Mrs. Jeffries and the Alms of the Angel

Mrs. Jeffries and the Alms of the Angel by Emily Brightwell

Summary: When a wealthy widow is murdered, Mrs. Jeffries investigates what happens when money can't buy your life in this all-new installment in the beloved Victorian Mystery series.

Margaret Starling wasn't the sort of woman anyone expected to be murdered. She was on the advisory board of the London Angel Alms Society, she was an active member of St. Peter's Church, and, best of all, she was always willing to lend a hand to a friend or a neighbor in need of advice. She was also a wealthy upper-class widow. But money alone won't protect you when someone decides it's high time you met your maker.

Margaret's next-door neighbor considered her an odious busybody, the Reverend Reginald Pontefract wished she'd never set foot in St. Peter's, and half the advisory board of the London Angel Alms Society heartily hoped she'd come down with pneumonia before the next quarterly meeting.

All in all, Margaret wasn't as well regarded as she'd always thought she was. But Mrs. Jeffries and Inspector Witherspoon know that justice isn't a popularity contest, and they won't rest until they sift through the suspects to catch a sinister scrooge.

Angie’s comments: This was the first book I have read in this series, and it works well as a stand-alone novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy historical mystery. The pace was quick and the characters interesting. 

Recommended for cozy mystery readers. 

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Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals about Death by Caitlin Doughty

Summary: New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the 2019 Goodreads Choice Award for Science & Technology

Best-selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers real questions from kids about death, dead bodies, and decomposition.

Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. The best questions come from kids. What would happen to an astronaut's body if it were pushed out of a space shuttle? Do people poop when they die? Can Grandma have a Viking funeral?

In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Doughty blends her mortician's knowledge of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five distinctive questions posed by her youngest fans. In her inimitable voice, Doughty details lore and science of what happens to, and inside, our bodies after we die. Why do corpses groan? What causes bodies to turn colors during decomposition? And why do hair and nails appear longer after death? Readers will learn the best soil for mummifying your body, whether you can preserve your best friend's skull as a keepsake, and what happens when you die on a plane.

Beautifully illustrated by Dianné Ruz, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? shows us that death is science and art, and only by asking questions can we begin to embrace it. 

Angie’s comments: A fun and enlightening book about death. Doughty has the right mix of humor and seriousness about the subject. The book had the effect of reassuring me about my body after death. 

Recommended for anyone interested in odd scenarios about death. 

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Women and Money

Women and Money: Be Strong, Be Smart, Be Secure by Suze Orman

Summary: Why is it that women have such a complicated, dysfunctional relationship with money? 

Straight-talking money guru Suze Orman equips us with the knowledge and confidence needed to overcome the mental and emotional blocks and take control of our financial destinies. At the heart of the book is the all-new Save Yourself Plan, a super-clear, pragmatic, streamlined path to durable financial security. 

This revised edition includes fully up-to-date information that factors in the latest financial and tax legislation and economic data, and tips on investing in the digital banking age. In these tough times, none of us can afford to sit back and relax when it comes to our money. 

Suze Orman understands what women want when it comes to personal finance- a trusted source who understands that time is a precious commodity and security is the goal. With her signature mix of insight, truth-telling, and compassion, Suze hits home with advice that is at once intuitive and pragmatic-and as her millions of fans will attest, highly effective.

Angie’s comments: This is a good guide for anyone, but especially women, to start handling their money. I learned some from it, and I have read a lot of financial self-help books. The steps are clear, and while not easy, she explains how to go about each part and why. 

Recommended for readers interested in handling their money.

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How To

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe

Summary: For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.

Bestselling author and cartoonist Randall Munroe explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos. He teaches you how to tell if you're a baby boomer or a 90's kid by measuring the radioactivity of your teeth. He offers tips for taking a selfie with a telescope, crossing a river by boiling it, and powering your house by destroying the fabric of space-time. And if you want to get rid of the book once you're done with it, he walks you through your options for proper disposal, including dissolving it in the ocean, converting it to a vapor, using tectonic plates to subduct it into the Earth's mantle, or launching it into the Sun.

By exploring the most complicated ways to do simple tasks, Munroe doesn't just make things difficult for himself and his readers. As he did so brilliantly in What If?, Munroe invites us to explore the most absurd reaches of the possible. Full of clever infographics and fun illustrations, How To is a delightfully mind-bending way to better understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day.

Angie’s comments: Definitely a book about the most convoluted solutions. The scenarios are absurd, the solutions are absurd, and the whole thing is just funny. This gets you thinking and teaches you some about science and the world.

Recommended for readers who like science and humor. 

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Study help

Start studying! The Official SAT Study Guide Request this item Math and Science Workout for the ACT Request this item Cracking the AP English Literature and Composition Exam Request this item And for online studying, check out the free Test and Resume Preparation database at https://inspire.in.gov/. If you want any more suggestions or ideas, please call or come in the library today!

Buzz, Sting, Bite

Buzz, Sting, Bite: Why We Need Insects by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson

Summary: An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we--and the planet we inhabit--could not survive without them.

Insects comprise roughly half of the animal kingdom. They live everywhere -- deep inside caves, 18,000 feet high in the Himalayas, inside computers, in Yellowstone's hot springs, and in the ears and nostrils of much larger creatures. There are insects that have ears on their knees, eyes on their penises, and tongues under their feet. Most of us think life would be better without bugs. In fact, life would be impossible without them.

Most of us know that we would not have honey without honeybees, but without the pinhead-sized chocolate midge, cocoa flowers would not pollinate. No cocoa, no chocolate. The ink that was used to write the Declaration of Independence was derived from galls on oak trees, which are induced by a small wasp. The fruit fly was essential to medical and biological research experiments that resulted in six Nobel prizes. Blowfly larva can clean difficult wounds; flour beetle larva can digest plastic; several species of insects have been essential to the development of antibiotics. Insects turn dead plants and animals into soil. They pollinate flowers, including crops that we depend on. They provide food for other animals, such as birds and bats. They control organisms that are harmful to humans. Life as we know it depends on these small creatures.

With ecologist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson as our capable, entertaining guide into the insect world, we'll learn that there is more variety among insects than we can even imagine and the more you learn about insects, the more fascinating they become. Buzz, Sting, Bite is an essential introduction to the little creatures that make the world go round.

Angie’s comments: Buzz, Sting, Bite is a quick introduction to insects, filled with information and enthusiasm. The book is more of an overview about insects. The information never gets too technical or difficult to follow. Includes some humor and a pun or two.

Recommended for readers interested in the environment, biology, or insects. 

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The Peaceful Valley Crime Wave

The Peaceful Valley Crime Wave: A Western Mystery by Bill Pronzini

Summary: Bill Pronzini's riveting western mystery,The Peaceful Valley Crime Wave, takes on the modern world with old-fashioned violence--and his Peaceful Valley is anything but...

Nothing much happens in Peaceful Valley, Montana. And that's just how Sheriff Lucas Monk likes it.

Aside from the occasional drunken brawl or minor disturbance out on the reservation, he hasn't had to resort to his fists or sidearm in years.

That is, until mid-October, 1914, when the theft of a wooden cigar store Indian sets off a crime wave like nothing Lucas has ever seen. Teenager Charity Axthelm goes missing, Reba Purvis's housekeeper is poisoned with cyanide Reba is sure was meant for her, and Lucas's gut tells him that this is only the beginning.

It's not long before the first corpse shows up, bringing the peace in the valley to a thundering end.

Angie’s comments: A relatively short read, this is an entertaining historical cozyish Western mystery. Not as cozy as some cozy mysteries, but still in the same line. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Peaceful Valley with its Western flavor.

Recommended for readers of historical cozies or Westerns. 

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Six Ingredients

Six Ingredients with Six Sisters' Stuff by Six Sisters' Stuff

Summary: With only six ingredients or less per recipe, making dinner has never been easier.

Six Sisters' Stuff is one of the most popular blogs for quick and easy cooking and entertaining at home for families. In their eighth cookbook, they tackle how to master meals for any cook with any skill level with more than 100 easy recipes made with incredible flavor combinations from just six ingredients or less.

From beginning cooks learning the basics to busy parents looking to save time in the kitchen, this cookbook is loaded with entrees, side dishes, and desserts. Whether it's a one-pot wings dish or a no-bake peanut butter bar this cookbook is a fool-proof solution to meal planning and features "Kid Favorites" recipes. 

Angie’s comments: Good recipes that are easy to make, this is a good cookbook that I will be using in the future. Every recipe includes a photograph, so you know what you are making. 

Recommended for anyone who wants quick, easy recipes. 

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Beautiful Wreaths

Beautiful Wreaths: 40 Handmade Creations Throughout the Year by Melissa Skidmore

Summary: Create your own spring, summer, fall, or winter wreaths using artificial flowers to welcome guests all year round.

Why wait for Christmas to hang a wreath on your front door? Beckon family and friends into your home with your very own handmade, statement-making wreath centerpiece during any season!

In Melissa Skidmore's childhood home, the front door was never without a gorgeous wreath to welcome a guest. Now, she brings the same creativity, warmth, and comfort into every family home. Beautiful Wreaths provides forty rustic farmhouse-style wreath tutorials for every season. Choose from artificial spring flowers, summer greenery, fall branches, and winter evergreens to craft your own stunning art piece:

• Spring Floral, Egg and Moss, and Grapevine Bunny Wreaths for Spring
• Clay Pot and Succulent, Lavender, and Hanging Basket Wreaths for Summer
• Cornucopia, Fall Leaf, and Pumpkin Wreaths for Fall
• Winter Greenery and Frosted Pinecone, Christmas Tree, and Snowman Wreaths for Winter
• And more!

Including non-traditional wreaths that use old rakes, vintage picture frames, chalkboard, and burlap bags, Beautiful Wreaths also features basic supplies and tips for wreath making, wreath form basics, and bow-tying tutorials. This the perfect guide that belongs to any crafter's and home decorator's shelf. 

Angie’s comments: The wreaths are very cute and the directions are easy to follow with lots of pictures! The steps are simple, all the more better for beginners like me.

Recommended for readers who want to make gorgeous wreaths!

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Invitation to Die

Invitation to Die by Barbara Cleverly

Summary: Cambridge, 1924, in early summertime. 

Everyone is punting, flirting and dancing the tango but bright young Detective Inspector John Redfyre finds himself mired in multiple murders. One morning, his dog discovers a corpse laid on a tombstone. An army greatcoat suggest the dead man may have been a soldier, though the empty bottle of brandy and a card bearing the words 'An Invitation to Dine' on the victim tie him to one of several unsolved cases linked to and sinister dining club. He gradually unearths the dead man's story and fights to right an ancient wrong.

Angie’s comments: You don't need to read the first in the series to read this second one in the Detective Inspector Redfyre series. This is an interesting mystery that involves the British war against the Boers in South Africa around 1900. The book switches between two different timelines, one right after the murder and the other a few weeks later. Make sure to pay attention to the chapter headings to know what part you are in! I enjoyed the history and the hints that are scattered about.

Recommended for readers of historical mysteries. 

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Gravity

Explore gravity with this collection of non-fiction, fiction, and video game. Richard Panek The Trouble with Gravity: Solving the Mystery Beneath Our Feet Request this item Jaclyn Moriarty Gravity is the Thing Request this item Gravity Rush PS4 Request this item If you want any more suggestions or ideas, please call or come in the library today!