Harry Potter at last

Well, I finished HP 7 Saturday morning about 9:30 am. It was as wonderful as I hoped it would be. Through dangerous obstacles and the final battle with Lord Voldemort's forces of evil, the three friends held that marvelous bond of love that was Harry's gift of life from his mother.

Rowling's overall theme of love, beginning with Harry's mother's love saving his life creates many wonderful ways to use these fascinating and most read books of the last decade and perhaps last century, to encourage values in young people.

For single adults and parents who have the idea that these are magic books for children, I dare you to read one and look again. There is much more than magic at play in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And much to be learned and shared from the magic of books that have children and adults reading not just articles or brief stories, but huge volumes of continuing stories that are not available on film until years after the book comes out. And while many did wait for the movie, the books continue to be read again and again by new people who discover the "magic" that gives hope in the eternal battles of good and evil.

As Dumbledore told Harry in the first book, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.". Look to find the wisdom of Dumbledore quoted in years to come as part of everyday life.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Well, I started Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber and what I read I truly enjoyed. The friends in the story have real people relationships and there are secrets to be revealed as the plot unfolds. However, Friday night at midnight the last Harry Potter was released and I was at Wal-Mart for my copy. So the rest of the weekend was spent with Harry and crew. I had an out of town meeting and family to tend to so I have not gotten even half way through the 759 pages yet. It is great! It is exciting and I do not want to rush or skim it - it is about the journey with my friends - not about the facts of how it ends. Will write more later...after I have more time to READ.
Donna

Many Choices

The library has so many books to choose from sometimes the choices are overwhelming. I just finished a fun paperback romance and now am looking through what I have out to pick for the weekend. Debbie Macomber's Back on Blossom Street is the third in her Seattle based knitting friends series. I have not read the first two but I have always enjoyed Debbie M, so that is a possibility. Bittersweet is next to my bedside waiting....it is a historical inspirational, one of my favorite genres set in 1860 California and featuring the Pony Express and romance...yes!
And a humorous chic lit title Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Hardison. Oh what to choose?
I will let you know Monday. Hope some of you will soon share your favorite reading too!
donna

Matchmaker is not just romance

One of the older titles I read this spring is really not old, just 2006. Matchmaker by Jamie Denton is a romantic suspense thriller which for fans of J. D. Robb and CSI, has enough serial killer gruesome details and dysfunctional marital relations to fit in with current bestsellers. The mystery is not who the serial killer is since that is revealed early on and his viewpoint is one of those repeatedly presented in this three voice story. Greer and her estranged husband Ashley who are professional FBI trained profilers provide the other two views and the sizzle keeps the reader looking to find out what comes next and if they will resolve their murky relationship. Characters and plot appear current with today's headlines and television topics. Personal note: discussion of vics, UNSUBS and mutilated body parts, along with bad language does not make for pleasant recreational reading in my opinion, but I read one for an example anyway.
Donna

Staff annotations

Summer reading makes for a busy time at the library with Summer Reading Programs four days a week and just a little time to re-group on Friday for the next go-round! Staff members write annotations regularly and I will feature some here that did not make the news articles from the library in the local newspapers. Remember this site is for lots of readers, not just this writer, so come on and share some of your favorite books.

Tina Cobb read a couple of interesting titles this spring. Causing Havoc, by Lori Foster is a romance with an extreme fighter Dean "Havoc" Connor in the lead role. This popular athlete is doing well for himself when he receives a letter from his little sister needing help and returns home to Harmony, Kentucky. He falls for Camille's friend Eve and his life and memories are turned upside down as the family's story is revealed. I like Lori Foster too and she always comes through with hot romance and happy endings. Tina also reported on If Only In My Dreams, by Wendy Markham. Actress Clara McCallen, diagnosed with breast cancer, stays in town to be on location for her next big movie instead of going home for Christmas. Clara's love story movie has her falling for a war hero. Thinking she was dreaming, she steps off the train and comes face to face with the real war hero, sixty years in the past. Tina said it was a real good book.

Debbie DeArmond read Kidnapped this spring. Not the one by Robert Louis Stevenson but a new thriller by Jan Burke. It is an Irene Kelly mystery and Debbie says "if you haven't read any of Burke's novels with Irene Kelly in them, you have really missed out." Cleo Smith is a sociopathic serial killer who kills several people in this novel but no one suspects her. Cleo is always careful to leave no clues, she wipes everything down, changes her clothes after the killing and sometimes it is hard to tell if she is a man or a woman. But one night after her kill she is surprised by the arrival of Irene Kelly; Cleo barely gets away and she doesn't get to clean up the scene. Irene will not be able to rest until she can find out who is doing the murders. It is hard to distinguish the good characters from the evil ones until you are deep in the novel.

Maximum Ride: Saving the World...#3

James Patterson's latest in the Maximum Ride trilogy is a fascinating book. Part of a hot new young adult series and penned by a popular adult author, it should have fans of futuristic fantasy in both age groups. Maximum Ride: Saving the world and other Extreme Sports is about a group of bird kids who are trying to save the world from the Itex Corporation that is set on destroying half the world and creating a master race with "special" skilled individuals. It is truly stated by one Amazon reviewer that several details are missing that would explain some unusual situations and relationships in the plot, however, the focus of the mission and the kids conversation grabs you early on and you root for them to get a happy ending. I like books that have characters I want to root for - hope you do too! Happy Reading....Donna

Challenge and romance

Hi, and Happy 4th of July to you all. This is a special holiday for those of us who live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Share the joys of these special blessings with those you love and some you have not yet met on this Independence Day. It is a blessing to live in this land, and to have so much to read. Having the choice of what you want to read is one of those freedoms that soldiers protect. Thank a soldier.

The Devil Who Tamed Her by Johanna Lindsey is one of those fun choices. And yet there are lessons to be learned there. Regency romances always remind me that in days past, women, even very rich women were bartered by their fathers for titles, land or prestige, into marriages that were often very unacceptable. We have lots of strife and divorce these days that is true, but I imagine that lots of unhappiness existed back then, we just don't have the statistics in the same way to prove it.

Ophelia Reid, whose beauty is sullied by her awful personality, becomes a challenge to Rafe Locke. In the course of trying to change her, the sparks fly and romance ensues. With several unusual plot twists, romance does triumph and it is a delightful passionate romance. However, it is possible to notice relationship advice that just might be helpful to all along the way and that is a bonus for a Regency romance. Enjoy! I did.