Find a new book, read a new author, go into a section of the library you've never been in...

That's what my coworker answered when I asked: "What is something new a person can do this year at the library?" And I took her
advice.
I found a new book. It's called The Book of Marie by Terry Kay. Now, I'm familiar with Terry Kay because he wrote To Dance with the White Dog, a hauntingly beautiful story about love, family and relationships. And it was not only a wonderful book, but a great movie. I loved them both.
The Book of Marie is the story of a generation -- whites and blacks -- who ignited the war of change. Yet, it is also as much about the power of place -- the finding of home -- as it is about the history of events. The story is about native-born Southerner Cole Bishop, who accepts the traditions of segregation as a way of life, and Marie Fitzpatrick, a transplant from Washington, DC, who is a brilliant and assertive nonconformist with bold predictions about a new world that is about to be ushered in by the force of desegregation. The odd friendship between the two of them continues after high school through a series of tender and revealing letters. The story revolves around the 50th reunion of the Overton High School class of 1955. Bishop is reunited with classmates who have accepted a guarded assimilation of the races. And he's reacquainted with two black men -- the town's mayor and a reclusive artist. It's in those encounters that he comes to understand clearly the influence of Marie on his life.
Next, I found a new author. In our 7-Day-Loan section I found Michael Koryta and his book A Welcome Grave. Koryta is the Edgar-nominated author of Tonight I Said Goodbye, his first novel that was published when he was just twenty-one. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, where he has worked as a newspaper reporter and private investigator. Tonight I Said Goodbye won the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America contest for first novel and the Great Lakes Book Award for best mystery and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for best first novel. His novels have been translated into several languages. You can visit his website at http://www.michaelkoryta.com/.
A Welcome Grave, his third book, features private investigator Lincoln Perry, once a rising star on the Cleveland police force. His career ended when he left one of the city's prominent attorneys bleeding in the parking lot of his country club -- retribution for his affair with Perry's fiancee. However, some time later, when the attorney is dead (but not because of Perry), his widow calls upon Perry for a favor: track down the attorney's estranged son, who is partial beneficiary of the dead man's fortune. How Perry ends up in a rural jail is something for you to find out. Looks like a
good read!
As I headed back toward the Large Print section of our library, thinking that was the new section I'd check out, I passed Science Fiction and stopped. Ah ha! This is a new section I've never ventured into. A Plague of Angels by Sheri S. Tepper caught my eye. A flying dragon, a castle turret, and a misty moat graced the cover of the book. Turning to the back cover, I read that Tepper has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the most timely and influential science fiction writers of our time.
A Plague of Angels deals with a witch, who peers out into a world of faded pageantry, archetypal villages, and gang-filled cities of violence and plague. She knows there are terrible, enigmatic creatures called walkers, who search for the scattered remnants of mankind who sought a better world. In another part of the countryside, a young girl, who lives in an enchanted village, is growing into a beautiful woman. And somewhere nearby, a young man is seeking adventure after running away from his family's farm. As the terrible walkers scour the countryside, the young man and woman begin separate journeys toward each other. Read how these two people and the witch all come together and share a destiny that will change their world forever.
OK! I've done something new in this library to begin my New Year. How about you? What are you going to do? Come visit us and find a new book, read a new author, and check out a section you haven't visited yet. They're all here, waiting for you. . .