Movies For A Rainy Day

The weathermen are all predicting spring showers for the next while. So, what is there to do when the rain is falling and making outdoor activities difficult? Sure, you could clean your house or do other inside work, but who really wants to do that? And while we are always happy to help you find a good book to read, reading is not always a very good "group" or "family" activity.

Instead, why not pop some corn and gather around to watch a movie? From romantic comedies to spy thrillers to horror flicks to documentaries... we have them all!!! So, grab a box of tissues, turn on all the lights in your house, make yourself a martini (shaken not stirred) and prepare for a fun night of home theater entertainment!

Here are some of the newest additions to our collection:

• Bedtime Stories - a fun story about finding your own happy ending.
  
• Brick Lane - a young Bangladeshi woman who feels trapped in her current life is forced to confront her dreams.
  
• The Day the Earth Stood Still - contains both the new release as well as the original sci-fi classic about an otherworldly being whose arrival on Earth triggers an unstoppable series of events that threaten all of mankind.
• Doubt - new philosophies versus old, as a rigid and fear-inspiring Sister believes she's uncovered the ultimate sin.
  
• Let the Right One In - disappearances and murder coincide with the arrival of a pale and serious young girl who only comes out at night.
  
• Marley & Me - heart-warming comedy that teaches us that sometimes even "the world's worst dog" can bring out the best in people.
  
• Milk - based on the inspiring true story of the first openly gay man elected to major public office.
  
• Quantum of Solace - another adventure in the 007 series, a nonstop quest for justice that crisscrosses the globe.
• The Reader - Hanna Schmitz is a lonely, working-class woman in post-Nazi Germany who has a brief but intense affair with a teenage boy. Years later they meet again; Hanna now a defendant in a notorious case and her ex-lover, now a law student, holding the secret to her salvation.
  
• Seven Pounds - Ben Thomas is at a crossroads searching for a way to redeem his heavy conscience.
• Slumdog Millionaire - Jamal Malik is one question away from winning a fortune on India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Will he ultimately win it all or lose everything, including his true love?
  
• Yes Man - discover the power of "yes" with Carl Allen as he shakes free of post-divorce blues and a dead-end job by embracing life and saying "yes" to everything.
  

Take a look into the lives of some very different people with one of these documentaries:

• Grey Gardens (DVD 920.72 GRE) - a documentary about an unexpected branch of Jackie Onassis's family; high society castaways keeping house in a dilapidated East Hampton mansion.
  
• Man on Wire (DVD 791.34 MAN) - Frenchman Philippe Petit overcame insurmountable challenges to achieve the artistic crime of the century, when in 1974 he stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center's twin towers.

Yummmm, do I smell popcorn? Use the online catalog to place a reserve or to search for other movies. And as always... if you need help, let us know!

Happy Watching!!!

Something for the Young Adult Readers...

Almost every teen in the country is reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. If you stop in to the library hoping to see one of her books on the shelf, good luck! No sooner does one come across the circulation desk, than it's off to be read (or re-read) by someone else. However, we are happy to assure all of our Teen Readers that we actually do have other books on our shelves just waiting to be taken out and given the chance to become the next best-loved tale.

So, for those teenagers who enjoy reading about mythical vampires and fantastical faeries; and for those who enjoy books about normal teenage kids experiencing normal teenage stuff... here are some reads to try:

• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
• What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
• 3 Willows : the sisterhood grows by Ann Brashares
• Hunted : a house of night novel by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
  
• Highway to Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
• Revelations : a Blue Bloods novel by Melissa de la Cruz
• The Musician's Daughter by Susanne Emily Dunlap
• Undiscovered Country by L.L. Enger
• The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan
  
• The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan
• The Icebound Land by John Flanagan
• If I Stay by Gayle Forman
• The Well Between the Worlds by Sam Llewellyn
• The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
• The Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan
• Evermore by Alyson Noel
• The Indigo King by James A. Owens
• Max : a Maximum Ride novel by James Patterson
• Burn by Suzanne Phillips
• Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
• Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
  
• The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa
  
• The Blind Faith Hotel by Pamela Todd

Check out the following Graphic Novels:

• Batman. Heart of Hush (YA GN BATMAN)
  
• Heroes. Volume One (YA GN HEROES)
• Heroes. Volume Two (YA GN HEROES)
• Superman. The Coming of Atlas (YA GN SUPERMAN)
• Wolverine : prodigal son (YA GN WOLVERINE)

And for those who cannot get enough of the movie version of Twilight, we have:

• Twilight Director's Notebook : the story of how we made the movie based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer by Catherine Hardwicke (YA 791.437 HAR)
  
• Twilight : the complete illustrated movie companion by Mark Cotta Vaz (YA 791.437 VAZ)
  

Many of the new teen novels can be found in a book bin that sits in the Teen Titles section of the library (near the Re-Readables Bookstore).

HAPPY READING!!!

Thinking About Gardening

What a wonderful weekend! The weather was warm and dry and it was so tempting to go outside and start gardening. But wait, it is still only mid-April and there are lots of frosty nights and mornings remaining before the tender annuals and vegetables are ready to be planted. I have discovered, however, that this doesn't stop people from getting out into the garden once we have a few warm, sunny days. My neighbors have been mowing and raking and turning over their garden soil and I have recently watched loads of mulch and top soil being delivered to houses on my road.

The local garden centers were jammed on Saturday. I finally gave into the call of the glorious weather and visited several local nurseries and garden stores. As tempting as the lovely hanging baskets and colorful annuals were, I left them at the store (for now). It is just too early in the season, but there were lots of customers who apparently disagreed with me. I left the store(s) with an assortment of containers and flower pots, some potting soil and, yes, a house plant. I admit that I needed a nice, new green plant, even if it will have to remain inside the house along with my voracious, plant-eating cats. I also picked up some hardy pansies in assorted colors. A little frost on their petals does not bother them. They also provide a nice easy lunch for the local wildlife...pansies are just bunny and deer candy at my house.

I started some annual garden chores by cleaning the driveway drains (one of my least favorite jobs) and clipping the dead blades from several of the large ornamental grasses in my yard. I don't clip them in the fall because I love how they look and sound in the wind and the snow. They provide a little interest and texture to the landscape throughout the winter.

I'm still feeding the birds (and squirrels, by default). My feeder has been overrun with birds this winter and spring. There was even a wild turkey in the yard last week, pecking at the seed that had scattered on the ground from the feeder. Every morning I put out only enough black oil sunflower seed for the birds and critters to finish off before dark. This way I avoid problems with our local bear who likes to eat bird feeders as well as bird seed.

Here's a list of some gardening titles at the Ligonier Valley Library that you might enjoy reading while waiting for the weather to warm up: Happy Gardening and Think Spring!!!

Step-By-Step Ulitimate Yard and Garden (635.9 STE)





The Complete Compost Gardening Guide: by Barbara Pleasant (631.8 PLE)








1,000 Garden Ideas by Stafford Cliff (712. 6 CLI)

It's National Library Week

It's National Library Week! This annual celebration has focused on the contributions of our nation's libraries for 51 years. Despite what some people may think, many people still visit public libraries regularly. The library of today may look a little different from the one that you visited as a child but it still offers a wealth of valuable, free services. People are always looking for ways to cut costs and some of the best bargains can be found at your library.

Let us surprise you...

• We are more than just books...although we have nearly 70,000 fiction and non-fiction volumes for all ages and tastes on our shelves.

• We have the latest movies, TV shows and documentaries on DVD (and video).

• We have 8 high-speed Internet workstations, 2 word-processors and 3 computer homework stations (for children 12 and under) for public use at no charge.

• Bring your laptop with you and connect to the Internet...for free!

• We have more than 3,000 audio-books including titles for children.

• Your library card is free (for Westmoreland County residents) and can be used at 20 public libraries in our county.

• You can open and manage your own online library account. Search for, reserve & renew library materials online. Sign up for e-mail reminders. Even pay fines online with your credit card.

• We have quick access to an additional 1,000,000 titles through our online catalogs and daily delivery services from other county libraries.

Don't forget to stop in and visit us this week!

New DVDs for your watching enjoyment

New Big Screen movies are released to DVD almost every day (or so it seems). Eventually, we are fortunate enough to bring those movies to you. Here are some new & classic movies on DVD that you might want to place yourself on reserve for:

• Australia
• Beverly Hills Chihuahua
  
• Boy in the striped pajamas
• Brideshead Revisited
• East of Eden (classic starring James Dean and Julie Harris)
  
• Let the Right One in
  
• The Librarian. Curse of the Judas Chalice
• The Magic of Ordinary Days (a Hallmark Hall of Fame production)
• Rebecca (classic Alfred Hitchcock production featuring Sir Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine)
  

Interested in the wonderful animals that we share this plant with? Try one of these DVDs:

• The Endangered Wild (DVD 333.9542 END)
• The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (DVD 636.6865 WIL)

We've also added a few more mini-series and television shows to our collection.

• The Complete Inspector Lynley Mysteries
  
• John Steinbeck's East of Eden (starring Jane Seymour)
• Moonlight. The complete series
• The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (Sets 1 - 3)
• An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

As always, we are happy to help you with placing any of the above items on reserve.

Happy viewing!!!