New Best Sellers for January

FICTION

Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. When a former lover’s dead body is found in his bed, Jack Morgan, a former Marine and the head of an investigative firm, is accused of murder.

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. A former magazine editor attempts to turn her parents’ summer house into a bed and breakfast.

Death comes to Pemberley by P D James. Elizabeth Bennet and her husband, Darcy, of Pride and Prejudice, must deal with a murder.

77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz. A 19th century tycoon’s mansion has been turned into luxury apartments, but it remains in the grip of evil forces.

Locked On by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney. Jack Ryan Jr must stop an emerging threat from a Pakistani general.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. The third volume of the Millennium trilogy, about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell. The chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta investigates a string of killings linked to the murder of her former deputy.

The Drop by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch of the LAPD uncovers both the operations of a sadistic killer and a political conspiracy.

A Devil is Waiting by Jack Higgins. Dean Dillon helps to foil a plot to assassinate the President in London.

NONFICTION

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. William Dodd, the US ambassador to Germany, and his daughter, Martha, in 1930s Berlin.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. A boy’s encounter with Jesus and the angels during an emergency appendectomy.




TEENS

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick. Sixteen year old Nora Grey struggles to face the truth while coping with having a fallen angel boyfriend named Patch and unraveling the mystery surrounding her father's death.

Wolfbane by Andrea Cremer. Alpha wolf Calla Tor forges an alliance with her masters' enemies and tries to rescue her pack from imprisonment in Vail.

Crossed by Ally Condie. Seventeen year old Cassia sacrifices everything and heads to the Outer Provinces in search of Ky, where she is confronted with shocking revelations about Society and the promise of rebellion.

Love, Inc by Yvonne Collins. When three fifteen year old Austin, Texas, girls, who met in group therapy, discover that they are all dating the same boy, they first get revenge and then start a wildly successful relationship consulting business.

CHILDREN

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle. Rather than use the same old colors, a child paints animals and objects in a variety of different hues. Includes biographical information about the German painter Franz Marc, who created unconventional animal paintings in the early 1900s.

Dork Diaries 3 ½: How to Dork Your Diary by Rachel Renee Russell. Includes tips and blank pages to write your own diary.

The Best Mouse Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff. A mouse concocts a batch of cookies in his little house in a tree trunk, sets them in the oven, and then dozes off, with worrisome consequences.

Tales From a Not So Popular Party Girl by Rachel Renee Russell. When scholarship student Nikki Maxwell, whose father is the school exterminator, decides to enter the talent show at her expensive private school, her nemesis MacKenzie threatens to reveal Nikki's status to the rest of the school.

A New Year!

Not this again!

New year's resolutions have almost become a thing of the past and the object of jokes. Let's face it -people are very skeptical of them. But in this new era of self improvement and reinvention, perhaps there is a place for a new brand of resolutions. After all, starting a new year is almost like having a clean slate, a fresh beginning. So if you're not perfect yet and want to change some part of your life, the Library can help you succeed. Here are just a few resources, but we have many more.

Get Organized

What's a Disorganized Person to Do? 317 Ideas, Tips, Projects, and Lists to Unclutter Your Home and Streamline Your Life by Stacy Platt

Grow Your Own Food

Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens by Barbara Pleasant

Save Money

Thrifty Living by Barty Phillips

Improve your Relationship

1001 Ways to Be Romantic by Gregory Godek

Get Fit or Expand Your Horizons with DVDs

Yoga for the Rest of Us: Back Care Basics featuring Peggy Cappy

Carol Dickman's Seated Yoga and Bed Top Yoga

The French Chef with Julia Child - the original PBS series featuring 12 episodes

Visions of Europe travel DVDs featuring 6 different countries or regions

And if you've always wanted to brush up your Shakespeare, we have 15 of his greatest produced by the BBC.

If you just want to read more, join our Brown Bag Book Discussion Group. Our next meeting will be at noon on Wednesday, February 15, and the book we're discussing is The Shipping News by Annie Proulx.

Come on in, get a library card, or use that old one you've been carrying around - library cards never expire. You'll find a great selection of helpful books, DVDs, and audio books that will help you get your new year off to a great start.

LSU's First Touchdown & First Win were in Natchez!!

1893 was the first year LSU had a football team, and they were coached by a professor. They played one game, which was against Tulane. LSU lost and never even scored. However, this was the beginning of the Purple & Gold. They wanted to use Mardi Gras colors on their uniforms, but they couldn't find any green ribbons because the Tulane Green Wave bought them all.

1894 LSU football team

In 1894, they got a real football coach (Albert Simmons) and played three games. Their first game was on November 30 and was against the Natchez Athletic Club in Natchez. Here they scored their first touchdown and went on to get their first win with a score of 36 - 0. The team's captain, Samuel Marmaduke Dinwidie Clark, became the first LSU player to ever score a touchdown.

Johnny Waycaster had heard this story and asked us if we had the Natchez paper for that time on microfilm. We looked, and sure enough there was an article in the Natchez paper, The Saturday Evening Banner. (You just never know the treasures and trivia your Library has available!) Here's the story - it's hilarious:

The foot-ball game between the University team of Baton Rouge and the Natchez team came off yesterday afternoon. The game was to have taken place on Thanksgiving day, but the visitors were detained on a sand-bar near Lehmann's Landing, on board the steamer Royal, until yesterday morning, when they came up on the Natchez. The game attracted a large crowd to the park, as a foot-ball match was something new for Natchez. It proved to be quite entertaining to those present, but the home team proved to be too weak for the visitors, the score standing 36 - 0. The visitors were entertained last evening at the hospitable home of Capt. F. J. Arrighi, whose son, Hughes Arrighi, is a member of the Baton Rouge team. They departed for home this morning well pleased with their visit, and the courteous treatment received while here. The Natchez foot-ball colors, red, orange, and blue, have been quite prominently displayed during the past few days.

So Natchez families have been sending their children to LSU for a long time - and Natchez hospitality and partying after games are obviously well established traditions.

LSU's second game that year and first home game was against Ole Miss, and LSU had their first loss to Ole Miss. LSU's only touchdown was scored by the coach, who was presumably a player-coach.

1895 LSU football team

In 1895, Coach Albert Simmons, in his last year at LSU, helped the Tigers to their first undefeated season  in LSU football history. The season also featured the first home victory in LSU history with a win over Tulane in front of 1,500 spectators. They did not play Ole Miss that year - but they did play Alabama in the last game of the season. Surely that will happen again on Monday!.

1896 LSU football team

In 1896, LSU played 6 games, was again undefeated, and won their first Conference Championship. This time, they beat Ole Miss for the first time. And this rivalry continued forever.






NOTE: The pictures and some of this information came from Wikipedia.

A Special Website that Helps Turn Kids into Readers

Wouldn't you like your children to read more? Wouldn´t you like to motivate them to enter the wonderful world of literature? If the answer to those questions is Yes, then you have to check out Book Adventure This is the ultimate reading site.

Book Adventure, sponsored by Sylvan Learning Centers, is a FREE Web based reading motivation program that encourages students in grades K-8 to read more often, for longer periods of time, and with greater understanding. Book Adventure is organized so that even the youngest child can easily navigate through the site. Registration is required, and participants need parental or teacher approval to collect prizes.

Parents and teachers looking for ways of motivating youngsters to read will find Book Adventure a wonderful resource. Students can read books, take quizzes on them, and earn points for correct answers on the quizzes. There is also the possibility for them to manage their own list by adding the books they read or they like to read. Kids can redeem accumulated points for prizes.

There is a database of quizzes on more than 7,000 popular children's titles. Using Book Finder, readers can search the titles by author, title, grade level, or interests. Book Finder will then create a reading list that can be printed and used at the library.

After reading a book, children go to Quiz-O-Matic to take the corresponding quiz. Quizzes have from five to ten questions, depending on grade level.

Teachers or parents can register their children and select literature at the appropriate grade level. You can check the list of the Top 10 Quizzed books to know what kids are reading at the time, and you´ll find in that list, for example, the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid. There is also a mechanism for keeping track of children's scores and points earned. Teachers or parents can generate reports.

Please remember that this site IS NOT to be associated with the Accelerated Reading test that children take at school. This site will, however, help them to be better prepared for that test. Think of it as a pre-test where you and the child can see what they know before the actual test is to be taken!

So, wait no longer and turn your children onto the fantastic world of book adventure. Put this safe, child friendly site for improving reading comprehension at the top of your list.

Answers to Questions about Christmas Symbols

Not long after Thanksgiving the phone at my reference desk began to ring and my email box began to fill with questions about the symbols of Christmas. What's a busy librarian to do? Go check out a reference book about Holidays and Traditions, and thats just what I did and here is what I found. By the way these are actual questions.

Q: Is Santa Claus the same person as St. Nicholas?

A: Yes and no. The original Santa Claus was Nicholas, the legendary saint who was bishop of Myra (Turkey) in the fourth century. He was usually shown wearing the fur-trimmed robes of a cleric, with a beehive (symbolizing industry) and a bulldog (fidelity) at his side. He was a gift giver but also a disciplinarian, bringing switches and rods for children who misbehaved. December 6 was his feast day, and in many countries, it is on this day, not Christmas Eve that St. Nicholas arrives to hand out his presents and punishments. It wasn't until the December of 1823 when Clement Moore's wrote the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" that the American Santa Claus was transformed from a tall, slim bishop to a jolly, overweight fellow who wore a red suit and entered the house via the chimney.

Q: Are reindeer for real and can they really fly?

A: Again, yes and no. More than 600 years after the death of St. Nicholas, Russians carried his legend back from Constantinople, and he became Russia's patron saint. From there his story spread to Lapland, home of the reindeer, which may explain why the modern Santa lives at the North Pole and gets around in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. It was again Clement Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" that popularized the names of Santa's reindeer: Now Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. On Comet, Cupid, Doner and Blitzen! Rudolph is a whole other question!

Q: Are Luminarias more than just a pretty way to light your path?

A: Yes, Luminarias mean "lights" or "illuminations" in Spanish. The word also refers to the small bonfires that illuminate the dark nights of the Christmas season throughout the American Southwest. These bonfires are made from pinon pine logs that have been stacked in log cabin style to form a box about three feet in height. Some believe that luminarias can be traced back to the fires that warmed the shepards to whom the birth of Jesus was announced. Today luminarias acn be seen on Christmas Eve in front of churches, homes, and public plazas.

Q: What is the history of the Christmas carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"?

A: This popular secular 16th century English carol is from West Country of England. It is one of the few traditional holiday carols that make mention of the New Year's celebration. This song actually reflects the Christmas tradition of showering gifts on the people who wandered from house to house (known today as carolers), singing these Christmas songs to please the wealthy people of the community.

Q: Why do we send Christmas cards?

A: In Ancient Rome, it was the custom to exchange greetings and gifts on the first day of January. With the advent of Christianity , the giving and receiving of such tokens continued in some European countries, often taking the form of New Year cards. These contained no reference to Christmas and were sent out after December 25 so they would arive on New Year's Day. The first printed Christmas card was produced in England in 1843. Designed by John Calcott Horsley, it sold for a shilling and looked like a postcard. It wasn't until the 1880s that cards became folders of four, eight, or more pages. Cards became more elaborate throughout the Victorian period, with "frosted" surfaces, fancy cut edges, layers of lace-paper, and other forms of decoration. Now, in the twenty-first century the christmas card is still out there, I saw them in Walgreens. There were religious ones and some with cute little penguins and little forest friends dancing around the decorated christmas tree. There were even some for those who enjoy a little "wicked" fun. I love Christmas cards. To me, it's more special whem someone sends me a hand written card with a scene that warms my spirit. After looking at ten different designs and still not making up my mind as to what I wanted I decided to rebel against my own tradition and send everyone a Christmas E-Card... So now you know a little bit about some of our more famous Christmas traditions

HoHoHo...Happy Holidays to All!

New Bestsellers for December

FICTION

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich. After a disastrous vacation in Hawaii, Stephanie Plum becomes the target of an international killer.

11/22/63 by Stephen King. An English teacher travels back to 1958 by way of a time portal in a Maine diner. His assignment is to stop Lee Harvey Oswald.

Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson. Alex Cross investigates when the President's children are kidnapped, but the FBI and CIA. stand in his way.

The Litigators by John Grisham. Partners in a small law firm take on a big case after a fast track burnout joins them.

V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton. Pursuing a shoplifter, Kinsey Millhone discovers that retail crime is run by organized gangs.

Micro by Michael Crichton. Seven graduate students from Cambridge travel to Hawaii, where they are miniaturized by an evil entrepreneur. They escape to the rain forest, where only six inches tall, they do battle with insects. Crichton completed part of this novel before his death in 2008.

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. Twenty five years after their high school romance ended, a man and woman who have gone their separate ways return to their North Carolina town for the funeral of a friend.

Zero Day by David Baldacci. A military investigator uncovers a conspiracy.

Devil's Gate by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. In the ninth NUMA Files novel, Kurt Austin and his crew uncover a plan to blackmail major nations.

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo. A widow keeps the identity of the new man she is about to marry a secret.

The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck. A woman re-evaluates her life.

A Dance with Dragons by George Martin. After a colossal battle, the Seven Kingdoms face new threats; Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire.

NONFICTION

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. A biography of the recently deceased entrepreneur, based on 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years.

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie. The author of Nicholas and Alexandra provides a sweeping narrative of the life of the minor 18th Century German princess who, thanks to ambition, luck, wiles, and a strategic marriage, became Empress of All the Russias.

TEENS

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. When Kendra and Seth go to stay at their grandparents' estate, they discover that it is a sanctuary for magical creatures and that a battle between good and evil is looming.

Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull. At the end of the school year. Kendra and her brother, Seth, find themselves racing back to Fablehaven, a refuge for mythical and magical creatures where their grandfather is caretaker. The Society of the Evening Star, an ancient organization determined to infiltrate the preserve and steal a hidden artifact of great power, is storming the gates. If the artifact falls into the wrong hands, it could mean the downfall of other preserves and possibly the world. Time is running out.

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. As the Council attempts to strip Charlotte of her power, sixteen year old orphaned shapechanger Tessa Gray works with the London Shadowhunters to find the Magister and destroy his clockwork army, learning the secret of her own identity while investigating his past.

Everlasting by Alyson Noel. Ever and Damen have spent centuries facing down bitter rivals, jealous friends, and their own worst fears in the hope of being together forever, but something threatens to tear them apart.

Tour of Homes Preview: Stratton Chapel (Refreshment Center)

The Friends of the Library annual Christmas Tour of Homes is Sunday, December 4, 2 - 5 pm. Admission is $15 for one ticket or $25 for two tickets. Tickets may be purchased at the Armstrong Library, Natchez Pilgrimage Tours, or at any of the homes the day of the event. You can tour four beautiful homes in any order and have refreshments at Stratton Chapel. This is the final preview of the Tour of Homes. Two homes were previewed last week, and the two more were previewed earlier this week.

Stratton Chapel
(Refreshment Center)
405 State Street
Located in the First Presbyterian Church

Located behind the Federal style First Presbyterian Church downtown and across from City Hall is an outstanding collection of photographs taken from as early as 1840 and offering a grand depiction of life in Natchez over the course of its early history. The collection boasts over 500 photographs of steamboat activities along the river, the families and homes of Natchez, and downtown Natchez as it once looked in the days of old. The collection for viewing is made possible through the generosity of the late Dr Thomas Gandy and his wife Joan who spent many years restoring the photographic works of Henry and Earl Norman.

Refreshments will be served to the accompaniment of organ music.