It's time for armchair traveling

     It's cold outside!  But the sun is shining!  And that makes me want to get in my car and go traveling...somewhere, anywhere.  About this time of year I get the wanderlust.  My dictionary says that's a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.  Yep!  That's me!
     If you get the same wanderlust, there are several ways you can travel if you don't have the pocket money or stamina to get in your car and head off into the wild, blue yonder.
     My first way to travel is the television, of course.  I love to watch the Travel Channel, even if they do take me to some cold countries.  Two of my favorite shows are Rudy Maxa's world and Rick Steves' travels.  The other night I visited Scotland with Rudy and the night before it was Ireland with Rick.  Can't beat that kind of traveling.
     Your computer is also a good way to "rove about."  I just spent some time doing a virtual tour provided by Armchair Travel, an online company that lets you visit the world through 360 panoramas, music, movies, games and more.  I took a few minutes to tour part of the Taj Mahal in India, the Kew Gardens in London, as well as St. Paul's Cathedral, and did a quick visit of Oman on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula.  You can take the same trips by visiting http://www.armchair-travel.com/.
     There's also another fun trip to take by visiting Joe McMichael's Globe Genie (just Google that one).  I played around with it long enough to find 4th Street South in Cordele, Georgia.  You can visit not only places in North America, but Europe, Africa, Asia and other parts of the world.  But beware! it's a random travel and more fun that way.
     There are many of us who like to listen to the radio to travel.  That's where NPR (National Public Radio) comes in.  Nancy Pearl is a librarian for NPR and once-upon-a-time in 2007 she had a column filled with books for armchair travel and adventure.  She suggested In Trouble Again: A Journey Between Orinoco and the Amazon; Travels in West Africa by Mary Henrietta Kingsby, a Victorian lady traveler who wrote about her adventures; Emily Eden's Up the Country and Susanna Moore's One Last Look, both books about India; and many other books about Canada, King Solomon's Mines, Baghdad, etc.  All good reading.  You can visit npr.org for more information.
      Of course, I love to sit in my soft rocker in the sunlight with a cup of hot tea and enjoy a good book.  When I checked our Pines System about travel, I found there are 567 items.  This includes print books, audio books, DVDs and videos.  The ones I found interesting are Riding the Iron Rooster by Train through China; The Kingdom by Sea: a Journey Around Great Britian; A Life on the Road with Charles Kuralt; Travel Photography, a Time-Life book; To Jerusalem and Back, a Personal Account; A Book of Travellers' Tales, and A Guide to the Georgia Coast.
     And you don't want to forget to look for DVDs and videos that will take you on wonderful adventures.
     There are two books, however, I've decided to check out.  One is Find Waldo Now and the other is I Should Have Stayed Home: the Worst Trips of Great Writers.
     Looks like I don't really need to get in my car and go anywhere.  There's plenty to do by staying home and traveling on my magic carpet.
     Now, what are you going to do about your wanderlust?  

What about those resolutions?

     Did I ask you earlier if you made any new year's resolutions?  Well, I did.  But I'm wondering if I should have.  I mean, after all, aren't they made to be broken?  (Someone said that to me one time.)
     I have considered some things that I'd really like to have as resolutions.
     For instance, I would like to resolve to read more classics this year.  I've read Gone with the Wind and The Lord of the Rings.  We had to read War and Peace in school.  But I haven't read Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe.  So, maybe that should be one of my classics to read this year.  I must admit I tried to read Deliverance by James Dickey, but just could not finish it.  Maybe something else by Mr. Dickey would be more interesting to me.
     Another resolution I've considered is reading more non-fiction books.  For the past few years, I've been hung up on these fun little cozy mysteries.  In previous years I enjoyed biographies of famous people.  But I think it's time for me to get serious this year about a few non-fiction books.  And just thinking about that makes me curious as to what I might find here at our library.
     I've also resolved to clean out my bookcases at home.  Do you have books that you're holding onto for some reason...don't know the reason, but just keeping them?  Well, why not find another home for those books, so they can enrich some other person's life?  If they're in good condition, clean, no torn pages, etc., consider passing them on to the library.  If they're in poor condition, find another home for them or trash them.  But move them along.  You'd be surprised how much room in your bookshelves you can open up for other great books to read (then pass on also).
     My best resolution for 2011 is this...life is too short; read all you can as fast as you can and enjoy a good book!!!
     By the way, we've got plenty of them here at our library.
    

Jackie Cooper is coming!!!

     If you've gotten this far, then I know you've been on our home page and you've seen the information about Jackie Cooper coming to the library.
     Jackie is a wonderful human being who just happens to be an author, critic of films and books, a columnist, and speaker for various events.  He's known in middle Georgia as the "entertainment man" since his entertainment reviews run in several newspapers and are shown on television. 
     His short stories have been heard on Georgia Public Radio and his books are the type of "homey memories" that we all love to hear.  If I didn't know better, I'd think Jackie and Bailey White are related. 
     Jackie's current books are Journey of a Gentle Southern Man, Chances and Choices, Halfway Home, The Bookbinder and The Sunrise Remembers.  And you can be sure another one is on the way as you read this.
     Well, back to him coming to the library.
     On Saturday, January 15th, Jackie is going to give a memoirs-writing workshop, 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the library auditorium.  Our address is 204 5th Street, S.E., only a few blocks away from the courthouse in the center of town.
     The event is sponsored by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System and Sunbelt Writers.  It's supported by the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.  The workshop will show people who are interested in sharing their memories how to write them before they are lost and give future generations a sense of connection to their relatives.
     Jackie's no beginner at this sort of workshop.  He's taught his course at the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta; the South Carolina Book Festival; the South Carolina Writers Workshop; Yawn's Bookshop in Canton, Georgia; the Red Clay Writers Workshop in Kennesaw, Georgia; and at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton.
     The course is divided into eleven segments, which will open the class for lively discussions as well as specific instructions.  Jackie will use his own writing to illustrate various methods of capturing a reading audience.  He'll also review books he's critiqued and admired, as well as those he's found lacking.  Basic foundations of writing and methods to use the unique skills of the individual writer will be discussed.
     If your kids have been bugging you to tell them what it was like when you grew up, or if you have memories you want to just put on paper for yourself, or if you're a fan of Jackie's and his wonderful books, come join us.  Sign up now for a great time of being blessed through the knowledge and friendliness of one great writer...Jackie K. Cooper, the nicest, gentle Southern man I know.

Well, happy new year to you!

    You know, I feel I've been gone so long that I could hardly remember my password to the blog!
     How's your new year going?  If it's going like mine, it's already fast and furious.  The faster I try to go, the behinder I get.  There's been so much for all of us to do this first week back at work.  But you know what?  We're sure glad to be back.
     I did a lot of reading while I was off work.  And friends gave me a few books also.  In fact, one of them I want to tell you about. 
     It's called "50 Things to Do with a Book. (Now That Reading Is Dead)."  Isn't that a great title?  It's by Bruce McCall with a copyright of 2009.  Of course, it says right in the front of the book "No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews."  So, consider this a "review," but it's not necessarily critical.
     This little book, only about a 100 pages, will give you ideas what to do with all the books you happen to have if you're not going to read them.
     For instance, McCall says you can cut a circular baseball-sized hole in the center of a thick book, add two to four catgut strings across the hole and make a bookjo!  (Take off on banjo.)  Just imagine, you could have your own bookjo band.
     How about this?  Pull the spine of a fat book apart so that you have two or three hundred loose pages.  Throw the pages in the air, then reassemble the book without looking at the page numbers.  You could create a whole new literary work and possibly win a prize in some contest.
     There are lots of things McCall suggests you can build.  Such as...gluing 50 identical copies of the same thinnish hardcover book to a wall as a decoration; pile up unwanted or damaged books to build your own personal stairway to paradise; build your own individual "Bookhenge" in your backyard using stacks of books; or stack books side to side across a wide open landscape and make your own miniature Great Wall of China.
     You could fling a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" at a mouthy little bird.  How about setting up a whole line of "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" books across the top of a bookcase and creating a domino effect as the books fall into a heap on the floor?
     Well, you get the idea.  This is a clever and funny little book.  It won't take you long to read it and will help make your 2011 a little more laughable as you struggle to get your act together here in the first month of the year.
     McCall has written and illustrated satire in the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and other major publications.  He has published two books of humor, as well as a memoir.  And he's published a children's book, Marveltown.  "50 Things..." is published by HarperCollins and is considered a book of humor.
   

Closed for the holidays

     I always hate to say that...closed for the holidays.  It's hard for me to ever imagine a library being closed for anything.  Especially for the holidays.  But then, our staff needs time off just like others.  And being closed around Christmas time is probably the nicest time to be closed.
     But while we're closed I always wonder what those people will do who need to use our computers.  They're usually the ones who use the computer to job search, or do research for college classes, or just keep in touch with family and friends.
     I also wonder about those people who come to our library to get in out of the cold.  And it's been really cold lately for us Southern states.  The other day a staff member and I were talking about some of the homeless people who come to the library to get warm and get out of the cold wind.  They use our place as a refuge and even catch up on things they like to read.  I always wonder where they'll go while we're closed.
     Of course, there's been a great run on checking out books to read while we're closed.  Those items won't have to be returned until we reopen, so there's a nice long two weeks to read a stack of good mysteries, crime novels, or romances.
     And the children's books are going out in stacks also.  Especially the books about Christmas, Santa Claus, elves, and even the Grinch.
     So, let me tell you what the schedule will be.  The MCCLS libraries (includes the Doerun Library and the Odom Library) will be closed from Saturday, December 18th, at 5:30 p.m. until Monday, January 3, 2011 at the regular times (8:30 a.m. for headquarters and 2 p.m. for Doerun).
     Just writing 2011 looks strange, doesn't it?  However, after we're closed for the holidays that's the number we'll be using.
     I'd like to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.  I hope all of you will be "open" for the wonderful opportunities that come your way in 2011.  And we'll be open for you also.  Happy holidays!

The new Rosner Estate books are coming in

     Not too long ago I told you about a gift from the Estate of Joanna Rosner.  Well, the books are coming in!  Ms. Rosner's gift was to definitely include books by Anne McCaffrey and I see several on the list of "here now."
     If you're a fan of McCaffrey, you'll be delighted to know that we have on our shelves the following books:  All the Weyrs of Pern, Dragondrums, Dragongirl, Dragonheart, Dragonquest, Dragonsblood, Dragonsdawn, Dragonseye, A Gift of Dragons and Dragon's Fire.  And there are more to come.
     If you like to quilt, be sure to pick several of Jennifer Chiaverini's books.  She has a series about the Elm Creek Quilters.  On the shelf we have The Aloha Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel, The Christmas Quilt, Circle of Quilters, The Cross-Country Quilters, and The New Year's Quilt.  All of these books seem to fit right in with our holiday season.
     For all you coffee lovers, you'll be delighted with the books by Cleo Coyle.  Look for Decaffinated Corpse, Espresso Shot, French Pressed, Latte Trouble, Murder Most Frothy, Roast Mortem, Through the Grinder, and Holiday Grind, with more to come.
     Susan Conant has the Dog Lover's Mysteries: The Barker Street Regulars, Evil Breeding, Gone to the Dogs, and Ruffly Speaking.  And Denise Swanson has the Scrumble River Mysteries: Murder of a Barbie and Ken, Murder of a Royal Pain, Murder of a Small-Town Honey, Murder of a Sweet Old Lady, and Murder of a Wedding Belle.
     Be sure you look for the Aunt Dimity series by Nancy Atherton (Aunt Dimity is a ghost), the Hope Street Church Mysteries by Jennifer Stanley, and the Chet and Bernie Mysteries by Spencer Quinn.
     And for all you food lovers, be sure to look for the Wine Country Mysteries by Ellen Crosby, the books by B. Haywood (Town in a Blueberry Jam and Town in a Lobster Stew), Jeffry Cohen's Some Like It Hot-Buttered, Avery Aames' The Long Quiche Goodbye, Riley Adams' Delicious and Suspicious, and Julie Hyzy's Eggsecutive Orders.
     Of course, there are many more books to list.  Instead of me listing them here, you can find them listed in our Pines System.  Look for books by Mary Clay, Emilie Richards, Mary Maffini, Jessica Conant-Park, Elizabeth Lynn Casey, Christy Evans, Jennie Bentley, Laura Childs, Richard Castle, Kate Carlisle....  The list goes on and on.
     You really need to come visit us and see all these new books on the shelves.  If the titles don't draw you in, the fascinating covers certainly will.
     And I can guarantee you this...we have so many books from the Rosner Estate gift that we can keep you reading for the entire year of 2011.  Well, maybe not all of it, but the biggest part anyhow.  Enjoy reading!  You'll never regret making the time to lounge in your favorite place and hold a good book in your hands while you get totally involved in a magical place called imagination.

Have I told you about Darrell Huckaby?

     I haven't?  Well, lordy mercy, let me tell you about this funny man!
     He's an author who has been called "Garrison Keeler with a Southern accent."  He's been called "the South's hidden literary treasure."  He's a syndicated columnist, a noted author, a teacher and a public speaker.
     And he's going to here at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library on Monday, December 6th, at 7 p.m. to tell you all about grits and catfish, the flag of the South and the Civil War (not what he calls it), and road trips, Georgia football, and his family.
     Darrell draws from his own experiences about growing up in Newton County, Georgia's mill village of Porterdale.  He writes about everyday life in America the way it is, the way it used to be, and the way he thinks it should be.  He'll make you laugh, occasionally cry, and sometimes shake your head in disbelief.
     In fact, when you come see him on Monday, you'll even be able to purchase his books, which include What the Huck!, Dinner on the Grounds (a great cookbook), Grits is Groceries (my favorite), Southern is as Southern Does, Need Two and Need Four.  And if you want, he'll even autograph the books for you.  (Think of it this way, you will be purchasing some of the best Christmas gifts you can give; you can't give anything better than a book!)
     Oh, yes!  Since Darrell is a graduate of the University of Georgia and writes a syndicated column called The Dawgbone each week during football season, I bet you can even get him involved in a good discussion about those Georgia bulldogs!
     Come join us!  We expect to have a good time.
This project is sponsored by MCCLS and supported by the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.