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Director and head librarian, Lou Pray, tells all about the library, Lopez, and beyond...

Lou on KLOI radio every week

Don't miss the weekly radio program every Wednesday at 1:00 pm. Tune to 102.9 or click here to connect to KLOI radio and stream the program online!

Listen to Lou now:

Listen to audio samplings of audiobooks, music and other items available for checkout @ your library.

• February 15, 2012 - "Eragon" Book 1 - Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.

• February 8, 2012 - "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit) - A suspenseful World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption. "Rin Tin Tin" by Susan Orlean - The story of how a dog got the attention of Warner Brothers and went on to become the most famous dog in the world.

• February 1, 2012 - "The Tigers Curse" by Colleen Houck, first of a trilogy written for Young Adults but is full of adventure and suspense, and will keep you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails. "The Empty Land" by Louis L'amour - In a forbidden, empty land, a trapper finds a chunk of gold, and everything changes. Music by Loreena McKennitt, a tango.

• January 11, 2012 - "Scorpio Races" by Maggie Steifvater - A Yound Adult audiobook found in YA-TC STI; Time of our Lives by Tom Brokaw - Non-fiction audiobook found at TC 973.93 BRO.

• December 21, 2011 Christmas music by Leon Redbone, Squirrel Nut Zippers, David Sedaris; Charlie Brown Christmas.

• December 14, 2011 "A Christmas Carol" as read by Paul Schofield; "To Drive the Cold Weather Away", seasonal music by Lorena McKennitt, vocalist and arranger; Christmas music by Louis Prima and Duke Ellington.

• December 7, 2011 Featuring local musicians.

• November 30, 2011

• November 23, 2011

• November 16, 2011

• November 2, 2011 - Music to whet your appetite for the upcoming book talks by rock music historian and author Richie Unterberger scheduled on Nov 7th and 8th - 5:30 PM

  • Two selections from Joni Mitchell's Blue Album (1971) - Blue and California. Can be found in the CD section under M-MIT.

  • The Times They Are A Changin' and Ballad of Hollis Brown from Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A Changin' (1964) by Bob Dyland found in the CD section uner M-DYL .

  • Norwegian Wood, You Won't See Me, The Word, and Michelle from the Beatle's Rubber Soul (1965) found in the CD section under M-BEA.

  • Girls like us [sound recording CD] (2008): Biographies of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the journey of a generation women rock musicians by Sheila Weller, located in the audiobook section under TC 782.42 WEL

• October 26, 2011 - Audiobook and two music CDs

  • Third Man Them and other Viennese Favorites - Zither music arranged by Anton Karas. Music CD found in CD - S KAR

  • Selections from Used Songs by Tom Waits found in the CD section under M WAI

  • Just After Sunset: Introduction to short stories by Stephen King, read by Stephen King. We have both the printed book in the fiction section and the audiobook found under TC-KIN.

• Sept 28, 2011- Audiobook and two music CDs

  • Love Among the Chickens by P.G. Woodhouse, Lou's pick for the funniest book. PG. Woodhouse wrote more than 90 books, 20 film scripts, and collaborated in more than 30 plays and musicals. We also have the Jeeves and Wooster series in print, audio, and DVD.

  • Jazz selections from the Live in Europe 1967 Tour by the Miles Davis Quintet, which can be found in the CD section under CD J-DAV.

  • Rock selections from Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix Experience. This CD can be found in the music section under CD M-HEN

• Sept 14, 2011 - Two audiobooks, music CD

• Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer - from a series of 8 audiobooks for Young Adults, (popular with both adults and young adults) has won numerous awards. The adventure series is about the life and times of Mary Jack Faber in the early 1900's, who hides her identity as a girl and become a ship's boy. Found in the audiobook section in YA-TC MEY.

• Stolen Innocence by Elissa Walls - her story of growing up in a polygamous sect, becoming a teenage bride, and breaking free of Warren Jeffs. Found in adult audiobook biography section - TC B WAL

• Selections from Pink Floyd CDs found in the music CD section under - CD M - PIN

• Sept 7, 2011 - Two audiobooks

  • The Help. The printed book has been popular and is rarely available at the library. The movie is opening this week in theatreintroduction to The Help now.

  • The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and American Book award is the first of a trilogy by Morris.

  • Music CD by Cowboy Junkies - several music selections from Pale Sun.

     

Lou's News & Reviews

February 15, 2011

Upcoming Events and Classes

Digital Photo Management 101 - Two part workshop - Feb 23 and Mar 1st - 6:30

Learn how to download and organize photos, create albums, slide shows, email photos, order prints and more using Picasa, a free web-based photo management program. Instructor: Lou Pray, in collaboration with the Family Resource Center. Call 468-4117 to sign up.

Elizabeth Austen Poetry Writing Workshop - Sunday, Feb 26th from 2 PM - 4 PM

Elizabeth is incredibly talented and will guide you and inspire you to with new insights. Come prepared to write, participants will leave the workshop with a fresh draft of a new poem. FREE to the public and is co-sponsored by Friends of the Library and SHARK REEF Litarary Magazine.

Poetry Reading - Two Poets - Austen & Trogden @ 7:00 PM

Join author Elizabeth Austen reading from her new book, "Every Dress a Decision", and local poet Dorothy Trogden reading from her debut collection, "Tall Woman Looking". FREE to the public, this event is co-sponsored by Friends of Lopez Island Library and SHARK REEF Litarary Magazine.

Joe Reilly Music and Stories - Saturday, Mar 25 @ 2:00 PM

This popular singer songwriter and environmentalist is back to share music and stories with young and old alike. The library has two of his music CDs in our collection.

Adult Winter Reading Program @ the Library

This year's Adult Reading Program will be held from January 3rd through March 31st, 2012. Write a review on a book, audiobook or film, and your name goes into a drawing for fabulous weekly prizes. Submissions are open to anyone 18 years and up. We'll post the reviews below and then post the winners on the right. Go to the Adults page to read the reviews.

Write a Book or Movie Review

Click here to write a book review.

Foreign Movie Festival - Every Saturday @ 6:00 PM

Saturday, Feb. 18th - This week's feature film: Cherry Blossom - One of Germany's foremost filmmakers, award-winning Doris Dorrie, directs this tender, emotionally intense and profoundly moving story of marital love. Only Trudi knows that her husband Rudi is suffering from a terminal illness. She decides not to tell him and convinces him to visit their family in Berlin. Then, suddenly, Trudi dies. Rudi is devastated but vows to make up for her lost life. And so he embarks on his last journey - to Tokyo - in the midst of the cherry blossom festival, a celebration of beauty, impermanence and new beginnings.

Italian Language Students ...

We have quite a few foreign movies in Italian. Check them out or come for the Foreign Film Festival on February 25 and March 3rd when we'll feature two Italian movies.

Saturday Download Audiobooks and eBooks class - 1:00 pm

Each Saturday at 1:00 pm, Lou Pray holds an digital how to class for those interested in learning how to download audiobooks and ebooks available through the library's digital resources. She also has Kindles, Nooks, iPods available - a sort of Digital Petting Zoo - to give you a hands on experience. Free to the public.

New! eBooks for Kindles!

This is certainly very big news, especially for those of us who love reading books electronically on digital readers. Just last week, Kindle and Amazon have agreed to let libraries checkout books via Overdrive. You can download Overdrive books to your Kindle for free, for up the 3-week maximum, to read electronically. They now join the other electronic book readers.

In addition to Kindle, OverDrive provides support for all major desktop and mobile devices, including Windows®, Mac®, iPod®, iPhone®, iPad®, Sony® Reader, NOOK™, Android™, BlackBerry® and Windows® Phone.

Go to the library website, click on the Overdrive link, and follow the instructions to download. Keep in mind that this is not a purchase situation. If you have a library card, you are entitled to checkout these books through Overdrive for free.

Did You Know ...

You can

Ask Wa - 24/7 Reference Service

We are now part of a collaborative service that gives you an opportunity to ask any reference question through a chat line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You might be reaching the Lopez branch or any number of branches throughout the world. If you have a question, ask a librarian. Of course, if you want to talk to one of the librarians here in Lopez directly, just call 468-2265 during library hours.

Live Mocha - Learn a foreign language online

LiveMocha is a web-based foreign language website which has over 35 languages. You simply register with LiveMocha, choose the language(s) you want to learn or improve on and each time you go back to the site, LiveMocha keeps track of where you left off. With headphone/microphone attached, you will be helped with your pronunciation, and you can even chat online with native speakers. Register and begin using LiveMocha now!

Audiobooks and eBooks

We have two different vendors from which to download audiobooks and eBooks. Both OneClickDigital and Overdrive's Washington Anytime Library allow you to sign up, browse the catalog, check out selections and then download. Help tutorials are available for both. We can also help you every Satruday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 during our download classes.

Friday Computer classes

As previously mentioned, we have walk-in classes each Friday. Bring your laptop or you can use one of ours for instruction which focuses on your interests. They're free.

Kindles and Nooks

Just a reminder that we have both Kindles and Nooks available in our catalog. They have many eBook titles already loaded on them and are available for you to try out

Did You Know ... ?

Did you know that the SJC Council welcomes citizen input regarding County issues, including suggestions as to how the County might better serve its citizens. Time is scheduled on every council meeting's agenda to hear public comment. Learn here how best to make your voice heard. SJC Council - Procedural Guidelines for Citizen Access Time. To to learn about viewing the council's recorded or live meetings & other useful information, go to the library's "Community Links" page.

Love Comes in Many Forms

Reviews by Lou Pray

In honor of Saint Valentine's Day, I'll admit it - I'm a closet romantic, although my reading tastes don't always reflect that. Currently, I'm reading a book about a young English girl's take on the death of Norse gods Odin, Freya and Thor (Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt) and another book about true-life 1945 plane crash survivors in a mysterious valley in the misty jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea as the deal with spear-carrying villagers/cannibals and valliant rescuers. Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff. The week before that, I consumed two period murder mysteries Death Comes to Pemberley (P.D. James) and V is for Vengeance (Sue Grafton).

It seems much of my reading involves a bit of gory death in some small or large measure. Well, to be fair even with Saint Valentine things came to a sticky end: a kind-hearted Roman priest who married young couples against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II, he was beheaded for his deeds on the 14th of February - or so the legend goes.

But a list of my top five all-time love stories is easy to share and the mayhem is kept to a minimum. These all contain the tender sentiment associated with the season, sans candy and roses. On the road to marriage - maybe - but definitely on the way to blissful togetherness with another - although not necessarily another human

My Dog Tulip / J.R. Ackerley (man/dog love story) - Tulip, a beguiling German Shepherd captures the heart of loner journalist J.R. Ackerley and their life together is a full one as he tries to ensure that Tulip doesn't miss out on any of life's BIG EVENTS: love, children, travel, walkies...

The Night Circus/ Erin Morgenstern (wizard/wizard love story) - easily the most beautiful story I've read in 2011. The ever-evolving tents within tents in this magically-infused circus each contain an intricate world of beauty and mystery and are the star-crossed wizards creations each for the other's delight.

Outlander / Diana Gabaldon (1940s Englishwoman/1740s Scottish laird) - time-travel and historical fiction, yes, but at the heart of this well-written novel is the most captivating adult love story I've ever read. Not only do they become friends first but co-adventurers and co-conspiritors keeping her time of origin a secret while preparing for the Highlander's devastation she knows will come in the battle of Culloden. This story is still putting out sequels after 20 years - no wants to hear the end of the Claire and Jamie saga.

Time Traveler's Wife / Audrey Niffenegger (time-traveling librarian and artist love story). Henry, a librarian, has had a genetic condition that comes to be known as Chrono-Displacement Disorder, which forces him bodily into different time periods but most always in the vicinity of Claire who he first meets as a young girl where their friendship begins and later as his wife. Exciting, funny, strangely plausible and ever so romantic.

Wesley the owl : the remarkable love story of an owl and his girl / Stacey O'Brien. (owl/woman love story). A true-story of biologist and owl expert Stayey O'Brien who chronicles her rescue of an adorable, abandoned baby barn owl - and their astonishing and unprecedented 19-year life together. Not only do you learn an incredible amount about the natural habits of barn owls but also the incredible capacity for love and devotion across species. Yes, this wonderful love story of an owl and his girl pushes out the classic Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from my top five list. As a wise someone once said "Love is a many feathered thing!"

All these love stories and many more are available at the Lopez Island Library.

Links

Adult Reading

Databases

Library Services ...

Get your Food Handling training at the library!

Restaurant owners and others in the food industry take note: certification in Food Handling can now be done at the Lopez Island Library. The San Juan County Public Health folks have installed a special station for completing the food handling certification test online. These are located just outside the library community room. The test takes approximately 50 minutes, just print off your results and hand them in at the library desk with your $10.00 handling fee. The county will send your card in the mail. Now you don't have to leave the island to complete your food handling training.