Library Buzz: Caution: Adventure Ahead

When I say, "Let's have an adventure!" chances are good that what I actually mean is "Let's think about having an adventure!" Face it: adventures are expensive, time-consuming, and stressful. For me – maybe for you, too – just pondering an adventure is enough, and the best place for that sort of thing is the library.

So, how about it? Do you feel like having an adventure today?

For the would-be traveler, check out a travel guide from our nonfiction collection. I recommend DK's Eyewitness Travel Guides, known for their full-color photographs and detailed descriptions of must-see locations. For the less ambitious, stay close to home with "A Food Lover's Guide to Kansas City," by Sylvie Murphy.

What better way to pretend you're planning a trip than by studying a foreign language? With a state library card, any Kansas resident can access the Mango Languages database for free lessons on up to 40 languages, including French, Spanish, or Italian for novice adventurers and things like Farsi, Urdu, and Tagalog for the seasoned globe-trotter. Mango is also available as an app on iPhone and Android devices, so you can take your language lessons with you everywhere. To apply for your Kansas library card (not to be confused with an Andover library card), bring a valid Kansas driver's license to the library's front desk.

Don't forget to stop by the library at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, for a brief Mango Languages' demonstration during our International Talk Like a Pirate Day party. We'll have snacks, a treasure hunt, and a family-friendly pirate movie.

If pretend adventures aren't your thing, nonfiction adventure stories are a great way to live vicariously through other people. For an armchair adventure of your own, try "Near Death on the High Seas: True Stories of Disaster and Survival," by Cecil Kuhne for amazing true stories of shipwrecks, dangerous voyages, and storms at sea that will keep you on the edge of your very comfy seat. Alternatively, try Robert Kurson's "Shadow Divers: the True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II" and follow along as real divers try to identify the wreck of a German U-boat that, according to government records, shouldn't exist.

If you think you'd like to take your adventure past the planning stages, Andover Library is also a passport application processing facility. Agents are available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (excluding any day the library is closed). Visit www.travel.state.gov or call the library and ask to speak to a passport agent to learn what you need to bring with you to apply. It can take up to six weeks for your passport to arrive in the mail, so give yourself plenty of lead time before your trip.

At the library, we're here for all of your adventure planning needs, whether your adventures are real or imaginary, because planning really is the best part. Follow-through is exceedingly overrated.

(Originally published in the Andover American 9/5/12)

Library Buzz: Silence in the Library?

(Andover Public Library now has a monthly column in the Andover American. "Library Buzz" is written by YA librarian Tori Hamilton and will appear in the first issue of each month.)

The library isn’t what it used to be. There was a time when the library was quiet. Maybe you remember what I'm talking about: Stooped-backed old ladies with thick glasses and gray hair in tight buns skulked around shushing everybody, like that ghost at the beginning of Ghostbusters. Their stern gazes followed you around the room, thin-lipped grimaces daring you to touch their precious books, let alone put one back on the wrong shelf.

Seriously, what fun is that?

At the Andover Public Library, we have a lot going on. Sure, we still have books, including new releases, best-sellers, and favorite classics, but we offer so much more than that. Between our interactive storytimes, friends catching up on the latest news, tutors working with students, and local businessmen using our wi-fi to connect with the world, it can get a bit noisy sometimes. We're okay with that. At APL, we believe a library is an integral part of any close-knit community and anytime you bring people together in the spirit of fun, "quiet" goes right out the window. Drop in and visit us during any of our special events to see for yourself: in the past six months alone we've had jugglers, live animal demonstrations, used book sales, guest speakers, art programs, concerts, book clubs, Lego clubs, family movie nights, tea parties, gaming tournaments, and the occasional puppet show. You're bound to find something at the library you'll enjoy, and I promise you we don’t have much time to wander the stacks shushing people. 

Some of our hottest new books aren’t particularly quiet either: just gripping action and nail-biting suspense. The latest James Patterson novel, I, Michael Bennet pits the New York detective and father of ten against ruthless South American drug lords. Bennett will do anything to protect his family, a quality that many readers relate to and which sets this series apart from others Hard-Boiled Detective novels. If you’d rather start with the first Michael Bennett novel, check out Step on a Crack by James Patterson.

Daniel Silva’s new Fallen Angel has art restorer and former spy Gabriel Allon solving a murder in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The investigation leads Gabriel to St. Moritz, the Vatican, the back alleys of Istanbul, and a dramatic climax in Jerusalem; it’s like watching the Travel Channel, only with art smuggling and spy action.

Other popular titles include Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Litigators by John Grisham, and (in nonfiction) Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. If you’d like to check out any of these titles, come by the library, give us a call, or access our catalog online to put the item on hold. We’ll contact you as soon as it’s available.

Until next month, go out there and make some noise.
(Originally published in the Andover American, 8/2/12)

Hayley's Children's Book Reviews

It’s a perfect day for a picnic so Hen, Goose and Duck pick lots of apples, pears, and berries and set out to find a place to have their picnic.  When the picnic basket starts to feel lighter and lighter, they realize they are not the only ones who love apples, pears, and berries.  Read We’re Going On A Picnic! by Pat Hutchins and find out who is eating their favorite fruits. 

Pop is a tiny tugboat working really hard helping all the big boats in and out of the harbor.  One day a new boat named Toot is brought into the harbor. Toot is enormous and doesn’t think he needs help from anyone, especially a boat as small at Pop.  Sebastien Braun’s Toot and Pop! teaches young kids what real friends are for. 

Little Lost Tiger by Jonathan London is a wonderful story about a mother Siberian tiger and her cub, Amba.   As she goes in search of food in the snow-covered forest, they separate for just a few minutes.   Suddenly, there’s an extremely loud roar.  Fire! Will Amba and his mother find each other again?  Find out in this book that shows the power of love between a parent and child.