Virginia Officers who fought in the Revolutionary War tell their stories...

As part of his love of Virginia history, regional author and teacher Michael Cecere became involved in Revolutionary War re-enactments. Through original research for his "characters" who were real soldiers, he has written 5 books that tell their stories.

They Behaved like soldiers: Captain John Chilton and the Third Virginia Regiment 1775-1778
This includes a transcript of Chilton's diary and letters. Captain Chilton's regiment included notable Virginians such as James Monroe and William Washington. It provides invaluable
insights of the 3rd Virginia Regiment's routine and hardships, as they served in Trenton, and Brandywine during the war.

An Officer of very extraordinary merit: Charles Porterfield and the American War for Independence 1775-1780
The title comes from a quote of George Washington about Porterfield's service.
In this examination of numerous first person accounts, spanning from Boston and Quebec, through NJ, and down to South Carolina, the reader learns of the distinguished soldier's bravery as he endured blizzards, marches through Maine's wilderness, and action in many battles. John Marshall, future Supreme Court Justice, served as a lieutenant in the rifle unit commanded by Col. Daniel Morgan of Winchester, wherein Porterfield served as well.

Captain Thomas Posey and the 7th Virginia Regiment
Posey was with the battalion that played a prominent role in driving Lord Dunmore and the loyalist forces off Gwynn's Island and out of Virginia. His experience with his rifle company provides accounts of the Virginia forces at Saratoga, Whitemarsh , Valley Forge and Stony Point.

They are indeed a very useful corps, American riflemen in the Revolutionary War
The riflemen were formed in 1775 during the beginning of the Revolutionary War. This book includes eyewitness accounts of Benedict Arnold's attack on Quebec, and many battles in New York and NJ, including Trenton, Princeton, Harlem Heights and Throg's Neck. Southern Battles include King's Mountain and Cowpens.

In this time of extreme danger: Northern Virginia in the American Revolution
The role Northern Virginia played during the war, including political and social aspects as well as military maneuvers are highlighted in this book.

These books are available at the three branches of the library system.

Rabbit Ear Tales

Recently released on Audio CD are some famous people telling beloved stories, in three different series--American Tall Tales, Bible Stories and Storybook Classics.

Garrison Keillor retells "Johnny Appleseed" and Angelica Houston narrates "Rip Van Winkle"
in some fall tall tales.
American Tall Tales vol.1

Amy Grant and Kelly McGillis retell the story of the creation and Noah's Ark in
Bible Stories vol. 1

There are two volumes of Storybook Classics on CD.
In vol. 1, Glenn Close tells "The Emperor and the Nightingale" and Kelly McGillis reads "Thumbelina".
Storybook Classics vol. 1

In the second Storybook Classics, Cher shares "The Ugly Duckling" and Holly Hunter tells about "The Three Little Pigs" and "The Three Billygoats Gruff".
Storybook Classics vol.2

All titles are available at Warrenton, Bealeton and Marshall in the children's audiobook section.

The series will continue to release new editions several times a year.

More Modern Scholars

Baffled by the Brothers K? Do you find Tolstoy turgid?
Giants of Russian Literature: Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov explores the rich tradition of these great writers.
Professor Liza Knapp, who was the online "literary expert" for Anna Karenina, with Oprah's book club, explains how these works wrestle with the universal questions of love, death and the human condition.

The Search for the Holy Grail is timeless.
Eternal Chalice: the Grail in Literature and Legend
Professor Monica Brzezinski Potkay from the College of William and Mary, explores this theme.

A Way with Words: Writing, Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion
From formal speeches to cocktail party banter, the role of rhetoric is pervasive in how we persuade and are persuaded. A History of the English Language focuses on how language defines people, and how the English language evolved.
Professor Michael D.C. Drout, who is the lecturer for both of these courses, is one of the founding editors of the Tolkien Studies Journal and has won numerous awards for his teaching lectures and scholarship.

Your Library Card-a virtual library in a pocket

If you have a Fauquier County Library Card,
you can use encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, find magazine and newspaper articles,
get literary criticism through the Bloom's Literary Reference Online for reports, download Legal Forms, take college test preparation previews, learn about the college application process through the Testing and Education Resource Center, and research your ancestors from the convenience of your home, any time, day or night.

From the library's website, just click on Databases and Links from the menu on the left side,
click on any of the databases listed, enter your card number and you have your own research library in your computer.

This includes the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, the World Book Encyclopedia, the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, thousands of magazine and newspaper articles through FinditVa Periodical and Newspaper Indexes, going back for many years, and HeritageQuest census data for genealogy research.

If you don't have a Fauquier Library card, and you live or work in Fauquier County, own property or attend school here, you can apply online for one right here:
Application info

PS: September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month

Local Area Magazines

The Library has a number of regional journal subscriptions, including:

Blue Ridge Country
Northern Virginia (new)
Soul of Virginia
Southern Accents
Southern Living
Virginia Business
Virginia Capitol Connections
Virginia Forests
Virginia Home Educator
Virginia Review: journal of Virginia Government
Virginia Wildlife
Washington Business Journal
Washington Consumer Checkbook
Washingtonian

Please check our online catalog for locations and availability:
Fauquier Library Catalog

New eAudiobook Titles for August

August eAudiobook Titles

Phantom Waltz by Catherine Anderson

Plain Brown Wrapper by Karen Grigsby Bates

Windward West by Matt Braun

Solitary Envoy by T. Davis Bunn

Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke

Crisis by Robin Cook

First Impressions by Jude Deveraux

DiMaggio: The Last American Knight by Joseph Durso

Getting to Yes by William Fisher

Drinking Life by Pete Hamill

King of Lies by John Hart

Betrayed by David Hosp

Trouble Man by Travis Hunter

Slim and None by Dan Jenkins

Le Mariage by Diane Johnson

Preacher’s Daughter by Beverly Lewis

Up Jumps the Devil by Margaret Maron

Within the Shadows by Brandon Massey

Automatic Wealth: The Six Steps to Financial Independence
by Michael Masterson

Sins of the Wolf by Anne Perry

Guilt Trip by Ben Rehder

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman

Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith

First Salute by Barbara Tuchman

Forgotten by Elie Wiesel

Lone Star Café by Lisa Wingate

Complete New Yorker on DVD

A treasure-trove of American literature, humor, and social history from the famed weekly is now available for use in the Warrenton Branch reference collection.

Every cover, cartoon, illustration, article and advertisement in the New Yorker magazine from February 1925-February 2005 is included on 8 DVD-ROM discs (for computer use only), plus a booklet describing highlights of the magazine's history. That's over 4,000 issues and half a million pages.

James Thurber, E.B. White, Joseph Mitchell, Truman Capote, Roger Angell, James Baldwin, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Garrison Keillor, John Updike, Vladamir Nabokov are just some of the names which appeared regularly over the years.

Searching for those obscure J. D. Salinger short stories that weren't in his published anthologies? You'll find them here, plus poems by Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker, Seamus Heaney, cartoons by Charles Addams, George Booth, columns from Calvin Trillin, and fifty years of letters from Paris by Janet Flanner.

Theatre, dance, and film reviews from 1925 onward; a horse-racing column, The Race Track, that ran from 1926-1978; and "Talk of the Town" gossip provide an overview of the
culture, sophisticated and popular, through the decades.

Quite a few books began as published articles in the pages of the New Yorker, including reportage from Jonathan Schell, Neil Sheehan, Rachel Carson, and Seymour Hersh.

The New Yorker's weekly slice of life from the Roaring 20's through the disco 80's into the 21st century is distinctive, distinguished, and entertaining.
Complete New Yorker

Safe Driving

If you have a teenager or student driver in your household, here are several new resources that address the more complex issues of driving in today's fast-paced, heavy commuting environment:


Crashproof your kids: making your teen a safer, smarter driver
This is a guide for parents, and discusses developing defensive driving skills, road emergencies, basic car maintenance and responsible driving habits.

Driving Survival: how to stay safe on the roads
Covers a wide variety of situations and how to handle them, such as coping with road rage, night driving, and avoiding crashes.

License to Drive
Prepared by the Alliance for Safe Driving, in addition to covering the usual basics, it has a section on "Challenging Driving", such as driving in bad weather, reduced visibility, road conditions and terrain.

Tales of Turkmenistan and Greek Legends

The travel section in Sunday's Washington Post (July 16) profiled the book Unknown Sands by John W. Kropf, who is a resident of Fauquier County.

Subtitled "Journeys around the world's most isolated country", it recounts his experiences in remote Turkmenistan.

Listed as a "hardship post", Mr. Kropf spent two years on a diplomatic mission there, traveling throughout the land which Alexander the Great, Marco Polo, Genghis Khan and few intrepid Western adventurers had passed.

Geographically, Turkmenistan is bordered on the south by Iran and Afghanistan, and to the north by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and opens onto the Caspian Sea to the west. In the center of the country is the Kara Kum Desert, which covers 80% of the country.
It has been a route of the Silk Road, and part of the former Soviet Union.

A copy of his book is available at the Fauquier Library.
For more information:
Unknown Sands

Another local author, John Latka, has recently published a novel,
Staten Island Memoirs, a fantasy tale of lost love involving an elderly man named Paris Polanski, remembering a chance encounter 43 years earlier, with a beautiful woman he calls Helen after "Helen of Troy." Zeus intervenes to arrange a meeting.

Mr. Latka was born in Brooklyn, but currently resides in Warrenton.

Staten Island Memoirs

Baby Einstein DVD's expanded

Recent additions to the Children's collection includes more Baby Einstein on DVD.

Baby Monet playfully journeys through the four seasons in art work of Monet and the music of Vivaldi
Baby Newton presents concepts of shape through real objects, plus puppets and an animated clown
Baby Wordsworth explores language with words from around the house, plus a bonus feature with phrases in sign language from Marlee Matlin

For the 11 titles available, see Baby Einstein
All items may be requested at any branch location.

Midsummer Night Reads

To while away summer evening hours dreamily ...

For Children
Midsummer Magic: a garland of stories, charms, recipes J 398.2 GRE
Mad Summer Night's Dream E Bro
Night Owls E Den
Cat's Midsummer Jamboree E Khe
Midsummer night's faery tale JF Fro
Midsummer Night's Death JF Pey
Midsummer Night's Dork JF Gor
Stage Fright on a summer's night JPB Osb

For Adults
Midsummer's Eve Philippa Carr
Midsummer Magic Catherine Coulter
Love in Idleness Amanda Craig
Midsummer Suzanne Jenner (LP only)
Midsummer Night's Scream Jill Churchill (Mys)
Door into Summer Robert Heinlein (Audio CD only)

For Everyone
William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer night's dream" 822.33 SHA

New Teaching Company titles have arrived!

Fauquier library has many fans of the Teaching Company, and a new batch of titles are available, some on audio CD and some on DVD.

On Audio CD

Plato's Republic

Vikings

Francis of Assisi

Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis

On DVD

Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age

High Middle Ages

Italian Renaissance

Change and Motion: Calculus Made Clear

Particle Physics for Non-Physicists: A Tour of the Microcosmos

From Monet to Van Gogh: a history of Impressionism

Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance

For a complete list of their courses at the library,
you can do a search under
Teaching Company in the online catalog.

The collection includes audio cassette and video format as well as audio CD's and DVD of their courses on art, music, literature, history, science, mathematics, economics, philosophy, religion, mythology, psychology, on aspects of world culture through over 70 titles.

For more information about the Teaching Company, go to their website:
http://www.teach12.com

Intentional Living

Sometime in one's life, there rises a dream of shared purpose, for a community of shared values, or just shared cooking and meals -

The Communities Directory: a comprehensive guide to Intentional Communities and Cooperative Living provides a starting point to take that first step to seek alternatives to suburbia.

Published by the Fellowship for Intentional Community, based in Rutledge, Missouri, the directory lists over 600 communities in North America such as ecovillages co-ops, communes and cohousing projects, plus 130 international communities.

Based upon responses to survey sent out, communities are listed in multiple ways: geographically by state, alphabetically by name, with distinct sections for those who provided more detailed information, and those with just short directory information.

Many communities list their visitor policies. There is an keyword index, so you can search by agriculture, arts, activism, simplicity, social change, stewardship, sustainability, service, specific religious groups, lifestyle groups, environmental, family-oriented, those that have guest facilities and many other options.

There is a giant cross-reference chart that indicates each groups policies on alcohol and tobacco use, dietary practices, size of membership, year formed, finance and labor policies, etc.

This is the fourth edition of the directory. More than just directory listings, it includes advice about what works in community life, contacts for networks of intentional communities, resources for starting your own community, how to be a good visitor at a community, the differences between cults and intentional communities, and how to discern them.

The directory is available in the Warrenton Branch reference collection (REF 307.77 COM)
For more information about Intentional Communities,
check their website http://fic.ic.org/

Dancing through Time

Participating in Costume balls, historical plays, Renaissance Faires, and other festivities?

Do you have a desire to find out just what is a Quadrille, how to present a "Grand March", how to dance the Mazurka or the Minuet, the intriguing "Nest of Love"?

The library's DVD collection includes the 6 part set "How to Dance through Time"

Each volume covers a particular time frame: Baroque Social Dance, Renaissance, Ragtime, Victorian, and 19th Century Ball and 19th century couple dances (think Jane Austen).

Programs range from 35 to 50 minutes in length and provide information about costumes, period drawings, and aspects of their social etiquette as well.

Health Choices on DVD

The latest DVD series at the library includes 11 programs that examine the array of choices available in medical therapies and treatments.

Confronting Cancer...an integrated approach follows a young woman of 30 battling progressive breast cancer through treatment at major cancer centers such as Sloan-Kettering, and UCSF. She also has, with support from her doctor, used energy healing, acupuncture and herbs.

Spiritual healing reviews research in spirituality and healing, and includes interviews with
Dr. Kenneth Pelletier, author of The Best Alternative Medicine, Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madronna, a psychiatrist of Native American heritage and knowledge, Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Naomi Judd who has stuggled with Hepatitis C.

Othe program topics include genetic research, chronic pain, the aging process, herbal medicines, the mind/body connection, and sickle cell anemia.

Each program is approximately 30 minutes long. The series is available at the Bealeton and Warrenton branches.

For more information from the catalog:
Health Choices DVD Series

Pulitzer Prizes Awarded

Literature Prizes awarded today include:

For Fiction
March by Geraldine Brooks. Not to be confused with E. L. Doctorow's novel by the same title, which was also nominated for a Pulitzer-
In a story inspired by the father character in "Little Women" and drawn from the journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott's father, a man leaves behind his family to serve in the Civil War and finds his beliefs challenged by his experiences.
Reading Group Guide

For Biography
American Prometheus: the triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. A portrait of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, discusses his role in the twentieth-century scientific world, as well as his roles as family man and head of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies. This book also was a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.

For General Non-fiction
Imperial Reckoning the untold story of the end of empire in Kenya by Caroline Elkins
Reveals how the British colonial government detained more than one million members of Kenya's largest ethnic minority in prisons and work camps where many met their deaths as a result of a British attempt to stop the Mau Mau uprising.

For a complete list of prizes and nominations:
http://www.pulitzer.org/

Poems, Poets, Poetry

To help you rediscover poetry --if you've lost it ... (After all, April is National Poetry Month)

Roger Housden shares his ideas on 10 Poems to change your life, 10 Poems to Last you a lifetime, 10 Poems to open your heart, 10 poems to set you free, and more
Ten Poems, etc

With Voice of the Poet series on Audio CD, you can hear over 20 American poets, including Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop, Allen Ginsburg, Robert Frost, and e.e. cummings share their poems aloud.

Billy Collins , former U.S. Poet Laureate, has done much to promote the awareness of poetry in America. He's been heard of NPR, PBS, and the library has several of his books.

The Poet Laureate position in the U.S. began only in 1937. A number of notable Southern poets have served as Laureates, including Conrad Aiken, Allen Tate, Randall Jarrell, and James Dickey.

For more poetry news,
Library of Congress Poetry Place
Academy of American Poets
Teacher Resources for National Poetry Month
Anti-National Poetry Month by Charles Bernstein

Cherry Blossoms, Kites, Origami

Did you know that April is National Kite Month?

Check out the website:
National Kite Month

For books about kite flying, building, stories and such, see the library's catalog listings:
Kites

The Cherry Blossom Festival continues through April 9. Despite wind and rain, there may be some blossoms left to see. Look at the official website for the festival's calendar of events, including the parade on Saturday, April 8
Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Park Service also has a site about the Cherry Trees in Washington:
National Park Service Cherry Trees

Origami resources at the library include books, videos and DVD's for adults and children:
Origami as Keyword

Today's Homeowner DIY Series on DVD

Thinking of remodeling a kitchen or bath?
Converting a carport or garage?
Doing something with driveways? decks? room additions?

From flooring to roofing, over 20 episodes of Today's Homeowner series, hosted by Danny Lipford, are now available to borrow from the Warrenton Library.

For more detailed information, here is a list of titles:
Today's Homeowner DVD Series

National Geographic Bee State Finals on Friday

State Level competitions for the National Geographic Bee will be held on March 31.

Winners will go on to compete nationwide this year from May 23-24 in Washington DC.
Awards on the National Level are scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.

Students and homeschoolers from grades 4-8 are eligible to enter, with some qualifying rounds.
The annual registration deadline is October 15.

There is also a World Championship held every two years.
In Summer 2005, the event was held in Budapest, Hungary, with Alex Trebek moderating.

Start preparing now for next year's Bee by checking out some recent additions to the
children's collection:


Afghanistan to Zimbabwe: Country Facts that helped me win the National Geographic Bee

National Geographic Bee Official Study Guide

For registration requirements, sample questions and FAQ's about the Bee, go to

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee/index.html

Weather or not

March 23 is proclaimed World Meteorological Day by the United Nations.

If you've ever wondered
what is that weatherman talking about, here are a few guides:

Meterology Demystified

Extreme Weather: a guide and record book

Skywatch West: the complete weather guide

The National Weather Service site is
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/

Some other useful sites are

UM (Univ. of Michigan) Weather Underground
http://cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/wxnet/
UN World Weather
http://www.worldweather.org/
Weather 101: A resource for Teachers and Students
http://ggweather.com/101.htm

Albert Einstein's Birthday

March 14 , 1879 the future Nobel Prize Winner and genius was born at Ulm, Germany.

To learn more about the man and his theories, consider these resources:

Einstein for Dummies

Einstein's Cosmos: How Einstein's vision transformed our understanding of space and time

Einstein's Heroes: Imagining the world through the language of mathematics

Einstein's relativity and the quantum revolution (video)

An essay written by Einstein, from the American Institute of Physics site:
The World as I see it

Latest E-Audiobooks

The Diezmo
Bass, Rick

The Osama bin Laden I Know
Bergen, Peter L.

The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell
Braun, Lilian Jackson

Love Walked In
de los Santos, Marisa

The Summer We Got Saved
Devoto, Pat Cunningham

The Undertaker's Wife
Estleman, Loren D.

Death Dance
Fairstein, Linda

Miss Misery
Greenwald, Andy

Constant Princess, The
Gregory, Philippa

The Education of a Coach
Halberstam, David

Sweet Bye-Bye
Harris, Denise Michelle

Honor's Price
Heitzmann, Kristen

Bombingham
Grooms, Anthony

Deep Freeze
Jackson, Lisa

Shadowed
Jenkins, Jerry

The Rhythm of Life
Kelly, Matthew

Jericho's Road
Kelton, Elmer

Cell
King, Stephen

The Thrall's Tale
Lindbergh, Judith

Who Does She Think She Is?
Little, Benilde

Shooting at Loons
Maron, Margaret

Paragon Walk
Perry, Anne

How Full Is Your Bucket?
Rath, Tom & Clifton, Ph.D., Donald O.

Mission Road
Riordan, Rick

And One More Thing Before You Go
Shriver, Maria

The Great War: Walk in Hell
Turtledove, Harry

Night-Marion Wiesel translation
Wiesel, Elie

Table for Five
Wiggs, Susan

Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life
Winget, Larry

Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends

Shelley Duvall's humorous retelling of famous American legends
features familiar faces such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny Glover, and Martin Short
in the recently released DVD versions of
Annie Oakley, Davy Crockett, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill
plus a few more.
Available soon at the Warrenton Branch.
You can request a copy to be sent to another pickup location
through the library's catalog by clicking on the "Place a Hold" button
on the screen for a specific title in the catalog.
Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends

Famous February Authors

Feb 1
Langston Hughes-African American writer best known for his poetry, who also wrote drama, fiction, short stories and an autobiography. An important part of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes traveled to Africa, Europe, Russia and Japan. He was a war correspondent for the Spanish Civil War, was involved in American theatre, and lectured and held posts at colleges and universities around the country. He died in 1967.

Feb 2
James Joyce-20th century Irish novelist used interior monologues and stream-of-consciousness writing mixed with realism. Every year on June 16, Joyce's writing is celebrated through Bloomsday, in honor of his character from Ulysses, Stephen Bloom.

Feb 7
Charles Dickens-English author of 20 novels, including 5 Christmas books.

Sinclair Lewis-first American to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. Also nominated earlier for the Pulitzer Prize, which he declined.

Feb 8
Jules Verne- futuristic French novelist of the 19th century, and one of the earliest science fiction writers. His works anticipated the inventions of airplanes, television, satellites and guided missiles.


Feb 23
W.E. B. Du Bois -first African American to receive a Ph. D from Harvard University. His famous book of essays, The Souls of Black Folk, expounds his ideas about race relations. He helped found the NAACP. He moved to Ghana, later renounced his American citizenship. He died in 1963.

Feb 26
Victor Hugo-French novelist now mostly known for Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he was sent into exile for 20 years by Emperor Napoleon III. During exile he lived in Belgium and Isle of Jersey. He returned to France in great acclaim after the overthrow of the Emperor.

Feb 27
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow- American poet of the 1800's who wrote the storytelling poems Evangeline, Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere' s Ride, Courtship of Miles Standish and Tales of a Wayside Inn. He was the first American poet honored in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Check the link to the library's catalog for works by these authors.

New Magazines

Recent additions to the Magazine Collections at the library include:

American Baby-for new parents. Available at Bealeton.

Ask-about arts and sciences for children ages 7-10, from the publishers of Cricket and Smithsonian. Available at Warrenton and Bealeton branches.

Backyard Flyer -provides trends and how-to information for remote control, and kit planes, and all the equipment supporting them. Recent issues included easy aerobatics techniques, smart speed controls and hot planes for the new year. Available at the Bealeton branch

Bookmarks-lively and critical reviews of recent fiction, mysteries, biography history, and much more. Rather than focus on bestsellers, this bimonthly publication highlights award-winning books, book group selections, genres such as historical fiction, classic authors and all things readerly. Available at the Warrenton branch.

Cottage Living-focuses on simplicity, comfort and coziness in gardening, decorating and cooking. At the Warrenton branch.

Creative Knitting- Each pattern lists skill level, from easy to intermediate through experienced. Many projects with clear instructions. At the Bealeton branch.

Crochet- contemporary design ideas for crocheters-available at the Bealeton Branch.

Game Informer-for electronic gamers, the latest reviews and industry news. Available at the Bealeton branch.

Hobby Farms-niche marketing trends for rural areas, ideas for small farms, also practical matters involving livestock, publicity, legal matters. Recent issues included features on how to build goat-keeping equipment, Devon Cattle, Agritourism, and specialty grains-available at the Bealeton branch

Knitter's Magazine-designs, techniques, and instructions for knitting with style. Recent issues featured felting techniques, trends for spring and summer, the knitter of the year, how to turn scarves into vests-at the Warrenton branch.

Latina -features entertainment, fashion, cultural and social issues of interest to Latinas -at Bealeton and Marshall branches

Men's Health-the world's largest men's magazine. The two latest issues feature warrior workouts, best new tech toys for men. Health, nutrition, fitness, relationships and other "tons of useful stuff" provided-at the Warrenton Branch.

Model Railroader- custom layouts, track plans, product reviews, covers HO, O, N, S, G and Z scale models-at the Bealeton Branch.

N.A.D.A. Classic, collectible and special interest car appraisal guide and directory- this ready reference resource is available at the reference desk at the Warrenton branch. Covers valuation of all cars and trucks from 1926-1986, including exotics from 1946-2006.

N.A.D.A. Motorcycle/snowmobile/ATV/Personal watercraft appraisal guide and directory-this ready reference guide is available at the reference desk at the Warrenton branch. Covers 21 years of values from 1986-2006. Includes side cars and trailers for motorcycles too.

Natural Home and Garden focuses on how to live green and features trends in home building, furnishings, gardening and daily living with organic and natural resources-at the Warrenton Branch.

Quilter's Newsletter -Includes a calendar of quilting shows and events, book reviews, patterns, traditional as well as artistic quilting. Has an ongoing series of basic quiltmaking lessons from easy, challenging, skill building, and intermediate- at the Warrenton branch.

Radio Control Car Action- the title says it all. Available at the Bealeton branch.

The Week-if you don't have the time or patience to wade through most weekly news journals or newspapers, get the skinny with The Week. In slightly over 40 pages per issue, this digest capsulizes the main US stories, controversies, and overviews of world news (including maps to show you where the countries are), people gossip, excerpts from best columns in the US and internationally, talking points, cartoons, health and science, art, book reviews, theatre, music, film, food and drink-including a recipe of the week, television, travel, real estate, consumer bargains, and business. Available at the Warrenton branch

Dickens on DVD

Winter time is the season for Dickens.

Look for these newly released DVD's
at Bealeton and Warrenton Libraries.

All are BBC versions of Dickens Novels


Bleak House (with Diana Rigg, not the latest PBS version)
This was originally aired in 1985. It has 8 episodes, with 4 on one side of the disc, and 4 on the other side of the disc-7 hours of viewing.
At the court of Chancery, the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case grinds on for years with no end in sight. Entangled in the lawsuit are a growing number of innocent victims: Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a child with mysterious parentage; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. As the case staggers onward, yet more people become embroiled in the furious legal battle, including the proud Lady Dedlock, who finds herself persecuted by the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn, then hunted by the determined Inspector Bucket, one of the first detectives to appear in English literature. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core.


Great Expectations -almost 6 hrs long, starring Joan Hickson
In the gloom of a country graveyard, a young boy encounters an escaped convict, a chance meeting that later leads the boy to tragedy, mystery and wealth.

Hard Times -with Alan Bates, Bill Paterson, Richard Grant
Local MP and schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind raises his children, Louisa and Tom, in the utilitarian fashion, stressing reason and fact and dismissing imagination and emotion. Under his influence, Louisa grows cold while Tom turns to a secret life of drinking and gambling. To be nearer her brother, Louisa accepts an offer of marriage from his boss, the self-mad, self-important banker Josiah Bounderby, though she does not love him. But soon finds herself succumbing to the attentions of the lothario James Harthouse. All the while, Mrs. Sparsit, a former aristocrat who now works for Bounderby, obsessively watches as the drama unfolds, longing for Louisa's downfall.


Martin Chuzzlewit -with Paul Scofield, Tom Wilkinson, John Mills
Who will inherit the riches of wealthy old Martin Chuzzlewit? The only person he trusts is his companion and nurse, the young orphan Mary Graham, but she is employed on the understanding that she will not inherit a penny. He has disinherited his grandson, Young Martin, suspicious of the motives of the young man's love for Mary. With such a fortune at stake, the rest of the family closes in like sharks. The obsequious Pecksniff, whit his daughters, Mercy and Charity, attempts to grovel into the old man's good graces, while the wicked Jonas will stop at nothing...even murder.


Our Mutual Friend -a tale of two turbulent love affairs amidst a tangled web of wealth, corruption, passion and betrayal in 1860's London. Almost 6 hours long.

Caldecott and Newbery Awards Announced

The American Library Association today announced the winners of these awards for outstanding illustration and writing in Children's Books. Other prizes were also announced.
http://news.ala.org/releases/newbery.html

Look for these books in the library's collection:
Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
Hello, Goodbye Window illustrated by Chris Raschka

New January Titles for e-audiobooks

Here are the most recent titles now available from Recorded Books netlibrary downloadable audios:

Panic by Abbott, Jeff
Doctor's House, Beattie, Anne
Testament Bobrick, Benson
Hunt Ball, Brown, Rita Mae
Case of Nosy Neighbors, Copeland, Lori
Case for Peace, Dershowitz, Alan
My Friend Leonard Frey, James
Receiving Love Hendrix & Hunt
Morning After, Jackson, Lisa
Fast Copy Jenkins, Dan
Stealing with Style Jenkins, Emyl
Texas Vendetta Kelton, Elmer
Carolyn 101 Kepcher, Carolyn
Best Christmas Gift, LaHaye & Dinallo
Sixty-Six Levinson, Barry
Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart Livingston, M.D., Gordon
Southern Discomfort Maron, Margaret
Hot Fudge Sundae Blues Marshall, Bev
Slow Kill McGarrity, Michael
Family Blessings Michaels, Fern
Tender Bar, Moehringer, J.R.
West of Rehoboth Pate, Alexs D.
Sudden, Fearful Death, A Perry, Anne
Southtown Riordan, Rick
Rules of Prey Sandford, John
Secrets of the Widow's Son Shugarts, David A.
Jerusalem Scrolls, Theone, Bodie and Brock
American Front Turtledove, Harry
When Mountains Walked Wheeler, Kate
Ten Thousand Islands White, Randy Wayne

Historic Hotels of America

Have you ever wondered what some of the famous, grand old hotels looked like on the inside?

A new DVD series on Historic Hotels in America reveals their special features.

The library has the following titles:

The Greenbrier, Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia
Hotel Hershey, Hershey ,Pennsylvania
The Jefferson, Richmond, Virginia
The Mayflower, Washington DC
The Morrison Clark, Washington DC
The Wayside Inn, Middletown, Virginia
The Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg, Virginia

John Marshall's Inauguration-105 years ago today

On January 20, 1801, John Marshall was appointed the fourth Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.

If you want to know more about one of Fauquier County's most illustrious citizens, here are a few of the many resources available about John Marshall at the library :

Geraldine Susi's biography of Marshall, written for children
My father, my companion : life at The Hollow, Chief Justice John Marshall's boyhood home in Virginia tells about his happy childhood with his family in eighteenth-century Fauquier County, Virginia, enjoying a particularly close relationship with his father and teacher, Thomas Marshall. Available at all three library branches.

John Marshall : his homes...his history...his legacy / prepared by Learning Tree Farms and The Friends of the Hollow, compiled on the occasion of the Marshall Family Reunion in 2003.
In the Virginiana Collection, at all three branches.

The Marshall legacy : 1999 archaeological dig / Fauquier Heritage & Preservation Foundation, describes local excavations in Fauquier County. In the Virginiana Collection at all three branches.

My dearest Polly; letters of Chief Justice John Marshall to his wife, with their background, political and domestic, 1779-1831 presents the personal side of the great man of law. In the Virginiana Room at the Warrenton Branch, along with numerous other biographies of John Marshall.

January is National Mentoring Month

Based in Alexandria VA, MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership asks people to
"Share what you know...Be a mentor".

If you would like to learn more about the mentoring process, there is a website which helps to pair partners, includes success stories about the value of mentoring in young people's lives and mentoring projects by state. www.mentoring.org

For more about mentoring both at the workplace as well as in community outreach,
here are two recent books available at the library:

Guiding lights : the people who lead us toward our purpose in life by Eric Liu presents the stories of fifteen mentors from different professions, identifying five teaching skills they have in common which enables many of their students to reach high levels of success.

The elements of mentoring by W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley discusses fifty key elements of mentoring, patterned after Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. It covers the qualities of an effective mentor, the steps needed to establish a successful mentor-protege relationship, the importance of integrity, and more.

Looking for Medical specialists?

A useful resource when seeking doctors is the Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists, now available in Warrenton.
Arranged by broad specialty such as Pediatrics, it also provides subspecialties such as medical genetics, neonatal-perinatal medicine, and pediatric cardiology.
Listings are by state, and then by city within each specialty.
Most entries for physicians include type of certification and date, medical school, internship, residency, fellowship, hospital appointments, academic appointments, professional memberships and primary and secondary office locations.

Another source of information is U. S. News and World Report
Health ratings website which lists Best Hospitals, Best Health Plans and Best Medical Schools among other rankings.

The Washingtonian magazine features "Top Doctors" in the region occasionally. The lastest was July 2005.

Test Anxiety?

Perhaps one of your New Year resolutions is to improve your grades.
Test-Taking Strategies for Students may be just the boost needed to overcome test performance anxiety. This 7 part DVD series covers the gamut from answering test questions, effective note-taking, study skills, how to master essay tests, math tests, and reading comprehension. Available at the Warrenton branch.