About the Authors:
A lifelong paddler and river lover, Natalie Warren was one of the first two women to paddle from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay. From Miami, Florida, Natalie’s accomplishments have included canoeing the length of the Mississippi River and winning first place in the Yukon River Quest in the women’s voyageur division, paddling 444 miles in 53 hours. A contributing writer to outdoor publications, she has worked with Bancroft Arnesen Explore, St. Croix River Association, and River Management Society, and she started a nonprofit to present urban rivers as natural, dynamic classrooms for youth. She is currently a PhD student in the Communication Studies department at the University of Minnesota studying Environmental Communication. Natalie enjoys playing music and growing more vegetables than she can eat. She lives in Minneapolis with her family.
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Hudson Bay Bound:
Two Women, One Dog, Two Thousand Miles to the Arctic
by Natalie Warren and Ann Bancroft
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The remarkable 85-day journey of the first two women to canoe the 2,000-mile route from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay
Unrelenting winds, carnivorous polar bears, snake nests, sweltering heat, and constant hunger. Paddling from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, following the 2,000-mile route made famous by Eric Sevareid in his 1935 classic Canoeing with the Cree, Natalie Warren and Ann Raiho faced unexpected trials, some harrowing, some simply odd. But for the two friends—the first women to make this expedition—there was one timeless challenge: the occasional pitfalls that test character and friendship.
Warren’s spellbinding account retraces the women’s journey from inspiration to Arctic waters, giving readers an insider view from the practicalities of planning a three-month canoe expedition to the successful accomplishment of the adventure of a lifetime.
Along the route we meet the people who live and work on the waterways, including denizens of a resort who supply much-needed sustenance; a solitary resident in the wilderness who helps plug a leak; and the people of the Cree First Nation at Norway House, where the canoeists acquire a furry companion.
Describing the tensions that erupt between the women (who at one point communicate with each other only by note) and the natural and human-made phenomena they encounter—from islands of trash to waterfalls and a wolf pack—Warren brings us into her experience, and we join these modern women (and their dog) as they recreate this historic trip, including the pleasures and perils, the sexism, the social and environmental implications, and the enduring wonder of the wilderness.
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An Unexpected Peril
by Deanna Raybourn
(Veronica Speedwell mystery series)
January 1889. As the newest member of the Curiosity Club--an elite society of brilliant, intrepid women--Veronica Speedwell is excited to put her many skills to good use. As she assembles a memorial exhibition for pioneering mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene, Veronica discovers evidence that the recent death was not a tragic climbing accident but murder. Veronica and her natural historian beau, Stoker, tell the patron of the exhibit, Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, of their findings. With Europe on the verge of war, Gisela's chancellor, Count von Rechstein, does not want to make waves--and before Veronica and Stoker can figure out their next move, the princess disappears.
Having noted Veronica's resemblance to the princess, von Rechstein begs her to pose as Gisela for the sake of the peace treaty that brought the princess to England. Veronica reluctantly agrees to the scheme. She and Stoker must work together to keep the treaty intact while navigating unwelcome advances, assassination attempts, and Veronica's own family--the royalty who has never claimed her.
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The Sea Gate
by Jane Johnson
A broken family, a house of secrets—an entrancing tale of love and courage set during the Second World War.
After Rebecca’s mother dies, she must sort through her empty flat and come to terms with her loss. As she goes through her mother’s mail, she finds a handwritten envelope. In it is a letter that will change her life forever.
Olivia, her mother’s elderly cousin, needs help to save her beloved home. Rebecca immediately goes to visit Olivia in Cornwall only to find a house full of secrets—treasures in the attic and a mysterious tunnel leading from the cellar to the sea, and Olivia, nowhere to be found.
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Infinite Country
by Patricia Engel
Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. She urgently needs to get out and get back home to Bogotá, where her father and a plane ticket to the United States are waiting for her. If she misses her flight, she might also miss her chance to finally be reunited with her family in the north.
How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope. We see Talia’s parents, Mauro and Elena, fall in love in a market stall as teenagers against a backdrop of civil war and social unrest. We see them leave Bogotá with their firstborn, Karina, in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States on a temporary visa, and we see the births of two more children, Nando and Talia, on American soil. We witness the decisions and indecisions that lead to Mauro’s deportation and the family’s splintering—the costs they’ve all been living with ever since.
Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself a dual citizen and the daughter of Colombian immigrants, gives voice to all five family members as they navigate the particulars of their respective circumstances. And all the while, the metronome ticks: Will Talia make it to Bogotá in time? And if she does, can she bring herself to trade the solid facts of her father and life in Colombia for the distant vision of her mother and siblings in America?
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What Color is Your Parachute 2021: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success
by Richard Bolles and Katharine Brooks
With timeless advice, up-to-the-minute insights, and more than 10 million copies sold over 50 years, the world’s most popular and best-selling career guide is fully revised and expanded for 2021.
In today’s challenging job-market, as recent grads face a shifting economic landscape and seek work that pays and inspires, as workers are laid off
mid-career, and as people search for an inspiring work-life change, the
time-tested advice of What Color Is Your Parachute? is needed more than ever.
This completely updated edition features the latest resources, strategies, and perspectives on today’s job market, revealing surprising advice on what works—and what doesn’t—so you can focus your efforts on tactics that yield results.
This practical manual has been fully revised for 2021 by Vanderbilt University Career Center Director Katharine Brooks, EdD, with modern advice on the job hunt strategies that are working today, such as building an online resume, making the most of social media tools to network effectively, interviewing virtually with confidence, and negotiating the best salary possible.
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The City of Tears
by Kate Mosse
(Burning Chambers series)
Following #1 Sunday Times bestseller The Burning Chambers, New York Times bestseller Kate Mosse returns with The City of Tears, a sweeping historical epic about love in a time of war.
June 1572. For ten violent years the Wars of Religion have raged across France. Neighbours have become enemies, countless lives have been lost, the country has been torn apart over matters of religion, citizenship and sovereignty.
But now a precarious peace is in the balance: a royal wedding has been negotiated by Catherine de’ Medici and Jeanne d'Albret, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and Henri, the Huguenot king of Navarre. It is a marriage that could see France reunited at last.
Meanwhile in Puivert, an invitation has arrived for Minou Joubert and her family to attend this historic wedding in Paris in August. But what Minou does not know is that the Joubert family’s oldest enemy, Vidal, will also be there. Nor that, within days of the marriage, on the eve of the Feast Day of St. Bartholomew's, Minou’s family will be scattered to the four winds and one of her beloved children will have disappeared without trace.
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Mother May I
by Joshilyn Jackson
Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.
Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected that fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of.
Until the day she awakens and sees someone peering into her bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her.
Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daughters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow.
The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she, too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her child.
To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small—but critical—task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price.
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World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
From beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction―a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us.
As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted―no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape―she was able to turn to our world’s fierce and funny creatures for guidance.
“What the peacock can do,” she tells us, “is remind you of a home you will run away from and run back to all your life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile, even in the face of unkindness; the
touch-me-not plant shows us how to shake off unwanted advances; the narwhal demonstrates how to survive in hostile environments. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate the world’s gifts.
Warm, lyrical, and gorgeously illustrated by Fumi Nakamura, World of Wonders is a book of sustenance and joy.
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Project Hail Mary:
A Novel by Andy Weir
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.
Or does he?
An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
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Learn, Craft, Create no matter your age
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Crafting with Flannel: A Beginner's Guide to Making Gifts, Accessories & Home Décor by Sarah Ramberg
Very few fabrics elicit such a cozy feeling as flannel. With its universal appeal and inexpensive cost, flannel is a terrific medium to create new décor for your home, a unique accessory to wear, or a thoughtful gift to give. Featuring more than 50
easy-to-follow tutorials, Crafting with Flannel is full of creative and inspired crafts appropriate for all ages and skill levels. From quick and easy projects that take just minutes to make, to more robust ideas on a larger scale, the step-by-step instructions inside this book will help you create handmade gifts, personalized accessories, cozy home décor, festive holiday trimmings, and so much more.
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Smithsonian Makers Workshop: Fascinating History & Essential How-Tos: Gardening, Crafting, Decorating & Food
by Smithsonian Institution
Fifty DIY crafts, cooking, decorating, and gardening projects from the experts at the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution presents a uniquely curated collection of lively
how-to projects and historical narratives of four realms of American domestic arts: cooking, crafts, decorating, and gardening. Perfect for hobbyists interested in the historical context of what they create for their homes, this beautifully illustrated book contains 50 DIY projects—from a uniquely American quilt pattern to on-trend crafts like terrarium making and pickling—that all offer satisfying ways to bring history and culture to life. For those craving more, features provide rare insights from Smithsonian experts on prominent figures, events, and trends. Readers can learn about influential Americans who've had an impact on each realm; look at visual timelines of significant events that pushed development forward; or stay in the present and see how American arts in contemporary life is being redefined.
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The Highlights Book of Things to Do: Discover, Explore, Create, and Do Great Things
by Highlights
The Highlights Book of Things to Do is the essential book of pure creativity and inspiration. Kids ages 7 and up will find hundreds of ways to build, play, experiment, craft, cook, dream, think, and become outstanding citizens of the world.
This highly visual, hands-on activity book shows kids some of the best ways to do great things--from practicing the lost arts of knot-tying, building campfires, connecting circuits, playing jump rope, drawing maps, and writing letters, to learning how to empower themselves socially, emotionally, and in their communities. The final chapter, Do Great Things, inspires kids to become caring individuals, confident problem solvers, and thoughtful people who can change the world.
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Unlock the World Around You with Your Library Card
On April 12th, our new Board Game collection will be available for check-out. Titles like Splendor, Trekking the National Parks, Ticket to Ride, Trivial Pursuit Family Edition, Mysterium, Azul, Seven Wonders, and many, many more will be available for request via our library catalog.
Your library card gives you access to a huge inventory of eMagazines, CDs, and DVDs. Be sure to check out our new Binge Box and Great Courses DVD collections for a little something different!
Online databases such as Brainfuse’s HelpNow (tutoring) and JobNow (career guidance), MyHeritage (genealogy), Mango (language), and Chilton’s (automobile repair) are always available to you even when our doors are closed. Find these and other online resources at https://ecrlib.org/find-a-resource/databases-a-z/
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