New Teen Reads

The weather has been crazy. First we're up to our knee caps in snow, then a 40 degree heat wave floods the area, and now we're back to snowy and bitter cold. How do you deal with the drastic weather changes?

One of our favorite suggestions is to find a good book and stay inside reading all day!!! With that in mind, here are some new teen titles being put on our shelves for 2010:

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Raven Summer by David Almond
• Rose and Skate by Beth Ann Bauman
• Going Bovine by Libba Bray
• Fire by Kristin Cashore
  
• A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
• Sphinx's Princess by Esther M. Friesner
• Fallen by Lauren Kate
• Back Home by Julia Keller
• Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan
• Taken by Nora McClintock
• Ruined by Paula Morris
  
• The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
• The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson
• Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulson
• Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
  
• The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
• Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
• Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
• Homestretch by Paul Volponi
• Once was Lost by Sara Zarr

The above is just a sampling of some of the new book waiting to be discovered. Stop in the library and browse the shelves or take a look online to find more titles.

Happy Reading!!!

Winter Book Sale Coming to Ligonier Valley Library

Be sure to stop and shop at our winter book sale opening on Saturday, January 23rd at 10 a.m. The sale will remain open that day until 4 p.m. and will reopen the following Monday. It will remain open during regular library hours through February 27th. All items are only 25 cents each. There are thousands of books! Audio books on cassette and video cassettes are also available for only 25 cents.

Murder & Mayhem in the library!

Last Friday evening started and ended with drama. First there was the reading of millionaire heiress Lotta Bux's Will, where we learned that Bux, creator of a best selling library “paste bar-b-que sauce”, had left her entire fortune to lover Rocky Stallion!

Such scandalous revelations did not deter guests from enjoying the evening which included tables full of tasty hor d'ouevres, mingling with Bux's disgruntled (and possibly murderous) heirs, and buying raffle tickets to win one of the beautiful, donated baskets. Then, just when everyone thought the evening couldn't get any better, the lights went out! *Dum-Dum-Dummmm* Followed by a horrible scream that filled the library!

Librarian Sabrina Stacks had found Rocky Stallion dead... done in... murdered!


Inspector Columbus arrived on the scene and immediately requested help from those gathered to solve the question.... Who-Dunnit!


Local actors, under the direction of veteran Ligonier director, Audrey Tostevin assisted by Polly Artuso, took on the roles of Bux's heirs in the amusing production of “The Case of the Loaded Librarian.” Bux's heirs were played by the following: lawyer Mason Rumpole, Larry Shew; playboy son Heathcliff Bux, Paul McCracken; Madonna Bux, Heidi McKay; Nurse Hatchet, Dawn Hart; Lotta’s French chef Tiny Prudhonne, Steve Gooder; chauffeur Indy Kowalski, Ormond “Butch” Bellas; Governess Jane Bronte, Lisa Simons; Lotta’s paramour Rocky Stallion, Tim Rennie; Inspector Columbus, Byron Frank, and librarian Sabrina Stacks, Debbie Gruss.

Thank you to everyone who participated in and helped with the Murder In The Library event! A special thank you goes to our wonderful actors, Audrey and Polly for putting on such a wonderful and entertaining show! Not only did the event sell out, but all who attended had a wonderful time.



PS - No actors or books were harmed in the making of this event! But many people had so much fun, that they hope we do it again.

Thank You to our Veterans!

We would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of our Veterans!!! And also to those men and women who are still serving in the military.

We thank you for the freedoms you help us enjoy, and for your selfless work to keep our country and our lives safe.

We would also like to thank the various other veterans who serve and protect us, including police officers and firefighters. Your sacrifice is appreciated.


The Ligonier Valley Library will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th in honor of Veteran's Day, but will re-open on Thursday, November 12th at 10:00 am.

Murder in the Library - SOLD OUT

Our Murder In The Library event for this Friday has been SOLD OUT!!!

Thank you very much to everyone who bought tickets,
we look forward to seeing you there!

While the murder mystery event has been sold out, the Basket Raffle is still going on! Tickets will be pulled Friday night, but you do not have to be present to win.

Support the library and possibly win a beautiful basket full of fun and/or delicious treats.
Tickets are: $1.00 Each, 6 for $5.00, 13 for $10.00, and 27 for $20.00.

[view Photo Gallery of the raffle baskets]

Murder and Basket Raffles!

Perhaps you are wondering...
what do murder and a basket raffle have in common?

In this particular case, they are to help raise funds for library operations!

Join us on Friday, November 6th at 7:00 pm for a night of murder and mayhem! Watch as actors play out a murder mystery, then attempt to piece together the clues and figure out... Who Dunnit!

Tickets are still available, but going fast... really fast. So, don't wait to get yours! They are $20.00 a person.

Whether or not you feel like a murderous night out, you can also help support the library by participating in our Basket Raffle! The baskets are beautiful, and are currently on display in front of the bay windows. Stop in or view them online. Raffle tickets are $1.00 each, 6 for $5.00, 13 for $10.00, and 27 for $20.00 and can be purchased at the main circulation desk!

Move over Santa... October isn't over yet!

Attention Holiday Readers! The Christmas season is upon us. Halloween decorations have already been pushed into a back corner (no doubt the same corner Thanksgiving decorations will soon occupy). But fear not... or maybe you should be afraid, very afraid! We are here to help you banish those visions of sugarplums, and replace them with ghosts and goblins... and psycho killers... oh, and maybe a vampire or two. Here are a few new books on our library shelves for you to try:

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - introduces Sookie Stackhouse, a small-time cocktail waitress in Louisiana, who has the ability to read minds. Enter Bill Compton whose mind she cannot read. Sounds great, right? However, when a co-worker is killed, Sookie begins to reevaluate the logic of having a vampire for a boyfriend. (Dead Until Dark is book #1 in the Sookie Stackhouse series.) If you enjoy this novel, you might want to borrow A Touch Of Dead - a compilation of five short stories featuring Sookie.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - After they inherit a London flat near Highgate Cemetery from their aunt Elspeth Noblin, two American twin teenagers move in, but they soon discover that much is still alive at Highgate, including, perhaps, their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old life behind.



13 1/2 : a novel by Nevada Barr - Polly Deschamps's happiness upon marrying Marshall Marchand soon turns to fear as his moods darken--due, Polly believes, to the sway of Marshall's brother, Danny--and she wonders if the brothers' dark secret has anything to do with the infamous "Butcher Boy" murders of 1971.


Crave more? You're in luck. There happen to be many authors who enjoy writing stories that thrill and scare their readers, among the scariest are: Stephen King, Peter Straub, Dean R. Koontz, David Morrell, and the duo of Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. For a slightly less frightening read, try one of these novels: 18 Seconds by George Shuman, Haunted Ground by Erin Hart, and Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell.

Everyone enjoys reading about vampires, werewolves, fairies, and evil spirits! Right? Add a twinge of humor, a dose of interesting characters, mix thoroughly, and you get one of these fine series: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, the Felix Castor novels by Mike Carey, the Hollows by Kim Harrison, and the Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton.

We even have something for our romance readers. Let's face the facts, all on it's own, romance is pretty scary. However, when you add a touch of the paranormal or throw in a serial killer, you suddenly get a romance that's just about... survivable. Authors Karen Marie Moning, Stephenie Meyer, Iris Johansen, Sandra Brown, and Mary Higgins Clark offer their readers tales that should satisfy anyone's scary-romance-novel quota for the month.

And let us not forget those classic novels written long ago that still possess the power to get our hearts racing, or to unsettle us for months - Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and any tale by Edgar Allan Poe.


If reading about the macabre doesn't totally satisfy you, then we invite you to attend the Murder In The Library event on Friday, November 6 at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20.00 per person. More details can be found HERE. (All proceeds from the event benefit the library's operations fund.)

We wish to offer you one last piece of advice. While reading any of the above novels, we highly recommend turning on all of the lights in your home!!! You might also want to keep a few garlic cloves near by... you know, just in case.

Happy Reading!!!