@ Your Library
It is the last day of September and a good time to check in and make sure everyone is doing a bit of reading each and every day. It can be a good way to wind down at the end of the day and ease the eye strain of staring at screens and make going to sleep easier (unless you get caught up in a good story).
Here are some new books that have good stories and might make you stay up too late reading. Hatchet Island by Paul Doiron finds Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch and his girlfriend on a sea kayaking trip to a research station. The tension at the station is high and, in the night, while camping they are awakened to gunshots and find two researchers dead and one missing. Can Mike protect lives and discover who murdered who?
I’ve often said a lot of non-fiction these days read like novels and Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy by Damien Lewis is a riveting read of a pre-WWII music-hall diva who was the highest paid female performer in Europe. She was banned from performing when the Nazis seized her adopted city, so she became a resistance spy while serving as a French nurse paratrooper.
True crime stories also make me think truth can be stranger than fiction. Trailed by Kathryn Miles is ‘one woman’s quest to solve the Shenandoah murders’ that happened in May 1996 when two experienced outdoors enthusiasts are murdered at their campsite in the backcountry of Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park.
Charles Martin released the third Murphy Shepherd novel in July. The Record Keeper continues exploring Murphy’s mantra ‘that love always shows up’ and discovers the ‘true cost of leaving the ninety-nine to find the one.’ This is a heart-stopping story of love, courage and faith.
Minnesota State Park passes continue to be available. We have two park passes that can be checked out each week for a week. If you are visiting a state park this fall (or winter) swing by the library before you go and pick up a free park pass. The passes are just a small part of our Library of Things that now includes a meat grinder, fruit juice steamer, ukuleles and a bingo cage and balls.
Of course, don’t forget Libby and Hoopla, the two apps that the library provides access to. Both provide our library users with ebooks and audiobooks. They work a bit differently and we can help you set up an account on your phone or tablet if needed. As a resident of Minnesota, you can also access EBooks Minnesota a digital collection of ebooks from many of the state’s independent publishers as well as self-published titles by Minnesota authors. But that isn’t all that the library provides in the way of digital resources. We provide access to the online Consumer Reports along with legal forms, automotive repair guides through Chilton’s online library and online tutoring for students and job seekers through Brainfuse.