Library Column for March 14, 2018

@ Your Library

Happy Pi Day! Celebrate with a slice of your favorite pie or discover a new favorite. Visit the library’s cookbook section for great pie recipes. While you are looking for pie recipes, don’t forget to look for recipes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. You can also find some great videos about Ireland in The Irish Rebellion for history and Ireland’s Wild Coast or Visions of Britain and Ireland for stunning visual tours of Ireland countryside.

Are you looking for some great reads to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Look no further than Patrick Taylor and his series ‘Irish Country Novels,’ starting with An Irish Country Doctor and the latest being An Irish Country Practice. Maeve Binchy wrote Firefly Summer thirty years ago about a sleepy Irish town in the 1960’s and the Ryan family.

A light –weight mystery series set in Cork County Ireland begins with Buried in a Bog and features Maura Donovan and her visit to the small Irish village where her Gran was born. The rest of the series include the titles Scandal in Skibbereen and An Early Wake.

As I searched for titles set in Ireland, several caught my eye as being strange (or at least on the surface, unusual) titles for books set in Ireland. I haven’t read, but have now put on my ‘to read’ list Stir-Fry by Emma Donoghue and Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes. If you read either of these, I’d love to know what stir-fry and sushi have to do with Ireland.

For stories with a Minnesota connection borrow Jon Hassler’s book A Green Journey about a retired teacher visiting Ireland. Erin Hart, Minnesota author, also sets her mysteries in Ireland, including Haunted Ground, Lake of Sorrows, False Mermaid and The Book of Killowen all featuring the pathologist Nora Gavin.

Three books published last year that are set in Ireland include The Magdalen Girls by V.S. Alexander and set in Dublin in 1962 in the Magdalen Laundries. Mikel Santiago’s The Last Night at Tremore Beach translated by Carlos Frias is a chilling psychological thriller set on the Irish coast. Teens and adults will enjoy Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle about six teenagers who come together one story Irish summer and discover a tattered spellbook that connects them in ways they could never imagine.

Storytime meets tomorrow, Thursday, March 15th at 10:30 am to explore the letter K with kites and more. Storytime focuses on providing an introduction to the library through stories and fun. Spend about 30 minutes with stories, rhymes, songs and more followed by about 30 minutes of free play with our early childhood toys.

Handiwork Night will meet on Monday, March 19 from 6 – 8 pm. Bring a project you are working on and discover how much progress can be made in two hours of time focused on being creative. All are welcome to work on whatever you want whether you draw, knit, paint, crochet, sew or more. Just create and stimulate your brain!