Solving the Meal or Snacktime Blues

January 21, 2016January 14, 2016 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

If you are anything like me, you spent the start of the school year determined to pack healthy lunches and have healthier snack options available for the kids, and most likely yourself. Even if you do not have kids, at some point you have had the urge to jazz up your own meals, make cooler appetizers for some function, or just eat better. Maybe you want to sneak some extra vegetables into dinner, or even dessert, or new dietary restrictions have you trying new combinations and ways to make everything taste great while still being reasonably good for you. snack

I started off the school year with fresh baked muffins (with pureed vegetables hidden inside), plenty of fruit and whole grains in the snazzy bento box style containers for each of my kiddos. I had a snack box in the refrigerator and one in the pantry with pre portioned healthy snacks to fulfill requests. And now? Well, lets just say that the lunches are not nearly as well planned and motivation to keep everything healthy and organized is waning.

I have one young picky eater in the house, and a husband that dislikes casseroles, crock pot cooking, and vegetables in general. It is easy to fall into a rut of making the same the few meals over and over, and picking meals that seem to be the easiest to make even when there are better options. I have found that I regularly need motivation, ideas, and more to keep things healthy and tasty- as well as eaten by the whole crew. Getting everyone involved in the meal planning, shopping, or cooking is a big help. If they get to pick the food, or help in preparing it, they are all much more likely to eat, or at least try, what is on their plate.

Here are some books that I have recently found (some just moved into the Parenting section in the children’s room) to help inspire and re motivate myself and anyone else struggling with healthy meals, healthy snacks, and fun foods that are tasty and healthy.

Stealth Health Lunches Kids Love: Irresistible and Nutritious Gluten-Free Sandwiches, Wraps and Other Easy Eats by Tracy Griffith

So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger

Best Lunch Box Ever: Ideas and Recipes for School Lunches Kids Will Love by Katie Sullivan Morford

Weelicious Lunches: Think Outside the Lunchbox with More than 160 Happier Meals by Catherine McCord

ChopChop: the Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with your Family by Sally Sampson

The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine

Regular readers know by now that I can never stop with just a few recommended books. So, if those listed above are already checked out or you are looking for more you might want to try: Beating the Lunch Box Blues: Fresh Ideas for Lunches on the Go! by J. M. Hirsch, Insanewiches: 101 Ways to Think Outside the Lunchbox by Adrian Fiorino,Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld, The Cleaner Plate Club by Beth Bader & Ali Benjamin, Double Delicious! : Good, Simple Food for Busy, Complicated Lives by Jessica Seinfeld, and The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook: Delicious, Inspiring Meals for Busy Families by Debra Ponzek.

How a Stuffed Bear Can Give You Tranquility

January 18, 2016December 16, 2015 / Mary / Leave a comment

Stuffed bears and other beloved toys certainly gave us tranquility when we were children, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about philosophy. I’m talking about Taoism. I’m talking, of course, about Winnie-the-Pooh.

Now what, I can hear you asking, does Winnie-the-Pooh have to do with tranquility, philosophy, and Taoism? The answers are revealed in Benjamin Hoff‘s The Tao of Pooh, a book of 158 pages that deftly explains the principles of Taoism and applies them to modern life using the seemingly-odd, but, ultimately, not-so-odd example of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Using excerpts from the Pooh books by A.A. Milne, Hoff makes Taoism approachable and easy to understand. It’s not just a deep Eastern philosophy for hermits and mystics! The tenets of Taoism can be incorporated into everyday life as Hoff illustrates via Pooh, a bear who exists very much in the now.

Using Pooh as his Taoist master, Hoff explores “the ability to enjoy the simple and the quiet, the natural and the plain” along with “the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work”. He uses the examples of Rabbit (Knowledge for the Sake of Being Clever), Owl (Knowledge for the Sake of Appearing Wise), and Eeyore (Knowledge for the Sake of Complaining About Something) to illustrate non-Taoist aspects of life, things that get in the way of happiness.

“When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret…: Life is Fun.”

And what are the lessons of Taoism?

Things Are As They Are.
Everything has its own Inner Nature.
Enjoy the Process.
Things just happen in the right way, at the right time. At least they do when you let them.

And so much more. This is a perfect read when you need some tranquility, perfect for those desiring some calmness, slowness, some quiet. And the book is fun. It reads easily, quickly, with humor, wit, and quotes from Milne’s beloved stories. It can’t miss and it doesn’t miss.

By the way, Pooh Day is January 18th (also the birthday of A.A. Milne). What better way to celebrate than by reading the Tao of Pooh and it’s companion book, The Te Of Piglet.

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.

One Password to Rule Them All!

January 13, 2016January 7, 2016 / emily100101 / Leave a comment

password

I’ve noticed some patrons who come to library tech tutoring struggle to keep track of their passwords. They scribble them in notebooks, tape them to their laptops, jot them down on post-its, and before they know it, they’ve lost them. Sound familiar?

Resetting a password is no simple matter either, and if you don’t have access to your email or remember your security questions, you might find yourself locked out of your account permanently.

Adding to the confusion, many of us have more than one password reset email, and we all certainly have more than one account we need to remember. As Technology Coordinator for the Library, I have about 100 passwords to remember at any given time, and that’s just for my job.

You’re really in trouble if you forget the password to your computer as one gentleman I recently worked with will tell you. His MacBook had no recovery partition, and we had to completely reinstall his entire computer—All for forgetting a little password!

Luckily, there are several companies offering solutions to the password dilemma. Two of my favorites are 1Password and LastPass.

1Password is an app that stores all of your passwords and automatically fills them in for you on websites. You can download it for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and as a browser extension for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox, so you’re never without your passwords everywhere you go. It even stores data for security questions, pin numbers, and anything else you might need. All you need to remember is your one Master Password which will grant you access to your encrypted password database.

In the event your laptop stops working or you drop your iPhone in a toilet, you’re still covered. You can opt to backup your passwords to the cloud through DropBox or iCloud, or save it to a folder on an external backup drive. I use the DropBox backup, and it saved me when I lost a harddrive last year. All 184 passwords were still safe!

I really can’t say enough good things about 1Password. I use it every single day and it gives me immense peace of mind. If you’re struggling to remember and document your passwords in a reliable manner, definitely give 1Password or its similar competitor, LastPass, a try.

Technology Help – Need device advice? Schedule a one-on-one lesson in the basics of computers, laptops, tablets, and eReaders. Call the library at 203-272-2245 to make an appointment or come to our monthly Drop-in Tech Help program.

Books Coming to the Big Screen in the 2016

January 11, 2016December 11, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / 2 Comments

Books adaptations have been big hits in the movie theaters over the last few years, so is it any wonder that the number of books heading to the big screen seem to be on the rise? There are a number of great books making their way to the big screen again this year, some of which I am very excited to see. Here are some of the books-to-movies I am most excited about for 2016. I have included the current scheduled release date for each film, which is subject to change.

You might want to put the books on hold now if you want to beat the rush to read them (or watch previous versions of favorites) before watching the new releases in the theater! I have linked each title to the available versions that our library currently owns.

Children
Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 27, 2016)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (November 18, 2016)
The Jungle Book (April 15, 2016)
The BFG (July 1, 2016)
The Little Prince (March 18, 2016)
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (October 7, 2016)
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (February 16, 2016)

Young Adult
Allegiant (March 18, 2016)
The 5th Wave (January 15, 2016)
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (December 25, 2016)
Delirium (September 30, 2016)
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (October 14, 2016)
Let It Snow by John Green (December 9, 2016)