When I search the library’s catalog for “Check It Out” titles, I always find something that surprises (and delights) me. If the “something” doesn’t relate to the theme I’ve picked for the column, I add it to my “topics for consideration” file. However, some titles are so unique that finding more books on those topics is challenging. As this list of special titles grows, from time to time I like to offer a bibliographic version of a “happy snappy scrappy dinner.” My mom used this phrase anytime she gathered up leftovers for the evening meal. A bite of this, a bite of that – happy, snappy, scrappy. Thanks, Mom.
For a happy, snappy, scrappy reading list, today’s random reads include cat hair, tennis shoes, golf courses, ice cubes, toilets and okra. I wonder if I can present a scene using this shelf-ish miscellany. Let’s see…
Jan, the librarian, carries her cat, Dewey, to the milliner to order matching cat-hair beanies. Their headwear will make a splash at the first-ever Antarctic tennis and golf tournament. Oh so stylish in their matching beanies, Jan and Dewey will sell fried okra and iced delights to spectators and the occasional polar bear. Note: restroom facilities will be…drafty.
- Cat-Hair Hats for Cats: Craft Fetching Headwear for Your Feline Friends by Rojiman and Umatan
- Fifty Sneakers that Changed the World by Alex Newson
- Golf Architecture for Normal People: Sharpening Your Course Design Eye to Make Golf (Slightly) Less Maddening by Geoff Shackelford
- The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts by Camper English
- Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet by Chelsea Wald
- The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration by Chris Smith
New at the Library
Fiction
- The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer
- One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan
- Sun Seekers by Rachel McRady
Nonfiction
- Big Meg: The Story of the Largest and Most Mysterious Predator that Ever Lived by Tim F. Flannery
- The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust by Elizabeth B. White
- National Geographic Bucket List Family Travel: Share the World with Your Kids on 50 Adventures of a Lifetime by Jessica Gee
Children
- Courtesy of Cupid by Nashae Jones
- Ice Fishing by Kara L. Laughlin
- Threads: Zlata’s Ukrainian Shirt written and illustrated by Lina Maslo
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District collection. Visit the district’s 15 locations, our website at www.fvrl.org, or call (360) 906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org
