Claire’s Top 5 Picks:
1. ‘The Housekeeper’ by Joy Fielding
2. ‘The Hidden One’ by Linda Castillo
3.‘Zelensky’ by Serhii Rudenko
4. ‘The Men’ by Sandra Newman
5. ‘Vox’ by Christina Dalcher
‘The Housekeeper’ – A very good suspenseful read. A woman hires a housekeeper to care for her aging parents only to watch as she takes over their lives. Many twists and turns in this story; keeps you reading and reading never knowing what to expect.
‘The Hidden One’ – The discovery of an Amish bishop’s remains leads chief of police Kate Burkholder to unearth a chilling secret in this new thriller. Over a decade ago, beloved Amish Bishop Ananias disappeared without a trace. When his remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister. Someone doesn’t want Chief of Police Kate Burkholder asking questions.
‘Zelensky’ – This book tells Volodymyr Zelensky’s astonishing story of how he became president, a former comedian now finding himself in the role of a wartime leader. He has become the public face of his country’s courageous and bloody struggle against a brutal invasion by Russia. A very interesting read.
‘The Men’ – A science fiction thriller that is another good read. Deep in the California woods on an evening in late August, Jane Pearson is camping with her husband and five-year-old son. As she drifts to sleep in a hammock strung outside the tent, while Leo and Benjamin are preparing for bed every single person with a Y chromosome vanishes around the world, disappearing from operating theatres mid-surgery, from behind the wheels of cars, from arguments and acts of love. Children, adults, even fetuses are gone in an instant. Leo and Benjamin are gone. No one knows why, how, or where. After the Disappearance, Jane forces herself to enter a world she barely recognizes, one where women must create new ways of living while coping with devastating grief. And so it begins…
‘Vox’ – On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words per day, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial. This can’t happen here, not in America. Not to her. This is just the beginning. Soon women are not permitted to hold jobs. Girls are not taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke 16,000 words each day, but now women have only 100 to make themselves heard. When you read this, you think this is crazy, no way this could happen. Well think again, think about what is happening in the USA with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, how women no longer are having a choice with what they do with their own bodies. Think how many years it took before women finally had the right to vote.
I would like to thank everyone who has returned or is returning their library survey both the printed and online version. First of all, I want to say I hate surveys, why you ask? Because they are confidential so the person filling them out does not have to identify themselves, and because of that aspect of surveys some people (thank goodness just a very few) decide this is their chance to say mean useless remarks about the library and the people that work at the library.
I have always had an open door policy and there is a sign on my door that states if you have a complaint or compliment either about staff or a library procedure please let me know either in person or leave a signed note so it can be resolved not written on a survey with no name so that I cannot explain why the procedure is in effect or why we do what we do.
But other than that, there were several suggestions that we are definitely putting into effect. First of all, the library is now open Thursday evenings from 1 to 7 pm so you can pop in after work. We were open before COVID Thursday evenings for years but after COVID we waited to get our numbers back. Now it seems things are getting back to normal so Thursday evenings are back!
Many have asked for craft classes which I have now been contacting people with skills and see if they are willing to teach a workshop class.
And hopefully we can also start having mahjong again and any other game you would like to learn how to play.
Be assured that I am compiling all suggestions and will be discussing with the board what ones we can implement to continue to keep this library a welcoming and viable part of the community.
Please feel free to let us know what you would like to see being done at your library.
The Mindemoya library hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and Thursdays from 1 to 7 pm (November to February Thursday hours are 12 noon to 6 pm).
See you at your library.
