Library Lines ...

The Christmas holidays are fast approaching, and it is time to pick out books, magazines, movies, or audio books before holiday closure here at Rhoads Memorial Library. We will close at noon on Friday, Dec. 22, and remain closed through Tuesday, Dec. 26, for the yuletide celebration.

We will re-open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27. That will be a short week, though, as we will be closed on Saturday, Dec. 30, for the New Year’s holiday. (The official holiday falls on a Monday, when we are always closed, so we will take our holiday on the previous Saturday morning.) We will re-open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 2, to welcome you and the new year.

Displayer for the Month of December is Missy Kleman. The Nazareth resident is sharing a nativity scene complete with Dreamsicles’ cherub figurines.

We realize it is a busy time of year as visiting with family and friends and participating in holiday activities holds our attention, but we want to mention some newly released books that have arrived and are ready for checkout. They include: -”Unnatural Death” (Kay Scarpetta series) by Patricia Cornwell; -”Just Once” (a novel) by Karen Kingsbury; -Manner of Death” (a medical thriller) by Robin Cook.

New releases by lesserknown and up-and-coming authors include: -”The Frozen River” (a historical novel) by Ariel Lawhon. This book is inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife. When the Kennebec River freezes in Maine, 1789, Martha is called to examine the body of a man entombed there to determine the cause of death. Her findings point to murder, but a local physician undermines her and declares the death to be accidental.

Martha doggedly pursues the truth even though some of her loved ones are implicated in the demise of the pillar of the community. This read is a “Good Morning America” TV show pick and an NPR (National Public Radio) pick of the year.

-”The Madstone” by Elizabeth Crook. Termed a “wonderfully transporting tale of love in the Old West” by People Magazine, this novel is set in the Texas Hill Country in 1868. Benjamin Shreve witnesses a passenger being stranded by a stagecoach and the man, a treasure hunter, talks him into tracking the coach since it supposedly had a fortune on it.

Little did Benjamin know that he would meet Nell, a pregnant young woman, and her four-year-old son, Tot, who were fleeing Nell’s brutal husband and his murderous brothers. Their trip is fraught with peril as they trek across Texas trying to stay ahead of Nell’s husband, who will kill her if he gets the chance and take Tot. A Black Seminole aids them as they travel toward the Gulf of Mexico in the hope of boarding a ship to safety. Will they make it?

Until next week, Happy Reading!