Muskoka Lakes Public Library

Out with the Old

2012-01-19T18:40:00.000-05:00

Out with the old and in with the new is a traditional new year’s motto. Perhaps this is a motto that we would be better off thinking of as ‘out with the old and we don’t need the new’. January is a month of purging…purging pounds, purging bad financial habits, and purging the extra ‘stuff’ that clutter our lives both physically and mentally.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has many resources that may help in the process of purging your excesses. The complete clutter solution by C. J. Petersen promises to teach you to “organize your home for good” ; Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s advice in Debt-free forever will help you to “take control of your money and your life”. Dave Chilton, “significantly older and marginally wiser”, again offers his unique perspectives on the world of money in The wealthy barber returns. Get your children on the right financial track with the help of Pat Foran, of CTV’s Consumer Alert. Foran gives excellent advice in The smart savvy young consumer : how to save and spend wisely.

The library has many, many resources to jump start your diet and exercise programs, too. What better way to start your saving plan than to check books and movies out of the library for free instead of purchasing them? What are you waiting for? If your New Year’s resolutions include the promise to yourself to stop procrastinating then come to the library today and check out what we have to offer.

Everyone is encouraged to come out to discuss Room by Emma Donoghue, the January book club selection, on Tuesday, January 31 at 1:00 at the Port Carling branch. The Friends of the Library also encourage all library fans to attend the first meeting of 2012 on February 9 at 3:30. Kniterary is a popular event held weekly at 1:00 on Thursdays. Come join the gang!

Creative Kids Club commences Saturday, January 21, Story time on Tuesdays continues, and Winter art classes at the library with Nancy Gray Ogle will commence this month. (Please contact the artist at 705-764-0212 or ngrayogle@sympatico.ca). Interested in playing cards, Scrabble, or other board games? The library is the place for these activities too!

The library, where books and so much more, abound!

Canadians and Literature

2012-01-19T18:36:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of interesting Canadians sitting on the shelves of the library and they have wonderful stories to tell. Of course, the actual person is not here, but the accounts that they have penned invite you into their lives.

What compels a young, affluent Canadian to put on a uniform and risk his life for the controversial mission in Afghanistan? And how does his family cope with his loss when he is killed there?

“When I learned that my nephew, Captain Jeff Francis, had been killed by an IED in Afghanistan, I knew I had to do two things: help my sister and Jeff’s family survive his loss and—to deal with my own grief—finally understand why my nephew needed to become a soldier. Everyone thought that Jeff, who had been a thirty-year-old Ph.D. candidate in sociology, was immune to the family calling to military life. But five days before 9/11, he enlisted.” From the fateful day in 2007 when Jeff died, to his family’s long drive between CFB Trenton and Toronto where flag-bearing Canadians gathered in unprecedented numbers, Melanie Murray’s memoir For Your Tomorrow walks you through the paces of a family that has paid the ultimate price.

For years, journalist and amateur tailor JJ Lee tried to ignore the navy suit that hung at the back of his closet -- his late father's last suit. When he decides to finally make the suit his own, little does he know he is about to embark on a journey into his own past. The Measure of a Man: the story of a father, a son, and a suit is a moving and brilliantly crafted story of fathers and sons, of fitting in and standing out -- and discovering what it means to be your own man.

Can you make millions just by “visualizing yourself rich” as some business prophets suggest? Don’t buy it, says Kevin O’Leary in Cold Hard Truth: On business, money & life. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur and amass wealth, you’re going to have to work for it. But O’Leary, the much-feared and revered Dragon on the immensely popular show Dragons’ Den has good news for us: with the right guidance, focus and perseverance, you can turn entrepreneurial vision into lucrative reality and have the personal freedom that only wealth can buy.

Perhaps no other journalist has witnessed first-hand more Canadian sports milestones in the past quarter century than Hockey Night in Canada’s co-host Ron MacLean. Cornered is packed with inside accounts—some inspiring, many hilarious—from his early days as a part-time radio announcer and weather forecaster in Red Deer, Alberta, to his time hosting Hockey Night in Canada and the Olympics.

Laid up after breaking a leg, Canadian musical icon Ian Tyson learned the guitar, and drifted east, becoming a key songwriter and performer in the folk revival movement. But the West always beckoned, and when his marriage to his partner and collaborator Sylvia broke up and the music scene threatened to grind him down, he retreated to a ranch and work with cutting horses. Soon, he'd bought a ranch in Alberta and found a new voice as the renowned Western Revival singer-songwriter and horseman he is today. The Long Trail is Tyson's reflection on that journey.

Had your photo taken by library staff at one of the many past and ongoing events and activites? See if your photo made the cut by checking out the Muskoka Lakes Public Library blog, with the link to the photos, found by clicking onto the What’s New tab on the library website www.muskoka.com/library.

Winter Travel Ideas

2011-11-26T10:40:00.011-05:00

Are you thinking of enjoying a cruise vacation this winter? Steve Stern has sailed on more than 750 ships so it is a fair assessment to call him an authority on cruise vacations. Whether you are planning to sail the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the South Seas, Alaska, Southeast Asia, or the waterways of Europe, Stern’s guide to the cruise vacation, 2012 edition is a comprehensive guide, with details on all aspects of cruise ship travel. Updated annually, this edition lists descriptive information for all major cruise ships including each vessel’s history, vital statistics, appearance, itineraries, price range, and sport, dining, and medical facilities. Stern evaluates every detail using a star ranking as well as ratings in eleven specific categories. More than two hundred photographs of ships, decks, and interiors are included, along with actual ship menus and daily activity programs for each featured cruise line. This guide can assist you in selection the ship best suited to your taste, advises you on how to prepare for your cruise, and explains what to expect once you are onboard. Stern discusses every major port of call worldwide, listing details on attractions, beaches, hotels, restaurants, shopping, sports, and other recreation. He also includes guidelines on how to make the most of any eight-hour stay in port. People who’ve never cruised before or those who have but find themselves faced with a confusing onslaught of new ships need to know a great deal, and this book will go a long way in providing it.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has added other new travel books to the collection including Birnhaum’s Walt Disney World: expert advice from the inside source which includes up-to-date information on prices, changes, and new attractions for 2012, Frommer’s Italy, Fodor’s Caribbean. If you are planning on staying closer to home then Canada’s national parks and National Geographic guide to the national parks of Canada are worthwhile options.

A big thank you goes out to the Cranberry Festival which once again awarded money to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library Bala branch to add to the collection of books available for check out.

The Christmas season is fast approaching and the library has plenty of resources to help you to enjoy it—from entertaining ideas to gift making ideas, in books as well as current magazines which are chock full of great ideas. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library will be closed December 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, and January 1, 2 with regular operating hours for all other dates.

Friends of the Library AGM

2011-11-15T15:36:00.001-05:00

Are you a Friend of the Library? The Friends of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library is holding their Annual General Meeting on November 29 at 3:30 at the Port Carling branch and all library users are encouraged to come to the meeting.

Friends groups across the country play an important role in promoting and supporting libraries through many different avenues. “Friends of Libraries are volunteers acting collectively and independently to preserve, promote and strengthen library services in harmony with library management and policies.” (Friends of Canadian Libraries website www.accessola.com) The Muskoka Lakes Public Library is fortunate to have its own Friends group doing just that—strengthening the library service in our township. Consider supporting the library by supporting the Friends, a charitable organization that works hard to support the library to make it a better place for everyone. People interested in becoming a Friend of the Township of Muskoka Lakes Public Library can do so by printing off the membership form found on the library website and emailing to FriendsMLPLibrary@gmail.com or by returning the form to the Norma and Miller Alloway Library 69 Joseph Street Port Carling, Ontario. New members are always welcome ~ There is no membership fee to become a Friend but donations are always welcome and greatly appreciated. Receipts for income tax purposes will be issued on request.

Art Workshops for Adults with Nancy Gray Ogle 1:30-3:30: Thursday November 17, Painting with Acrylics; Thursday November 24 Portrait Drawing. $30 per class. Students supply their own materials. Registrations must be made in advance by contacting Nancy at 705-764-0212 or ngrayogle@sympatico.ca

Creative Kids Club Saturdays 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Book Club Meet on the last Tuesday of each month, September to April, for lively discussions of the selection of the month. Meetings are open to all and take place in the activity room at the Port Carling Branch Library. The next gathering will be on Tuesday, November 29th, when Linda McAuley will present, and the group will discuss, The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Hope to see you there!

Pre-School Story Time Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 Port Carling Branch Library. Pre-school stories, rhymes, finger plays, simple crafts. No pre-registration required. Children and adults meet in activity room for the craft of the week then meet upstairs at 11:00 am for stories, movement, and music. Some craft activities can be messy (which makes them FUN!) so please dress your child accordingly.

Kniterary Come out to the Port Carling Branch Library on Thursday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others. All welcome!

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

2011-11-15T13:39:00.002-05:00

November is diabetes awareness month in Canada. Today, there are more than 9 million Canadians living with diabetes or prediabetes. With more than 20 people being newly diagnosed with the disease every hour of every day, chances are that diabetes affects you or someone you know. Diabetes is a chronic, often debilitating and sometimes fatal disease, in which the body either cannot produce insulin or cannot properly use the insulin it produces. This leads to high levels of glucose in the blood, which can damage organs, blood vessels and nerves. The body needs insulin to use glucose as an energy source.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has resources to help you cope with diabetes and to help prevent it. Choice menus, cooking for one or two : quick and easy meals and menus to help you prevent or manage diabetes by Marjorie Hollands and Margaret Howard is one such resource offering a meal planning guide and cookbook for people with diabetes and for those looking for help to prevent Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes without drugs : the 5-step program to control blood sugar naturally and prevent diabetes complications by Suzy Cohen is another book that will help you cope with the disease. Based on breakthrough studies, Cohen's program claims to reveal how people with diabetes can reduce their need for prescription medication and minimize the disease's effect on the body.

Art Workshops for Adults with Nancy Gray Ogle 1:30-3:30: Thursday November 17, Painting with Acrylics; Thursday November 24 Portrait Drawing. $30 per class. Students supply their own materials. Registrations must be made in advance by contacting Nancy at 705-764-0212 or ngrayogle@sympatico.ca

Creative Kids Club Saturdays 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Book Club Meet on the last Tuesday of each month, September to April, for lively discussions of the selection of the month. Meetings are open to all and take place in the activity room at the Port Carling Branch Library. The next gathering will be on Tuesday, November 29th, when Linda McAuley will present, and the group will discuss, The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Hope to see you there!

Pre-School Story Time Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 Port Carling Branch Library. Pre-school stories, rhymes, finger plays, simple crafts. No pre-registration required. Children and adults meet in activity room for the craft of the week then meet upstairs at 11:00 am for stories, movement, and music. Some craft activities can be messy (which makes them FUN!) so please dress your child accordingly.

Kniterary Come out to the Port Carling Branch Library on Thursday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others. All welcome!

Operation Jubilee: Wednesday, 19th August 1942

2011-11-15T13:35:00.001-05:00

History might have been recorded differently if a skirmish between a German flotilla and British commandos hadn’t taken place in the seas off of Dieppe that August night in ’42. . The Germans were on alert, taking away a crucial element of the plan: the element of surprise. The raid across the English Channel, dubbed Operation Jubilee, took place on August 19, 1942. The target was a section of the French coast between Le Havre and Boulogne. The mission was meant to test Hitler’s defences in Europe. Lord Mountbatten’s original plan was to send flanking brigades inland to meet and attack the Nazi forces from behind, but plans were changed to a frontal attack but with little air support. The raids on Dieppe were a combined Canadian-British operation, with Canadian infantry forming the main body of the assault. Simultaneous assaults on Dieppe were to be conducted at three landing spots but through a series of errors and miscalculations this was not to be. In nine horrible hours, of the 5,000 Canadian soldiers involved in the attacks on Dieppe, 907 of our soldiers were killed and 1,300 were taken prisoner.

One of those prisoners, the father of staff member Barb Neibert, was Lt. A.L. Breithaupt who was one of the officers of the Calgary Regiment (14th Canadian Tank Regiment). Landing at was dubbed the Red & White Beach, Brethaupt’s Churchill tank, nicknamed Betty, got as far inland as the esplanade where it became bogged down in a hole. (Twenty-nine Churchill tanks successfully exited the landing craft at the beach with twenty-seven making it ashore. Fifteen managed to climb up and over the seawall on to Dieppe’s promenade but were thwarted further progress by the many road blocks.) Breithaupt was taken prisoner and moved to a camp at Eichstatt, Bavaria where he remained for almost three years.

Much in the fashion of the Great Escape movie during his imprisonment, he and other officers built two tunnels out of the camp to try and escape. About 60 escaped through the first tunnel but were quickly recaptured. When the second tunnel was ready they decided that it as best to have only three or four escape at a time. Two got as far as Switzerland but, not realizing that they had crossed the border, they crossed back into Germany where they were recaptured. During Breithaupt’s imprisonment he learned to knit and to needlepoint…activities to pass the many hours. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling is honoured to have on loan the petit point needlework that Lt. A. L. Breithaupt constructed while he was a POW at Eichstatt. The needlepoint depicts a camp scene of Oflag VII B. The public is invited to come and see the artwork and to chat with Barb about what she was told by her father of his war experiences.

Lt. Breithaupt, who according to his daughter Barb, did not like to talk about his war experiences, did pen a descriptive of the needlepoint outlining how he came to have the supplies to complete the project.

“The basic material was sent out by the Canadian Red Cross via Switzerland, and the Canadian Prisoners of War were given the opportunity of preference of choice of the different articles –not many wanted to do Petit Point.

“The wool and stencilled material was for a Maple Leaf. Lt. James Graham of the British Army, an architect in civilian life, suggested I do a camp scene. He tried to draw it on the fabric but as the material was too coarse for drawing, he made [a] sketch.

“The scene is one corner of the compound showing the barbed wire fence, the electrified trip wire which was about 12’ inform the fence, a sentry box and one of the dwelling huts. The flowers were from seed sent out to P.O.W.’s from Canada.

“The yellows and greens were the maple leaf colours. The dark green was a scarf; the browns were army wool socks, the white cloud was wool unravelled from G.I. underwear, the blue sky was wool unravelled from a hockey sweater and the greys from P.O.W. socks. To get the colours I did not have, I would walk around the compound looking at the men’s socks and offer to trade the owner the pair he had on, which were usually fullof holes, for a pair of clean either mended or new socks. The trade was readily performed.

“It took about five weeks of spare time during 1944, and this is one of the articles I carried when we were forced to march 120 miles in April 1945.”

Lest we forget.

The Library...more than just books

2011-11-15T13:31:00.002-05:00

The Library
(Barbara A. Huff)
It looks like any building
When you pass it on the street,
Made of stone and glass and marble,
Made of iron and concrete.
But once inside you can ride
A camel or a train,
Visit Rome, Siam, or Nome,
Feel a hurricane,
Meet a king, learn to sing,
How to bake a pie,
Go to sea, plant a tree,
Find how airplanes fly,
Train a horse, and of course
Have all the dogs you'd like,
See the moon, a sandy dune,
Or catch a whopping pike.
Everything that books can bring
You'll find inside these walls.
A world is there for you to share
When adventure calls.
You cannot tell its magic
By the way the building looks,
But there's wonderment within it,
The wonderment of books.

Art Workshops for Adults with Nancy Gray Ogle 1:30-3:30: Thursday November 17, Painting with Acrylics; Thursday November 24 Portrait Drawing. $30 per class. Students supply their own materials. Registrations must be made in advance by contacting Nancy at 705-764-0212 or ngrayogle@sympatico.ca

Creative Kids Club Saturdays 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Book Club Meet on the last Tuesday of each month, September to April, for lively discussions of the selection of the month. Meetings are open to all and take place in the activity room at the Port Carling Branch Library. During October’s meeting last week, Christine Featherstone gave an interesting and informative introduction to State of Wonder by Ann Patchett which was followed by an animated discussion and exchange of ideas. The next gathering will be on Tuesday, November 29th, when Linda McAuley will present, and the group will discuss, The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Hope to see you there!

Pre-School Story Time Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 Port Carling Branch Library. Pre-school stories, rhymes, finger plays, simple crafts. No pre-registration required. Children and adults meet in activity room for the craft of the week then meet upstairs at 11:00 am for stories, movement, and music. Some craft activities can be messy (which makes them FUN!) so please dress your child accordingly.

Kniterary Come out to the Port Carling Branch Library on Thursday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others. All welcome!

Literary Award Season

2011-11-15T13:24:00.001-05:00

The nights are definitely cooler and shorter now that fall has hit. Fall also brings the literary prize season and so it has begun.

The Man Booker Prize six-book shortlist was been announced in September. The list comprised of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, Snowdrops by A.D. Miller. On October 18 Julian Barnes was declared the winner the £50,000 literary prize. The Governor General’s literary awards have also been awarded and the Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist has been generated too. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt and Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan made all three shortlists. The Free World by David Bezmozgis made the cut on both Canadian lists. Come to the library in Port Carling or Bala and pick up your copy of one of the winners or shortlisted books and decide for yourself if it deserved the accolade.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library sincerely thanks those that participated in the Let’s Talk! workshops during last week’s Ontario Public Library Week events. Your valuable input into the discussions will help to guide the library’s direction and focus into the future! Thanks also to Sandy Crozier for facilitating the focus group discussions.

Congratulations to our Tuesday Pre-School Story Time participants! Their artwork won a first prize ribbon at the Bala Cranberry Festival last weekend! Come and see the prize-winner at the library in Port Carling where it will be hanging for the next little bit.

Creative Kids Club Saturdays Muskoka Lakes Public Library Port Carling 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Retro-Reads

2011-11-15T13:19:00.002-05:00

How well do you remember your high school books? Do you remember Holden, Atticus, Hagar, Francie, and other ‘ghosts’ from your literary past? Come to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library and you may be pleasantly surprised if you re-visit those books. Chances are you will have a different perspective on them now compared to when it was required reading in school. Or, perhaps, you have realized that you have not read many of the ‘classic’ books. Have fun identifying the books by the few lines given. (The answers are at the end of the column.)

1. “They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience”.

2. "In the future, when something comes up, you tell exactly how it happened but write down for yourself the way you think it should have happened. Tell the truth and write the story. Then you won't get mixed up.” It was the best advice Francie every got

3. “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”

4. “I know this … a man got to do what he got to do.”

5. “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

6. “Houses were shut tight, and cloth wedged around doors and windows, but the dust came in so thinly that it could not be seen in the air, and it settled like pollen on the chairs and tables, on the dishes”.

ANSWERS: [1.] Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11, spoken by the character Atticus. [2.] Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Chapter 26. [3] Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23, spoken by the character Atticus.[ 4] John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath ,Chapter 18. [5] J.D.Salinger The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield in Chapter 1, opening words of book. [6] .John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath Chapter 1

Thank you to all those from the community who took the time and effort to be part of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library Let’s Talk discussions yesterday. Your input for the vision of the library’s future is invaluable and greatly appreciated!

Ontario Public Library events continue today with special ‘guest’ library workers. Who will check your library books out today?

Special Evening Story Time: Teddy Bear Sleepover Thursday, October 20 at 6:15 pm Bring your favourite Teddy or another favourite furry friend to a pyjama story time. Then, when it's time for you to go, the Teddies spend the night in the library in Port Carling for their very own sleepover… no humans allowed! Pick up your friends the next day after 10:00 am and find out what fun they had in the library overnight!

Creative Kids Club Saturdays Muskoka Lakes Public Library Port Carling 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please

Let's Talk and Teddy Bear Sleepover

2011-11-15T13:18:00.000-05:00

Let’s talk about your Muskoka Lakes library on Tuesday October 18, 2011. Interested in joining a 90 minute session, held in small groups of 7-9, with a professional facilitator? The library would like to have a cross-representation of community members including library users and non-users, business owners, educators, parents, youth, seniors, etc. from across the Township. Please consider submitting your name, contact information and preferred Focus Group time to pclib@muskoka.com, 705-765-5650, or sign up at the Port Carling branch library.

Special Evening Story Time: Teddy Bear Sleepover Thursday, October 20 at 6:15 pm Bring your favourite Teddy or another favourite furry friend to a pyjama story time. Then, when it's time for you to go, the Teddies spend the night in the library in Port Carling for their very own sleepover… no humans allowed! Pick up your friends the next day after 10:00 am and find out what fun they had in the library overnight!

Creative Kids Club Saturdays Muskoka Lakes Public Library Port Carling 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Euchre Port Carling Branch Library on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your playing cards and join other Euchre enthusiasts. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Scrabble Port Carling Branch Library on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00. Chance to enjoy a game of scrabble with other interested players. The library has a limited number of boards and tiles, or bring your own if you wish. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Leftover Love

2011-10-13T17:37:00.001-04:00

Looking for new ideas to use up the turkey? Check out Love your leftovers : feed your friends & family for next to nothing. Offering up new twists on classic dishes this cookbook shows that with a little inspiration, leftovers can be easily transformed into brand new delicious meals.

We in Muskoka are luckier than most in that we also get to celebrate and savour the cranberry harvest. The Bala Cranberry Festival, which always takes place the weekend following Thanksgiving, features marsh tours, craft shows, street carnivals, entertainment, and of course, those wonderful cranberries. Cookbooks featuring Bala’s famous red berry, can be found on the library shelves in the Dewey decimal 641 section.

If you are looking for traditional recipes or are ready to leap into new ethnic culinary delights for this bountiful season, then check out the many resources available to you at the Muskoka Lakes Library. There is an abundance of magazines and books bursting with mouthwatering dishes for you and your family to enjoy. Young children can learn about the holiday along with some of their favourite book characters by exploring the seasonal books found in the children’s department and in the crafting section of the young adult area.

Let’s talk about your Muskoka Lakes library on Tuesday October 18, 2011. Interested in joining a 90 minute session, held in small groups of 7-9, with a professional facilitator? The library would like to have a cross-representation of community members including library users and non-users, business owners, educators, parents, youth, seniors, etc. from across the Township. Please consider submitting your name, contact information and preferred Focus Group time to pclib@muskoka.com, 705-765-5650, or sign up at the Port Carling branch library.

Special Evening Story Time: Teddy Bear Sleepover Thursday, October 20 at 6:15 pm Bring your favourite Teddy or another favourite furry friend to a pyjama story time. Then, when it's time for you to go, the Teddies spend the night in the library in Port Carling for their very own sleepover… no humans allowed! Pick up your friends the next day after 10:00 am and find out what fun they had in the library overnight!

Creative Kids Club Saturdays 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Euchre Port Carling Branch Library on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your playing cards and join other Euchre enthusiasts. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Scrabble Port Carling Branch Library on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00. Chance to enjoy a game of scrabble with other interested players. The library has a limited number of boards and tiles, or bring your own if you wish. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Let's Talk

2011-10-06T18:18:00.000-04:00

What are your experiences, perceptions and expectations of your library? What is important about your library? Where do you see your library in five years? What barriers do you face when using your library? Let’s talk about your Muskoka Lakes library on Tuesday October 18, 2011. Interested in joining a 90 minute session, held in small groups of 7-9, with a professional facilitator? Group meeting times are 9:30 to 11am; 11am to 12:30pm, and 4pm to 5:30pm. Refreshments will be served. The library would like to have a cross-representation of community members including library users and non-users, business owners, educators, parents, youth, seniors, etc. from across the Township. Please consider submitting your name, contact information and preferred Focus Group time to pclib@muskoka.com, 705-765-5650, or sign up at the Port Carling branch library. All participants will be contacted to confirm.

Pre-School Story Time 10:30-11:30 at the Port Carling Branch Library. Pre-school stories, rhymes, finger plays, simple crafts. No pre-registration required. Children and adults gather in activity room for the craft of the week then meet upstairs at 11:00 am for stories, movement, and music. Some craft activities can be messy (which makes them FUN!) so please dress your child accordingly.

Kniterary Come out to the Port Carling Branch Library on Thursday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others. All welcome!

Creative Kids Club Back for another season. Saturday October 15 to December 3 from 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Euchre Port Carling Branch Library on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your playing cards and join other Euchre enthusiasts. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Scrabble Port Carling Branch Library on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00. Chance to enjoy a game of scrabble with other interested players. The library has a limited number of boards and tiles, or bring your own if you wish. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Vote!

2011-10-06T18:13:00.002-04:00

Ontario votes next week. Have you made up your mind who you are voting for yet? A little background information on how we govern ourselves might be in order for many of us. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has resources for you: About local government and A kid's guide to local government both prepared by the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks, and Treasurers of Ontario; June 2009 as well as The government and politics of Ontario edited by Graham White. Old man Ontario : Leslie M. Frost by Roger Graham is a biography of the man that was premier of Ontario from 1949 to 1961.

Pre-School Story Time commences Tuesday September 27, 10:30-11:30 at the Port Carling Branch Library. Pre-school stories, rhymes, finger plays, simple crafts. No pre-registration required. Children and adults gather in activity room for the craft of the week then meet upstairs at 11:00 am for stories, movement, and music. Some craft activities can be messy (which makes them FUN!) so please dress your child accordingly.

Kniterary Come out to the Port Carling Branch Library on Thursday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others. All welcome!

Creative Kids Club Back for another season. Saturday October 15 to December 3 from 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.

Book Club Meet on the last Tuesday of each month, September to April, for lively discussions of the selection of the month. Meetings are open to all and take place in the activity room at the Port Carling Branch Library.

Online Book Club Can’t make the meeting? Join us virtually! Check out the Muskoka Lakes Public Library’s Facebook page and join in the fun by clicking on the Discussion link and posting your comments about the selected book for that month

Euchre Port Carling Branch Library on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your playing cards and join other Euchre enthusiasts. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Scrabble Port Carling Branch Library on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00. Chance to enjoy a game of scrabble with other interested players. The library has a limited number of boards and tiles, or bring your own if you wish. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

2011-09-22T17:59:00.000-04:00

Leonard Sax is an American family physician, research psychologist, and has been published in a wide variety of prestigious journals, including American Psychologist, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Journal of the American Medical Association. He has been a featured guest on many television and radio programs. Dr. Sax claims that “something scary is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, they are less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. As for young men, it turns out the film Failure to Launch is not far from the truth. Fully one-third of men ages 22-34 are still living at home with their parents-about a 100 percent increase in the past twenty years. Boys nationwide are increasingly dropping out of school; fewer are going to college; and for the first time in American history, women are outnumbering men at undergraduate institutions three to two. Parents, teachers, and mental health professionals are worried about boys. But until now, no one has come up with good reasons for their decline-and, more important, with workable solutions to reverse this troubling trend.” In Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on his clinical experience to propose “an entirely original view of why boys and young men are failing in school and at home.” He argues that a combination of social, cultural, and biological factors is creating an environment that is literally toxic to boys, ranging from environmental estrogens to the over-prescription of ADHD drugs. And he presents practical solutions-from new ways of controlling boys’ use of video games, to innovative (and workable) education reforms.

Car seat laws are changing as of January 1st, 2012. What does that mean for your child? Is your child in an appropriate seat? Do you know how to tell? 10,000 kids are injured or killed in Canada each year in motor vehicles. Properly using an appropriate child restraint is the single best thing you can do to improve your child's safety in the car. More than 80% of seats aren't installed or used properly. Do you know if you are in that 80%? Avoid common car seat errors that most parents make, increase your child's safety in the car, and avoid a traffic ticket Come and find out with certified car seat tech Jen - friendly, informative,and FREE! cvcarseattechs@gmail.com to book your date and time Sept.16-29.

Pre-School Story Time commencing Tuesday September 27 10:30-11:30 Port Carling Branch Library. Pre-school stories, rhymes, finger plays, simple crafts. No pre-registration required. Children and adults meet in activity room for the craft of the week then meet upstairs at 11:00 am for stories, movement, and music. Some craft activities can be messy (which makes them FUN!) so please dress your child accordingly.

Kniterary Come out to the Port Carling Branch Library on Thursday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others. All welcome!

Book Club Meet on the last Tuesday of each month, September to April, for lively discussions of the selection of the month. Meetings are open to all and take place in the activity room at the Port Carling Branch Library. September’s meeting is a Meet and Greet session.

Spinning Reels

2011-09-22T17:58:00.001-04:00

Thank you Spinning Reels! The Muskoka Lakes Public Library has, once again, received a very generous donation from Spinning Reels of Muskoka to supplement the DVD collection. Spinning Reels is a non-profit group of film lovers that regularly bring out-of-the-mainstream movies to the big screen in Bracebridge for the enjoyment of all. Some of those same films, as well as many others, have been added to the set of movies available for check out at the Port Carling branch thanks to the funds received from the Spinning Reels organization.

Car seat laws are changing as of January 1st, 2012. What does that mean for your child? Is your child in an appropriate seat? Do you know how to tell? 10,000 kids are injured or killed in Canada each year in motor vehicles. Properly using an appropriate child restraint is the single best thing you can do to improve your child's safety in the car. More than 80% of seats aren't installed or used properly. Do you know if you are in that 80%? Avoid common car seat errors that most parents make, increase your child's safety in the car, and avoid a traffic ticket Come and find out with certified car seat tech Jen - friendly, informative,and FREE! cvcarseattechs@gmail.com to book your date and time Sept.16-29.

Pre-School Story Time commencing Tuesday September 27 10:30-11:30 Port Carling Branch Library. Pre-school stories, rhymes, finger plays, simple crafts. No pre-registration required. Children and adults meet in activity room for the craft of the week then meet upstairs at 11:00 am for stories, movement, and music. Some craft activities can be messy (which makes them FUN!) so please dress your child accordingly.

Kniterary Come out to the Port Carling Branch Library on Thursday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others. All welcome!

Creative Kids Club Back for another season. Saturday October 15 to December 3 from 11-12:30. Children 8 and up welcome. FREE but please pre-register. 705-765-5650.
Book Club Meet on the last Tuesday of each month, September to April, for lively discussions of the selection of the month. Meetings are open to all and take place in the activity room at the Port Carling Branch Library.
NEW Online Book Club Can’t make the meeting? Join us virtually! Check out the Muskoka Lakes Public Library’s Facebook page and join in the fun by clicking on the Discussion link and posting your comments about the selected book for that month

NEW Euchre Port Carling Branch Library on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00. Bring your playing cards and join other Euchre enthusiasts. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

NEW Scrabble Port Carling Branch Library on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00. Chance to enjoy a game of scrabble with other interested players. The library has a limited number of boards and tiles, or bring your own if you wish. Non- competitive fun for all skill levels.

Magazines and Television

2011-09-22T17:53:00.001-04:00

Magazines available at the Muskoka Lakes Public Library cover topics such as news, health, consumer, modern living, teen, entertainment, science and technology, local and international travel, parenting, cooking, and other specific interests. Keying the word magazines into the electronic catalogue, available online at www.muskoka.com/library, will guide you to a selection of over 100 titles. Want advice on camping? Try Family Camping & Canoeroots. Looking for some financial information? Perhaps Canadian Business or Money Sense will be of assistance. Also, take time to investigate the online electronic databases for hundreds of other choices. Canadian Points of View Reference Centre has a vast array of articles from Canadian, as well as international, newspapers and magazines all available 24/7 with your Muskoka Lakes Public Library card.

The library has had many generous donations of DVD and Blu-ray movies and television series including a very popular series, Dexter. Based on Jeff Lindsay's novels Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter, this is a crime thriller that follows Dexter Morgan, a forensic blood spatter expert for the Miami Police Department. He has a steady girlfriend, with two kids who adore him. He also has an active "night life". Based on a code instilled in him by his foster father, Harry, he hunts down people who have escaped justice and makes sure they don't get away with a crime again. It's a hard accomplishment to get someone to actually love a serial killer bit Dexter is one of those few attempts that works.

It's Easy to Become a Friend

2011-08-26T16:17:00.002-04:00

Summer is winding down and fall events are in the works. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library book club meets on the last Tuesday of each month, September to May, for lively discussions of the selection of the month. Meetings are open to all (note to all you men: it’s open to you too!) and take place in the activity room of the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling at 1:00pm. Plan to drop in on September 26 for a meet and greet. Everyone is asked to bring a pot luck snack and a favourite book. The selections for the coming season have been chosen and are as follows: October 25, 2011 Empire Falls by Richard Russo; November 29, 2011 The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson; January 31, 2012 Room by Emma Donoghue; February 28, 2012 A Discovery of Witches by Debra Harkness; March 27, 2012 The Bridge Club by Patricia Sands; April 24, 2012 The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton; May 29, 2012 Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.

A wonderful celebration of community took place at the library on Thursday, August 18 in honour of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library. It was a testament to the community to see the many individuals from across the Township who came together to revel in the day. A big thank you to all who came out to make the day extra special! Thank you also to the Minettones for their lovely singing voices, to Port Carling Foodland for the refreshments, to Nola McConnan who demonstrated the art of bookmaking to a multi-generational audience, to all those who donated items for the Friends of the Library silent auction, to the Friends group themselves who organized a great variety of activities including the silent auction, the contests for the children, the model train display, the native Singing Birds group, and the spectacular anniversary cake. Hopefully, it is more evident than ever to the general public the important role that the Friends group plays in the support network for your library. If you are not yet a Friend, please do consider supporting them by joining the group or making a donation. Also, they will soon be having nominations and elections to fill executive positions and would welcome new people to the organization. Call the library at 705-765-5650 or email them directly at FriendsMLPLibrary@gmail.com.

Booker Prize Season

2011-08-18T18:35:00.002-04:00

As summer winds down, thoughts turn to the fall announcements of literary prizes. The longlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction - the ‘Man Booker Dozen' was announced on the 26th of July. The 13 books on the list include: one former Man Booker Prize winner; two previously shortlisted writers and one longlisted author; four first time novelists and three Canadian writers. The list includes: Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending; Sebastian Barry On Canaan's Side; Carol Birch Jamrach's Menagerie; Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers ; Esi Edugyan Half Blood Blues; Yvvette Edwards A Cupboard Full of Coats; Alan Hollinghurst The Stranger's Child; Stephen Kelman Pigeon English; Patrick McGuinness The Last Hundred Days; A.D. Miller Snowdrops; Alison Pick Far to Go; Jane Rogers The Testament of Jessie Lamb; D.J. Taylor Derby Day. The shortlist of six authors will be announced on September 6 and the winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction will be announced on Tuesday October 18, 2011.

The four first time novelists on the list are Stephen Kelman, A.D. Miller, Yvvette Edwards and Patrick McGuinness. Canadian author Alison Pick, like McGuinness, is a published poet and is joined by fellow Canadians, Patrick deWitt and Esi Edugyan, on the longlist.
The list includes one former winner, Alan Hollinghurst, who won the prize in 2004 for The Line of Beauty. He was also shortlisted in 1994 for The Folding Star. Two previously shortlisted authors also make the list: Irish writer Sebastian Barry (The Secret Scripture, 2008 and A Long Long Way, 2005) and Julian Barnes (Arthur and George, 2005, England, England, 1998 and Flaubert's Parrot, 1984). Carol Birch was longlisted in 2003 for Turn Again Home.

Thursday August 18: 10th Anniversary Celebration! Native singing group, silent auction, special displays and judging of Room in a Box and Lego creations, model train display, Nola McConnan author/illustrator of ABC Muskoka for interactive book reading and signing, cake, refreshments ...all to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of The Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling! Drop in and join the celebrations that are happening all day! Don't forget to sign the Guest Book while you are here!

Friday August 19 for ages 8-108 yrs 1:00-4:00pm Painting Classes with Nancy Hunter $35 Pre-register at the library.

Saturday August 20 for adults 10:00-12:00 pm Native walking-stick workshop. Sponsored by Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library.Facilitated by storyteller Priscilla Yellowhead Tobey of Saugeen Territory. $40 Pre-register at the library 705-765-5650

Wednesday August 24 for 3-7 year olds 10:45-11:30 Muskoka Reads! Story time The people that supply emergency ambulance services to the area are this week’s guests. Their mascot, BandAide Beaver will be here too! After the story, participants will be invited to explore the ambulance.

True Adventure

2011-08-18T18:26:00.001-04:00

True adventure stories make for very gripping reads. A recent addition to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library collection in this genre, in both book format and DVD format, is 127 Hours or as first published, Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Hiking into the remote Utah canyon lands, Aron Ralston felt perfectly at home in the beauty of the natural world. Then, on one fateful April day in 2003 at 2:41 P.M., eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, an eight-hundred-pound boulder tumbled loose, pinning Aron's right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. Through six days of hell, with scant water, food, or warm clothing, and the terrible knowledge that no one knew where he was, Aron eliminated his escape option one by one. Then a moment of stark clarity helped him to solve the riddle of the boulder--and commit one of the most extreme and desperate acts imaginable. Honest, inspiring, and undeniably astonishing, 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place has taken its place in the annals of classic adventure stories.

On August 5, 2010, at the San Jos mine in northern Chile, 33 men were entombed 2,300 feet below the earth when a slab of rock the size of a skyscraper sheared off the mountain and sealed shut their only access to the surface. The miners were discovered alive 17 days later, and for the next seven weeks after that discovery, as rescuers sought to bring them to the surface, the eyes of the world shifted to this previously obscure corner of South America. Award-winning journalist Jonathan Franklin reported, recorded, and filmed from the front row of the operation as it unfolded and was afforded unprecedented and unique access to the miners and the rescuers. He tells their full story in 33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners.

In October 2008, Melissa Fung, a long-time journalist for CBC's The National, was reporting on the effects of the war in Afghanistan on the local population. As she was leaving a refugee camp outside of Kabul, she was grabbed by armed men claiming to be Taliban, stabbed, stuffed into the back of a car and driven off into the desert. Under an Afghan Sky is the gripping tale of Fung's days in captivity.It is a powerful book about survival and the indomitable spirit of one woman in the most perilous of circumstances.

Yoga in a Muskoka Chair with Sue Brown August 16, 11am . Introduce yourself to the gentle ancient art of yoga. FREE but space is limited so please pre-register.

Have you checked out the fundraising Silent Auction yet? The bidding closes on August 18 during the 10th anniversary celebration day of the opening of the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library. There are more than 40 fantastic items to bid on! There is still plenty of time to pick up information on the Lego and Room-in-a-Box build-it-at-home competitions…fun for the whole family!

Golf in Muskoka

2011-08-18T17:59:00.001-04:00

Muskoka, home to more than thirty golf courses, for the weekend hacker to the professional golfer, from fully public to ultra-private is a golf-holiday destination Scattered throughout Muskoka, golfers can find championship courses designed by some of the world's best golf course architects, including Nick Faldo (The Rock), and Robert Cupp (Deerhurst Highlands).

In Back Spin the fourth novel from Harlan Coben's award-winning Myron Bolitar series, Coben proves again why he is one of today's must-read suspense authors. This time the sports agent and sometime sleuth probes the mystery of a teenager's disappearance and finds a family whose darkest secrets explode into murder. The boy was born and raised on the tony Main Line. But he vanished on Philadelphia's mean streets. For Myron Bolitar, his client, golf superstar Linda Coldren, comes first - and that means unraveling the mystery of her son's kidnapping. But when Myron goes after the missing boy, he crashes through a crowd of lowlifes, blue bloods, and liars on both sides of the social divide. And as Linda's golf-pro husband suddenly makes a run at the U.S. Open championship, the family's skeletons burst out of the closet. Myron is about to find out just how deadly this game can get. In an ingenious thriller that crackles with wit and suspense, whose characters all but leap alive from the page,

Golf My Own Damn Way : A Real Guy's Guide to Chopping Ten Strokes Off Your Score by John Daly who approaches the game of golf from a slightly different perspective than your average two-time major winner. "How different? Well, for starters, Long John thinks the PGA Tour ought to permit Bermuda shorts, make carts mandatory, let him wear his hair down to his butt if he wants to, and strip-search tournament patrons at the entrance gate to keep cameras and cell phones off the course." Not your typical golf instruction manual, Daly’s take on how to improve your game of golf, will sure to have you laughing out loud as he gives solid, practical ideas to cure ‘bunkerphobia’, advice as to why you should occasionally leave your big dog in your trunk, the best way to ‘grip it so you can rip it’, how to watch your weight, and what golf and sex have in common. Daly also tells you why you should keep your head out of the game, let your belly lead your hands, listen to your right foot, check your ball position - and buy a hybrid. Still hankering for more of the Big Guy? John Daly’s autobiography My Life In and Out Of The Rough : The Truth Behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know About Me gives a rip-roaring account of his roller-coaster life and career. Daly's play-it-as-it-lies approach drives his candid memoir.

Featuring an eight-page photo insert, and written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Don Van Natta, Jr., Wonder Girl is the extraordinary story of a nearly forgotten American superstar athlete. Born in Texas in 1911, Babe Didrikson Zaharias won Olympic gold in track and field, could throw a nasty curveball, achieved all-American status in basketball, was an expert diver, played billiards like a shark and won more consecutive golf tournaments than any player in history. Even in an era that frowned on women’s sports, she was celebrated as a true superstar. At the height of her fame, she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all: go public and try to win again with the hope of inspiring the world.

His ability made him a star but it was his passion that made him a legend. Robert "Bobby" Tyre Jones Jr. was perhaps the most naturally gifted golfer in the history of the game. Battling a disabling illness and a volcanic temper Jones struggled through a succession of early defeats to reach the pinnacle of his sport - becoming at age 28 the only man ever to win the coveted Grand Slam of golf (four top tournaments in less than four months) in 1930--as a passionately committed golfer who silently endured chronic pain (a spinal disorder prompted his early retirement at age 28), stomach ailments, emotional torment, and borderline alcoholism while maintaining amateur status in the sport he so magnificently dominated. But it was his devotion to his wife Mary that led to the astounding announcement that shocked the world in this inspirational true story of one of sport's greatest icons. Jim Caviezel plays the leading role in, Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius, with a supporting cast of Jeremy Northam, Walter Hagen, Malcolm McDowell, and Claire Forlani.

Perhaps you can’t find anything funny about your golfing abilities but many authors have used golf and humour as the basis for their novels. A Match Made in Heaven by Bob Mitchell falls in this category. Elliott Goodman, having just suffered a serious heart attack, receives a visit from God in the emergency room. Asking him why he deserves to live, God decides to offer Elliott a chance at salvation by playing a golf game against opponents such as Shakespeare, Socrates, Freud, and Picasso.

Missing Links by Rick Reilly is the story of four middle class buddies who live outside of Boston and for years have been utterly obsessed with golf and a regular foursome at Ponkaquoque Municipal Course, and Deli, the single worst golf course in the US. Just adjacent to these municipal links lies the Mayflower Country Club, the most exclusive private course in all of Boston and a major needle in their collective sides. Frustrated by the Mayflower's finely manicured greens and snooty members, they set up a bet: $1,000.00 apiece, and the first man to somehow finagle his way on to the Mayflower course takes all. Shanks for Nothing is Reilly’s madcap sequel and little has changed at the Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Club. Both Missing Links and Shanks for Nothing are tremendously funny and fun-spirited novels about the smaller pleasures in life and enjoyable reads for anyone who is even remotely in love with the game of golf.

Free golf workshop on August 4 at 6:30 Golf: The tools of the trade in your golf bag and how to use them with CPGA Pro Douglas M. Reid. Pre-registration preferred. Ages 14+ Bring your own golf bag. 705-765-5650

Rock the library! Introduce yourself to the latest fitness craze with personal trainer/kinesiologist Chelsey Peatling on August 4. Zumba combines Latin and International music with a fun and effective workout system. This introduction to Zumba is for participants 10+ and will be held after hours at the upper level of the library. FREE but space is limited so please pre-register.

Yoga in a Muskoka Chair with Sue Brown August 16, 11am . Introduce yourself to the gentle ancient art of yoga. FREE but space is limited so please pre-register.

Have you checked out the fundraising Silent Auction yet? The bidding closes on August 18, the 10th anniversary celebration day of the opening of the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library.

10th Anniversary Celebrations

2011-07-28T16:23:00.002-04:00

Much to a lot of people’s surprise The Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library was officially opened on August 18, 2001…already ten years have passed since then! To help celebrate the momentous occasion the library, with the help of the Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library, have planned some special events to take place on the anniversary date. For the next month visitors to the library will be able to bid on some wonderful items in the Friends’ silent auction. Also for the next month, children, teens, adults, and family groups are invited to put their creative minds and hands to work to construct literary-themed Room-in-a-Box and LEGO creations to be displayed and judged on anniversary day.

Mark your calendars and plan to join in the festivities on August 18 that will take place throughout the day. The Minettones, a group of local singing talent, the Wahta Singing Birds, a Native singing and drumming group, the silent auction, the special displays and judging of Room in a Box and Lego creations, a model train display, BBQ hotdogs and sausages, Nola McConnan author/illustrator of ABC Muskoka for interactive book reading and signing,...all to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening. The official cake cutting ceremony and welcome to the next decade of The Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling will take place at 11:00 where you might see some familiar faces from the past and present.
Drop in and join the celebrations that are happening all day and please do take the time to sign the Guest Book while you are here!

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library has an exciting new opportunity for library card holders: “Your Muskoka Lakes Public Library Card Has Value.” This venture teams the library with merchants to bring members special deals and discounts. By presenting a Muskoka Lakes Public Library card at the time of purchase members receive discounts and/or special deals. Watch our website for participating businesses. www.muskoka.com/library

The summer events are in full swing at the library in Port Carling. The website has the complete list as does the summer event brochure available at the library in Port Carling. Don’t miss out as some of the events require pre-registration.

Story time, geared for 3 to 7 year olds, with guest readers from the community come to the library in Port Carling on most Wednesdays at 10:45 during the summer months. This week Mayor Alice Murphy will be the guest and July 27 enjoy a visit from veterinarian Dr. Peter Jones who will bring Dave-the-dog with him.

Yoga in a Muskoka Chair with Sue Brown July 26 & August 16, 11am . Introduce yourself to the gentle ancient art of yoga. FREE but space is limited so please pre-register.

Rock the library! Introduce yourself to the latest fitness craze with personal trainer/kinesiologist Chelsey Peatling on August 4. Zumba combines Latin and International music with a fun and effective workout system. This introduction to Zumba is for participants 10+ and will be held after hours at the upper level of the library. FREE but space is limited so please pre-register. 705-765-5650

Become a Friend

2011-07-18T10:46:00.002-04:00

Are you a Friend of the Library? Friends groups across the country play an important role in promoting and supporting libraries through many different avenues. “Friends of Libraries are volunteers acting collectively and independently to preserve, promote and strengthen library services in harmony with library management and policies.” (Friends of Canadian Libraries website www.accessola.com) The Muskoka Lakes Public Library is fortunate to have its own Friends group doing just that—strengthening the library service in our township.

Recent projects have included special book sales and organizing and funding of Native craft workshops (two more this summer!…check it out on the website www.muskoka.com/library or within the library in Port Carling for details). The beautiful garden barrels, canoe, and back garden have been funded, planted, and tended by Friends of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library. Inside the library has had the benefit of The Friends of the Library too. They have organized, and currently have on display, an art exhibit by the Brown Baggers. When the circulation desk needed an overhaul the Friends of the Library came to the rescue with funds for the project. Asked to help with the celebration activities for the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling this year, the group collectively came up with some very imaginative and exciting events including two all-ages competitions, a silent auction, Native singing and drumming, and refreshments for the special tenth anniversary day on August 18, 2011… all this from a small core group of volunteers!

Consider supporting the library by supporting the Friends, a charitable organization that works hard to support the library to make it a better place for everyone. People interested in becoming a Friend of the Township of Muskoka Lakes Public Library can do so by printing off the membership form found on the library website and emailing to FriendsMLPLibrary@gmail.com or by returning the form to the Norma and Miller Alloway Library 69 Joseph Street Port Carling, Ontario. New members are always welcome ~ There is no membership fee to become a Friend but donations are always welcome and greatly appreciated. Receipts for income tax purposes will be issued on request.

Friday July 15, 1:00-4:00 8-108 yrs Painting Classes with Nancy Hunter $35 Pre-register at the library.

Saturday July 16, 10:00-12:00 adult Native drum-making workshop. Sponsored by Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library. Facilitated by storyteller Priscilla Yellowhead Tobey of Saugeen Territory. $130 Pre-register at the library

Wednesday July 20, 10:45-11:30 3-7 yrs Muskoka Reads! Story time Mayor Alice Murphy will read a story and talk about what it’s like to be a mayor.

Competitons to Celebrate the Library

2011-07-02T14:05:00.001-04:00

Hard to believe that another school year has come to an end and summer activities are about to start in full swing. Hopefully the weatherman is correct in the prediction that the summer of 2011 will offer some warm and sunny weather. It is also hard to believe that it was ten years ago this August that The Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling opened its doors for a grand opening celebration. In honour of the momentous day, the library is offering some special activities and events including two ‘build-it-at-home’, all ages competitions using a literary theme.

ROOM IN A BOX COMPETITION: Create a 12”-14”x7”-10” ROOM IN A BOX of your favourite character from a book! LEGO® BUILDING COMPETITION: Use your own LEGO®, Duplo, Megablocks or other LEGO® compatible bricks to build an original LEGO® creation of your favourite scene or character from a book. Entrants can work alone or as a family or a group of friends. Pick up information and guidelines at the Library after July 11.Entries will be displayed at the Library as part of the Library’s 10th anniversary celebrations. Winners will be announced Thursday August 18.

Teens are invited to the library after hours on Thursday July 7 at 7pm to try Zumba with personal trainer Chelsea Peatling. Come and rock the library! Free but space is limited so please call the library to reserve your spot 705-765-5650.

July 6, 2011 2:00pm Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling
Conservation Through Education: Reptiles at Risk ...on the Road!
The program is presented in two parts, beginning with a 40-45 minute presentation about various native species. This is followed by a hands-on experience where the audience is given the opportunity to touch or hold many of the animals and ask questions. Many of the species at risk in Ontario, and we feel that education plays an important role in increasing the odds that these animals will be present for future generations.
All ages. Free.

Keep abreast of library events at www.muskoka.com/library

The local Brown Baggers artists have a collection of their work on display in the library in Port Carling. Come and check out the local artistic talent.

System Upgrades

2011-06-22T11:27:00.000-04:00

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library is due for upgrades to its operating system. While these upgrades are taking place, June 23 and 24, the library will be closed. The catalogue and account information will not be available during this time. The after-hours book drop will be available for returns.

Many exciting programs and activities have been planned for the next couple of months. All are posted on the webpage www.muskoka.com/library on the events page. First in the line-up happens tomorrow, June 16, after school. Children in JK to grade 4 are invited to join teachers Amy and Lindsay for a special Father’s Day creative hour from 4:30 to 5:30. Please phone the library to reserve your spot 705-765-5650.

On July 7 Rock the library! Introduce yourself to the latest fitness craze with personal trainer/kinesiologist Chelsey Peatling. Zumba combines Latin and International music with a fun and effective workout system. This introduction to Zumba is for participants 14+ and will be held after hours at the upper level of the library. FREE but space is limited so please pre-register.

Art Classes Children from ages 8 to 12 are invited to challenge their creative potential this summer on Thursdays under the artistic guidance of artist and children's book illustrator, Nancy Gray Ogle. $20 Pre-register with the artist at 705-764-0212.

Get ready to dive headfirst into the chosen theme for this year's TD Summer Reading Club, Splash! Celebrate summer at the library. Kids, 12 and under, who register with the local library for the TD Summer Reading Club receive a poster, stickers and an activity book all free as a part of their reading kit. July 2-August 27

Kniterary Don't knit alone! Share patterns, get inspiration, discuss your latest project, or venture into book discussions at the Muskoka Lakes Public Library. Enjoy conversation and have fun! Knitters and other needlecrafters at all levels welcome. Just bring your supplies and get knitting! Thursdays 1:00pm.

Saturday July 16 from 10:00-12:00 adults are invited to a Native drum-making workshop sponsored by Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library. $135 Pre-register at the library.

Muskoka Murder

2011-06-06T13:20:00.001-04:00

When you hear ‘murder mystery’, does Muskoka come to mind? Gravenhurst author Liam Dwyer gives us Ian Murdoch, retired OPP homicide investigator, in his popular series of books based in Muskoka. Even readers that don’t normally enjoy this genre of book will enjoy reading the stories that take place in our own backyard. All six novels are set in Muskoka and feature Ian Murdoch as he reluctantly is thrown back into the homicide detective business when a corpse washes up on the shores of his Lake Muskoka cottage. Murder in Muskoka the first in the series, is where we first meet Ian Murdoch. This is followed by Gold & Greed, Muskoka Cross & Double Cross, Muskoka Death & Diamonds, Muskoka Bound & Betrayed, and Muskoka Rage & Retribution.

Interested in other Muskoka books? The Muskoka Bibliowiki website claims to be the world’s most comprehensive listing of information on books about Canada’s renowned Muskoka District, Algonquin Park, Georgian Bay, and Parry Sound District. The searchable database collects information about all known print literature relating to this area, offering a dynamic collection of bibliographic information, both factual and experiential, as a research tool. The search results show you which library in the area has it in their collection or where else you might view the document or book that you are interested in. They ask for help in expanding the database by adding books, articles, and papers on Muskoka, Georgian Bay, Parry Sound or Algonquin Park and by submitting any corrections, or additional information, for existing entries. The Muskoka Bibliowiki website is found at www.muskokabooks.ca/bibliowiki.html

Keep abreast of the ever-expanding calendar of events through the Muskoka Lakes Public Library website and clicking on the events tab. There are a variety of events taking place in the coming months that will be of interest to many. www.muskoka.com/library

A very special Father’s Day story and craft time for children in JK to grade four will take place at the library in Port Carling on Thursday, June 16 from 4:30 to 5:30. The workshop is free but since space is limited pre-registration is required. 705-765-5650.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling will be closed for library computer operating system upgrades June 23 and 24, 2011. Library catalogue and account information will not be able to be accessed from home nor from the library during this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. The after-hours drop boxes will be open for returns.

Booker, Reader, and Diver

2011-06-01T16:28:00.002-04:00

Booker Bear, Reader Raccoon, and Diver, the new mascots for the library, have arrived. Watch for pictures of them in and around the library throughout the year.

New Reads Abound

2011-06-01T14:29:00.001-04:00

Some wonderful reads are available for take-out from the New Book Shelf this week including the following four books.

Featuring an eight-page photo insert, and written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Don Van Natta, Jr., Wonder Girl is the extraordinary story of a nearly forgotten American superstar athlete. Born in Texas in 1911, Babe Didrikson Zaharias won Olympic gold in track and field, could throw a nasty curveball, achieved all-American status in basketball, was an expert diver, played billiards like a shark and won more consecutive golf tournaments than any player in history. Even in an era that frowned on women’s sports, she was celebrated as a true superstar. At the height of her fame, she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all: go public and try to win again with the hope of inspiring the world.

The Total Outdoorsman Manual, written by the editors of Field &Stream, is packed with 374 hunting, fishing, survival, and camping skills. A great book for Muskokans of all stripes, the book is beautifully illustrated, is filled with practical and smart advice on every page, has some of the best insider's tips available, has great recipes, and all the fundamentals to help you enjoy (and maybe even survive) the outdoors as much as possible.

Author Wayne Tefs translates fact to fiction in his newest novel, Bandit: A Portrait of Ken Leishman. In 1966, Ken Leishman stepped onto the Winnipeg Airport tarmac and into the pages of Canadian history as the mastermind behind the country’s largest gold theft. By then, Leishman had already gained Dillingeresque notoriety as a gentlemanly bank robber when he brazenly— and politely—held up a bank in Toronto. Master storyteller Wayne Tefs imagines what happened behind the “Flying Bandit” headlines, intermingling the full-on action of the gold heist with the story of a smart but troubled kid growing up in a stifling small prairie town.

The Delta Solution is an action-packed novel dealing with the Somali pirates operating off the southerly reaches of the lawless East African republic on the Indian Ocean. If you like Vince Flynn, Steve Berry, and James Rollins, then be sure to check out this thriller by Patrick Robinson.

Thank you to all who supported the Friends of the Library book sale on the Victoria Day weekend. The funds raised will be used to further support the Township of Muskoka Lakes Public Libraries. Missed the sale? A great variety of used books continue to be offered for sale at the Port Carling branch.

We also invite you to check out the Muskoka Literary Trail www.muskokaliterarytrail.com. This is an exciting initiative linking several different literary events and organizations around Muskoka. With events occurring throughout the district during the spring, summer and fall, literary enthusiasts can follow the trail to exciting author talks, book festivals, readings and presentations.

Looking for summer employment? If you are a full- time student between the ages of 14 and 30 who will be returning to school on a full- time basis in September, with a keen interest in libraries then this might be the perfect job for you. This part-time position begins June 27 and includes evenings and weekends at the Ontario minimum wage rate. Applicants must have own transportation and be willing to drive to alternate location as required. Please submit resumé to S. Durand at pclib@muskoka.com by June 3, 2011.

Library services in the Township

2011-05-24T13:18:00.000-04:00

As you may have noticed there have been articles in this newspaper recently regarding the upcoming discontinuation of library service at Milford Bay and Walkers Point. After many years of collecting and compiling usage statistics for both the Milford Bay and Walkers Point library deposit stations, (by definition deposit stations are library outlets that are open less than 12 hours), the Muskoka Lakes Public Library Board has come to the fiscally responsible, albeit difficult conclusion that the Township taxpayer would be better served by closing both outlets. Closure is due to lack of membership, lack of usage and cost of operation per member at the two locations. To confirm what the statistics illustrated, the Library Board also consulted The Ontario Public Library Guidelines and the Ontario Public Libraries Act. The Library Board’s decision will ensure that library funds are spent in accordance with the approved budget and in such a way as to best meet the needs of the residents of Township of Muskoka Lakes who presently use the Township Library facilities.

The Library Board is pleased to announce, however, that the community of Milford Bay has made a proposal to Council to become a Community Book Exchange operated by volunteers. Walkers Point is also in the process of developing a plan that would see the facility managed by volunteers. To assist in this forward thinking endeavour, the Library Board will assist with the transition, leaving the collection of books and videos as well as the furnishings at each of the facilities.

Pick up your summer reading material at The Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library Used Book Sale at the Port Carling branch on Saturday, May 21 from 10:00 to 2:00. Come and find some fantastic deals!

Summer Student employment opportunity available. Visit the website for full details. www.muskoka.com/library

So much is available with your library card

2011-05-24T13:14:00.000-04:00

Are you using your Muskoka Lakes Public Library to the fullest? The library has a wonderful collection of books and so much more all available with your library card.

There are more than 750 DVDs, 240 VHS movies, thousands of ebooks and e-audiobooks for loan including free downloads of books to your e-Readers. The numerous databases available electronically are current, accurate, and free with your Muskoka Lakes Public Library card. Get information on travel, car repair, health and wellness. Get suggestions on new reading material based on what your current interests are in fiction and non-fiction. The material available is exhaustive and available 24/7 from the comfort of your own home.

Have you been unsuccessful finding a certain book at the Muskoka Lakes Public Library? Interlibrary Loan is a cooperative service among libraries for obtaining materials not available in local library systems. Items requested are located, ordered, and, if available for loan, shipped by mail or other delivery services to your local library for pickup. Again, all for free with your library card.

Let Elf help you manage your library loans and holds. Check out the new service available through the library website found at www.muskoka.com/library Let ELF help you avoid overdue charges with email alerts before the book is due!

The Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library, a volunteer support group for the library, is hosting a used book sale at the Port Carling branch on Saturday, May 21 from 10:30 to 2:00. Come and find some fantastic deals on used books. The Friends are also putting together an array of summer programming. Watch the website for details of events as they are finalized.

Election Reads

2011-05-06T16:28:00.001-04:00

The election is over. Did your vote count?

CBC has compiled a list of 10 ‘must read’ political books that they felt should have been read before the federal election. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has five of the books included in the list.

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis was the CBC Canada Reads 2011 champion and winner of the Leacock Award. The story presents a candidate no one ever dreamed of: a man who puts the national interest ahead of his career, and does what’s best for the country, not what’s best for his popularity. If you’re tired of “politics as usual,” Terry Fallis’s refreshing send-up of the political scene is the perfect antidote.

Wayne Johnston creatively and vividly re-imagines Joey Smallwood’s journey from a small-town Newfoundland newspaper apprentice to an iconic political figure. By adding drama, intrigue and unforgettable companions to the life of one of Canada’s most beloved figures, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams became one of the best fictional renderings of Canadian politics ever written.

Richard Gwyn’s 2009 biography of Canada’s first prime minister won the Charles Taylor Prize for non-fiction and it’s easy to see why. John A: The Man Who Made Us is a riveting and humanizing account of the man who helped Canada achieve confederation, and offers insight into the circumstances that led him to become so politically driven.

The 1960s ushered in a wave of change for North America, and with it came new social values and new ideas about government. Brian Lee Crowley explores this shift in Fearful Symmetry: the fall and rise of Canada’s founding values and makes a persuasive argument for why returning to a pre-1960s mentality would benefit our country. Readers may not agree with Crowley’s findings, but this is a book that will have everyone thinking about what Canada is becoming — and what kind of country Canada should be.

Dennis Gruending has put together a collection of the most influential speeches in Canadian history. From Nellie McClung arguing for women’s right to vote to David Suzuki discussing climate change, Great Canadian Speeches offers a first-hand look at the words that changed Canada, and the people brave enough to speak them.

Wednesday morning story and craft time has wrapped up until next autumn. It was a great season of stories, crafts, songs, and activities. Watch the website and signs for other library programs offered throughout the summer and fall seasons.

Great Reads

2011-05-06T16:25:00.002-04:00

This week we highlight two titles that might be of interest as you look for that next great read!

Every picture may tell a story but so, too, could used cars. Leamington native Bill Sherk, a syndicated columnist for thirty Canadian newspapers, has published a collection of old car stories in Old car detective: favourite stories, 1925 to 1965. With the book spanning forty years, Sherk has endeavoured to select at least one story for each year (except for the war years of 1943 to 1945, when no new cars were built) and to include at least one story from every Canadian province. In this book you will meet the man in New Brunswick who chopped the top off his 1927 Whippet sedan in honour of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II; the young fellow from Kingston, Ontario, who thought his 1937 Ford coach looked better with all four fenders taken off; the owner of a 1947 Hudson that burned so much oil he had to wear a snorkel mask while driving it; the father who borrowed his son's hot rodded '53 Monarch (built only in Canada) and got pulled over by the police for street racing; and the grandmother who moved from England to Canada and drove her Morris Minor on the wrong side of the road. Behind every old car there's a story waiting to be told.

Canada, with its vast and unreachable territories, was an important testing ground for all aspects of early aviation. Jim Shilliday, journalist and former RCAF jet fighter pilot, has penned a beautifully illustrated history of both civil and military aviation in A Memory of Sky: a pilot’s view of Canada’s century of flight.

The next meeting of the Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library, a volunteer, charitable, organization comprised of individuals from across the Township of Muskoka Lakes, is Thursday, April 7 at 7pm at the Port Carling branch. Friends help raise funds to purchase equipment and materials not available through the regular Library Budget, strive to increase the use of the library facilities and services and help nurture the appreciation of literature and culture in our communities, and work throughout the year to provide programs for children and adults that will be of interest and value to the community. The Library Board and the Township of Muskoka Lakes Municipal Council are responsible for the operation of the Township libraries. The Friends support the Library Board and Library staff to help make our libraries a comfortable and stimulating place to be. New members are always welcome. There is no membership fee to become a Friend but donations are always welcome and greatly appreciated. Receipts for income tax purposes will be issued on request.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library Board will be having their next meeting on Tuesday April 12 at 3:00 p.m. at our Bala Library location. All meetings are open to the public and we invite anyone interested to attend. Meetings are held at 3:00 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month.

Liz Taylor

2011-03-30T15:13:00.003-04:00

Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who died on March 23 aged 79, made more than 50 films, won two Oscars, was a grandmother at 39 and was married eight times to seven men. Despite headlines of failed marriages and drug addictions, for more than half a century Elizabeth Taylor remained a much-loved public idol, symbolizing the grace and beauty of an earlier film era. Ellis Amburn, an accomplished biographer of many celebrities leaves no stone unturned in The most beautiful woman in the world : the obsessions, passions, and courage of Elizabeth Taylor, a detailed retelling of Taylor's life and loves. Amburn interviewed more than 500 directors, actors, and friends of the actress to create this intimate portrait of the actress, from her role in National Velvet through her tireless work on behalf of AIDS research.

It was Taylor's persistence in campaigning for the role of Velvet Brown in MGM's National Velvet that sky rocketed Taylor to stardom at the age of 12 although her acting had financially supported her family since the age of nine. Taylor's character, Velvet Brown, is a young girl who trains her beloved horse to win the Grand National. The film became an overwhelming success upon its release in December 1944. Many years later Taylor called it "the most exciting film" she had ever made and the film changed her life forever. Although it vastly increased her star power, many of her later back problems were traced to injuries from her falling off a horse during its filming. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has two of Elizabeth Taylor’s films in DVD format, National Velvet (1942) and Divorce his, divorce hers (1972 TV movie co-starring Taylor’s fifth and sixth husband, Richard Burton). Also check out the three disc set Larry King live: the greatest interviews to hear and see King’s interview with Elizabeth Taylor.

Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle is pleased to announce the launch of their 2011 Book List. The launch will take place at the Port Carling branch of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library, 69 Joseph St., Port Carling at 11:00 am on April 2, 2011. The launch of the 2011 Book List will be the first Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle Event for 2011. On the weekend of June 3-5, 2011, Muskoka Chautauqua and Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle will hold the signature event of 2011, Literary Weekend with Linden MacIntyre and Friends. The program theme is Secrets and Guilt in Literature and the Media, and features some of our most gifted authors and personalities recognized the world over for their talent and depth of enquiry. For more information go to http://www.muskokachautauqua.ca/or call 705-765-1048.

Join Ric Haroutunian, a financial security advisor, for an informative retirement planning seminar at the Port Carling branch library on Thursday, April 14 at 3:00pm. No cost but please confirm your attendance by contacting the library at 705-765-5650 or emailing Ric at Richard.haroutunian@f55f.com.

Aging Succesfully

2011-03-30T14:47:00.007-04:00

Smart, capable people are doing dumb things with their money. They can teach high school, write a marketing plan, navigate the Metro in Paris, file their own taxes, brew their own beer, program a PVR, and even raise teenagers. And still, these smart, capable people often do dumb things when it comes to their money. In Moolala : Why smart people do dumb things with their money (and what you can do about it), business journalist, professional coach, and popular speaker Bruce Sellery provides a guide for those who, when it comes to managing their money, could use a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. The goal of Moolala is simply stated: To inspire you to get a handle on your money so you can live the life you want. Through an engaging combination of interactive exercises, personal stories, and practical advice, the book takes the reader through five steps to improve financial well-being. Inspiring, informative, and fun, Moolala claims to transform the way you think about your money — and your life.

Are you ready to live a long time, or do you dread it? Recent medical advances mean we could live longer, but doesn’t guarantee the quality of that life. In the words of one senior, "We're not living longer, we're dying longer." The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. Getting older doesn't have to mean living a limited life. Canadian author Lyndsay Green has interviewed forty successful seniors to talk not just about the problems of old age but its strength and benefits. These seniors were from all walks of life and from all over the country, living in Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston and Halifax, aged 75 to 100. They have been identified as the self-reliant seniors we would like to be and they share their wisdom and strategies for independent and happy living. You could live a long time: are you ready? combines their advice with cutting edge research, to arrive at specific suggestions for what we should be doing now to prepare for old age, and includes resources to help us implement the advice, including: Money isn't everything, and won't cure ill-health or loneliness. Cultivate new friendships now. To keep your dignity, give up your pride. You need a work plan, instead of a retirement plan To keep a home, consider leaving your house. If you push too hard to stay young you'll get old faster. The unique message is that we should not try to avoid old age. Instead of trying to do the impossible to stay forever young, Green comes to the radical conclusion that in order to get as much as possible out of our old age we will need to embrace it.

The adventure begins when Meg’s mother, Addie, vacationing in Florida, takes a spill. At the hospital, Addie bolts upright on her gurney and yells “I demand an autopsy!” before passing out cold. “One minute, she is unconscious, the next, she’s nuts,” observes Meg Federico in Welcome to the departure lounge: adventures in mothering Mother, a hilarious and poignant memoir of taking care of eighty-year-old Addie and her relatively new (and equally old) husband, Walter, in their not-so-golden years. Addie’s accident is a portent of things to come over the next two years as Meg oversees her mother’s home care in the Departure Lounge, the nickname Meg gives Addie and Walter’s house in suburban New Jersey. It is a place of odd behaviours and clashing caregivers, where chaos and confusion reign supreme.

We all know we need a will, one that is current and reflects our wishes and changing life events. So why do two-thirds of Canadians still die without a will - without a plan for passing on their assets the way they want? Why do Canadians still risk losing everything to creditors or the government, or certain relatives being awarded assets by provincial government formulas, none of which were the deceased's intention? Approximately one out of four Canadians die suddenly, so advance will and estate planning is critical. In this third edition of the bestselling The Canadian guide to will and estate planning, Canada's Douglas Gray and John Budd provide you with insights and options, practical suggestions, and authoritative guidance.

Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle is pleased to announce the launch of their 2011 Book List. The launch will take place at the Port Carling branch of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library, 69 Joseph St., Port Carling at 11:00 am on April 2, 2011. The launch of the 2011 Book List will be the first Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle Event for 2011. On the weekend of June 3-5, 2011, Muskoka Chautauqua and Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle will hold the signature event of 2011, Literary Weekend with Linden MacIntyre and Friends. The program theme is Secrets and Guilt in Literature and the Media, and features some of our most gifted authors and personalities recognized the world over for their talent and depth of enquiry. For more information contact http://www.muskokachautauqua.ca/ or call 705-765-1048.

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. March’s selection is Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson. All welcome!

Write your own Soccer Poem and get paid!

2011-03-30T14:44:00.003-04:00

Irish Inspiration

2011-03-15T10:24:00.001-04:00

Torontonian Joy Fielding weaves a psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat in her latest novel, Now You See Her. A letter from her daughter Devon and an upturned canoe found on Georgian Bay sends fifty-year old Macy’s life into a downward spiral. However, no body was ever found resulting in Macy frequently ‘sighting’ her daughter. She becomes convinced, while on vacation in Ireland, that her daughter is alive after seeing her walking along the streets of Cork. Peppered with the history of Ireland, the story is a bit of a stop-and-go tale with a roller coaster ending.

Karen Harper’s newest historical novel, The Irish Princess, is the story of a would-be Irish princess who is forced from her homeland and thrust into King Henry VIII's treacherous Tudor court. From the back cover: Born into a first family of Ireland, with royal ties on both sides, Elizabeth Fitzgerald--known as Gera--finds her loving, carefree world overturned when tyrant Henry VIII imprisons her father, the Earl of Kildare, and brutally destroys her family. From County Kildare's lush green fields to London's rough-and-tumble streets and the royal court's luxurious pageantry, The Irish Princess follows the journey of a daring woman whose will cannot be tamed, and who won't be satisfied until she restores her family to its rightful place in Ireland.

Author Patrick Taylor, M.D., was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland. After qualifying as a specialist in 1969, Dr. Taylor worked in Canada for thirty-one years. He now divides his time between Canada and Ireland. Fans of Jan Karon's U.S.-based Mitford books as well as readers who adore novels set in rural Ireland will enjoy Taylor’s series of books. Taylor's fifth novel about the life of an Irish country doctor in Ballybucklebo, set on the cusp of 1965, is a warm, friendly tale about an idealized way of life. Dr. Fingal Flaherty O'Reilly, the local GP, tries to balance the needs of his patients with many personal demands. A wonderful sense of place and Taylor's authentic medical experience help compensate for an undercurrent of outdated gender roles.

For the younger set, The Hunger by Carol Drinkwater, is part of the My Story series of historical fiction for young adults. It's 1845 and blight has destroyed the precious potato crop leaving Ireland starving. Phyllis works hard to support her struggling family, but when her mother's health deteriorates she sets off in search of her rebel brother and is soon swept up in the fight for a free and fair Ireland.

From the cover of Sanctuary Line: Set in the present day on a farm at the shores of Lake Erie, Jane Urquhart's stunning new novel weaves elements from the nineteenth-century past, in Ireland and Ontario, into a gradually unfolding contemporary story of events in the lives of the members of one family that come to alter their futures irrevocably. There are ancestral lighthouse-keepers, seasonal Mexican workers; the migratory patterns and survival techniques of the Monarch butterfly; the tragedy of a young woman's death during a tour of duty in Afghanistan; three very different but equally powerful love stories. Jane Urquhart brings to vivid life the things of the past that make us who we are, and reveals the sometimes difficult path to understanding and forgiveness.

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go. Enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day—one day of the year when everyone is a little bit Irish!

Children and parents are invited to come to the Port Carling branch library this week during March Break to create their very own one of a kind Make and Take Craft. A great variety of craft supplies will be available to get those creative crafty ideas flowing! Drop in during regular library hours and see what you can create!

Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle is pleased to announce the launch of their 2011 Book List. The launch will take place at the Port Carling Branch of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library, 69 Joseph St., Port Carling, Ontario at 11:00 am on April 2, 2011. The launch of the 2011 Book List will be the first Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle Event for 2011. On the weekend of June 3-5, 2011, Muskoka Chautauqua and Muskoka Chautauqua Reading Circle will hold the signature event of 2011, Literary Weekend with Linden MacIntyre and Friends. The program theme is Secrets and Guilt in Literature and the Media, and features some of our most gifted authors and personalities recognized the world over for their talent and depth of enquiry. For more information contact www.muskokachautauqua.ca or call 705-765-1048.

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. March’s selection is Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson. All welcome!

Sweet Treats

2011-03-09T15:13:00.001-05:00

How was it discovered that by collecting the sap from a particular kind of tree, at a very particular time of year, that it could be turned into one of the sweetest treats of the land? Many legends abound about maple syrup production but it is indisputable that the aboriginal peoples brought this culinary delight to the settlers of Eastern Canada. Native people used it as a sweetener and medicine, and early settlers used it as a substitute for sugar.

You can learn more about how to harvest this sweet treat with books from the Muskoka Lakes Public Library. In the children’s picture book section, Sugarbush Spring by Marsha Wilson Chall, At Grandpa's Sugar Bush by Margaret Carney, and Maple Moon by Constance Brummel Crook all have beautiful pictures that will delight the young ones and adults alike. The Maple Syrup Book by Marilyn Linton traces the harvesting of maple syrup, from native legend to commercial enterprise. It is full of historical information, puzzles, riddles, science projects, maple syrup recipes, and more while A Day at the Sugarbush : Making Maple Syrup by Megan Faulkner is a photographic journey of class trip to the sugarbush.

Of course the famous pairing of pancakes and maple syrup is familiar to most everyone, but the distinct maple flavour also features in recipes from soups to salad dressings, meats to vegetables, desserts and drinks in cookbooks by Elaine Elliot and others found in the Dewey decimal 651.6 section of the library.

A reminder to all that enjoy coming to the library in Port Carling for story and craft time on Wednesday mornings that there will be no organized meeting on March 16 during the school break. The activity room will, however, be available during March break for children and parents to create together a make-and-take craft using a variety of craft materials that will be set out for use during regular library hours.

Library Bargains--on the Shelf and Online

2011-03-05T12:51:00.001-05:00

The Friends of the Muskoka Lakes Public Libraries are holding a meeting on March 3 at 7:00 pm to discuss programming ideas for the upcoming summer season. All library lovers are encouraged and welcome to attend the meetings and give forth your ideas on how to enrich the Township of Muskoka Lakes libraries. Also, the Friends have some beautiful Muskoka Pewter pins and ornaments that are for sale at the Port Carling branch in support of the libraries in the township.

The public is also encouraged and welcome to come to all Muskoka Lakes Public Library Board meetings held monthly in Port Carling on the second Tuesday of each month at 3:00 pm.

From time to time, for a variety of reasons, libraries must de-select books from their collections,. Perhaps the book’s information is no longer valid or the condition of the book has deteriorated to the point where it is no longer inviting to borrow. Often the library has too many copies of a once popular title making the extras redundant. The staff of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has been weeding, and continue to weed, the library shelves of books that meet the criteria stated above and invite all to come and take some bargains home. The price cannot be beat as they are for sale for only fifty cents each and the children’s books are an even greater deal at five for a dollar. It’s a great time to stock the grandparent cottage library!

There is nothing to compare cuddling up with a child and a book but if you are looking for an added way to enhance your child’s reading experience then check out the library’s website. On the electronics resources tab there is a wealth of databases that can be accessed 24 hours a day including three different Tumble Books sites:

TumbleBookLibrary is an online collection of TumbleBooks – animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.

TumbleReadables is an online collection of read-along titles for elementary to high school students which features adjustable online text and complete audio narration. Sentences are highlighted as they are being read and the pages turn automatically. The collection features chapter books, early readers, YA/Teen Novels, high interest/low level books for both elementary and high school students, plus classics of American and English literature. Read-Alongs are great for emergent, struggling, and reluctant readers, as well as being an excellent tool for ESL. They are also well received by strong and accomplished readers who are excited to follow along to the narration of their favourite books. Children, who are now growing up with e-mail, instant messaging, IPODs, and text messaging are early and willing adopters to this innovative online reading experience.

TumbleTalkingBooks allows you to listen to your favourite audio books with just a click of a button. Listen online to audio books in many different categories: fiction, non-fiction, classics and even Spanish language audio books! These books are always available, never on hold, and no need to download. Browse. Click. Listen. It’s that easy!

Gaming and Computers

2011-02-23T13:01:00.000-05:00

Want to try a new activity at your next club or organization’s event? The Muskoka Lakes Public Library is offering an outreach program whereby a staff member would bring the Wii system to your event, during regular library hours, to demonstrate how easy it is to set up and use. If introducing your members to a new, fun activity appeals to you, then please call the library at 705-765-5650 to discuss this new opportunity. Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling is also pleased to offer the Nintendo Wii gaming system for use within the library for individual card-holding library patrons or small groups. Please pre-book to ensure that the Wii system is available.

In other technology news, the Port Carling branch library has recently replaced all public access computers, desks, and seating. In addition all five new computers offer Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010. Regular users of the public access computers are aware that there is a nominal charge for use of the library computers but did you know that a discounted six month option is available? Please check with the Library staff or click on the policies link on the library website found at www.muskoka.com/library for more information.

Art Classes for Adults Art classes at the Port Carling branch with Nancy Gray Ogle on Thursdays. Contact Nancy at 764-0212

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. March’s selection is Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson. All welcome!

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday at a new time 1:00pm to 2:30pm January 15 – March 15, 2011. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project to the library and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Non-Fiction Humour

2011-02-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

Michael Perry lives on a farm with his wife, two daughters, a vintage truck and an assortment of animals, which he writes about in Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting. But he's not running a big professional farming operation.

“I think we're doing what a lot of folks are — getting a few chickens, getting a few pigs, just trying to raise more and more of our own food. And we're not at the cutting edge of this; you look at people like Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan — these are the people who are really leading us.... I'm sort of writing about the rest of us, who are trying to figure out a way to incorporate these things into our day-to-day lives while probably, truth be told, paying the rent mostly through other efforts. But what's encouraging is that I'm seeing more and more of it. This idea that you have to be just a farmer or just a writer is kind of a new thing. If you look back a few decades, the plumber used to have a few chickens in the back yard. It's not about becoming a farmer; it's about incorporating those things into the rest of your life.” Alternately hilarious and tender, Perry’s account may just have you looking to get a few cluckers of your own.

One Bird's Choice, the choice coming when Iain Reid opts to move back home with his parents during a gap in employment. He wrote what he saw -- and got to know -- a year in the life of his family's farm and all its inhabitants, Choose your reading location for this book carefully as many times it will have you laughing out loud.

In Early Bird, a hilarious and insightful memoir twenty-five-year-old Rodney Rothman, burned out from his big-city life, decides to get a jumpstart on the golden years...four decades before his time. He retires and moves to South Florida and finds an elderly roommate. Rodney throws himself into the easy life, but soon finds that all the softball, shuffleboard, bingo, gambling cruises, canasta and tennis is, well, exhausting. After his newfound friends get over the oddity of a twenty-something retiree, he becomes one of them, though not without difficulty. He plays in a senior softball league and finds that most seventy-year-olds are far better athletes than he is. He plans a return to the stage for a reluctant ninety-two-year-old comedian. He finds himself the unwelcome muse and romantic interest of a seventy-seven-year-old femme fatale. And he becomes the last great hope of his shuffleboard team. But early retirement - the dream of so many - is not quite what he expected. Early Bird takes readers on a humorous, and often bittersweet, journey through the people and culture of retirement.

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. February’s selection is An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England by Brock Clarke. All welcome!

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project to the library and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

February is Heart Month

2011-02-10T15:31:00.001-05:00

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in North America, accounting for a third of all deaths in women and far surpassing the prevalence of breast cancer. Cardiologist Dr. Martha Gulati and holistic pharmacist Sherry Torkos separate the facts from the many myths surrounding heart disease and offer the latest information on both the conventional medical approach and the role of natural medicine in understanding this illness in Saving Women's Hearts. Their book examines the unique gender differences for women and provides valuable insight into the screening procedures, diagnosis, treatment options, and most importantly, prevention of heart disease. Written by the leading experts in this field, this practical guide covers: how the heart works and the various types of heart disease; why heart disease is different and unique for women; The known and emerging risk factors for heart disease; What you need to know about tests and screening procedures; medications - the good, the bad, the ugly, the noteworthy; nature's pharmacy - the role of vitamins and other supplements; nutritional strategies for better heart health; the latest exercise guidelines for women; the impact of stress and practical tips on managing stress; the role of sleep and heart health; and much more.

For the past three decades, Anne Lindsay has changed the way Canadians eat, bringing flavour to healthy eating and inspiring a nation with her easy-to-make, delicious food. In her latest book, Lighthearted at Home, Lindsay offers more than 500 fully tested recipes, reviewed by the registered dieticians of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, complete with nutritional analysis.

“At birth we are given a heart with clean arteries. The primary function of this cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels) is to distribute blood through the entire body, carrying a steady flow of nourishment and oxygen. Heart trouble need not be an inevitable by-product of mounting work, stress, tension and pressures that people face daily. Though early generations had to exist under tremendous pressure, they were rugged; active physically and mentally. Their secret was simple living, natural foods (without preservatives and pesticides) and ample pure air as well as hard work, which exercises and tones the heart and muscles. As it was in the past, so it is today.” So starts the electronic book, accessible through the library catalogue Healthy Heart: Keep Your Cardiovascular System Healthy & Fit At Any Age by Paul and Patricia Bragg.

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday at a new time 1:00pm to 2:30pm January 15 – March 15, 2011. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project to the library and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Pre-school story time Wednesdays 10:30-11:30 (matched to Trillium Lakelands school board calendar) Muskoka Lakes Public Library, Port Carling

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. February’s selection is An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England by Brock Clarke. All welcome!

Meet the New Library Board

2011-02-10T15:14:00.007-05:00

Muskoka Lakes Public Library is very pleased to welcome the recently appointed Township of Muskoka Lakes Public Library Board Members. Appointed by Municipal Council, as mandated by the Public Libraries Act, these volunteers will serve a four year term of office that runs concurrent with the term of the appointing council.

The eight new Board members will work with the CEO, Sheila Durand and Municipal Council to continue to develop and enhance the current library services for all the residents of Muskoka Lakes. We are pleased to introduce the new members.

Lexan Wheaton recently retired from the medical field and now lives in Bala where she is an active volunteer with the Bala Cranberry Festival and several other organizations.

Patricia Gidley is a retired teacher who left the profession to join her husband in the insurance and real estate business in Bala.

Kristan Farlie is editor of the Muskoka Sun and she and her husband own the Bala Garden Centre. Kristan has a young son and has been a volunteer with the Bala Cranberry Festival for the last five years.

Lindsay Hill is a self-employed bookkeeper and lives in Port Carling. She brings her teaching and museum experiences and knowledge to the Board.

Steve Hayhurst is a self-employed management recruiter and consultant and recently relocated to Torrance from London.

Linda McAuley has been on the Library Board since 2007. Linda, with her husband, is the owner of the Manse B&B in Port Carling.

Gault McTaggart, a long time resident of Windemere, is a newly elected member of Municipal Council and was appointed to the Library Board as the Council Representative.

Sandy Tozer Spence (missing from picture) is a seasonal resident of Port Carling. Sandy has her Bachelor of Education and is actively involved in the Muskoka Lakes Association.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library Board meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 3:00 pm at the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Township Library in Port Carling. The next meeting will take place on February 8, 2011 and the public is welcome and is encouraged to attend the meetings.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a Milford Bay Branch Hours of Service Survey that helped us choose the new hours that started January 24: Mondays and Wednesdays 5pm to 7pm.

Art Classes for Adults A series of six art classes at the Port Carling branch that can be taken individually with Nancy Gray Ogle on Thursdays beginning January 27. Contact Nancy at 764-0212

Winterfest Watch for the Muskoka Lakes Public Library’s Creative Kids craft workshop booth on Saturday, February 6 at the annual winter celebration in Port Carling.

Family Literacy

2011-01-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

Family Literacy Day takes place annually on January 27 to celebrate adults and children reading and learning together, and to encourage Canadians to spend at least 15 minutes enjoying a learning activity as a family every day. In 2011, Canadians will Play for Literacy! Playing games that encourage literacy and numeracy - such as board games, card games and word games - is a great way for parents and children to practice their literacy skills and have fun.

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling is celebrating the Play for Literacy theme all this week with special games and activities set up around the library. Come in and try Wii sports, challenge others to a game of Scrabble, go on a scavenger hunt for words hidden throughout the library, test your library know-how with word search and crossword puzzles, and on Thursday, the official Family Literacy Day, enjoy a hot cup of alphabet soup.

Thursday of this week also has artists and budding artists in the first of six available workshops presented by professional artist Nancy Gray Ogle. Nancy is offering workshops at an introductory level, suitable for both beginner and advanced students. This week students will discover the versatility of pastel painting while learning a variety of techniques. Other weeks will see students explore acrylic and watercolour painting, portraiture of people and pets, and drawing and shading. Each class is held on Thursday afternoons from 1:30 to 3:30 in the activity room of the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Township Library in Port Carling. Participants can choose individual classes or the complete series of six at a cost of $30 per class. Contact Nancy at 705-764-0212 to register or for more information.

Thank you to those Milford Bay residents who took the time to fill in an hours of operation survey for the Milford Bay branch of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library. The results of the survey have brought about new hours for the branch commencing this week: Mondays and Wednesdays 5pm to 7pm.

Keep abreast of all library events and notices through the website found at www.muskoka.com/library.

Best Sellers

2011-01-27T17:07:00.001-05:00

How does one define a ‘best seller’?

To quote The Canadian Encylopedia, “popular literature in English is writing which has shown wide and continued acceptance, measured by sales, frequent imitation, adaptation to other cultural forms and general commercial success. The word popular is meant as a synonym for successful, not as an antonym for serious."

“In Canada, whether published in paperback or cloth editions or both, trade or general books are considered to have had satisfactory sales if they have sold 1500 copies (poetry, play), 3000 (first novel) or 7000 (political commentary); at double these figures the publisher may have a best seller. Arguably the best-selling Canadian author of all time is Arthur Hailey, many of whose novels, such as Hotel (1965) and Airport (1968), have sold millions of copies each. The much anticipated and best-selling works of contemporary fiction writers such as Margaret Atwood, Ann-Marie MacDonald, and Michael Ondaatje might also be labeled popular literature. Popular, nonfiction authors such as Farley Mowat, Peter C. Newman, and Naomi Klein, who write serious books of particular interest to Canadians, enjoy hardcover sales of 75,000-150,000 copies per title. As substantial as such figures may seem, they pale in comparison with the sales record of Coles Notes. This series of study aids in monograph form (over 400 titles since 1947) has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.”

There is no question that 40 million books is a lot of books but compared to the top ten selling authors of all time, it is but a drop in the bucket. How many of these top ten have you read?

Number 10 on the list might surprise you. Not because she is on the list but because she isn’t farther up the list, at least not yet. British children’s author J.K. Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, has sold 400 million copies. Although, one could argue that she is the most successful author of all time due to the fact that she has already made more money than any of the rest and royalties are still pouring in.

Number nine, with 413 million copies, is Russian author Leo Tolstoy who penned War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Number eight is American author Gilbert Pattern (b1866) who produced one 20 thousand-word story a week for twenty years and sold them for a dime. That is a lot of words! He often received very little money, and no royalties for what he produced.

Dr. Suess (Theodore Seuss Geisel), the second children’s author to make the list published over 60 books and has sold 500 million copies thus far. The American author, for books that he did not do the animated illustrations, also published books under the name of Theo.LeSieg.

Danielle Fernande Dominique Schuelein-Steel, or Danielle Steel has had her works translated into 28 languages that are circulated in 47 countries with 570 million copies. This ranks the American author as number six. The second English author and third children’s author to make the list is the prolific Enid Blyton. Her work has been translated into other languages over 3400 times making her equal to Shakespeare. 600 million copies of her work have been sold.

Detective/mystery writer Georges Simenon, the only Belgian author on the list, with 700 million copies sits at number four. At 750 million copies sold, American author of graphic sexual thrillers, Harold Robbins ranks third in the list of best selling authors of all time. Affectionately known as The Queen of Romance, British writer Barbara Cartland, who passed away at the age of 99 years old in 2000, sold 1 billion copies of her works.
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And at the top of the list? Agatha Christie, British Queen of Crime, who has sold a staggering 4 billion copies! Sort of makes the Canadian best selling mark seem paltry, doesn’t it?

Thanks to everyone who submitted a Milford Bay Branch Hours of Service Survey that helped us choose these new hours that start January 24: Mondays and Wednesdays 5pm to 7pm.

Art Classes for Adults A series of six art classes at the Port Carling branch that can be taken individually with Nancy Gray Ogle on Thursdays beginning January 27. Contact Nancy at 764-0212

Literacy Week Plan to come to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling and play word games, board games, Wii games, and action games during the week of January 24th. On Thursday, January 27 you and your family can also enjoy a cup of hot Alphabet Soup!

Scrabble and Boggle The Port Carling branch of the library is looking for donations of Scrabble games, Boggle games, and sturdy juvenile jigsaw puzzles.

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday at a new time 1:00pm to 2:30pm January 15 – March 15, 2011. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project to the library and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Pre-school story time Wednesdays 10:30-11:30 (matched to Trillium Lakelands school board calendar) Muskoka Lakes Public Library, Port Carling

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. January’s selection is The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchett. All welcome!

Winterfest Watch for the Muskoka Lakes Public Library’s Creative Kids craft workshop booth on Saturday, February 6 at the annual winter celebration in Port Carling.

Art @ library with Nancy Gray Ogle

2011-01-27T17:01:00.002-05:00

The Muskoka Lakes Public Library is excited to offer a new series of six adult art classes with professional artist Nancy Gray Ogle. Commencing Thursday, January 27 individuals can learn techniques with acrylics, watercolour and pastels, drawing and shading, proportion, realism, and portraiture. The classes will be small and intimate allowing for individual instruction for all skill levels from the beginner want-to-be artist to the experienced artisan looking for another learning opportunity. Each individual workshop will commence at 1:30 and last approximately two hours. Some materials will be available from the artist to use but students, for the most part, are asked to supply their own materials and easel or drawing board. It promises to be a wonderful way to spend winter afternoons! As space is limited, and to keep the intimacy of the classes, participant are encouraged to sign up quickly. Contact the library for subject matter for particular dates as applicants can choose to sign up for all six classes or individual classes at $30 per class. Phone Nancy at 705-764-0212 to register or for more information.

Family Literacy Day® is an annual initiative that takes place on January 27 to encourage families to learn together all year round. The theme this year is Play for Literacy. Playing games creates a strong family bond, promotes language comprehension and improves reading skills and encourages a love of learning. Plan to come to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling and play word games, board games, Wii games, and action games during the week of January 24th. On Thursday, January 27 you and your family can also enjoy a cup of hot Alphabet Soup!

Scrabble and Boggle The Port Carling branch of the library is looking for donations of Scrabble games, Boggle games, and sturdy juvenile jigsaw puzzles.

Friends of the Library meeting Thursday, January 13, 7:00pm in the activity room of the Port Carling branch. Come and join the fun and find out how to be part of this active group of library lovers. Everyone is invited!

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday at a new time 1:00pm to 2:30pm January 15 – March 15, 2011. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project to the library and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Pre-school story time Wednesdays 10:30-11:30 (matched to Trillium Lakelands school board calendar) Muskoka Lakes Public Library, Port Carling

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. January’s selection is The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchett. All welcome!

Winterfest Watch for the Muskoka Lakes Public Library’s Creative Kids craft workshop booth on Saturday, February 6 at the annual winter celebration in Port Carling.

Resolution Help

2011-01-11T12:08:00.002-05:00

Does your New Year’s resolutions include diet and exercise? Come to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling to check out some instructional books and DVDs. If you have target areas that you want to work on then Legs or Abs and Buns exercise DVDs may be what you are looking for to help you fulfill your promises to yourself. For a more general exercise regime try You: Staying Young Workout DVD.

There are plenty of exercise books too. T’ai chi for beginners, Strength training for seniors, The anytime, anywhere exercise book, Walkshaping: indoors or out, 6 weeks to a better body are just a few of the many choices shelved by Dewey decimal number 613.7. Healthy eating books are as plentiful as the calories in all those holiday treats and can be found within the 641.5 cookbook section of the library.

Did you get an iPod for Christmas? Learn how you can download audiobooks for free using your Muskoka Lakes Public Library card. Log on to the library website found at www.muskoka.com/library and click on the electronic resources tab. Scroll down to the Overdrive database, follow the instructions for downloading and you will have thousands of books to choose from and all of them free!

Another valuable (and free!) item has been added to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library’s electronic resources. Tumble Book and Tumble Talking Book will allow your children to view and listen to books on the computer in formats that will educate as well as entertain. Check it out on the electronics resource tab at www.muskoka.com/library.

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday at a new time 1:00pm to 2:30pm January 15 – March 15, 2011. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project to the library and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Pre-school story time Wednesdays 10:30-11:30 Muskoka Lakes Library, Port Carling

The Book Club meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of every month from September through April. January’s selection is The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchett. All welcome!

Fast-Action Reads

2010-12-30T13:06:00.000-05:00

After next weekend’s New Year’s festivities, readers may need some quiet time on the couch lost in a great read. Check out the new book shelves for some exciting new additions or search through the impressive collections on the regular shelves at the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling.

Thomas Young’s The Mullah’s Storm, might be compared to a Tom Clancy fast-action nail-biter. According to those with war experience, Young, a decorated former flight engineer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has an eye for detail about military equipment, operations and thinking with the conflict in Afghanistan His descriptions of the terrain, the sound different weapons make, the feeling of fingers and toes succumbing to frostbite, the way things look through night vision goggles, are superb. Young’s debut makes you grateful to be reading safely indoors, but just a little nervous about who might be watching you

Steve Berry is back with a fifth thriller featuring characters Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt. The tomb of China's First Emperor, guarded by an underground army of terra cotta warriors, has remained sealed for 2200 years. Though it's regarded as one of the greatest archeological sites in the world, the Chinese government won't allow anyone to open it. Why not? That question is at the heart of a dilemma faced by Malone, whose life is shattered when he receives an anonymous note carrying an unfamiliar web address. Logging on, he sees Vitt, a woman who's saved his life on more than one occasion, being tortured at the hands of a mysterious man who has a single demand - "Bring me the artefact she's asked you to keep safe." Those readers that have not read author Steve Berry’s books would be advised to start at the beginning of the series as there are many times when this latest book keeps referring to past encounters and escapades that'll probably leave new readers wondering exactly what is going on.

A reminder about Muskoka Lakes Public Library holiday hours: The Port Carling branch will be closed December 31 to January 2. Bala branch closed January 2; Milford Bay branch closed December 23 to January 5; Walker’s Point branch closed from December 18 to January 11.

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday at a new time 1:00pm to 2:30pm January 15 – March 15, 2011. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

Wishing all a happy, healthy, and book-filled 2011!

Creative Kids and Kniterary

2010-12-30T12:58:00.001-05:00

The very popular Creative Kids program for children 8 years of age and older is making a return in the new year at a new time. Pre-register for free fun activities held on Saturdays afternoons from 1:00pm to 2:30pm starting January 15, 2011. Watch for details of each activity on the library website as they become available. Space is limited so be sure to sign up early! 765-5650.

The social meeting of needleworkers, Kniterary, will continue in the new year. Come out to the library in Port Carling at 1:00 pm on Thursdays for an enjoyable afternoon by the fire and discuss books, knitting, or whatever topic appeals. All welcome and no pre-registration required. Stay tuned for information on when Michele Meadows, owner of Muskoka Yarn Connections, comes to Kniterary in the new year. Anyone who has met Michele knows what a magician she is with wool so you won’t want to miss the opportunity!

The library in Port Carling is a great place to come to check out movies for those busy holiday diversions. Many new titles arrive almost weekly so be sure to come and check them out.

The Port Carling branch will be closed December 24 to 27 and December 31 to January 2 for the holidays. Bala branch closed December 25 and January 2; Milford Bay branch closed December 23 to January 5; Walker’s Point branch closed from December 18 to January 11.

The staff of the Muskoka Lakes Public Library would like to take this opportunity to thank all our valued patrons for another great year at the library. Many of you donate books and magazines to the collection on a regular basis for the enjoyment of others. Still others donate their time and expertise to enrich the content of library programs. The library experience is so much richer as a result of your continued generosity! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Reads and Movies

2010-12-20T14:06:00.003-05:00

Charles Dickens was born in England in 1812. Sent to work in a factory at the age of twelve, after his father was imprisoned for debt, Dickens’s memories of this unhappy period haunted him throughout his life and profoundly influenced his writing. After stints as a clerk and a shorthand reporter in the law courts, Dickens became a reporter of parliamentary debates for an English newspaper until the huge success of his first books enabled him to become a full-time author. Charles Dickens died on June 9, 1870, having achieved the success and respect that he aspired to in his impoverished childhood, leaving his last novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood unfinished. Peter Ackroyd’s critically acclaimed illustrated biography of Charles Dickens, Dickens – Public Life and Private Passion, reveals the private and public life one of Britain’s best-loved literary giants and social reformers. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has a selection of books by Charles Dickens for both adults and illustrated versions for children. The holiday season is perhaps the perfect time to delve into such classics as A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, which after reading Ackroyd’s biography of Dickens, the reader can appreciate more readily the poverty setting of the central characters and the injustice of the mind-set of those characters in positions of power.

Need a little holiday bustle diversion? Try Lorna Landvik’s ‘Tis the Season, touted as “a novel of redemption and forgiveness”. The central character is 26 year old Caro Dixon, who is rich, drunk, sarcastic and always in the tabloids. After she decides she's hit bottom with the alcohol she checks into a clinic to battle the addiction. During her treatment the only two people who respond to her "making amends" letters are Astrid, her former Norwegian nanny, and an Arizona rancher, Cyril. Cyril and his now deceased wife, Cassie, had hosted Caro when she was 14 years old at his southwest ranch during the sad time her father was dying. Caro starts to email both of them at the same time and they all get to know one another through the emails. Although not a gripping tale by any means, there are loads of surprises and feel-good holiday cheer for those looking for a quick and easy read over the holidays.

The holiday season offers a plethora of opportunities for decorating your home and the library is a great place to come for inspiration. An imaginative array of decorating ideas for the holidays and all through the year are presented in Decorating with Mini-Lights : 40 Sparkling Ideas & Projects for Your Home & Garden. You’ll find plenty of ideas to elegantly and easily light up your home in style in this book by Marcianne Miller. Who can dispute that Martha Stewart is the queen of domesticity? The Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling offers Martha admirers a glimpse into her home to join in her Christmas celebrations as she decorates her home, wraps special gifts, and prepares luscious meals for her friends and family throughout the holidays in Martha Stewart’s Christmas as well as her monthly magazine.

There are also a number of Christmas movies for all ages available at the Port Carling branch. With the hustle and bustle at this time of the year, it may be just the thing needed… a little ‘down’ time to relax and regroup before the full onslaught of holiday festivities.

The Port Carling branch will be closed December 24 to 27 and December 31 to January 2 for the holidays. Bala branch closed December 25 and January 2; Milford Bay branch closed December 23 to January 5; Walker’s Point branch closed from December 18 to January 11.

Friday December 17 @Your Milford Bay Branch Library Storytime with Sandy Inkster, Early Literacy Specialist for Muskoka 10:30-11:30am HandsTheFamilyHelpNetwork.ca

The Saturday morning Creative Kids program has been a very successful venture. Watch the library Facebook and Twitter page or the library website www.muskoka.com/library to keep up to date for the return of the program in the new year. Also watch for the launch of the library’s new Nintendo Wii system.

Stay tuned for information on when Michele Meadows, owner of Muskoka Yarn Connections, comes to Kniterary at the Port Carling branch library in the new year. Anyone who has met Michele knows what a magician she is with wool so you won’t want to miss the opportunity!

Interesting Reads

2010-11-30T13:42:00.002-05:00

In her recently published memoir Changing My Mind, “Margaret Trudeau speaks with candour and insight about the illness that silently shaped her life -- a life lived often in turbulence and in the public’s fascination. Plagued since childhood by extreme moods, Margaret was ill-prepared for the high-profile role into which she was cast at age twenty-two, as Canada’s youngest first lady. Captivated by her high spirits, youth and beauty, Canadians fell in love with Margaret, just as they had with her charismatic husband, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, three years earlier. When their first son, Justin, was born on Christmas Day and their second son, Sacha, on the same day two years later, this couple seemed almost enchanted. But away from the cameras and the public appearances, and increasingly isolated at 24 Sussex Drive, Margaret struggled with a growing depression offset by bouts of mania. Her behaviour seemed inexplicable to many -- including to herself -- and two years after the birth of their third son, Michel, the marriage broke down. Gradually, though, a fragile stability took hold, as Margaret found happiness in work as a photographer and in her marriage to Fried Kemper. But the tragic death of Michel Trudeau, closely followed by Pierre Trudeau’s own passing, caused her to spiral into suicidal depression. Finally accepting the diagnosis of bipolar, she sought medical treatment. Under intense international scrutiny, Margaret Trudeau has survived remarkable highs and devastating lows. Since regaining control of her life, she has brought her formidable passion to helping others, be they Canadians suffering from mental illness or families living without access to water half a world away. A recipient of the Society of Biological Psychiatry Humanitarian Award, she now offers her journey of recovery, acceptance and hope, and generously shares with us many previously unreleased photos, in one of the most important memoirs to come out of this country.” –book jacket.

If you are looking for a book that offers educational and entertaining diversions in short blocks then Jay Ingram’s Daily Planet; the ultimate book of everyday science is a great choice. Ingram has been the host of the popular show for fifteen years and in this, his latest book, we get to relive some of the greatest moments from the decade and a half of daily intriguing broadcasts.

For something a little ‘heavier’ Cynthia Enloe looks closely at the lives of eight ordinary women, four Iraqis and four Americans, during the Iraq War in Nimo’s War, Emma’s War. Among others, Enloe profiles a Baghdad beauty parlor owner, a teenage girl who survived a massacre, an elected member of Parliament, the young wife of an Army sergeant, and an African American woman soldier. Each chapter begins with a close-up look at one woman’s experiences and widens into an examination of war’s gendered elements. Bringing to light hidden and often unexpected aspects of war offering insight into the long-range consequences of war. This unique comparison of American and Iraqi women’s diverse and complex experiences sheds a powerful light on the different realities that we call “the Iraq war.”

Wednesday, December 8, 6:30-7:30p.m. all are invited to the Milford Bay Community Centre on Beaumaris Road for conversation regarding library membership opportunities in your community, electronic resources available, Service Ontario information, library hours survey, and much more. For more information call the Port Carling branch at 765-5650 or the Milford Bay branch at 764-0283 during open hours Wednesdays 6 to 8pm and Fridays 10 to noon.

Friday December 17 @Your Milford Bay Branch Library Storytime with Sandy Inkster 10:30-11:30am

The Saturday morning Creative Kids program has been a very successful venture. The Port Carling Lions Club has augmented the supplies with funds from Winterfest which has allowed the program to continue to be offered free to the community children. Thank you Port Carling Lions Club! There is limited space left for this year’s two remaining programs. Next week join Chef Julie to make something wonderful for Christmas. The following week artist Nancy Gray Ogle will guide participants through a watercolour class to make Christmas cards and tags. Phone 765-5650 if you want to register your child for either program. Watch the library Facebook and Twitter page or the library website www.muskoka.com/library to keep up to date for the return of the program in the new year.

Stay tuned for information on when Michele Meadows, owner of Muskoka Yarn Connections, comes to Kniterary at the Port Carling branch library in the new year. Anyone who has met Michele knows what a magician she is with wool so you won’t want to miss the opportunity!

Kniterary

2010-11-18T13:46:00.001-05:00

Elise Duvekot’s bright idea behind Knit one below : one stitch, many fabrics is to put together an entire collection around one simple stitch that creates many interesting effects. The result is an easy-to-knit fabric with wonderful drape and flexibility that looks equally good on both sides. The colour effects possible are also impressive: by alternating two or more colours, weights, or fibres, vertical columns appear on one side of the fabric without the necessity of using two strands at once. A mottled pattern shows on the other side making a fabric that is reversible. The projects include afghans, scarves, bags, jackets, and hats, all constructed from simple shapes and requiring minimal finishing. Several designs go beyond the basic stitch by adding cables, felting, and intarsia designs.

With Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks knitwear designer Melissa Morgan-Oakes’ ingenious approach to knitting socks shows delighted knitters how to simultaneously create two socks on a single circular needle from, as the title indicates, the toe up. Knitters will love toe-up socks for both novelty and practicality. Knitters can try on the sock as they work, they never run out of yarn before the foot is complete, and they avoid needing the dreaded kitchener stitch to finish off the toe. Many swear that toe-up socks just plain feel more comfortable, too. Say goodbye forever to the frustration of completing one beautiful hand-knit sock only to remember that another must be made, by using the techniques found in this book featuring 15 original designs for men, women, children, and babies. Once mastered, the technique can be applied to any sock pattern. There is certain to be at least one person on your Christmas list that would love a pair of handmade socks.

After dumping her boyfriend Beth was looking for something new. When it was first suggested, Beth was reluctant to join a knitting club but since her social life was at an all-time low and fearful that she would become like her chick-flick-watching drone of a roommate, she thought it was worth a try. Even more than a hobby, Beth needed a new circle of friends to help her rebuild her life. Together the club knit scarves, sweaters, and in the process, the bonds of friendship. Beth even started dating again But Beth soon discovers that her new man has a secret so shocking it could end their relationship - and worse, destroy the best group of friends she's ever had. Unravelled is a hilarious tale of knitting, betrayal, and the power of friendship.

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project to the library and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Muskoka Lakes Township Public Library MILFORD BAY BRANCH INFORMATION NIGHT 6:30-7:30p.m. Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Refreshments & Conversation @Your Milford Bay branch Library! For more information:705-764-0283 or 705-765-5650

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday 10:30-noon. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650

Library Board recruitment This is an opportunity to contribute to your library and community. Persons who are interested are invited to submit a letter of application by November 26, 2010 to:
Cheryl Mortimer, Clerk
Township of Muskoka Lakes
Box 129, 1 Bailey Street
Port Carling, ON, P0B 1J0
(705) 765-3156 phone
(705) 765-6755 fax

Spinning Reels

2010-11-17T15:12:00.002-05:00

Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling has, once again received a generous donation from Spinning Reels, a not-for-profit group which brings alternate film choices twice a month to Bracebridge. The donation will allow the collection of library movies to be expanded with many of the movies that Spinning Reels featured over the last year, as well as some new Hollywood releases.

Fans of the Stieg Larsson series of books will be anxious to check out the films, The girl with the dragon tattoo, and The girl who played with fire, both edge-of-your-seat dramas. The library has both of these movies in Blu-ray as well as DVD formats. If you missed season one, two, or three of the weekly television series The Tudors you can catch up by checking the box sets out of the library. If you are an avid fan and addicted to the series you will be excited to know that the fourth and, sadly, the final season has arrived and is ready for check out. For the young and young-at-heart, Dreamworks’ How to train your dragon and Disney’s Toy story 3 have been purchased. Other recent movie purchases include Date night, a comedy starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey; Solitary man with Michael Douglas, Mary-Louise Parker, Susan Sarandon, and Danny Devito, and biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry starring Clair Danes in the title role, and Catherine O'Hara as her aunt.

Muskoka Lakes Township Public Library MILFORD BAY BRANCH INFORMATION NIGHT 6:30-7:30p.m. Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Refreshments & Conversation @Your Library! For more information:705-764-0283 or 705-765-5650 www.muskoka.com/library

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday 10:30-noon with professional artist, Nancy Gray Ogle. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650

Library Board recruitment If you are interested in finding out how you can contribute to your Library, and to your community, by serving on the Library Board, please contact the CEO/Chief Librarian, Sheila Durand at 705-765-5650 for further information and application procedure for appointment to the Board.

How Will You Remember?

2010-11-05T16:12:00.002-04:00

From St Paul's Cathedral to the East End, from the very heart of the capital to the cities of the midlands, throughout the length and breadth of the land the bombs rained down as Germany attempted to hammer Britain into submission during the winter of 1940-41. As the civilian populations sought shelter or scurried to man the fire services, there was no mistaking that this was a land under siege. Drawing exclusively on the photo archive of the Mirror newspaper group The Blitz: an illustrated history, brings to life this extraordinary period in British history. Remarkably a number of these images have never before been seen thanks to wartime censors. Now, 70 years after the fact, they reveal for the first time the harsh realities of life and death during the Blitz. Written by Gavin Mortimer, this book weaves together incredible images with newspaper articles, diary entries and first-hand accounts to create a compelling chronological account of Britain's darkest and most difficult period in her long history.

First in, last out by Bala resident Glad Bryce, is a documentation of personal accounts of what it was like to be a woman in a ‘man’s world’ in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. The personal stories are interwoven with narratives, photos and historical documentation, bringing to life the events of the past. Sixty years later some of the women have offered their perspectives of that time of their life which Bryce has chronicled in a compelling volume.

Could a dead body change the course of history? Ben Macintyre weaves together private documents, photographs, memories, letters and diaries, as well as newly released material from the intelligence files of MI5 and Naval Intelligence, to tell for the first time the full story of Operation Mincemeat. In 1943 a body washed ashore off the coast of Spain carrying falsified intelligence documents designed to convince the Germans that Allied forces planned to invade Greece and Sardinia rather than Sicily. The successful execution of this clever ruse, code named "Operation Mincemeat," is the subject of Operation Mincemeat : how a dead man and a bizarre plan fooled the Nazis and assured an allied victory, an entertaining nonfiction spy thriller that will appeal to World War II history and military intelligence buffs as well as those that like a spy novels.

Veterans’ Week is November 5 to 11. How will you remember?

Library Board recruitment If you are interested in finding out how you can contribute to your Library, and to your community, by serving on the Library Board, please contact the CEO/Chief Librarian, Sheila Durand at 705-765-5650 for further information and application procedure for appointment to the Board .

Sign language for babies – Come and learn over 50 signs that you can use to enhance the meaning of your words. Babies are able to make gestures that can assist them with being less frustrated before they are able to form their sound-making into words. This class is for 6 month old (and older) babies and their parents. Join Sandy Inkster, Early Literacy Specialist for Muskoka at the Library in Port Carling for a three part session held Tuesdays: November 16, 23, & 30. Pre-register.

Guess the Giller You might be the lucky recipient of prizes simply by casting your vote for which book should win the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Go online to the library website and click on the Guess the Giller logo. www.muskoka.com/library

Facebook and Twitter Like to keep abreast of things as they happen? The Township of Muskoka Lakes Public Library now has an FB page and a Twitter account. Quick links to both are available on the library homepage. The ‘what’s new’ tab on the website will also give you current library information.

Pre-school story time Wednesdays 10:30-11:30 Muskoka Lakes Library, Port Carling

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday 10:30-noon with professional artist, Nancy Gray Ogle. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

2010-10-28T12:44:00.001-04:00

Larger than the province of British Columbia, the state of Texas, or the countries of Germany and France combined, our province of Ontario is huge. With a land mass of over 400,000 square miles (1 million square kilometres), of which much is unpopulated by humans, the province provides many opportunities for hunters and fishers. The hunting heritage runs deep in most rural areas of the province but can also be a source of controversy between those that believe in the right to hunt and fish and those that want it abolished.

Many restaurants are now featuring succulent dishes featuring farmed game such as venison, moose, elk, and bison but you can also prepare delicious dishes featuring wild meat and fish at home. For those that partake in hunting or fishing, or for those that enjoy the taste of wild fish, fowl, or game, the library in Port Carling has some cookbooks that will help to bring the catch to the table in style.

For nearly 20 years, Susan Kane's popular cooking column in Ontario Out of Doors magazine, has provided sensational recipes with easy-to-follow instructions that result in high-flavour meals. In Cooking Wild-Style, Susan Kane has compiled more than 100 of her favourite dishes from her columns and added many more. The recipes range from classic to contemporary and from simple but scrumptious dishes - like Venison Steak, Moose Stew and Cheese & Bass Open-Face Sandwiches - to more complex flare like Braised Elk Sirloin Tips, Pheasant Breast with Orange Sauce and Elegant Stuffed Trout.

More than twenty years ago, members of the Footes Bay Fire Department & Rescue Unit published a fundraising Wild Life Cook Book. Full of useful information and recipes ranging from marinades to canning of small and large game, fish, waterfowl and wild birds, it is also a little piece of local history. The book not only has the recipes but it also includes the names of Fire Department volunteers of the time and advertisements of the local businesses that sponsored the production of the book.

Many other books are available on the preparation of fish and fowl and can be found by searching the catalogue with multiple keywords such as “cookery” and “fish” or “chicken” or “fowl”. The library catalogue is available in the Port Carling branch or online at www.muskoka.com/library.

Library Board recruitment If you are interested in finding out how you can contribute to your Library, and to your community, by serving on the Library Board, please contact the CEO/Chief Librarian, Sheila Durand at 705-765-5650 for further information and application procedure for appointment to the Board .

Guess the Giller You might be the lucky recipient of prizes simply by casting your vote for which book should win the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Go online to the library website and click on the Guess the Giller logo. www.muskoka.com/library

Facebook and Twitter Like to keep abreast of things as they happen? The Township of Muskoka Lakes Public Library now has an FB page and a Twitter account. Quick links to both are available on the library homepage. The ‘what’s new’ tab on the website will also give you current library information.

Pre-school story time Wednesdays 10:30-11:30 Muskoka Lakes Library, Port Carling

Kniterary Thursday afternoons at 1:00 starting October 14. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Creative Kids Club for children 8+ at the library in Port Carling every Saturday 10:30-noon with professional artist, Nancy Gray Ogle. FREE but please pre-register as space is limited. 765-5650.

Facebook and Twitter!

2010-10-18T14:45:00.001-04:00

Check us out! You can find us from the library homepage www.muskoka.com/library

Library Board Recruitment

2010-10-18T14:34:00.002-04:00

Every four years Muskoka Lakes residents cast their vote for the members of the community that have expressed a desire to represent the citizens of the township at the governing town council table. In less than two weeks we will know the results of those votes and one of the first orders of business for the new Council will be to appoint a Township of Muskoka Lakes Public Library board of trustees, as mandated by The Public Libraries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.44. But what is a Public Library Board and what are its responsibilities you may wonder?

Public library boards are governing boards, legal corporations with the authority to make policy and to govern the library’s affairs under the Public Libraries Act. Governing, however, is different from managing. Boards don’t run an organization, but ensure that it is properly run.

A board’s duty is to provide comprehensive and efficient public library service that reflects the community’s unique needs. A board must submit budget estimates and audited financial statements to municipal council and must report statistics and finances to the province annually to receive its grant. They do hire and evaluate the ongoing performance of the Chief Librarian and Executive Officer; they have the power to set library fees for non-regulated services, to set policy, to oversee the library’s finances, all the while promoting and advocating the value of public libraries in the community. Library board member’s fiduciary duty is to act honestly and in good faith and in the best interests of the library. This means that the interests of the library take precedence over personal in¬terests or those of any other group with which a board member may be associated.

Any member of the community who has an interest in, and a vision for, library services in the Township of Muskoka Lakes are encouraged to apply to become a Library Board trustee. In accordance with The Public Libraries Act, Township of Muskoka Lakes library board trustees must be at least 18 years of age, be a Canadian citizen, and reside in the township but must not be employees of the township. The Public Libraries Act also stipulates that a library board must have at least five members and meet at least ten times per year.

If you are interested in finding out how you can contribute to your Library, and to your community, by serving on the Library Board, please contact the CEO/Chief Librarian, Sheila Durand at 705-765-5650 for further information and application procedure for appointment to the Board . You will also be able to meet, greet, and ask questions of the existing library board members at the Ontario Public Library Week Open House on Thursday, October 21 from 10am to 6pm at the Port Carling branch.

During Ontario Public Library week, held October 18-23 at the Port Carling branch of the Muskoka Lakes Library, many events are planned including the following events and displays:

Car Seat Check and Storytime Wednesday October 20 10:00am Muskoka Lakes Public Library, Port Carling. Properly used child restraints can significantly reduce the chance of children being hurt and/or killed in collisions. A shocking 85% of car restraints are not installed correctly. Parents and grandparents will learn what to look for with the help of a certified child restraint safety technician while your pre-school children are occupied in an art activity. In-car installation checks as time permits. After the workshop parents and children are invited upstairs for a special story time with Sandy Inkster early literacy specialist for Muskoka. (regular story times take place every Wednesday 10:30 to 11:30)

Kniterary every Thursday afternoon at 1:00 starting October 14. Bring your knitting project or other needlework project and socialize with other crafters. Discuss what you are reading or what you would like to read while enjoying the company of others over a cup of tea. All welcome!

Open House Thursday October 21 10:00am-6:00pm Your library is so much more than just books! Get an introduction to the online and in-library resources including Service Ontario, the online catalogue, NoveList, PlayAway, Ancestry, Career Cruising, & so much more! Learn how to become involved in the Library Board and the Friends of the Library. Take a library tour. Refreshments, too!

Creative Kids Club Saturday October 23 10:30am-noon. First session of the newly-formed arts-based club. For children 8+ Please pre-register for the free Saturday morning creative activities. This week join the fun with Kathy Kelly to make 3-D bug art.

Food for Fines Your overdue fines will be forgiven this week if you bring in non-perishable food items to the library for the local food bank.

Displays by Service Ontario, Muskoka Lakes Public Library Board, Friends of Muskoka Lakes Public Library, Hands: the Family Help Network, Muskoka Chautauqua.

New Fall Arrivals 2010

2010-09-10T14:34:00.002-04:00

ADULT
fiction
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag / Alan Bradley
The Cruel Stars of the Night / Kjell Eriksson
Spies of the Balkans / Alan Furst
Ghost Shadow / Heather Graham
Star Island / Carl Hiaasen
The Saffron Gate / Linda Holeman
After River / Donna Milner
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet / David Mitchell
Spider Bones / Kathy Reichs
Signal Red / Robert Ryan
Pythagoras' Revenge : a Mathematical Mystery /Arturo Sangalli
The Orchid Shroud / Michelle Wan
A Twist of Orchids / Michelle Wan
Woman from Shanghai / Xianhui Yang

non-fiction
Pensionize Your Nestegg /Moshe Milevsky [332.024/014/0971]
In a Heartbeat : Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving / Leigh & Sean Anne Tuohy [362.734/0922]
More Good News : Real Solutions to the Global Eco-Crisis / David Suzuki [363.7]
The Pregnancy Book: a Month by Month Guide / William Sears [618.24]
The Attachment Parenting Book / William Sears [649.1]
Nighttime Parenting / William Sears
Open : an Autobiography / Andre Agassi [796.342/092]
Causeway : a Passage from Innocence / Linden MacInyre [971.6902/092]

video
Canada : a People's History, set 2
Cars

audio
Tough Customer / Sandra Brown
Eat, Pray, Love / Elizabeth Gilbert

YOUNG ADULT
fiction
The Museum's Secret / Henry Chancellor
Mockingjay / Suzanne Collins
The A-List : Hollywood Royalty / Zoey Dean
City of Angels / Zoey Dean
Dork Diaries : Tales from a-not-so-fabulous life / Rachel Renee Russell
Flawless / Sara Shepard
Heartless / Sara Shepard
Killer / Sara Shepard
Perfect / Sara Shepard
Wanted / Sara Shepard
Wicked / Sara Shepard

non-fiction

CHILDREN
Everywhere Babies / Susan Meyers
Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy / Jane O'Connor
Fancy Nancy : Tea Parties / Jane O'Connor
Bird, Bird, Bird! : a Chirping Chant / April Pulley Sayer
Trout, Trout, Trout! : a Fish Chant / April Pulley Sayer
Baby on the Way / William Sears
Eat Healthy, Feel Great / William Sears
What Baby Needs / William Sears
You Can Go to the Potty / William Sears
I Call My Grandma Nana / Ashley Wolff
I Call My Grandpa Papa / Ashley Wolff

Summer 2010 New Arrivals

2010-07-15T16:17:00.009-04:00

ADULT
fiction
It All Began in Monte Carlo / Elizabeth Adler
Say You're One of Them / Uwem Akpan
The Overton Window / Glenn Beck
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake / Aimee Bender
If I Loved You I Would Tell You This / Robin Black
Crime Machine / Giles Blunt
Mothers and Other Liars / Amy Bourret
My Name is Memory / Ann Brashares
Tough Customer / Sandra Brown
Insatiable / Meg Cabot
Everything / Kevin Canty
Parrot and Olivier in America / Peter Carey
Pray for Silence / Linda Castillo
First Thrills / Lee Child
Kings of the Earth / Jon Clinch
The Whisperers / John Connolly
Cure / Robin Cook
Whiplash / Catherine Coulter
The Passage / Justin Cronin
The Spy / Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
The Burning Wire / Jeffery Deaver
The Bride Collector / Ted Dekker
The Lion / Nelson DeMille
Scarlet Nights / Jude Deveraux
A Brush with Death / Elizabeth J. Duncan
The Confessions of Katherine Howard / Suzannah Dunn
Sizzling Sixteen / Janet Evanovich
Elizabeth Street : a novel based on true events / Laurie Fabiano
City of Veils / Zoë Ferraris
The Burying Place / Brian Freeman
The Summer We Read Gatsby / Danielle Ganek
Ice Cold / Tess Gerritsen
Kanata / Don Gillmor
The Cookbook Collector / Allegra Goodman
Secret Daughter / Shilpi Samaya Gowda
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith
The Red Queen / Philippa Gregory
Heart of the Matter / Emily Griffin
Life Without Summer / Lynne Griffin
The Vigilantes / W.E.B. Griffin
Dead in the Family / Charlaine Harris
Intelligence / Susan Hasler
Someone Knows My Name / Lawrence Hill
Dawn of the Dreadfuls / Steve Hockensmith
Veil of Night / Linda Howard
They're Watching / Gregg Hurwitz
As Husbands Go / Susan Isaacs
Backseat Saints / Joshilyn Jackson
Queen of the Night / J.A. Jance
The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay / Beverly Jensen
Shadow Zone / Iris Johansen
The Scarlet Contessa / Jeanne Kalogridis
Hangman / Faye Kellerman
Father of the Rain / Lily King
Silent Scream / Lynda LaPlante
The Year That Follows / Scott Lasser
House Justice / Mike Lawson
The Swimming Pool / Holly LeCraw
Death Echo / Elizabeth Lowell
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Objective / Eric Van Lustbader
Never Wave Goodbye / Doug Magee
Rule of Nine / Steve Martini
Harbor Ice / K.D. Mason
Corduroy Mansions / Alexander McCall Smith
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers / Sharyn McCrumb
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott / Kelly O'Connor McNees
Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It / Maile Meloy
American Music / Jane Mendelsohn
The Hundred-Foot Journey / Richard Morais
What is Left the Daughter / Howard Norman
My Name is Mary Sutter / Robin Oliveira
The Postcard Killers / James Patterson
Private / James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
In the Name of Honor / Richard North Patterson
Stone's Fall / Iain Pears
Betrayers / Bill Pronzini
This Must Be the Place / Kate Racculia
The Birthing House / Christopher Ransom
Rules of Betrayal / Christopher Reich
The Search / Nora Roberts
Sarah's Key / Tatiana de Rosnay
A Small Death in the Great Glen / A.D. Scott
The Collaborator / Gerald Seymour
Super Sad True Love Story / Gary Shteyngart
The Rembrandt Affair / Daniel Silva
The Madonnas of Echo Park / Brando Skyhorse
Broken / Karin Slaughter
Three Stations / Martin Cruz Smith
Family Ties / Danielle Steel
Still Missing / Chevy Stevens
Catherine Snow / Nellie P. Stowbridge
Betrayed / Robert K. Tanenbaum
Beachcombers / Nancy Thayer
Foreign Influence / Brad Thor
Strangers at the Feast / Jennifer Vanderbes
Fly Away Home / Jennifer Weiner
The Summer House / Marcia Willett
Elusive Dawn / Gabriele Wills

non-fiction
Annie's Girl : How an Abandonned Orphan Finally Found the Truth About Her Mother / Maureen Coppinger
The Armageddon Factor : the Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada / Marci McDonald
Barnum Brown : the Man Who Discovered Tyrannosaurus Rex / Lowel Dingus
The Big Short : Inside the Doomsday Machine / Michael Lewis
The Brain that Changes Itself / Norman Doidge
The Canadian GED for Dummies / Murray Shukyn
Committed : a Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage / Elizabeth Gilbert
Curry Cuisine / Corrine Trang
Debt-Free Forever : Take Control of Your Money and Your Life / Gail Vaz-Oxlade
How Did You Get This Number : Essays / Sloane Crosley
If a Woman's Hair is Her Glory, Why am I Tweezing My Chin? / Martha Bolton
Love in Spoonfuls / Sarah Putman Clegg
The NDD Book : How Nutrition Deficit Disorder Affects Your Child's Learning.... / William Sears
Nomad / Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Operation Mincemeat : How a Dead Man and a .... / Ben Macintyre
Prime-Time Health : a Scientifically Proven Plan for Feeling Young and Living Longer / William Sears with Martha Sears
Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art / Laney Salisbury & Aly Sujo
Put 'Em Up! : a Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide... / Sherri Brooks Vinton
Recipes from the Root Cellar : 250 Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables / Andrea Chesman
Socks Appeal : 16 Fun & Funky Friends Sewn from Socks / Brenna Maloney
Someone Will Be With You Shortly / Lisa Kogan
The Wayfinders : Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World / Wade Davis
The Way I See It : a Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's / Temple Grandin
White House Doctor : a Memoir / Connie Mariano
Words That Matter, a Little Book of Life Lessons / editors of O, the Oprah Magazine
Yum-yum Bento Box : Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches / Crystal Watanabe and Maki Ogawa
What We Have / Amy Boesky
Zeitoun / Dave Eggers

audio

video
The Bounty Hunter
Canada : A People's History, set 3
Clash of the Titans
Dear John
Doubt
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Greatest
Home Improvement : the Complete First Season
Home Improvement : Season Two
Home Improvement : the Comlete Fourth Season
Life
MacGyver : the First Season
MacGyver : the Second Season
MacGyver : the Third Season
Mamma Mia!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Rick Steves' Europe : All 80 Shows 2000-2009
Shutter Island
The Snow Walker

YOUNG ADULT
fiction
Timberwolf Prey / Sigmund Brouwer
Best Friends and Drama Queens / Meg Cabot
The Atlantis Complex / Eoin Colfer
Babymouse: Beach Babe / Jennifer Holm
Babymouse: Burns Rubber! / Jennifer Holm
Babymouse: Dragonslayer / Jennifer Holm
Babymouse: Queen of the World! / Jennifer Holm
Babymouse: Skater Girl / Jennifer Holm
Camp Babymouse / Jennifer Holm
Fading Echoes / Erin Hunter
The Fourth Apprentice / Erin Hunter
Better Late Than Never / Marilyn Kaye
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow / Marilyn Kaye
Ivy + Bean / Annie Barrows
Ivy + Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go / Annie Barrows
Ivy + Bean Break the Fossil Record / Annie Barrows
Ivy + Bean Doomed to Dance / Annie Barrows
Ivy + Bean Take Care of the Babysitter / Annie Barrows
Finders Keepers / Marilyn Kaye
The Emperor's Code / Gordon Korman
The Viper's Nest / Peter Lerangis
Exiles from the War [Dear Canada Series] / Jean Little
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner / Stephenie Meyer
Storm Warning / Linda Sue Park
The Schernoff Discoveries / Gary Paulsen
Vanishing Girl / Shane Peacock
The Complaints [large print] / Ian Rankin
The Battle of the Labyrinth / Rick Riordan
The Demigod Files / Rick Riordan
The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters / Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse / Rick Riordan
Hell's Heroes / Darren Shan
Boarder Patrol / Erin Thomas
Cutting for Stone / Abraham Verghese
In Too Deep / Jude Watson
So Yesterday / Scott Westerfeld

non-fiction
Dewey, the Library Cat : a True Story / Vicki Myron
Kingfisher Dinosaur Encyclopedia / Mike Benton
Savage Safari

CHILDREN
Counting Cows / Michelle Medlock Adams
Waiting for Wings / Lois Ehlert
Old MacDonald Had a Farm / David Ellwand
The Wheels on the Bus / David Ellwand
Scoot! / Cathryn Falwell
Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy / Denise Fleming
Elusive Moose / Joan Gannij
Nico & Lola / Meggan Hill
Together / Hazel Hutchins
Airplanes / Mary Lindeen
Graders / Mary Lindeen
Helicopters / Mary Lindeen
Ships / Mary Lindeen
Trucks / Mary Lindeen
I'm a Truck Driver / Jonathan London
Ambulances / Kay Manolis
Police Cars / Kay Manolis
School Buses / Kay Manolis
Skid Steer Loaders / Kay Manolis
Tow Trucks / Kay Manolis
Cranes / M.T. Martin
Just Saving My Money / Mercer Mayer
Concrete Mixers / Ray McClellan
Amazing Airplanes / Tony Mitton
Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library! / Vicki Myron
Spectacular Spectacles / Jane O'Connor
Who Will Plant a Tree? / Jerry Pallotta
Looking for a Moose / Phyllis Root
Compost Stew : an A to Z Recipe for the Earth / Mary McKenna Siddals
Chalk / Bill Thomson
Moose Tracks! / Karma Wilson
Would you Rather Be a Pollywog / Bonnie Worth
Bucket Trucks / Derek Zobel
Diggers / Derek Zobel
Pickup Trucks / Derek Zobel
Wheel Loaders / Derek Zobel

May 2010 New Arrivals

2010-05-19T15:58:00.004-04:00

ADULT
fiction
The Pregnant Widow: Inside History / Martin Amis
Sidney Sheldon's After the Darkness / Tilly Bagshawe
Deliver Us from Evil / David Baldacci
Nellie Wildchild / Emma Blair
Lost River / Stephen Booth
Executive Intent / Dale Brown
61 Hours / Lee Child
The Dead Republic / Roddy Doyle
In the Name of Friendship / Marilyn French
The Shadows in the Street / Susan Hill
Falcon Seven / James W. Huston
The Devil's Queen : a novel of Catherine de Medici / Jeanne Kalogridis
The Shadowy Horses / Susanna Kearsley
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest / Stieg Larsson
Supreme Justice / Phillip Margolin
Charlotte and Emily / Jude Morgan
Blue-Eyed Devil / Robert B. Parker
The 9th Judgement / James Patterson
Jane Austen Ruined My Life / Beth Pattillo
As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth / Lynne Rae Perkins
Fever Dream / Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Seven Deadly Wonders / Mathew Reilly
Storm Prey / John Sandford
Private Life / Jane Smiley
Innocent / Scott Turow
Red Hats / Damon Wayans

non-fiction
Allan Square / Shirley Murphy
The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence / Paul Davies
I'll Mature When I'm Dead : Dave Barry's Amazing Tales of Adulthood / Dave Barry
Local Library, Global Passport : the Evolution of a Carnegie Library / J. Patrick Boyer
Muskoka / photographs by Mike Grandmaison
Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos into Confidence / Gail Sheehy
Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks / Melissa Morgan-Oakes
Triumph: Life After the Cult--a Survivor's Lessons / Carolyn Jessop
The Vegetable Gardener's Book of Building Projects
Where We Going Daddy : Life with Two Sons Unlike Any Others / Jean-Louis Fournier

audio
Deliver Us from Evil / David Baldacci
Triumph / Carolyn Jessop

video
The Lovely Bones

YOUNG ADULT
fiction
Roman Invasion / Jim Eldridge
Nobody's Princess / Esther Friesner
Abby Carnelia's One and Only Magical Power /David Hogue
Fire in the Sky / Erin Hunter
To Kill a Queen / Valerie Wilding

non-fiction
Northwest Territories / Rachel Eagen
Yukon / Adrianna Morganelli

CHILDREN
Marley and the Kittens / John Grogan

April 2010 New Arrivals

2010-04-24T12:47:00.005-04:00

ADULT
fiction
The Last Time I Saw You / Elizabeth Berg
Cat of the Century / Rita Mae Brown
The Chopin Manuscript [large print] / based on an idea by Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, et al
How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly / Connie May Fowler
This Body of Death / Elizabeth George
Seeing Things [large print] / Patti Hill
Beatrice & Virgil / Yann Martel
The Double Comfort Safari Club / Alexander McCall Smith
The Lake Shore Limited / Sue Miller
The Long Way Home / Robin Pilcher
Burning Lamp / Amanda Quick
The 5 Greatest Warriors / Matthew Reilly
Procession of the Dead / D.B. Shan
A Soft Place to Land / Susan Rebecca White
The Prodigal Wife [lare print] / Marcia Willett
Lucid Intervals / Stuart Woods
Mounting Fears [large print] / Stuart Woods

non-fiction
This Time Together : Laughter and Reflection / Carol Burnett
Fearful Symmetry : the Fall and Rise of Canada's Founding Values / Brian Lee Crowley
Pegahmagabow : Life-Long Warrior / Adrian Hayes
The Complete Root Cellar Book : Building Plans, Uses and 100 Recipes / Steve Maxwell and Jennifer MacKenzie

audio

video
Adam
Bad Lieutenant
It's Complicated
The Men Who Stare at Goats
New Moon
The Young Victoria

YOUNG ADULT
fiction
A Hail of Arrows : Jenkin Lloyd, Agincourt, France 1415 / Michael Cox
Viking Blood : Tor Scaldbane, Scandinavia 1008 AD / Andrew Donkin
The Great Plague /Pamela Oldfield
Following the Trail of Marco Polo / Geronimo Stilton
Bloody Tower / Valerie Wilding

non-fiction
The A to Z of Scientific Discoveries / Pennie Stoyles
Castles Through Time / Nicholas Harris
Dinosaurs Through Time / Nicholas Harris
Earthquakes Through Time Nicholas Harris
Pyramids Through Time / Nicholas Harris

CHILDREN
Little Bunny
Little Panda
Little Puppy
Little Tiger
There's a Barnyard in My Bedroom / David Suzuki

March 2010 New Arrivals

2010-03-04T15:30:00.008-05:00

ADULT
fiction
Never Look Away / Linwood Barclay
Capitol Betrayal / William Bernhardt
Impatient with Desire /Gabrielle Burton
The Pallbearers / Stephen J. Cannell
Losing Charlotte / Heather Clay
Caught / Harlan Coben
Blood Brothers / Josephine Cox
The Silent Sea / Clive Cussler
The Language of Secrets / Dianne Dixon
Hell Gate / Linda Fairstein
False Convictions / Tim Green
Money to Burn / James Grippando
The Lady and the Poet / Maeve Haran
Under Heaven / Guy Gavriel Kay
Deception / Jonathan Kellerman
Deception [large print] / Jonathan Kellerman
Second Time Around / Beth Kendrick
Matthew's Story: from Sinner to Saint / Tim LaHaye
Yes, My Darling Daughter / Margaret Leroy
Too Many Murders / Colleen McCullough
Solar / Ian McEwan
American Rust / Philipp Meyer
The Promise of Rain / Donna Milner
February / Lisa Moore
The League of Night and Fog / David Morrell
The Forgotten Garden / Kate Morton
The Last Surgeon / Michael Palmer
Split Image / Robert B. Parker
Heresy / S.J. Parris
The Sheen on the Silk / Anne Perry
House Rules / Jodi Picoult
For a Queen's Love : the Stories of the Royal Wives of Phillip II / Jean Plaidy
Shattered / Karen Robards
Fantasy in Death / J.D. Robb
Think Twice / Lisa Scottoline
Blood Vines / Erica Spindler
Brava, Valentine / Adriana Trigiani
The Other Family / Joanna Trollope
One Good Dog / Susan Wilson

non-fiction
13 is the New 18 / Beth Harpaz
The Boy in the Moon : a Father's Search for His Disabled Son / Ian Brown
Germany / Eyewitness Travel
I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced / Nujood Ali
Lemon-Aid ... New Cars and Trucks / Phil Edmonston
Sleep Tight : Help Your Child Attain a Good Night's Sleep in Three Days / Suzy Martyn
Taylor Swift : Love Story / Amy Gail Hansen
Where Mercy is Shown, Mercy is Given /Duane "Dog" Chapman

audio
Caught / Harlan Coben

video
The Blind Side
Building an Addition
Corner Gas Season 5
New Moon
Old Dogs
Precious
The Princess and the Frog
Remodeling the Kitchen
A Serious Man
The Time Traveler's Wife
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

YOUNG ADULT
The Amusement Park Mystery / adapted by Shannon Eric Denton
The Castle Mystery / adapted by Shannon Eric Denton
The Devil's Breath / David Gilman
Evolution / Daniel Loxton
Treasure Island [graphic novel] / Robert Louis Stevenson
Grease Town / Ann Towell
The Pizza Mystery / adapted by Rob M. Worley

CHILDREN
Stella, Fairy of the Forest / Marie-Louise Gay
Stella, Princess of the Sky / Marie-Louise Gay
Stella, Queen of the Snow / Marie-Louise Gay
Stella, Star of the Sea / Marie-Louise Gay
A Paddling of Ducks : Animals in Groups from A to Z / Marjorie Blain Parker
Nana's Getting Married / Heather Hartt-Sussman
Strike Three, Marley! / Susan Hill
Marley Steals the Show / Jeanine Le Ny
Lord of the Forest / Caroline Pitcher

February 2010 New Arrivals

2010-02-04T11:34:00.008-05:00

ADULT

fiction
Death of a Valentine / M.C. Beaton
Secrets of Eden / Chris Bohjalian
Generation X : Tales for an Accelerated Culture / Doug Coupland
Born Under a Million Shadows / Andrea Busfield
The Wild Zone / Joy Fielding
Winter Garden / Kristin Hannah
The Murderer's Daughters / Randy Susan Meyers
Her Fearful Symmetry / Audrey Niffenegger
Worst Case / James Patterson
Big Girl / Danielle Steel

non-fiction
The Felted Bag Book: 21 Simple Projects for Every Occasion / Susie Johns
Linchpin: Are You Indispensible? / Seth Godin

audio

video
The Informant!

YOUNG ADULT
The Girl Who Could Fly / Victoria Forester
Tim Horton : From Stanley Cups to Coffee Cups / Don Quinlan
The Discovery of America / Geronimo Stilton

CHILDREN