Library News and Notes

Keep track of the books you’re reading and the movies you’re watching this summer and become eligible for prizes during the 2014 Adult Summer Reading Program. It’s easy; just pick up a reading log at the Lititz Public Library. Forensic identification page-turners and DVDs highlight this summer’s theme, Literary Elements, featuring all things scientific. The…

Some movies make tears nearly mandatory. These movies, available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library, will make even the most unemotional viewer whimper. (SPOILER ALERT: The last sentence of each entry reveals a crucial element of the film.) Shane (1953) Shane, a drifter and retired gunfighter, assists a homestead family terrorized by a corrupt…

Readers who enjoy nonfiction that reads like fiction will find that strong, even shocking storylines make these true crime books hard to put down. They are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library. Obsessed by M. William Phelps Bitter after a colleague broke off their affair, a woman murdered his new girlfriend and went…

Music is a common thread in these novels representing various genres and styles. They are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library. Death and Transfiguration by Gerald Elias A blind violin instructor digs into the past of a prestigious symphony conductor’s life, believing him to be a serial killer. How the Mistakes Were Made…

Meet some of the most memorable mothers in movies. These films are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library. Philomena (2013) Fifty years after giving birth to a boy who was given up for adoption, a mother meets a reporter looking for a big story and they begin on a journey to locate her…

Watching the PBS series “Downton Abbey” is a guilty passion. Although at times self-centered and pompous, the aristocrats portrayed in the television series are effortlessly elegant, delightfully witty, assuredly cultivated and endlessly entertaining. The Friends of the Lititz Public Library are sponsoring an opportunity to step into this fairytale world through a bus trip to…

In his book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, author Michael Pollan advocates, “Don’t eat anything that your great-grandmother would not recognize as food”. One of the best ways to follow this advice is to rely on produce from home gardens and local farms. Learn more about how to grow and cook fresh seasonal…

Famous or infamous, aristocratic or common-born, biographies provide insight into history and human nature. These biographies of fascinating women are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library. Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation by Judith Mackrell In the 1920s, ideals of conventional femininity were shattered by flappers such as Lady Diana Cooper, Nancy…

Readers of Amish fiction are looking for stories that depict themes that may be considered little old-fashioned, telling stories that depict a simpler lifestyle and convey warmth, romance and faith. These novels represent a very popular genre available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library Lydia’s Charm by Wanda E. Brunstetter Moving to Charm, Ohio,…

A poll in the New York Times named Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved as the greatest work of contemporary American fiction. Set after the Civil War, Beloved tells the story of a woman haunted by the choices she made as an escaped slave facing recapture. The Guardian newspaper of London did a similar survey of the…