Business Book Group Meets on April 19

Join us Tuesday, April 19 from noon-1:00pm at the library to discuss The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor. The Business Book Group is sponsored by Herrick District Library and the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce and is facilitated by the President of Keystone Coaching & Consulting, Mark DeRoo. Bring a lunch or purchase one from the library's cafe. Register at http://www.hollandchamber.org/. Check out this brief video to learn more about the book. Books are available to check out from the library.

Attention Book Groups - Eat, Pray, Love

If your book group is looking for more reading ideas, Herrick has added a new Book Group To Go Bag -- Eat, Pray, Love. Elizabeth Gilbert embarks on a long journey after a painful divorce. She travels to Italy, India and Indonesia and consequently writes an entertaining memoir about her experiences. Her book has also been made into a movie starring Julia Roberts.

Genealogy Gems - Heritage Quest

If you would like to search the census at home and have a Herrick District Library card, you can go to our website to the Research tab, then Genealogy and Local History, move the cursor to your right and down and click on Genealogy Electronic Resources. Go to Heritage Quest Online and enter your library card number and PIN and you will be able to search the census online from home. Heritage Quest offers access to other genealogical information including books and Revolutionary War pension files. Herrick also subscribes to Ancestry Library Edition which is available only at the library.

From Page to Screen -- Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen's book, "Water for Elephants", has been made into a movie that will be released April 22. Her book about circus life during the depression has won numerous awards, the Quill and Alex Awards to name a few. It was on the New York Times best seller list for 12 weeks in 2006. There is much anticipation about this film especially with the well known actors in it. There's still time to read the book before the movie.

Lost in the Stacks - Paradise Valley

“The world had grown colder and darker. Suddenly there was more evil in the world than he had ever imagined.”

What price are you willing to pay when the world you live in doesn’t jive with your convictions? Would you risk all to start over somewhere else for the right to live according to your beliefs, even if the cost may be an unthinkable price? Caleb Bender, member of the Ohio Amish Community, is forced to wrestle with just such a choice when worldly governmental law collides with his committed way of life. There is much at stake. Leaving means a family split in two, a community of support left behind, a new language to learn and culture to navigate, and daughters of age without prospects. In addition, the pioneering life, with all its potential, is not without dangers of its own.

Paradise Valley, by W. Dale Cramer, is a historical fiction work. While the stories and characters are fictional, they are centered on historical facts, from which the author has a personal family tie.

Lost in the Stacks -- Follow the River

If you like historical fiction you may enjoy Follow the River by James Alexander Thom. It is a fictionalized version of the true story of Mary Ingles, a 23 year old woman who was captured by Indians in 1755. She was taken from her home in Virginia and eventually escaped and made the 1,000 mile journey home through the wilderness. This book is also available in a Book Group To Go bag for book groups. It has been made into a movie starring Ellen Burstyn and Sheryl Lee. To reserve the book click here.

Going Stieg

Steig got you by the neck? Devastated by the lack of any future Steig material? Good news! Featured in today's USA Today, Carroll Memmott compiled a list of similar reading material for those who just can't get enough Nordic Noir! You can find the list here. Give the library a call to request materials!