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!

Death in a Budapest Butterfly

Death in a Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley

Summary: Hana Keller and her family run Maggie's Tea House, an establishment heavily influenced by the family's Hungarian descent and specializing in a European-style traditional tea service. But truthfully, one of the shop's largest draws is Hana's eccentric grandmother, who's known for her remarkable ability to read the future in the leaves at the bottom of their customers' cups. Lately, however, her readings have become alarmingly ominous...

Hana is also an avid teacup collector and especially takes pride in the Anna Weatherley butterfly cup she recently procured. But the exquisite piece of porcelain soon becomes the center of a murder investigation, when it's suspected of delivering poison to one of the guests at their most recent event. Hanna's determined to find the true killer, exonerate her family, their business, and in the process, reclaim her beautiful Budapest Butterfly.

Angie’s comments: A fun cozy mystery that takes in the U.S. but with a lot of Hungarian flavor. This is slightly darker than other cozy mysteries, and the ending fit the atmosphere of the novel. I learned a lot about Hungary, especially about folklore, and there is small elements of romance and paranormal.

Recommended for readers who want an enjoyable cozy mystery that is more serious than most cozies. 

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The 1980s

Revisit the 1980s with these items. Ricky Burns The Beginner's Guide to Classic Motorcycle: your step-by-step guide to setting up a workshop, choosing a project, dismantling, sourcing parts, renovating & rebuilding classic motorcyles from the 1970s & 1980s Request this item Hard to Find 45s on CD: 80s Essentials & Beyond CD Request this item Kathleen Rooney Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk Request this item Request this item in large print Request this item as audiobook If you want any more suggestions or ideas, please call or come in the library today!

Decoding the Great Pyramid

Decoding the Great Pyramid DVD

Summary: How did the Egyptians engineer the Great Pyramid of Giza so precisely, and who were the thousands of laborers who raised the stones? New archaeological evidence, including a logbook of a labor team leader, provides new insights into these age-old questions. NOVA delves into these construction secrets to trace how mobilizing labor and resources on such a massive scale transformed ancient Egypt.

Angie’s comments: This was a nice look at the Great Pyramid and includes new research that I hadn't heard about. 

Recommended for anyone interested in the Egyptian pyramids.

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Murder at Archly Manor

Murder at Archly Manor by Sara Rosett

Summary: A high-society murder. A spirited lady detective. Can she out-class the killer before an innocent person takes the fall?

London, 1923. Olive Belgrave needs a job. Despite her aristocratic upbringing, she's penniless. Determined to support herself, she jumps at an unconventional job--looking into the background of her cousin's fiance, Alfred.

Alfred burst into the upper crust world of London's high society, but his answers to questions about his past are decidedly vague. Before Olive can gather more than the basics, a murder occurs at a posh party. Suddenly, every Bright Young Person in attendance is a suspect, and Olive must race to find the culprit because a sly murderer is determined to make sure Olive's first case is her last.

Murder at Archly Manor is the first in the High Society Lady Detective series of charming historical cozy mysteries. If you like witty banter, glamorous settings, and delightful plot twists, you'll love USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett's series for Anglophiles and mystery lovers alike.

Travel back to the Golden Age of detective fiction with Murder at Archly Manor.

Angie’s comments: What a fun historical cozy mystery! The pace is fast and the characters are just perfect for a murder mystery. The clues to the murderer are there, you just have to figure out what clues are important. Murder at Archly Manor almost feels like it was written in the Golden Age of English detective stories. 

Recommended for readers of cozy mysteries, historical mysteries, or Agatha Christie novels. 

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Influenza

Influenza: The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History by Dr. Jeremy Brown

Summary: On the 100th anniversary of the devastating pandemic of 1918, Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor, explores the troubling, terrifying, and complex history of the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions, to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic, should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure?

While influenza is now often thought of as a common and mild disease, it still kills over 30,000 people in the US each year. Dr. Jeremy Brown, currently Director of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health, expounds on the flu's deadly past to solve the mysteries that could protect us from the next outbreak. In Influenza, he talks with leading epidemiologists, policy makers, and the researcher who first sequenced the genetic building blocks of the original 1918 virus to offer both a comprehensive history and a roadmap for understanding what's to come.

Dr. Brown digs into the discovery and resurrection of the flu virus in the frozen victims of the 1918 epidemic, as well as the bizarre remedies that once treated the disease, such as whiskey and blood-letting. Influenza also breaks down the current dialogue surrounding the disease, explaining the controversy over vaccinations, antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, and the federal government's role in preparing for pandemic outbreaks. Though 100 years of advancement in medical research and technology have passed since the 1918 disaster, Dr. Brown warns that many of the most vital questions about the flu virus continue to confound even the leading experts.

Influenza is an enlightening and unnerving look at a shapeshifting deadly virus that has been around long before people--and warns us that it may be many more years before we are able to conquer it for good.

Angie’s comments: This was an interesting look at the flu, including a history of how the flu was treated and business of flu medicine. The writing is for non-medical professionals, and the book itself is relatively short. I found the sections on the business of flu and who is recommended for the flu vaccine thought-provoking. 

Recommended for readers interested in medicine, medical history, and/or history.  

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I Know What I Saw

I Know What I Saw: Modern-Day Encounters with Monsters of New Urban Legend and Ancient Lore by Linda S. Godfrey

Summary: The monsters of ancient mythology, folklore, and more contemporary urban legend have long captured the popular imagination. While most people in America today relegate monsters to just that--our imaginations--we continue to be fascinated by the unknown. Linda Godfrey is one of the country's leading authorities on modern-day monsters and has interviewed countless eyewitnesses to strange phenomena. Monsters evolve, taking on both new and familiar forms over time and across cultures. In this well-researched book, Godfrey explores uncanny encounters with werewolves, goatmen, Bigfoot, and more.

In more than twenty-five years spent "chasing" monsters, Godfrey has found that it often remains unclear whether the sightings are simply mistaken animals, hoaxes, or coincidence. When all the speculation is said and done, one question remains for fans and researchers- Are the creatures "real," or are they entirely "other-world?" Godfrey suspects that it isn't an either/or question--our reality operates on a scale from dense matter to realms the human eye cannot see.

As Godfrey investigates unexplained phenomena, her search for answers will fascinate casual observers and enthusiasts alike.

Angie’s comments: A compilation of reports, grouped together by type of monster. This is a fun, entertaining read for both believers and skeptics (I tend to be more skeptical). The chapter on Bigfoot was one of the best. Most of the reports concern Wisconsin and Michigan, but other locations are included. While not an exhaustive dive into each creature, it is a pleasant one.

Recommended for readers interested in strange, unverified creatures.

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