Here Comes The Bride

February 1, 2016December 23, 2015 / Linda / Leave a comment

roses

When you think of February, you think Valentine’s Day. So it’s no surprise that February is National Weddings Month. More couples get engaged this month than any other and while it’s not a popular month for actual weddings, it is the month when all the planning starts.

Some fun facts:

Average engagement lasts 16 months.
Average engagement ring costs $4,411.
Average age of couple – Bride, 27 Groom, 29
Most popular months to marry are (in order) June, August, September, October, May.
Average number of guests at a wedding – 175.
Average cost of wedding – $26,000.

If you’re planning a wedding – (or are hoping to get engaged this month!) – the Cheshire Library has a wonderful section of books to help you plan.

A sampling:

Stylish Weddings: 50 simple ideas to make from top designers

Style me pretty wedding: inspiration & ideas for an unforgettable celebration

Do it for less! Weddings: how to create your dream wedding without breaking the bank

The Knot guide to destination weddings

The Knot complete guide to weddings in the real world

The Knot book of wedding flowers

Simple stunning weddings

Handcrafted weddings: over 100 projects & ideas for personalizing your wedding

Simple Stunning Wedding Flowers

The Best Wedding Reception Ever!

For additional books, click here.

And if you just want to snuggle on the couch with your favorite beverage and just read about weddings, here are a few fiction titles for you to enjoy.

Four Weddings and a Fireman – Jennifer Bernard – Firefighter Derek “Vader” Brown is determined to get to the bottom of Cherie Harper’s ambivalence toward him, while Cherie fights to keep a nightmare from the past from interfering with her passion for Derek.

Beautiful Day – Elin Hilderbrand – Gathering on Nantucket for a wedding planned to the letter by the bride’s late mother, the Carmichaels and the Grahams hide their scandal-ridden, crumbling lives from the blissfully unaware happy couple.

The Christmas Wedding – James Patterson – Relates the story of Gaby Summerhill, a widow planning a holiday wedding to a groom whose identity remains a surprise to her four children.

Vision in White – Nora Roberts – Wedding photographer Mackensie “Mac” Elliot falls into the arms of safe, stable English teacher Carter Maguire as relief from the onslaught of bridezillas, but soon begins to wonder if what began as a casual fling could blossom into her own happy ending.

A Wedding in December – Anita Shreve – Gathering to attend a wedding in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, seven former classmates find the reunion marked by the death of a spouse, a traumatic past event, a shocking secret, and health issues.

A Common Life: the wedding story – Jan Karon – The creator of the Mitford stories goes back through time to relate the wedding of Father Tim Kavanagh to Cynthia Coppersmith.

Late for the Wedding – Amanda Quick – Regency sleuths Lavinia Lake and Tobias March stumble into the middle of a deadly mystery as they become caught up in the search for a killer who targets wealthy older men on the brink of marrying beautiful, much younger women.

The Wedding Quilt – Jennifer Chiaverini – Meditating on the weddings she has attended in Elm Creek Manor throughout the years on the morning of her daughter’s wedding day, Sarah McClure evaluates the symbolic features on a wedding quilt designed to display the signatures of beloved guests.

Or how about enjoying a wedding movie? Check out these titles:

My Big Fat Greek Wedding – A young Greek-American woman, changes her life for the better and falls in love with a non-Greek man; now that she has found happiness, she must learn to come terms with her heritage while attempting to get her family to accept her new love.

Rachel Getting Married – A young woman who has been in and out of rehab for years returns home for her sister’s wedding.

Made of Honor – Tom and Hannah have been best friends since college, but when Hannah returns from a trip engaged to another man, Tom realizes he is in love with her and will do everything he can to win her heart.

The Hangover – Doug and his groomsmen head to Vegas for his bachelor party, but when they wake up the next morning with the worst hangovers they have ever had, they realize Doug is missing and no one can recall the events of the past twelve hours.

The Wedding Planner – When a wedding planner falls in love with one of her biggest clients, she must decide whether to plan his wedding, or steal his heart.

Rumor Has It – Upon returning home for her sister’s wedding, Sarah Huttinger discovers that her family may have been the inspiration for the novel behind the classic movie “The Graduate”.

Monsoon Wedding – Love, lust and hope envelop an upper middle-class Indian family and their world-wide guests as they celebrate for four days the arranged marriage of their daughter to an East Indian man from Texas.

The Wedding Date – Unable to deal with having been dumped by the best man at her sister’s future wedding, a young woman hires an escort to act as her boyfriend at the event.

About Schmidt – Warren Schmidt copes with the boredom of retirement, the devastating loss of his wife, and his daughter’s new fiancee.

Happy planning! Happy reading! Happy watching!

What’s Trending at Cheshire Public Library

January 15, 2016January 20, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

what's

Do you ever wonder what your fellow patrons are reading? Or what’s getting checked out the most? Well, welcome to our new What’s Trending feature! We’re starting off with authors: the top 10 most popular during the previous month and how many times their books circulated. Click the author’s name for a list of their books.

James Patterson – 145 circulations. In 2011, it was estimated that one-in-four of all hardcover suspense/thriller novels sold were written by James Patterson. He is the first author to achieve ten million ebook sales, and he holds the Guinness record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers of any author. And his success isn’t based solely on thrillers like the perennially popular Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, and Michael Bennett series. Patterson is now also the current bestselling author in the young adult and middle grade categories.

Mary Higgins Clark – 52 circulations. An author of over thirty-five suspense novels and four collections of short stories, each one of her books has been a best seller and many of them have been made into feature films or TV movies. She has sold over 100 million copies and has eighteen honorary doctorates!

Janet Evanovich – 49 circulations. Although she started out as a Romance author, she now known for her contemporary mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum. She also writes the Lizzy and Diesel series, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, as well as the Fox and O’Hare series with co-author Lee Goldberg. Note: Go read her bio on her website. It’s hysterical.

David Baldacci – 47 circulations. A best-selling author who writes thrilling suspense books. He has carried over the suspense theme into several children’s books as well. Several of his titles have been adapted for film and television. He has over one hundred and ten million books in print.

Nora Roberts – 46 circulations. This prolific author writes several genres within the Romance genre. She also writes Mysteries under the pen name of J. D. Robb. Her books are consistently on the top seller lists. She was the first author inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. See a previous post here.

Debbie Macomber – 44 circulations. She is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, she brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope.

John Grisham – 43 circulations. A former lawyer, he began his writing career as a hobby after hearing about a court case in 1984. His hobby quickly became his career after he sold the film rights of his book, The Firm. He started writing legal thrillers for children ages 9-12 in 2010.

Danielle Steel – 39 circulations. She’s currently the best selling author alive and the fourth bestselling author of all time, with over 800 million copies sold. Her formula is fairly consistent, often involving rich families facing a crisis, threatened by dark elements such as jail, fraud, blackmail and suicide.

Robert B. Parker – 37 circulations. Long acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction, he was named Grand Master of the Edgar Awards in 2002 by the Mystery Writers of America. He was renowned for his Spenser novels, featuring the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye, which was turned into the television series, Spencer: For Hire. He wrote 9 novels based on the character Jesse Stone and 6 novels based on the character Sunny Randall.

Clive Cussler – 35 circulations. An adventure novelist and underwater explorer, his thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times.

How’s this list stack up against what you’ve checked out recently? Any of your favorite authors here? Let us know who your favorite author is.

January is National Soup Month

January 7, 2016January 28, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

national soup

How fitting that January – the coldest month of year – is National Soup Month! Great time of year to experiment and enjoy some home-made soup!

Love Soup – 160 all new vegetarian recipes features black bean and squash soup in the fall, smoky eggplant soup in midsummer, rib-sticking chowder, or seductively perfumed wild mushroom soup for Christmas. Love Soup also provides recipes for breads, hummus, pesto, salads, and homey desserts–and simple menus that put soup at the heart of the meal.

Soup offers more than 40 easy-to-follow recipes, including both classic favorites and fresh new ideas. In these pages, you’ll find inspiring soups designed to fit any occasion at any time of year—from a quick and simple meal to an enjoyable lunch in the garden.

Saved by Soup: more than 100 low-fat soup recipes to eat and enjoy everyday. Author Judith Barrett lost pounds and inches using these mouthwatering recipes, each of which contains less than three grams of fat per serving. And cutting the fat posed no bar to creating soups with incredible flavor and only one gram of fat.

Soup of the Day. This tantalizing collection of 365 recipes offers a soup for each day of the year. From January to December, you’ll find daily inspiration and a seasonal soup that will satisfy any craving or fit any occasion.

The New England Soup Factory Cookbook contains more than 100 mouth-watering recipes. It also includes anecdotes and inspiring stories that provide insight into Marjorie Drucker’s creative process and her passion for all things soup related.

Soup Makes the Meal is divided into 50 menus, each including a soup, a salad, and a bread recipe. Best of all, the soups don’t require homemade stock, many (but not all) of the breads are quick breads, and the salads range from light to hearty.

Sunday Soup: a year’s worth of mouthwatering easy-to-make recipes features 60 recipes, one for each Sunday of the year and then some. With recipes like Gulf Coast Shrimp Gumbo, Dreamy Creamy Artichoke Soup, and Icy Cucumber Soup with Smoked Salmon and Dill you can enjoy soup in every season.

The Soup Club Cookbook: feed your friends, feed your family, feed yourself. Four busy moms and neighbors who started making and sharing soup dinners once a month provide recipes for filling soups and sides, as well as storage tips and instructions for starting a neighborhood soup club.

Soup & Stew includes more than 40 easy-to-follow recipes, including both classic preparations and innovative ideas for the busy cook. In these pages, you’ll find tempting options for every occasion, from first-course soups and light puréees to meaty braises and comforting stews.

Food Made Fast. Soup is about delicious food, simply prepared, with easy-to-follow recipes and tips. Each book emphasizes keeping a well-stocked pantry, planning ahead, and using fresh ingredients as the keys to cooking delicious meals with a minimum of time and effort.

For all things soup – click here.

On Our Shelves: New Cozy Mysteries

December 28, 2015December 23, 2015 / Linda / Leave a comment

The latest cozy mysteries for your reading enjoyment.

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen (A Year-Round Christmas Mystery) – Vicki Delany – When her holiday float is sabotaged, Merry Wilkinson, the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, must discover who the Scrooge is in Christmas Town after the dead body of a reporter is found and the evidence points to her best friend, Vicky.

Crowned and Moldering (A Fixer-Upper Mystery) – Kate Carlisle – While helping her new beau, Mac Sullivan, renovate his historic lighthouse mansion, contractor Shannon Hammer stumbles upon the remains of a missing young woman who disappeared 15 years earlier and must right the wrongs of the past and bring a killer to justice.

The Stitching Hour (An Embroidery Mystery) – Amanda Lee – A commercial haunted house next door threatens to scare away business at Marcy Singer’s Tallulah Falls, Oregon embroidery shop, Seven-Year Stitch, and soon things get even worse when a local waitress is found dead with mysterious markings on her neck—and one of Marcy’s festive trinkets in her possession.

Writing All Wrongs (Books By The Bay Mystery) – Ellery Adams – While attending the Coastal Carolina Crime Festival where Silas Black, a celebrity screenwriter and television producer is speaking, newlyweds Olivia and Chief Rawlings, along with the rest of the Bayside Book Writers, are faced with strange occurrences and a real-life murder.

Plot Boiler (A Black Cat Bookshop Mystery) – Ali Brandon – When the wife of the cantankerous owner of Perky’s Coffee Shop is found dead, bookseller Darla Pettistone and her cat, Hamlet, must throw the book at a killer who has a secret worth killing for. By the New York Times best-selling author of Literally Murder.

Nuts and Buried (A Nut House Mystery) – Elizabeth Lee – When her wealthy friend, Eugene Wheatley, is murdered after introducing his new bride to Riverville, Texas society, Lindy Blanchard launches her own investigation after the wrong woman and her unscrupulous kin are accused of the crime and turns to her meemaw Miss Amelia for help. Includes pecan recipes.

Claws For Alarm (A Nick & Nora Mystery) – T. C. LoTempio – When her sister, Lacey, is accused of killing her bullying professor over a bad grade, sandwich-shop owner Nora Charles goes undercover at the college, with her feline partner Nick, to expose the professor’s true nature and force the real killer out into the open.

White Colander Crime (A Vintage Kitchen Mystery) – Victoria Hamilton – When she discovers the battered body of local woman Shelby Fretter, who predicted her own murder at the hands of Cody Wainwright, food columnist Jaymie Leighton is not convinced that the troubled son of her beleaguered newspaper editor is responsible and decides to investigate on her own.

The Iced Princess (A Snow Globe Shop Mystery) – Christine Husom – When Molly Dalton, a rich socialite, begs them for a job, curio shop owner Camryn Brooks and her BFF, coffee shop owner, Alice Nelson, find a real-life mystery brewing in their shop after Molly is found dead, which submerges them both in hot water.

Pouncing on Murder (Bookmobile Cat Mystery) – Laurie Cass – When maple-syrup season is marred by the death of her favorite syrup provider, bookmobile librarian Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat, Eddie, must tap into the clues to find the truth before someone else ends up in the same sticky situation.

I Love Snow

December 21, 2015December 15, 2015 / Linda / 1 Comment

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I love snow. Yes, love it! I know, I’m in the minority – most people tend to complain about snow. We live in New England. Snow is a way of life. Sure, I’m not thrilled with having to scrape the frost and snow off my car, dig the car out, deal with a dead battery, but still, I love snow. It always makes me smile when I see the flakes falling. No matter my mood, snow lifts me up. Out of curiosity, I typed ‘snow’ in the search box of our catalog and 1,224 items came up! There are children’s books, movies, adult fiction and non-fiction. Below are a few adult titles that might be of interest. If nothing appeals to you, take a look at our catalog. There is sure to be something out of the 1,224 titles that you might want to check out.

The Snow Bride – Debbie Macomber – While journeying to Alaska to marry a man she met on the Internet, Jenna Walsh is kidnapped by Reed Kenner, a fellow passenger, who will do anything to prove that she is making the biggest mistake of her life.

Snow in August – Pete Hamill – An unlikely friendship between an eleven-year-old Irish Catholic boy and a lonely rabbi from Prague in 1947 Brooklyn has the two opening new windows of understanding with each other but still fighting the prejudices of the day.

Waiting for Snow in Havana – Carlos Eire – A survivor of the Cuban Revolution recounts his pre-war childhood as the religiously devout son of a judge,and describes the conflict’s violent and irrevocable impact on his friends, family, and native land.

The Snow Queen – Michael Cunningham – A heartbroken man turns to religion after seeing a vision in the sky above Central Park, while his musician brother takes drugs he thinks will help him compose a ballad for his seriously ill wife.

Last Snow – Eric Van Lustbader – In the aftermath of an American senator’s death on a political trip, presidential Special Advisor Jack McClure is dispatched to investigate a perilous trail throughout Eastern Europe, an assignment that is complicated by his efforts to protect two unlikely companions.

Mercy Snow – Tiffany Baker – A tragic bus accident has devastating repercussions for two families from opposite sides of the tracks of a tiny New England paper milling town.

Sisters of Heart and Snow – Margaret Dilloway – Two estranged sisters reconnect when they return to their childhood home in response to their mother’s dementia diagnosis and one of the pair takes on her mother’s power of attorney.

Whiter Than Snow – Sandra Dallas – When a devastating avalanche traps nine children walking home from school in 1920, the disaster has life-changing effects on the people who live in the small Colorado town where it occurs.