Our library inventory is moving right along!  Why don't you come and look the place over and guess how many books we have on the shelves? (There will be a sign-up sheet for you to do so on the desk.) Meanwhile you might find a book or two you will enjoy, and be sure to have a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa while you are browsing.   It won't be long until our web-site will be up and running.  There will be information on many things, but the wonderful thing is that you will be able to check--using your smart phone or computer--whether we have the book or author you are looking for on our shelves.  This is such a new innovation for us, we hope you will think so as well.  Remember we will be celebrating twenty-five years in this location during Finley Days with an Open House from 2-4 P.M. on Thursday, June 12th.   Also our dear Joyce Jerstad will be retiring from her board position and we will fete her as well.  Come in and check us out!

Here's a couple reviews:

The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico.  (HC/RP)  The tale of the snow goose was (and still may be) a legend among British military men who were being evacuated off the coast of Dunkirk--on the Northeastern coast of France--during the early days of WWII, while the French held the ground against German troops that were closing in on the beachhead in a sickle movement, cutting them all off from the main French forces to to the south.  At the time (26 May-4 June, 1940), at least 860 vessels of all types including private fishing and sailing boats were used to evacuate over 338,000 British soldiers and almost 140,000 French, Polish and Belgian troops--who otherwise would have been taken prisoner or killed during the Dunkirk battle/evacuation--to England.  One of the boats (according to the legend) was owned by the hump-backed and otherwise misshapen Phillip Rhayader, who was lost during the Dunkirk evacuation after saving several hundred men in his small boat.  The military men swore they saw a snow goose circling their small area of beach.  They said that as soon as they noticed the snow goose, they were saved.   Good writing and lots of life lessons are crammed into less than 100 pages in this book which is a study in heroism, bravery and love.

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos.  (HC/RP)  Belong to Me revolves around Cornelia Brown, her husband Teo, and their move to the suburbs from the big city.  A "slice-of-life-book" but so much more, the reader may not "get" what is coming.  We see the characters having to deal with various devastating life events such as cancer, death, adultery, divorce, and the fallout from these occurrences.  Cornelia meets Piper and they don't like each other at first, but then most people don't really like Piper.  Piper, however, loves Elizabeth, but Elizabeth is dying from cancer.  Elizabeth's husband and two children are having a difficult time as is Kyle, Piper's husband, since Piper and their two children are spending most of their time with Elizabeth.  During this struggle Piper and Cornelia do become friends, but Cornelia has also become very close to Lake, a women with a gifted child of fourteen, Dev, but no husband.  Perhaps the book seems trite and formulaic, but it is not, and the end is not only surprising, but ultimately wonderful.  A good read.