanyur for her donation, and to Gayle Hawkins for her contribution in memory of her mother, Elda Sterzing, for the purchase of children's books.

For books and materials this week we thank Sandy Bramwell, Peggy Cotton, Helen Hoff, Fran Jenkins, Marion Lednard, Barbara Lindley, Margot Linfoot, Karen Kauffman, Sanya Peterson, Vivian Rader, Sepp Ramsperger, Karen Ross and Natalie Tyson.

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