Home Sweet Home

home 2

I moved into a new home this year.  It’s still a work in progress.  I love watching home improvement shows on TV.   It’s fun to see what other people come up with in tackling various buying, selling, redecorating, or renovating problems.  It’s also fun to look through various ‘home’ magazines for ideas and inspiration.  If you’re looking to do a little work on your home, or just like to look at beautiful pictures, the Cheshire Library offers quite a few magazines that satisfy a variety of styles and tastes.

Architectural Digest

*Better Homes & Gardens

*Country Living

*Dwell

*Family Handyman

*HGTV

*House Beautiful

This Old House

*Traditional Home

Veranda

*Also available on Zinio.

The Cheshire Library also has a wonderful selection of books to help guide you through the process or help inspire you.  Click on the headings below to access our catalog.

Decorating

Home Improvment

Home Decor

 

 

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Sequel Coming in September

girlFor those of you who have been impatiently waiting for the new sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, The Girl In the Spider’s Web  by David Lagercrantz will be released in September 2015. The publisher’s summary: Late one night, journalist Mikael Blomkvist receives a phone call from a trusted source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female super hacker–a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium magazine, turns to Lisbeth Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda.

If you haven’t read the series, below is a summary of the original three books.  And those who have already read them, you might want to refresh your memory and reread them before the new book is released.

dragonThe Girl With The Dragon Tattoo –  A murder mystery, family saga, love story, and a tale of financial intrigue wrapped into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable inequity and astonishing corruption.

fireThe Girl Who Played With Fire – Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government. But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander – the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.  As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

hornetThe Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest – Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Also available at the library on DVD.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Girl Who Played With Fire

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest

August is National Romance Month and Read-a-Romance Month

romance

August is National Romance month and Read-a-Romance month and the Cheshire Library has a wonderful collection of romance titles for  you to enjoy – from books to movies!

There is a separate romance section of mass market paperbacks on the main level of the library, located near the front windows.  There you can find many genres of romance including contemporary, suspense, paranormal, inspirational, and historical.  There’s quite a variety so come on in and browse the collection.  You’re sure to find a title or two that appeals to you.

You can also browse this blog for posts on romance titles.  Just type Romance in the box under Search All Posts and it will give you a list of all the posts related to romance.  One of my favorites is Today’s Romance Novels.

Read-A-Romance blog celebrates the month in a big way.  Each day of August, authors will be posting something on the blog.  Below is a calendar listing the authors for each day.

 

You can also access more information about Read-A-Romance month on their facebook account here.

NPR comes up with a list of their 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances each summer.  You can access the list here.

The Cheshire Library also has a nice selection of romantic movies for you to enjoy.  A few are listed below:

Romantic Movies

Officer and a Gentleman

Pretty Woman

Bonnie and Clyde

Love Actually

Chocolat

Life Is Beautiful

A Walk To Remember

Notting Hill

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Casablanca

Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer with these romantic selections!

 

 

Author Jill Shalvis Never Disappoints!

bored face

I read a lot of contemporary romance books, although lately, I haven’t been reading much.  The books seem to carry the same theme and they were all starting to sound alike.   I’ve even passed on some new books by a few of my favorite authors.  But then one of my most favorite authors came out with a new series and I gave her new book a shot.  Nirvana!  I was not disappointed in the least!

second chance summerSecond Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis is the first book in her new series, Cedar Ridge.  Cedar Ridge, Colorado, is famous for crisp mountain air, clear blue skies, and pine-scented breezes. And it’s the last place Lily Danville wants to be. But she needs a job, and there’s an opening at the hottest resort in her hometown. What has her concerned is the other hot property in Cedar Ridge: Aidan Kincaid-firefighter, rescue worker, and heartbreaker. She never could resist that devastating smile .

The Kincaid brothers are as rough and rugged as the Rocky Mountains they call home. Aidan has always done things his own way, by his own rules. And never has he regretted anything more than letting Lily walk out of his life ten years ago. If anyone has ever been in need of rescuing, she has. What she needs more than anything are long hikes, slow dances, and sizzling kisses. But that can only happen if he can get her to give Cedar Ridge-and this bad boy-a second chance .

 

There have been plenty of books about firefighters and rescuers, but somehow (because she’s overflowing with talent?), Ms. Shalvis consistently writes books that are fresh, new, and exciting –  and this one is a real page turner.  From the very first chapter, you are completely engaged in the characters and the location.  Readers can relate to the Kincaid family – it is flawed and struggling with a life that hasn’t been easy.  Ms. Shalvis’ description of the town of Cedar Ridge makes you want to move there.  The story flawlessly moves along enveloping you in lots of romance and laughter, great chemistry between characters, and enticing secondary characters throughout that make you very excited for the next book to come out!

happy face POST NOTE:  On July 25, 2015, Ms. Shalvis was awarded a RITA award at the Romance Writers of America one in a millionconference in New York City for her book, One In A Million, the last book in her Lucky Harbor series.

(RITA Award – The purpose of the RITA award is to promote excellence in the romance genre by recognizing outstanding published romance novels and novellas.  The award itself is a golden statuette named after RWA’s first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and has become the symbol for excellence in published romance fiction.)

On Our Shelves: New Romance June and July 2015

i love youAdd some romance to your summer reading!

 Suspense

 

Falling Hard – Helenkay Dimon

Hell Or High Water – Julie Ann Walker

You Can’t Escape – Nancy Bush

Paranormal

In The Air Tonight – Lori Handeland

Heat of the Moment – Lori Handeland

SEAL Wolf Hunting – Terry Spear

Historical

The Beautiful One – Emily Greenwood

Lady’s Maid – Dilly Court

Only A Promise – Mary Balogh

Love In The Time of Scandal – Caroline Linden

The Best of Both RoguesSamantha Grace

The Duke But No Gentleman – Alexandra Hawkins

Do Not Forsake Me – Rosanne Bittner

 

Contemporary

At His Service – Suzanne Rock

I’ll Stand by You – Sharon Sala

Rules of the Game – Lori Wilde

All Of Me – Jennifer Bernard

Sharp Shootin’ Cowboy – Victoria Vane

Kiss Me – Susan Mallery

A New Hope – Robyn Carr

Can’t Fight This Feeling – Christie Ridgway

Redemption Bay – RaeAnne Thayne

Second Chance Summer – Jill Shalvis

Last Chance Hero – Hope Ramsay