Have you kept that New Year’s Resolution, or has it gone by the wayside already?  It’s never too late to start something you really want to do.  Never too late for self-improvement.  Never too late to do something you should have done a long time ago.  Unfortunately, good intentions just doesn’t get it done.  It takes action.  That’s my problem.  I make a plan to do it later, and then later slips away.

What is it that you want to do?  Start a diet?  Write a letter?  Draw up a will?  Clean out the garage?  If you answered ‘Read a good book’, your local library can help you with that!  We have over seven thousand items in the Hayes Center Public Library to choose from.  And, if we don’t have it we can get it for you.  All you do is pay the postage back to the lender library which adds up to only a couple of dollars per book.  Pretty good deal!

We all have our preferences of brands on food, clothing, vehicles, etc.  Some of us stay with the old proven brands and others (like me) enjoy trying something new.  Do you have a favorite author?  Is there a new author you want to try?  Call or stop in and let your voice be heard.  I’m always looking for new ideas.  And, I love hearing from the patrons of this community.

We’ve added new books lately to the children’s and youth sections, the western, non-fiction and mystery sections, and the Christian and large print sections.  We’ve also had some very generous gifts from Hayes Countians which will allow for additional new items in the future.  Why not come in and Check It Out. . .

Are you a list maker?  I make to-do lists, shopping lists, who I need to call lists, mailing lists, what books I want to read lists and left-overs lists.   My problem is that I then need a list to help me keep track of all the rest of them.  I could make a list of things to be thankful for, but that would be never ending.  This time of year is a good time to reflect on our blessings of a safe harvest, good food and a warm bed.  As we get older that warm bed is more appreciated!

Have you heard that most people don’t get enough sleep?  Babies sleep if and when they want.  Not much can keep a newborn awake if they are ready for a nap, and everyone knows how hard it is to get a baby to sleep that doesn’t want to go to slumberland.  Young children need a nap in the afternoon to make it through till bedtime.  Teens need extra sleep to make up for the physical activity they put themselves through on the playing field or court.  Young adults are too busy to sleep much; young parents lose sleep taking care of their young ones and wish for a nap now and then.   Schedules get busier and we push ourselves harder.  Life happens.  Then before we know it we hit a time in our lives where the kids are grown up with little ones of their own.  Finally!  It’s quiet, and what I used to think was a waste of my time becomes a very inviting way to spend the next hour or two.  I just get to sleep and the phone rings.  “Grandma, you want to Skype?”  The answer is always “Yes!”  Who can resist the questions of a grandchild?   I’ll have that nap next week.

If you have trouble sleeping when you want to and need a good book to help Mr. Sand Man, think of your local library.  Mysteries, biographies, fiction, magazines and more.  Just come in and Check It Out. . .

I had a new alarm clock.  I can’t say that I appreciated him at first, but I finally decided that he wasn’t going away anytime soon.  He wasn’t all that punctual either, but oh, was he persistent!  Peck, peck, peck, flutter, flutter, peck, flutter, peck.  Every ten minutes for an hour or more each morning.   A pair of cardinals lived at our place for several months.  I haven’t seen or heard him for awhile.  I think my alarm clock is gone.  I guess I miss ‘Red’.  I looked forward to seeing him fluttering and pecking at the brand new crystal clear windows even if I didn’t appreciate the earliness of the hour some days.  He never did figure out that he was fighting himself.  I guess people are a lot like him in that respect.  Fighting ourselves or each other when we should be fighting the enemy!

For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside.  Travis Boyette is such a man.  In 1998 in East Texas he strangled a high school cheerleader, then watched as Donte Drumm, a local football star, was convicted and sent to death row.  Now nine years have passed, Travis has just been paroled for a different crime; Donte is four days away from execution.  Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor, and for the first time in his life wants to do the right thing.  But, can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges and politicians that they’re about to execute an innocent man?  Try reading John Grisham’s new legal thriller The Confession.

The residents of Southport, North Carolina, can’t help but notice that the lovely new waitress in town is very guarded.  Katie knows her sudden arrival has raised questions, but her past is her business and she’s determined to avoid forming any personal ties.  That’s why she’s almost angry with herself for allowing Alex, a handsome father of two, steal her heart.  Katie knows she should take her terrible secret and go back on the run before her dangerous past comes roaring back.  Before it’s too late, she needs to find a Safe Haven.   Written like only Nicholas Sparks can.

If you enjoy romantic mysteries, you will like The Girl In The Gatehouse by Julie Klassen.  Banished from the only home she’s ever known, Mariah Aubrey hides herself away in an abandoned gatehouse on a distant relative’s estate.  There she supports herself and her loyal servant the only way she knows how – by writing novels in secret.  Then Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate.  This intriguing mystery takes readers inside the life of a secret authoress at a time when novel-writing was considered improper for ladies and the smallest hint of impropriety could change a woman’s life forever.   Come in and Check It Out. . .

I long for bing cherries all winter.  Then it’s sweet corn, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers.  It won’t be long and I’ll probably be longing for warmer weather.  But, on one thing I’m consistent.  I’m always looking forward to the new books by my favorite authors.

Karen Harper is one of those.  In The Hiding Place she writes about Tara Kinsale.  After spending nine months in a coma, Tara awakes to devastating news.  Her husband has divorced her for another woman. Her best friend, Alexis, has been murdered, leaving Tara as guardian to her daughter, Claire.   Forced to start over, Tara focuses on reopening her P.I. firm and caring for Claire.  But soon her world is shattered again when Nick MacMahon, Claire’s uncle, returns from military service in Afghanistan to take guardianship of his niece.  Working with Nick, a man haunted by his own past, Tara begins to investigate the missing months of her life.  Can they keep Claire safe?  What happened those many months ago?  Find out by reading this intriguing novel.

One of the best books I’ve ever read was written by Joyce Meyer called Any Minute.  Sarah Harper is driven to achieve success no matter what the cost.  She wants to do good and not hurt the people she loves-especially her husband and children-but her desire to succeed in her career too often leaves little time for family.  One cold, rainy, autumn morning, all of that changes when Sarah’s car plunges off a bridge and into a river.  “The Lincoln’s nose struck cold water at full velocity.  Metal sheered off.  She tasted blood.  Adrenaline shot through her.  “I’m in trouble”, she thought.  When she tried to scream for help, nothing came.  She tried to kick herself free.  One last time she tried to unfasten the seat belt on her own, holding her breath.  She was losing her bearings fast.  I’m in trouble.  Her last thought.”  As rescuers search desperately for her body, Sarah’s spirit is still very much alive.  What she discovers transforms everything about Sarah’s view of life-past, present, and future.  And the unsuspecting world around her will never be the same again.

Married off at a tender age to a harsh, older widower, Lydia Gray can’t help but feel a measure of relief when an accident claims his life.  What happens next, however, is a surprise to everyone.  Through an unforeseen fluke, Lydia finds herself the sole recipient of her late husband’s fortune.  But instead of granting her security, strife ensues as her adult stepchildren battle to regain the inheritance for themselves.  Lydia longs to wash her hands of the situation and determines to join her aunt in peaceful Sitka, Alaska, putting financial decisions in the hands of her lawyer.  Enjoy this historical fiction, Dawn’s Prelude, in the Alaska Series by Tracie Peterson.  Lydia is bound to her past as never before. . . but what more must she sacrifice?   Find out – come in and Check It Out. . .