August 2011 Events

Summer Reading Club ends Saturday, August 6

Check in your logs before August 6 to collect your prize dollars. You must spend them before August 13, which will be our last Customs Shop day!

LEGO Club – Mondays, August 1 and 8 at 1:30 p.m.

Kids! Join us for the last two LEGO Club meetings for the summer. Build anything you can imagine and display it in the children's area for everyone to see.

Dino the Snake Guy – Wednesday, August 3 at 10:00 a.m.

Dino of Nature's Niche will be presenting his “Remnants of the Rainforest” program, bringing live animals such as arthropods, amphibians, birds, lizards, turtles and more to the library. This is our big end-of-summer-reading program, so come out and check out these wild animals up close and personal.

Digital Photography Series - canceled.

LEGO Mania for Teens Only (11 and older) – Thursday, August 4 at 3 p.m.
LEGOs aren't just for little kids. They're for teens, too. We'll dump out our LEGOs and leave it to you to make anything your mind can come up with. We'll even display your creations in the teen area for all to enjoy.

Very Veggie: Eating More Fruits & Vegetables – Tuesday, August 9 at 4 p.m.

Join Jenny Wehmeier from the UW Extension for this program that explores how a diet without meat or animal products can be healthy, filling, and a sustainable way of life. Learn about incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet while ensuring you're still getting enough essential nutrients. You need not be a vegetarian to come – we all need more veggies in our diets! Free samples included. Please pre-register.

Delavan Daze Book Sale – August 12 and 13

It's time for the big summer book sale, sponsored by the Friends of the Aram Public Library. A Friends members-only preview will be held Friday, August 12 from 12 to 4 p.m. in the library meeting room. You can buy a Friends membership at the door for $5 and take advantage of the opportunity to have first pick of the titles available. Then on Saturday, the sale opens to the public under the tent at 8 a.m. and continues until 3 p.m. Look for special deals on everything – hard and soft cover books, movies, music, audiobooks and more. You name it, we've got it!

Book Discussion – Wednesday, August 17 at 7 p.m.

Join us for a discussion of Peter Allison's Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide. This is a collection of true tales from top ¬safari guide Peter Allison. In a place where the wrong behavior could get you eaten, Allison has survived face-to-face encounters with big cats, angry ¬elephants, and the world’s most unpredictable animals—herds of untamed tourists and foolhardy guides whose outrageous antics sometimes make them even more dangerous than a pride of hungry lions! Books are available at the library.

Teen Book Club – Thursday, August 18 at 3:30 p.m.

We're back to our school year meeting time, and this week, we'll talk about Cris Beam's I Am J. Copies are available at the upstairs desk for check out.

Cuentos en Español/Spanish Story Time – Wednesday, August 24 at 5 p.m.

A family story time in Spanish and English.

The library will be closed September 5 for Labor Day.

School year library hours will begin September 6.

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Novel Destinations Book Reviews

Vampire Knight, Vol. 8 by Matsuri Hino

Cross Adademy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At twilight, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy's dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires!

After reading through book 11, this is my favorite. . . the big reveal!  After Kaname bites Yuki, it's obvious she should be a vampire, but she awakens from her memories and what a twist!  I never saw it coming.  Definitely a 5-star manga.  --Amanda

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
After a night of indiscriminate partying, Rachel sleeps with a close friend's fiancé and is consumed with guilt, until the intensity of her feelings forces her to make a difficult choice.

I liked this book as it kept my attention and I didn't want to put it down.  It kept me guessing as to what was going to happen with Rachel, the main character.  The ending was a bit sad but sweet, as Rachel lost her friend but gained her love. --Tracy

Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry
An exquisite and often heart-wrenching memoir of life in a small northern Wisconsin town.  Mike writes in a straight-forward and engaging style about his life as a "first responder" on the volunteer fire department.  His work is so evocative that I often felt I liked in the same town.  Certainly many of the experiences he relates are universal to small town life.  Highly recommended!  --Douglas

Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury
Airline pilot Connor Evans and his wife, Michele, seem to be the perfect couple living what looks like a perfect life. Then a plane goes down in the Pacific Ocean. One of the casualties is Kiahna Siefert, a flight attendant Connor knew well. Too well. Kiahna's will is very clear: before her seven-year-old son, Max, can be turned over to the state, he must spend the summer with the father he's never met, the father who doesn't know he exists: Connor Evans.

Karen Kingsbury always writes such inspirational stories!  This is another one.  This book is about love and forgiveness.  --Dorris

Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle by Ann B. Ross
Each new book in Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia series is like an interesting and refreshing visit with an old friend.  A respected lady of advanced years, Julia and her curiosity and standing in the community continue to place her in situations and predicaments both challenging and humorous.

The latest installment, Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle, finds Julia helping to deliver twins at home during a rare North Carolina snowstorm, as well as braving the cold and dead of night seeking answers to questions surrounding an unidentified body found in the tool shed of a neighbor, being the victim of fraud when her personal checks are stolen, reevaluating her position on women in the clergy, and learning that honesty and sharing help to strengthen relationships in marriage (although 'little white lies' sometimes work, too.)

Graceful southern flavor abounds; small town culture proliferates; and fun entertainment awaits the reader of this well-written story.  It get 5/5 on my list of favorites.  --Diane