Attention Book Groups

Maeve Binchy’s last book before her death in July of 2012 is A Week in Winter.  This story follows the efforts of a woman who turns a coastal Ireland mansion into a holiday resort and receives an assortment of first guests who throughout the course of a week share laughter and the heartache of respective challenges.  (Description from Novelist) 

It is available as a Book Group to Go Bag and can now be reserved online.   To reserve Book Group to Go bags  go to our homepage www.herrickdl.org and choose the Books link under the Resources tab.  Scroll down to the Reserve a Book Group To Go Bag button and follow the directions.  Questions?  Give us a call at 355-3720.  Happy Reading!

Get a Jump on Summer Reading!

Beginning Saturday, June 1, you can sign up and print out the reading charts right on our website!  This is a first for us!  We don’t officially start the programs until June 10 but children and teens will be able to get an early start and avoid waiting in line to register in person. Try it out and let us know what you think!

You can begin signing up for the reading programs in person at the library beginning June 10 or at our big kick-off party for the younger kids at Centennial Park on Tuesday, June 11.  See our website for details.

Can't make it on June 11?  Worry not.  We register kids for the reading programs through much of the summer.  Join us and register when you can, either on-line or here at the library! 

Bike Tech!

Did you know that we have some bicycle experts available to help you keep your bike in tip-top shape?  And it’s free!  They came last month and were a great hit.  Join us this month as they share their knowledge on bike mechanics and bike safety. 

Yes, you really get to bring your bicycle into the library and take it into the elevator to the lower level!!  Weird, eh?  Bring your bike to the May session of Bike Tech this Saturday, May 25 at 10:00 am., learn a bunch from our bike techies, and you may win an awesome tire valve light for your bike!  The bike doctors will be in to help you fix, maintain, or even customize your bike.

To the Lighthouse . . . But Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Visit Tuesday or Thursday Only

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, access to Big Red Lighthouse will be restricted, according to the Holland Sentinel.  Residents will only be able to access the lighthouse from the south side on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  New housing is being erected, and it seems that there are concerns about trespassing and security.

So, for all of you avid bikers and hikers, all of you that enjoy walking your dogs, all of you lovers who enjoy a Lake Michigan sunset over our iconic Holland landmark . . . make sure you consult your calendars before heading out to Big Red.  Oh . . . and one more thing: make sure you don't plan on staying for longer than one hour.

The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 governs the current policies pertaining to the running of Big Red, since the transfer of the property to the non-profit organization, Holland Harbor Lighthouse Historical Commission. The following excerpt, concerning accessibility to the Lighthouse, is quoted verbatim from the actual Preservation Act of 2000:

 “NHLPA recognizes the cultural, recreational, and educational value associated with historic light station properties by allowing these to be transferred at no cost to federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit corporations, educational agencies, and community development organizations. These entities must agree to comply with conditions set forth in NHLPA, and be financially able to maintain the historic light station. The eligible entity to which the historic light station is conveyed must make the station available for education, park, recreation, cultural or historic preservation purposes for the general public at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions.”

It begs the question, what is reasonable?  If you would like to sign a petition that seeks to reinstate less restrictive, perhaps more reasonable, public access to Big Red, sign here.

Bedbugs, Paranoia, Catatonia . . . Oh My!

Brain on Fire
by Susannah Cahalan

Imagine you see tiny bug bites on your left forearm.  There has been a bedbug scare in your community and you begin to fear that the little critters have invaded your home.  No worries . . . you call an exterminator and take care of the nuisance.  (Even though perhaps there never really were any bugs or bites in the first place.)  But then stranger things begin to happen to you.  Things that are not easily fixed.  Happenings that eventually land you in a hospital, or perhaps a mental institution.  Hallucinations and paranoia grip your otherwise rational mind.  Your body begins to betray you.  Words drift, lost in a sea of confusion.  Headaches plague you.  You may even be housing a  teratoma – a tumor, usually benign, potentially sporting teeth, hair, eyes, even limbs!  Further degeneration results in seizures, zombie-link posturing, violence, even catatonia – you're near the brink of death! 

The aforementioned symptoms are not taken from the script of a sci-fi movie, but are descriptions of some of the things that actually happened to journalist Susannah Cahalan in 2009, one of the first patients to be diagnosed with Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis.  A fascinating and informative read that is not for the faint of heart, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness vividly chronicles the course of this disease that almost took her life, verbally painting an intense portrait of the events that finally led to her diagnosis and treatment.  Brain on Fire is well-written (Cahalan is a journalist by trade), interesting, and worth the time it may take a reader to work through the medical jargon that Cahalan presents and breaks down for us.  Her book also asks intriguing questions about the origins of this autoimmune disease, leading many to wonder just how long it’s been plaguing humans.  Have we been misdiagnosing it under the guise of false labels such as schizophrenia? Autism?  Even demonic possession?  Are there people rotting away in mental institutions with wrong diagnoses that perhaps could be cured with steroids and other therapies to treat brain inflammation?

For further information on Anti-NMDA Receptor Autoimmune Encephalitis, check out these links to scholarly articles by some of the doctors instrumental in researching and bringing to light this particularly tragic form of brain disease.  

Post your own thoughts and reviews of Cahalan's book and Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis  here, on our blog, for other readers to peruse and comment upon.  And, ahem, don't let those bedbugs bite . . . .

Read with Kids this Summer!

Do you like to read with kids?  Check out our 8-week Reading Buddies program for the summer!

We pair teens or adults with young readers, they meet weekly, and enjoy books together!  What could be better??  It’s great fun for all involved and it keeps the kids practicing their reading skills through the summer.

There are always loads of children who sign up for this but we would like to tap into more “big” buddies.    We have even added an evening session for those of you that work days.  We don’t like turning youngsters away! 

There is one required orientation session to show you some techniques to use as a reading partner.  Teens can pick up an application for this program in the Teen Department at the Main Library or at the North Side Branch. Teen applications are due by May 24.  Adults can sign up on our website here beginning May 13.

If you are interested in similar opportunities throughout the year you may want to consider becoming a Literacy Hero.  We begin our next training sessions on May 14.  Sign up here.

Lost in the Stacks

Wish You Well by David Baldacci

Most of David Baldacci’s books are legal thrillers and in my opinion are very good ones, but one of his books, Wish You Well, is quite different.  Based in Virginia, where the author grew up, the story begins when 12 year old Lou Cardinal and her 8 year old brother Oscar are in a car accident which takes their father’s life and leaves their mother in a catatonic state.  They are relocated from New York City to the mountains where they live with their great-grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal.  In their new home they have no electricity or running water – a much different life than they had before.   Their great-great-grandmother helps take care of their invalid mother, and the family adjusts to life in the mountains.  Towards the end of the novel a greedy corporation gets involved in the story and the book becomes more like his others with a courtroom battle. 

I think I like this book so much because it reminds me of some of my other favorites – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Painted House by John Grisham, and even the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I read when I was a child.  It is a beautiful coming-of-age novel by a great author.   

All Things Gatsby

Into the Valley of Celebrity Bookclubs rides Stephen Colbert--but with his own twist, of course....

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

After the obligatory furniture-leveling jokes, this sounds pretty cool: the discussion led by Jennifer Egan (author of A Visit from the Goon Squad) and an interview with director of the new movie, Baz Luhrmann, makes me think there might be a little more traction to the C-Oh-lbert Bookclub than fodder to aim at Oprah. (But, you know, that would be okay, too.)

Anywho, there are precious few days left before the Leonardo DiCaprio film releases on May 10 (yay!), but in the meantime, consider also the new Brilliance Audiobook release: The Great Gatsby, as read by Jake Gyllenhaal. (We don't have it at the library yet, so for now, you'll have to suffice with the preview below.)



Who knew alienation was so timeless?

Happy reading, listening, and watching!

Where's the Carousel??

The carousel's new location.

If you visit the Children's Area and wonder what happened to the carousel, fear not!  It has just been relocated, as has everything else in the department!

We have moved everything around and it looks great!  We now have an area, away from the stairs, for toddlers to look at board books and play with puzzles.  And the parenting collection is conveniently located in the same area.

The carousel is now surrounded by picture books.  This has been a popular place, for several generations, for young ones to sit and enjoy books.

We have a study area with tables and chairs for the older kids.  Our comics are located there too - just in case they need a break from the serious stuff!

If you are having troubles finding anything be sure to ask.  We will be happy to show you around!

The room looks so open and cheery!  Stop by and take a look!

Our new look!  So bright and open!