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.