Hello again.  This past while has been so exciting – instead of “stuffing a bus”, the library has been “filling the shelves”.  The wonderful donations that have been received will so help filling those sad, empty spots.  The lady who kindly passes along such a selection of books donated  wonderful titles – and some so new they still smelled good.  The “library ladies” had me playing doing the first listing and while I was doing that, I thought why not check the shelves and see if it is one we may already have.  Doing this opened a whole new world of authors and titles.  Not only did I decide I wanted to read virtually every donated book, it also opened my eyes to what we already had.  I am not going to just go for my “usuals”, but am going to become a browser.  I so encourage all of you to come and browse with me.  Scholastics Canada kindly sent some new books to help fill in the gap caused by the flood and these are already being checked out.  Then Harlequin Publishing sent a large variety from the different genres they publish – over 170 new books from their warehouse.   The story about our small community, the varied demographic, the dedication of the board to help get through the repair after the flood, the patience of our library ladies all resonated with the executive and they were so happy to “lend a hand” with a very generous donation.

Now  -- the first book on my list this time is The Women by Kristin Hannah.  This is just new out and the best way to start describing this book is from the author’s notes.  She said that she had the idea for this book in about 1997, but felt she did not have the writing maturity at that time to tackle it.  Well, rest assured that some 25 years later, this lady has more than reached her literary maturity.  What a story about an unpopular war to start with, the conditions, the treatment of the veterans when they returned home.  The main character , Frankie, is a new nurse who enlists with the army.  She arrived green and wide eyed, but is taken under the wing of her fellow tent mates who help her through the initiation into a world of nursing unlike any other.  After two tours, she returns home to a very hostile environment and finds no help, other than her two friends from Vietnam.  The VA did not acknowledge that women were over there, so she struggled and hit rock bottom, but with the help of her two friends and some others, she fought back and made quite a life for herself.   This is a book you will remember for a long time and so very, very worth the read.

I also read Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes.  This is another espionage thriller.  The main character whose code name is Kane, is sent to the middle east .  He is a denied access agent – if you see an ad recruiting for being one of those – don’t answer the ad – way too dangerous!!!  It takes place in harsh countries with harsher people.  He basically works solo and one has to keep reading to help him out of some real disasters.  It is a fast moving book.  However, to be honest, there was one section I would describe as a sort of back to the future bit that I didn’t like and wondered what in the heck he was thinking of – but when I finished the book and thought about it, it did make sense.    I liked I Am Pilgrim better I think, but would still read this one again too.

On back to the future type books,  the library also has Fourth Wing and Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros.  These are classed as fantasy – not my kind of read – and that could be because I have been 39 years old more times than Jack Benny.

A historical fiction one was Testament by Wilbur Smith.  This is on ancient Egypt when the true new Pharoah was working to unite the country and build it up from the years of war and strife.  They believed in gods and the main character was looking for the secret that would save the country.  The descriptions were good, not sure about the gods etc.  This book caused a massive surge of “monkey brain” at times.  I have to wonder who was the first person who figured out their ancient writings – and are they telling us the right story.   This was even after a lot of the pyramids had been built and I sure wonder about them – how did they manage that (and no blocks were stamped made in China – that’s why they have lasted this long.)  A lot of people enjoy Smith’s books, but I am still sitting on the fence about whether or not we would have been friends.

If you are wondering about Monkey Brain – I will try and explain.  Years ago I was part of a grandparents support group.  At one meeting this very nice lady came to teach us mindfulness – and how to relax for a bit to relieve stress.  She explained the process of getting to a space where your slate is blank – fine – and then went on to explain how some people have difficulty as their brain will ramble off in many different directions instead of being able to wipe the slate clean – this is called monkey brain.  She tinkled this little bell and we were to close our eyes and  she continued to talk ever so quietly telling us to relax and clear our minds.  Yup there was the blank slate – great.  The room was quiet and here was this group of middle aged people who had found “the zone”.  Suddenly on my “slate” the message – you forgot to take meat out for supper – appeared.  Panic set in – what to feed the troops.  A ping – from 40 miles away I was mentally rummaging in the freezer, - ping – checking the fruit room – ping - go upstairs and check the fridge. On the way up, I quietly sneaked a peek at the rest in the room – all in the zone – darn.  Pinging continued – throw out the wilted celery – ping – check the mystery containers and see what might be edible and see what might be a science experiment with a healthy growth of mold.  I remember I was sweating.  Just as suddenly the light turned on – the troops would get breakfast for supper.  Now to settle back to the blank slate thing – just about there and the little bell tinkled to bring us back to the present.  The rest of the group happily said they thought that would be a great benefit.  I didn’t lie, just nodded my head and never did admit to my monkey brain attack!

Thinking of science.  A lovely, fun book is Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.  You would enjoy meeting Elizabeth Zott – a brilliant young woman who is a chemist and by far the brightest penny in the jar, but treated terribly by her fellow lab workers.  She is sort of a social mis-fit who has quite the adventures and everything is according to formula – love, life, cooking.  She ends up with a wildly successful cooking show and does it according to a formula not a recipe.  Six Thirty is her main support and you will adore him.  Read this and you will stand a little taller in your kitchen – as you will realize you are not just the family meal provider, you are a chemist too!!!

TTFN   Beryl