Kasson Public Library

Closed For President Day

2012-02-16T09:24:00.002-06:00

Library Will Be Closed on

Monday, February 20th.

2012-02-13T14:16:00.004-06:00

Friends Hot Read Program has been cancelled tonight Monday, February 13 at 7pm due to Speaker Doug Ohman illness. Program will be rescheduled at a later date.

Two New Drop Boxes For the Library

2012-02-10T10:57:00.015-06:00

Kasson Library's Two New Drop Boxes

by Bonnie Adams and Earlene King

Kasson Public Library is now proud owner of two drop boxes(Book and DVD's) to better serve it's patrons. CDs and DVDs will now be dropped off in the wall-drop while books will be dropped off in the new book-drop box. No keys will be needed.

Teamwork and networking to obtain a bookdrop box for the KPL started with the
concerns of Director Adams and the library staff about damage occurring to CDs and
DVDs when returned to the library after hours. The KPL needed a separate book drop
and a separate drop for CDs and DVDs.

Director Adams approached the Friends’ Board of Directors asking if the Friends
would be willing to take on the book-drop project and the Board agreed.
Ingvild Herfindahl had learned that the Benson Public Library was purchasing a new bookdrop.The Benson Public Library donated their old book-drop box to the KPL. Paul Curtiss volunteered to drive to Benson to bring the book-drop home and start the renovations needed. Al Riedel did his welding magic completing the structural repairs. Josh Welke of Gordy’s Body Shop painted the book-drop an eye-catching blue and white to match the national library logo. Mark Abel of Abel Signs did a wonderful job adding the logo and lettering.

Al Riedel returned to install the bookdrop and re-modify the existing drop box into a media (DVD's) drop off. Friends also purchased solar motion detention LED lights to help patrons after hours drop off their items. For the finishing touches Riedel created and installed the wall mounts for the two lights. Chris Abel created two signs to help patrons distinguish between the two drop boxes.

This truly was a community of people coming together to make the library wish come true and we wish to thank everyone connected to this project.

Hot Reads Program at the Library

2012-02-03T11:10:00.016-06:00

The Friends of the Kasson Public Library

Present February's Hot Reads Program

Photographer, Doug Ohman

speaking about Minnesota’s State Parks on

Monday February 13th 7:00 pm at the Kasson Public Library

Doug Olman will talk about some of the 66 Minnesota State Parks he visited and share some of the over 200 beautiful photographs and personal accounts of those who know the state parks best. Ohman will talk about the people who work and play in the parks, and what makes each park such a special place.

February New Books

2012-01-25T11:58:00.015-06:00

Death of a Kingfisher by M.C. Beaton 2/22

When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover.

It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive. But just as the town's luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, the town turns to Hamish Macbeth. And when violence strikes again,the lawman's investigation quickly turns from animal cruelty to murder.

Sonoma Rose by Jennifer Chiaverini 2/21

As the nation grapples with the strictures of Prohibition, Rosa Barclay lives on a Southern California rye farm with her volatile husband, John, who has lately found another source of income far outside the federal purview.

Mother to eight children, Rosa mourns the loss of four who succumbed to the mysterious wasting disease that is now afflicting young Ana and Miguel. Two daughters born of another father are in perfect health. When an act of violence shatters Rosa's resolve to maintain her increasingly dangerous existence, she flees with the children and her precious heirloom quilts to the mesa where she last saw her beloved mother alive.

As a flash flood traps them in a treacherous canyon, only one man is brave-or foolhardy-enough to come to their rescue: Lars Jorgenson, Rosa's first love and the father of her healthy daughters. Together they escape to Berkeley, where a leading specialist offers their only hope of saving Ana and Miguel. Here in northern California, they create new identities to protect themselves from Rosa's vengeful husband, the police who seek her for questioning, and the gangsters Lars reported to Prohibition agents-officers representing a department often as corrupt as the Mob itself. Ever mindful that his youthful alcoholism provoked Rosa to spurn him, Lars nevertheless supports Rosa's daring plan to stake their futures on a struggling Sonoma Valley vineyard-despite the recent hardships of local winemakers whose honest labors at viticulture have, through no fault of their own, become illegal.

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn 2/7
In the year since the CIA trained and then unleashed him, Mitch Rapp has been steadily working his way through a list of men, bullet by bullet. With each swift and untraceable kill, the tangled network of monsters responsible for the slaughter of 270 civilians in the Pan Am Lockerbie attack become increasingly aware that someone is hunting them. Rapp is given his next target, and finds the man asleep in his bed in Paris. In the split second it takes the bullet to leave Rapp’s silenced pistol, the trap is sprung and he finds himself in the fight of his life.

The next morning, nine bodies are discovered in one of Paris’s finest hotels—among them the Libyan oil minister. Back in Washington the finger-pointing begins in earnest as no one wants any part in what has become an international crisis and potential embarrassment for the CIA. Rapp’s handlers have only one choice—deny any responsibility for the incident and pray that their newest secret weapon stays that way.

Rapp must avoid capture or die quietly. One person in the group, however, is not prone to leaving such important things to chance. Rapp has become a liability, and Stan Hurley will not allow Rapp to be taken alive by the French authorities, even if it means killing him. Operating on his own and outside the control of his handlers, it will soon become clear that nothing is more dangerous than a wounded and cornered Mitch Rapp.

Deader Homes & Gardens by Joan Hess 2/14
Back from her somewhat unusual honeymoon, Claire Malloy must face the harsh reality of life with her new husband, police chief Peter Rosen, and her teenage daughter Caron—three people simply can’t fit into her cosy two bedroom apartment. After a week of fruitless looking, she finally finds the perfectplace—a well preserved large house on a large plot of land in an area called Hollow Valley. There are only a few problems. Such as the real estate agent disappeared mid-showing and hasn’t been seen since. And the last owner died in circumstances labeled ’accidental’ but were actually both ’mysterious’ and ’dubious’. The family that owned the estate is now suing the lover of the dead owner over the rights to the property. Oh, and it isn’t really for sale. When the previous owner’s lover dies practically at her feet, Claire decides to take matters into her own hands. After all, to get the house of her dreams, first she has to find a killer. And all’s fair in love, war, and real estate

Left For Dead by J.A. Jance 2/7
Ali Reynolds investigates two shocking cases of victims brutally left for dead in New York Times bestselling J.A. Jance’s latest mystery-thriller. When Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff Jose Reyes, Ali’s classmate from the Arizona Police Academy, is gunned down and left to die, he is at first assumed to be an innocent victim of the drug wars escalating across the border. But the crime scene investigation shows there’s much more to it than that, and soon he and his pregnant wife, Teresa, both fall under suspicion of wrongdoing.Ali owes Reyes a debt of gratitude for the help he gave her years earlier when she was dealing with a troubled friend. When she’s summoned to his bedside at Physicians Medical Center in Tucson, it’s impossible for her to turn away. And knowing Reyes as well as she does, Ali finds it hard to believe that he’s become mixed up in the drug trade, despite evidence to the contrary. Upon arriving at the hospital, Ali finds that her good friend, Sister Anselm, is there, too—working as a patient advocate on behalf of another seriously injured victim, an unidentified young woman presumed to be an illegal border crosser, who was raped and savagely beaten.Ali becomes determined to seek justice in both cases and secure safety for both victims. Together with Sister Anselm and a conscientious officer who won’t let the case drop despite pressure from above, Ali digs for clues to find the true culprits

Victims by Jonathan Kellerman 2/28
Unraveling the madness behind L.A.’s most baffling and brutal homicides is what sleuthing psychologist Alex Delaware does best. And putting the good doctor through his thrilling paces is what mystery fiction’s #1 bestselling master of psychological suspense Jonathan Kellerman does with incomparable brilliance. Kellerman’s universally acclaimed novels blend the addictive rhythms of the classic police procedural with chilling glimpses into the darkest depths of the human condition. For the compelling proof, look no further than Victims—Kellerman at his razor-sharp, harrowing finest.

Not since Jack the Ripper terrorized the London slums has there been such a gruesome crime scene. By all accounts, acid-tongued Vita Berlin hadn’t a friend in the world, but whom did she cross so badly as to end up arranged in such a grotesque tableau? One look at her apartment–turned–charnel house prompts hard-bitten LAPD detective Milo Sturgis to summon his go-to expert in hunting homicidal maniacs, Alex Delaware. But despite his finely honed skills, even Alex is stymied when more slayings occur in the same ghastly fashion . . . yet with no apparent connection among the victims. And the only clue left behind—a blank page bearing a question mark—seems to be both a menacing taunt and a cry for help from a killer baffled by his own lethal urges.

Under pressure to end the bloody spree and prevent a citywide panic, Milo redoubles his efforts to discover a link between the disparate victims. Meanwhile, Alex navigates the secretive world of mental health treatment, from the sleek office of a Beverly Hills therapist to a shuttered mental institution where he once honed his craft—and where an unholy alliance between the mad and the monstrous may have been sealed in blood. As each jagged piece of the puzzle fits into place, an ever more horrific portrait emerges of a sinister mind at its most unimaginable—and an evil soul at its most unspeakable. “This one was different,” Alex observes at the start of the case. This one will haunt his waking life, and his darkest dreams, long after its end.

Private Games by James Patterson 2/13
On your mark

Private, the world's most renowned investigation firm, has been commissioned to provide security for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Its agents are the smartest, fastest, and most technologically advanced in the world, and 400 of them have been transferred to London to protect more than 10,000 competitors who represent more than 200 countries.

Get set

The opening ceremony is hours away when Private investigator and single father of twins, Peter Knight, is called to the scene of a ruthless murder. A high-ranking member of the games' organizing committee has been killed. It's clear to Peter that this wasn't a crime of passion, but one of precise calculation and execution.

Die

Newspaper reporter Karen Pope receives a letter from a person who calls himself Cronus claiming responsibility for the murders. He promises to restore the Olympics to their ancient glory and to destroy all those who have corrupted the games with lies, corruption, and greed. Immediately, Karen hires Private to examine the letter, and she and Peter uncover a criminal genius who won't stop until he's completely destroyed the modern games

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult 2/28
A life hanging in the balance . . . a family torn apart. The #1 internationally bestselling author Jodi Picoult tells an unforgettable story about family secrets, love, and letting go.
In the wild, when a wolf knows its time is over, when it knows it is of no more use to its pack, it may sometimes choose to slip away. Dying apart from its family, it stays proud and true to its nature. Humans aren’t so lucky.

Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves. He has written about them, studied their habits intensively, and even lived with them for extended periods of time. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his own family. His wife, Georgie, has left him, finally giving up on their lonely marriage. His son, Edward, twenty-four, fled six years ago, leaving behind a shattered relationship with his father. Edward understands that some things cannot be fixed, though memories of his domineering father still inflict pain. Then comes a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara.

Suddenly everything changes: Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on at age eighteen. He and Cara have to decide their father’s fate together. Though there’s no easy answer, questions abound: What secrets have Edward and his sister kept from each other? What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die . . . or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke himself want? How can any family member make such a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? And most importantly, to what extent have they all forgotten what a wolf never forgets: that each member of a pack needs the others, and that sometimes survival means sacrifice?

Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb 2/21
Her career in homicide has taken her into the darkest depths of New York City’s underground—and sometimes Lieutenant Eve Dallas feels more comfortable in those kinds of places than in the high-rise, high-society world of her billionaire husband, Roarke. But while she’s no party girl, she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating the debut of The Icove Agenda. This time it’s Eve, not Roarke, who’s a guest of honor, since the film is based on one of her famous cases. Her partner, Peabody, is practically giddy over rubbing shoulders with Hollywood royalty. Eve, on the other hand, is more likely to roll her eyes than have stars in them. But she has to admit it’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing K. T. Harris, the actress who plays Peabody—drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building. Talented but rude, and widely disliked, K.T. had made an embarrassing scene during dinner. She clearly liked being the center of attention. Now she’s at the center of a crime scene—and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster, to step into the role she was born to play: cop.

Library Closed for the New Year's

2011-12-29T17:19:00.004-06:00

Kasson Library will be Monday, January 2 for New Year's Holiday.

2012 New Books at the Library

2011-12-29T15:53:00.000-06:00

The Rope by Nevada Barr 1/17

In 1995 and 35 years old, fresh off the bus from New York City and nursing a broken heart, Anna Pigeon takes a decidedly unglamorous job as a seasonal employee of the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. On her day off, Anna goes hiking into the park never to return. Her co-workers think she’s simply moved on—her cabin is cleaned out and her things gone. But Anna herself wakes up, trapped at the bottom of a dry natural well, naked, without supplies and no clear memory of how she found herself in this situation.

As she slowly pieces together her memory, it soon becomes clear that someone has trapped her there, in an inescapable prison, and no one knows that she is even missing. Plunged into a landscape and a plot she is unfit and untrained to handle, Anna Pigeon must muster the courage, determination and will to live that she didn’t even know she still possessed to survive, outwit and triumph.

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovitch 1/3
The Nutshell, in Keene’s Harbor, Michigan. Kate’s plan is to turn The Nutshell into a Bed and Breakfast. Problem is, she needs cash, and the only job she can land is less than savory.

Matt Culhane wants Kate to spy on his brewery employees. Someone has been sabotaging his company, and Kate is just new enough in town that she can insert herself into Culhane’s business and snoop around for him. If Kate finds the culprit, Matt will pay her a $20,000 bonus. Needless to say, Kate is highly motivated. But several problems present themselves. Kate despises beer. No one seems to trust her. And she is falling hard for her boss.

The Devil is Waiting by Jack Higgins 1/3
The President is coming to London, but not to an entirely warm welcome. A fanatical mullah is offering a blessing to anyone who will assassinate the President, and though most London Muslims think the mullah has crossed the line, a few think otherwise.

Urgently, Sean Dillon, General Charles Ferguson, and the rest of the small band known as the Prime Minister's private army" are called in, augmented by an extraordinary new recruit, an intelligence captain and Afghan war hero named Sara Gideon. She has her own deep contacts, but the more she investigates, the more she discovers herself in a very dark place indeed. For the assassination plan is only the beginning. . . .

Gun Games by Faye Kellerman 1/3
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are back in this gripping mystery involving a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles’ most wealthy—and vicious—teens.

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep—witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory’s mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen—evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student—a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.

Before it’s over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return.

Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz 1/10
Within the pages of very rare books some centuries old lie the secrets of the paranormal. Abby Radwell's unusual psychic talent has made her an expert in such volumes-and sometimes taken her into dangerous territory. After a deadly incident in the private library of an obsessive collector, Abby receives a blackmail threat, and rumors swirl that an old alchemical text known as The Key has reappeared on the black market.

Convinced that she needs an investigator who can also play bodyguard, she hires Sam Coppersmith, a specialist in paranormal crystals and amber-hot rocks." Passion flares immediately between them, but neither entirely trusts the other. When it comes to dealing with a killer who has paranormal abilities, and a blackmailer who will stop at nothing to obtain an ancient alchemical code, no one is safe.

Deadline by Fern Michaels 1/1
No sooner have Toots Loudenberry and her three best friends – Sophie, Ida, and Mavis – returned from Sacramento, where Sophie provided some much-needed psychic advice to the First Lady of California, when another situation demands their attention… Laura Leigh, a Hollywood starlet whose main talent seems to be landing in trouble, is missing. Toots’ daughter, Abby, has both a personal and professional stake in the story. Not only is she editor-in-chief at gossip magazine The Informer, but entertainment attorney Chris Clay, Abby’s would-be beau, was the last person to see Laura. And now he’s missing, too. With the help of friends in high – and low – places, the Godmothers will navigate Hollywood’s glittering inner circles and seedy underbelly to discover the truth. Along the way, they’ll uncover unexpected secrets that not even one of Sophie’s séances could have predicted…

Breakdown by Sara Paretsky 1/3
Carmilla, Queen of the Night, is a shape-shifting raven whose fictional exploits thrill girls all over the world. When tweens in Chicago's Carmilla Club hold an initiation ritual in an abandoned cemetery, they stumble on an actual corpse, a man stabbed through the heart in a vampire-style slaying.

The girls include daughters of some of Chicago's most powerful families: The grandfather of one, Chaim Salanter, is one of the world's wealthiest men; the mother of another, Sophy Durango, is the Illinois Democratic candidate for Senate.

For V. I. Warshawski, the questions multiply faster than the answers. Is the killing linked to a hostile media campaign against Sophy Durango? Or to Chaim Salanter's childhood in Nazi-occupied Lithuania? As V.I. struggles for answers, she finds herself fighting enemies who are all too human.

Private # 1 Suspect by James Patterson 1/2
Unsolvable cases

Since former Marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world's most effective investigation firm--sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private's investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world--and they always uncover the truth.

Impossible murders

When his former lover is found murdered in Jack Morgan's bed, he is instantly the number one suspect. While Jack is under police investigation, the mob strong-arms him into recovering $30 million in stolen pharmaceuticals for them. And the beautiful manager of a luxury hotel chain persuades him to quietly investigate a string of murders at her properties.

Gideon's Corpse by Douglas Preston 1/10
A top nuclear scientist goes mad and takes an innocent family hostage at gunpoint, killing one and causing a massive standoff. A plume of radiation above New York City leads to a warehouse where, it seems, a powerful nuclear bomb was assembled just hours before.Sifting through the evidence, authorities determine that the unthinkable is about to happen: in ten days, a major American city will be vaporized by a terrorist attack.Ten days. And Gideon Crew, tracking the mysterious terrorist cell from the suburbs of New York to the mountains of New Mexico, learns the end may be something worse--far worse--than mere Armageddon

Scarecrow Returns by Matthew Reilly 1/3
Deep in the Arctic, a long-forgotten Soviet military base enshrouds a weapon of unimaginably destructive force—a Cold War doomsday device with the power to obliterate the planet. When a mysterious and brutal terrorist group known as the Army of Thieves seizes control of the remote base and unleashes the weapon upon an unsuspecting world, there is only one team close enough to sabotage them: a ragtag band of Marines and civilians led by Captain Shane Schofield, call sign “Scarecrow.” Outnumbered, outgunned, and with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, Scarecrow has only a few short hours to bring down the Army of Thieves—or see the Earth go up in flames.

Library Closed for the Holiday

2011-12-22T09:01:00.009-06:00

The Kasson Library will be

closed on Monday, December 26

and Monday, January 2.

EASEL Exhibit by S.E. Mn Artists

2011-11-28T14:05:00.004-06:00

The Kasson Public Libray is very excited about the EASEL (Experience Art in Southeastern Libraries) Visual Art Exhibit at the Kasson Public Library. Kasson Library was chosen as one of 17 libraries to host this exhibit int he last 15 months.

EASEl's inaugural 2010-2011 tour consists of pieces that correspond with the artist's interpretation of a book, letter or letters, reading, authors or the library. The exhibit includes 31 original works of art created by artists living in the 11 southeastern counties.

The Friends of the Library are hosting a Hot Reads for Cold Nights Program on Monday, December 12 at 7 pm.
Several artist from the EASEL project will be on hand to discuss their experience with this project.This exhibit will be at the Kasson Library from Tuesday, November 29-Thursday, December 22.

Works of art from the EASEL project may be for sale to interested buyers. SELCO makes final arrangements for the delivery to the buyer at the conclusion of the exhibit in January 2012.

Richard Hutton , SEMVA Past President and SELCO staff member Sara Berquam display the art for it's 6 weeks at the Library. Stop by the library and see the 22 pictures and 9 3D piece of art.

This exhibit was made possible through SELCO ,Minnesota Library Legacy and Clean Water and Land Act.

New Books for December

2011-11-23T18:22:00.018-06:00

The Drop by Michael Conelly 11/28

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court.

Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

Explosive 18 by Janet Evanovich 11/22 Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photo—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back. Over at the bail bonds agency things are going from bad to worse. The bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke. Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their largest skip yet. Lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment. And everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii? Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii. And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It’s complicated.The hardcover edition of Explosive Eighteen contains a tear-out calendar inside!

Locked On by Tom Clancy 12/13
Jack Ryan, Sr. has made a momentous choice. He's running for President of the United States again and thus giving up a peaceful retirement to help his country in its darkest hour. But he doesn't anticipate the treachery of his opponent, who uses trumped up charges to attack one of Ryan's closest comrades, John Clark.

Now, Clark is in a race against time and must travel the world, staying one step ahead of his adversaries, including a shadowy organization tasked to bring him in, all while trying to find who is behind this.

Meanwhile, Jack Ryan, Jr., Ding Chavez, Dominick Caruso and other members of the Campus-the top secret off-the-books intelligence agency founded by Jack Ryan during his first term in the White House-deal with a question of their own: Why is a Pakistani military officer meeting with Dagestani terrorists? The answer will ultimately lead to a desperate struggle, with nothing short of the fate of the world at stake.

Death Benefit by Robin Cook 12/27
Pia Grazdani is an exceptional yet aloof medical student working closely with Columbia University Medical Center's premier scientist on cutting edge research that could revolutionize health care by creating replacement organs for critically-ill patients. Thorough her work with the brilliant molecular geneticist Dr. Tobias Rothman, Pia knows she will be given the chance to fulfill her ambition to participate in medical discoveries that can help millions while bringing her a measure of personal peace that might once and for all push aside memories of her difficult and abusive childhood.

But when tragedy strikes in the lab, Pia, with the help of infatuated classmate George Wilson, launches an investigation into the unforeseen calamity in the hospital's supposedly secure biosafety lab.

Meanwhile, two ex-Wall Street whiz-kids think they have found another loadstone in the nation's multi-trillion dollar life insurance industry, and race to find ways to control actuarial data and securitize the policies of the aged and infirm to make another killing.
As Pia and George dig deeper into the events at the lab one question remains unanswered: is someone attempting to manipulate private insurance information to allow investors to benefit from the deaths of others?

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell 12/6
Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding's death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it.

Threadbare by Monica Ferris 12/6
When an elderly homeless woman is found dead on the shore of Lake Minnetonka, she's wearing something that holds the key to her identity but also opens up a mystery. Embroidered on her blouse is her will, in which she bequeaths everything she owns to her niece-Emily Hame, a member of the Monday Bunch at Betsy Devonshire's Crewel World needlework shop!

Emily's aunt turns out to be the second homeless woman to be found dead under mysterious circumstances. It's up to Betsy to discover the common thread between the deaths-and to determine if a murderer may strike again...

Down the Darkest Road by Tami Hoag 12/27
Oak Knoll, a small California town that, in the mid-eighties, seemed as idyllic as any . . . until the See-No-Evil killer shattered that notion. It took FBI agent Vince Leone and a new technique called "profiling" to put an end to the trauma.
Secrets to the Grave brought Leone's teacher-turned-child- advocate wife, Anne, into a central role. Together with Vince and local sheriff 's deputy Tony Mendez, she solved an Oak Knoll murder with a particularly challenging mystery: The victim never existed.

And now Hoag returns once more to Oak Knoll for the third installment of this bestselling series. Through Leone's pioneering, science-based investigatory skills, Hoag explores the early days of forensic police work.

Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James 12/6
A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.

It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.

Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.

The Devil's Elixir by Raymond Khoury 12/22
FBI agent Sean Reilly and his girlfriend, archaeologist Tess Chaykin, heroes of Raymond Khoury's bestselling Templar novels, return in another edge-of-your-seat thriller that reaches from present day back to 1700s Mexico-and possibly beyond.

What if there was a drug, previously lost to history in the jungles of Central America, capable of inducing an experience so momentous-and so unsettling-that it might shake the very foundations of Western civilization?

What if powerful forces on both sides of the law got wind of that drug and launched a vicious, uncompromising pursuit to possess it?

77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz 12/27
I am the One, the all and the only. I live in the Pendleton as surely as I live everywhere. I am the Pendleton's history and its destiny. The building is my place of conception, my monument, my killing ground. . . .

The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill at the highest point of an old heartland city, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon’s dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents—among them a successful songwriter and her young son, a disgraced ex-senator, a widowed attorney, and a driven money manager—the Pendleton’s magnificent quarters are a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten.

But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton’s past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. Soon, all those within its boundaries will be engulfed by a dark tide from which few have escaped.

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith 12/6
Isabel helps a woman given up for adoption find her biological father. Isabel is everything you’d want in a philosopher, but she is also quirky and witty and made more human by the longing she still sometimes feels for a beautiful but bad love in her past.

Sleepwalker by Karen Robards 12/27
It’s not that Micayla Lange is afraid of the clinking she hears coming from the first floor of the empty McMansion she’s housesitting for her uncle Nicco. She’s a cop, after all. It’s just that finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her was enough drama for one night. Now she’s alone on New Year’s Eve, wearing flannel pajamas and wielding a Glock 22 as she zeroes in on the unmistakable source of the sound: Uncle Nicco’s private office. Jason Davis steals things for a living, so unexpected developments are a natural part of the job. Getting caught red-handed by a hot, pigtail-sporting police officer in what is supposed to be a gangster’s deserted house is just one more twist in the game. Kind of like finding incriminating photos in Nicco Marino’s safe, only to discover the cop — and the security cameras — have gotten a real good look at his face. Unfortunately for Mick, she also got a good look at the damned pictures. Her “uncle” might love her like family, but if he knows she’s seen evidence that implicates him in the murder of a city councilman, she doesn’t like her chances. Which is why she’s having a hard time reconciling her professional instincts with what she is rapidly concluding is an inescapable fact: She’s about to help a criminal get away with a suitcase full of stolen money. And she’s going with him. Mick and Jason’s race for their lives hurtles them through the dangerous Michigan wilderness on speedboat and snowmobile. As their adventure heats up and their enemies close in, Mick is torn between her duty to the force and the combustible passion engulfing her and her unlikely partner in crime. She’ll have to turn Jason in sooner or later . . . if they survive. But will they ever get a second chance at love?

The Richest Hill on Earth by Richard S. Wheeler 12/6
The city of Butte looks like a cancerous mélange of smoky mine boilers and rudely constructed sheds when newspaperman John Fellowes Hall arrives on a cold spring day in 1892. Butte may be ugly, but it’s the place to get rich. It’s also a city full of stories—perfect for a journalist looking to make a name for himself. As an employee of mining titan William Andrews Clark, Hall becomes a part of the best story of them all: the fight among the Copper Kings.
Butte’s three founding fathers were remarkable men with little in common other than ambition. Marcus Daly, a humble Irish immigrant, led the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. His political rival, the formidable William Andrews Clark, a brilliant but vain businessman, bought himself a United States Senate seat. And Augustus Heinze tried to steal the mines, using lawyers and bribed judges, only to be crushed by the Rockefellers. The Richest Hill on Earth captures their struggle as well as the stories of the ordinary people—the miners, their wives and children, the journalists, and even the psychics—trying to make their fortunes in the rapidly-changing West.

D.C. Dead by Stuart Woods 12/22
After a shocking loss, Stone Barrington is at loose ends, unsure if he wants to stay in New York and continue his work as a partner at Woodman & Weld. It comes as a welcome relief when he's summoned to Washington, D.C., by President Will Lee. The president has a special operation that calls for Stone's unique skill set, and it's a mission that will reunite him with his former partner in crime and in bed, Holly Barker.

2011-11-23T16:30:00.001-06:00

The Library will be closed for
Thanksgiving Holiday
November 24-25, 2011

Friends of the Library Hot Reads Event

2011-11-18T09:40:00.009-06:00

The Friends of the Library hosted their monthly Hot Reads for Cold Nights program on Tuesday, November 14th at 7 pm in the Kasson Library. This month's topic dealt with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and information on events held around S.E. Minnesota. Picture:Library Director Bonnie Adams, Michaek Eckers, Friends President John Talcott)

Michael Eckers arrived at the Friends of the Library Hot Reads program dressed as "Brigadier General Henry Sibley." as he was at the Smithsonian Exhibit on Native American treaties at Riverland in Austin. There was standing room only at the library with the crowd thoroughly engaged with Mr. Eckers and his information on the Civil War. "Brigadier General Henry Sibley" also brought rifles, revolvers and other memorabilia used by officers and enlisted men. He also touched on the Dakota Wars along the Minnesota River celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2012.

Michael has studied American military history for more than 40 years. He is currently writing a series of novels following one family through the twelve generations of our country; from the Revolution through today's War on Terror, the Weldon family has offered sons and daughters to fight to secure our freedoms.

The Friends of the Library will have Mr. Eckers back in August 2012 to talk about 150th anniversary of the Dakota Wars along the Minnesota River.

E-Readers at the Kasson Library

2011-11-10T11:17:00.016-06:00

Library Director Bonnie Adams formed a partnership with Rochester's Best Buy North, Barnes & Noble at the Chateau downtown location and Apache Mall, Jonya from Selco Regional Library. Kasson Library staff recognized after last year's holiday season many people received e-Readers as gifts and did not know how they worked or how to download books from the area libraries, Barnes & Noble or Amazon. This year the Kasson Library decided to be proactive in helping educate patrons on e-Readers and which of these e-readers would best fit their lifestyles.

Managers at all locations agreed to have staff come to the library for seven informational and educational classes that were held during the day and evening. We have had 32 people attend 4 of the 7 classes about Nooks, Kindles, iPads, hotspots, routers etc. All were all excited to see, touch and hear of the new products available. After listening to the presentations it did not matter whether you already had a reader or not you learned helpful additional information. Many changed their minds after the information they received from these classes. After one classes a patron went right to the store and purchased a Nook tablet for her husband and a Simple Touch reader for her.

What participants really enjoyed was the one-on-one service
of answering questions and learning about extra features available on their device that they had not tried. All who attended want to thank Christine, Heather and John from the downtown Barnes & Noble store, Janice from the Apache Mall store and Gerrad and Colin from the North Best Buy store for their generosity, knowledge and helpfulness in selecting what e-Reader would work best for them and their families.

Left: Christine and John (far right) from downtown Barnes & Noble from downtown Barnes & Noble

Right: Colin & Gerrad from North Best Buy

Veteran's Day Library Closed

2011-11-07T16:14:00.001-06:00

The Kasson Public Library will be closed

Friday, November 11th.

FREE e-Reader Classes at the Library

2011-11-02T16:28:00.006-06:00

NOOK KINDLE IPAD What are they all about???

The library will be hosting seven FREE classes on e-readers during the month of November. You can discover the differences between the major e-readers on the market, how to purchase e-books, and how you can download e-books for free from your library. Current owners of e-readers are also welcome, as experts from Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, or SELCO will be present to answer any questions or help you discover features of your e-reader you never knew about. Please contact the Kasson Public Library at 634-7615 to register or for any questions.

E-reader class Schedule:

Monday, Nov 7th 10 am (NOOK/Barnes & Noble presenter)

Tuesday Nov 8th 10 am & 6:30 pm (NOOK/Barnes & Noble presenter)

Wednesday, Nov 9th 10 am (Kindle/Best Buy presenter)

Thursday, Nov 10th 6:30 pm (NOOK/Barnes & Noble presenter)

Tuesday, Nov 15th 10 am (Kindle/Best Buy presenter) & 6:30 pm

Senses Storytime Week of Oct 31-Nov 3

2011-11-01T16:28:00.000-06:00

This week's storytime was about our five senses. Ingvild our children's librarian read books about eyes, noses, ears. The craft was to chose items that matched the words smooth, soft, rough, and bumpy. Additional pictures may be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

November New Books

2011-10-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

Zero Day by David Baldacci 10/31

And Zero Day is where it all begins....John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigative Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth.

Now, Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong woman with personal demons of her own, joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he's seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.

A Dark and Lonely Place by Edna Buchanan 11/8
John Ashley and Laura Upthegrove became the most notorious, colorful, and compelling figures in Florida’s violent outlaw history. This is their true story of prison breaks, bootlegging, bank robberies, and piracy on the high seas. Their sensual and dreamy saga of love, passion, and violence is juxtaposed with the taut and suspenseful story of their fictional descendants who share the same love and dangers a hundred years later.

In today’s Miami, Homicide Sergeant John Ashley investigates a millionaire’s spectacular murder and instantly recognizes a stunning model linked to the case as the girl who has haunted his dreams since childhood. Her name is Laura, and the lightning-fast attraction is supernaturally mutual.
The homicide case goes bad, Ashley is falsely accused of murder, and the new lovers go on the run as history repeats itself. The question is, how powerful is the past? Do the present-day renegades stand a chance? Does anyone? Can any of us with the outlaw patterns of violence and tragedy imprinted in our DNA ever break the cycle? Can we change our own destiny? Or must the end always be the same for dangerous people in dangerous times?

The Wedding Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini 11/1
Sarah McClure arrived at Elm Creek Manor as a newlywed, never suspecting that her quilting lessons with master quilter Sylvia Bergstrom Compson would inspire the successful and enduring business Elm Creek Quilts, whose members have nurtured a circle of friendship spanning generations.

The Wedding Quilt opens as the wedding day of Sarah's daughter Caroline approaches. As Sarah has learned, a union celebrates not only the betrothed couple's passage into wedlock, but also the contributions of those who have made the bride and groom the unique people they are. Thus Sarah's thoughts are filled with brides of Elm Creek Manor past and present-the traditions they honored, the legacies they bequeathed, and the wedding quilts that contain their stories in every stitch.

A wedding quilt is a powerful metaphor: of sisterhood, of community, of hope for the future. The blocks in Caroline's wedding quilt will display the signatures of beloved guests. As the Elm Creek Quilters circulate amid the festive preparations with pens and fabric in hand, memories of the Manor-and of the women who have lived there, in happiness and in sorrow-spill forth, rendering a vivid pastiche of family, friendship, and love in all its varieties.

The Drop by Michael Connelly 11/28
Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.

DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court.Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics.

Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

Prince of Ravenscar by Catherine Coulter 11/1
Nicholas Monroe, widowed "Prince of Ravenscar," is feeling pressure from his family to remarry. But the mysterious death of his first wife, Lily, still hangs over his head. Her brother, Richard, believes Nicholas is responsible for her death. When Richard finally confronts Nicholas, long-held secrets threaten to resurface-despite someone's desperate effort to keep them buried.

Micro by Michael Crichton 11/22
Three men are found dead in the locked second-floor office of a Honolulu building, with no sign of struggle except for the ultrafine, razor-sharp cuts covering their bodies. The only clue left behind is a tiny bladed robot, nearly invisible to the human eye.

In the lush forests of Oahu, groundbreaking technology has ushered in a revolutionary era of biological prospecting. Trillions of microorganisms, tens of thousands of bacteria species, are being discovered; they are feeding a search for priceless drugs and applications on a scale beyond anything previously imagined.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, seven graduate students at the forefront of their fields are recruited by a pioneering microbiology start-up. Nanigen MicroTechnologies dispatches the group to a mysterious lab in Hawaii, where they are promised access to tools that will open a whole new scientific frontier.
But once in the Oahu rain forest, the scientists are thrust into a hostile wilderness that reveals profound and surprising dangers at every turn. Armed only with their knowledge of the natural world, they find themselves prey to a technology of radical and unbridled power. To survive, they must harness the inherent forces of nature itself.

Devil's Gate by Clive Cussler 11/14
A Japanese cargo ship cruises the eastern Atlantic near the Azores- when it bursts into flames. A gang of pirates speeds to take advantage of the disaster-when their boat explodes. What is happening in this part of the world?

As Kurt Austin, Joe Zavala, and the rest of the NUMA Special Assignments Team rush to investigate, they find themselves drawn into the extraordinary ambitions of an African dictator, the creation of a weapon of almost mythical power, and an unimaginably audacious plan to extort the world's major nations. The penalty for refusal? The destruction of their greatest cities. Filled with the high-stakes suspense and boundless invention unique to Cussler, Devil's Gate is one of the most thrilling novels yet from the grand master of adventure.

Coffin Man by James D. Doss 11/8
When Colorado rancher and part-time tribal investigator Charlie Moon gets a call from Wanda Naranjo, she’s panicked. Not only is her sink leaking, which Moon graciously fixes, but her sixteen-year-old daughter, Betty, has gone missing. For how long? Only a few hours, but she’s pregnant. So what about the father-to-be? It’s a good question and anybody’s guess. Betty has kept her lips sealed on the subject.

And that’s not all. Betty claimed to be going to see a school counselor on what turned out to be his day off. So was she running away or was she abducted? Moon’s best friend, Granite Creek Chief of Police Scott Parris, doesn’t believe any of it and suspects that Wanda tricked them into doing a little emergency plumbing. While it’s enough to make Parris’s blood boil, Moon can’t shake the feeling that some other foul play might be at work.

Come a Little Closer by Dorothy Garlock 11/23
America's Heartland, 1946. World War II has ended, and everyone is pursuing peacetime's bright promise with fresh energy and hope. Newly-arrived in a small Wisconsin town, Christina Tucker now dares to chase her long-cherished dreams: put her wartime nursing skills to use and reconnect with country life. But helping a shell-shocked veteran recover soon tests her determination and disturbs town memories best left buried. She has no choice but to turn to her patient's seemingly-irresponsible brother, Tyler Sutter. A restless ex-soldier, Tyler can't believe this pretty ladylike nurse can heal his family. Yet as Christina begins to understand Tyler's own fears, the two grow close, then closer still-as a terrible secret sparks one man's violent, vengeful spree. With both the guilty and innocent alike in harm's way, Tyler and Christina must face all their fears . . . or never live to see the future.

V is for Vengence by Sue Grafton 11/14
woman with a murky past who kills herself-or was it murder? A spoiled kid awash in gambling debt who thinks he can beat the system. A lovely woman whose life is about to splinter into a thousand fragments. A professional shoplifting ring working for the Mob, racking up millions from stolen goods. A wandering husband, rich and ruthless. A dirty cop so entrenched on the force he is immune to exposure. A sinister gangster, conscienceless and brutal. A lonely widower mourning the death of his lover, desperate for answers, which may be worse than the pain of his loss. A private detective, Kinsey Millhone, whose thirty-eighth-birthday gift is a punch in the face that leaves her with two black eyes and a busted nose.

And an elegant and powerful businessman whose dealings are definitely outside the law: the magus at the center of the web.

V: Victim. Violence. Vengeance.

11/22/63 by Stephen King 11/8
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force.

Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history.

Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

Longing by Karen Kingsury 11/22
Longing, book three in the Bailey Flanigan Series, picks up where Learning ended. After a long and lonely silence from Cody Coleman, Bailey Flanigan becomes closer to her one-time Hollywood co-star, Brandon Paul. Nights on the town in New York City and long talks on the balcony of Brandon's Malibu Beach home make Bailey dizzy with new feelings and cause her to wonder if her days with Cody are over forever. Meanwhile, Cody's work coaching a small-town football team has brought him and his players national attention. In the midst of the celebration and success, Cody finds himself much closer to a woman who seems to better understand him and his new life. Even so, never does much time go by without Bailey and Cody experiencing deep feelings of longing for each other, longing both for the past and for answers before they can move forward. Will an unexpected loss be the turning point for Cody? Will Cody and Bailey find a way back together again for the first time in more than a year? And if they do, will their brief time together be enough to help them remember all they've been longing for?

Kill by Alex Cross 11/14
The President's son and daughter are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high-up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark.

A deadly contagion in the water supply cripples half of the capital, and Alex discovers that someone may be about to unleash the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced.

As his window for solving both crimes narrows, Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes--one that may alter the fate of the entire coun

Hotel Verdome by Danielle Steel 11/1
The hotel was old, run-down. But to Swiss-born Hugues Martin, a young, ambitious hotelier trained in the most illustrious European traditions, it is a rough diamond, tucked away on a quiet, perfectly situated Manhattan street. After begging and borrowing every penny he can scrape together, Hugues purchases the building—and transforms it into one of the world’s finest luxury hotels.

Under Hugues’s tireless, exacting supervision, the Hotel Vendôme is soon renowned for its elegance, its efficiency, its unparalleled service and discretion—the ideal New York refuge for the rich and famous, as well as a perfect home for Hugues’s beautiful young wife and their daughter. But when his wife runs off with a notorious rock star, Hugues is suddenly a single parent to four-year-old Heloise—who will grow up happily regardless, amid a fascinating milieu of celebrities, socialites, politicians, world travelers, and the countless hotel employees who all adore her.

Halloween Storytime week of October 24th

2011-10-26T17:43:00.007-05:00

Some of the delightful costumes at the library during Halloween Storytime. See more pictures at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Mark Zahn and Edgar Allen Poe

2011-10-25T17:59:00.005-05:00

The Friends of the Kasson Library are hosting their 2011-2012 season of Hot Reads for Cold Nights. They will feature six Monday evenings with southeast Minnesota authors, writers and even a person who inspired an illustrator to use him as a model for a character in a children Christmas book. Each event will be at the Kasson Public Library and starts at 7 pm. Friends will be serving refreshments.

Local author Mark Zahn kicked off October's Hot Reads by sharing his journey of developing, researching and publishing his book, Modern Poe: Vol. 1. There were about 40 people in attendance who were interested in how he chose to write about this great writer and poet.

November's Hot Reads will be on Monday, November 14th 7 pm and features area historian Michael Eckers who recaps this past summer's Civil War 150th anniversary and talks about the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Dakota Wars along the Minnesota River in 2012.

December's Hot Reads will be on Monday, December 12th 7 pm will feature West Concord resident Chad Winsell and how he was chosen as Santa Claus in the Peef Chrismas Bear stories

Steve Jobs Dies at 56

2011-10-06T07:36:00.004-05:00

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. - Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was the light at the end of a very dark tunnel that existed in the early 80's and Steve Jobs made it easier to use computers for the common people. Computers were DOS driven and in my opinion very hard to navigate. The reality of using computers was a hostile, foreign world and the big companies were not going to change.

He was my hero and I LOVED my Apple computers when I worked in schools. I hated to give them up for another brand due to a change in jobs. He made the world a more beautiful place with his rainbow of colors for his Apple computers, iPod, the iPad, and the iPhone. I feel it is a much better world for having Steve Jobs in it and he and his genius will be sadly missed.

October New Book

2011-10-04T08:55:00.000-05:00

As The Pig Turns by M.C. Beaton 10/11
Winter Parva is a “picturesque” (touristy) Cotswold village with gift shops, a medieval market hall, and thatched cottages. After a disappointing Christmas season, the parish council has decided to hold a special event in January, complete with old-fashioned costumes, morris dancing, and a pig roast on the village green.
Always one for a good roasting, Agatha Raisin organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. The rotary spit turning over a bed of blazing charcoals is sure to please on this foggy and blistery evening. But as the fog lifts slightly, the sharp-eyed Agatha notices something peculiar about the pig: a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it and the name Amy. “Stop!” she screams suddenly. “Pigs don’t have tattoos.”

The “pig,” in fact, is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the locals, including Agatha herself. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police, everything changes when the Gary’s ex-wife, Amy, hires Agatha’s detective agency to investigate—and another murder ensues. With that provocation, how could any sleuth as vain and competitive (and secretly insecure) as Agatha do anything other than solve the case herself?

Murder Unleashed by Rita Mae Brown 10/4
Settling into ranch life outside Reno, Nevada, with her gregarious great-aunt Jeep Reed and Jeep’s German Shepherd, King, former Wall Street trader Mags doesn’t miss the cutthroat world of investment banking—because its destructive tentacles have reached westward to the Silver State. The foreclosure crisis has taken a huge bite out of the local real estate market, where rows of homes sit unsold and forsaken—but not empty.

A group of squatters, including desperate single mothers with children, are living under the radar in the houses on Reno’s Yolanda Street—without water or electricity. Big-hearted real estate broker Babs Gallagher enlists Jeep and Mags to start a community outreach program, but that means going up against uncaring utility companies, corrupt officials, ruthless politicians—and a merciless murderer. When a former banker is found brutally slain in one of the abandoned homes, the notion of “cutthroat business practices” takes on a whole new meaning.

Baxter, King, and some other canine detectives leave no bone of contention buried as they help their human charges untangle a string of murders rooted deep in the heart of Red Rock Valley’s prominent citizenry. Though Reno deputy—and Mags’s unofficial significant other—Pete Meadows uncovers evidence of blackmail, shady real estate ventures, and rumors of lost treasure, the killer seems to hold all the cards in a city of gambling and sin. Luckily, Mags, Jeep, and Babs still have a few tricks up their sleeves. As nefarious sexploits and backroom backstabbing reverberate throughout the county, the dogs are officially off the leash—and on the hunt for a killer. Along the way, they encounter curious coyotes, human kindness and treachery, and a long-buried stash of riches.

The Chocolate Castle Clue by Joanna Carl 10/4
Lee McKinney Woodyard discovers a dusty trophy inside TenHuis Chocolade that belongs to her aunt Nettie and her old high school singing group, the Pier-O-Ettes. It's a trophy that brings back terrible memories of an unsolved murder years ago.
Before Lee takes aim at the past, someone is murdered in the here and now. Lee needs to keep her eyes on the prize, hoping the trophy is a clue to finding the killer-before she's a target herself.

Skeleton Letters by Laura Child 10/4
Is nothing sacred? The last thing Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava expected to bear witness to in St. Tristan's Church was a crime. But now a beloved member of their scrapbooking circle lies lifeless next to a smashed statue of St. Sebastien-and a mysterious hooded figure has absconded with an antique crucifix.

As Carmela and Ava are drawn deeper into New Orleans' French Quarter in search of the missing crucifix, they may need the help of more than a few patron saints. Because this is one killer they don't want to cross...

Lost December by Richard Richard Evans 11/1
As heir to the Crisp Copy Center fortune, Luke has it made---until he burns through his entire inheritance in just one year of partying. Ashamed to ask his famous father for help, he finds employment---and romance---as an entry-level clerk.

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn 11/1
For months, Mitch Rapp has been steadily working his way through a list of men, bullet by bullet. With each kill, the tangled network of monsters responsible for the slaughter of 270 civilians becomes increasingly clear. He is given his next target: a plump Libyan diplomat who is prone to drink and is currently in Paris without a single bodyguard.

Rapp finds him completely unprotected and asleep in his bed. With confidence in his well-honed skills and conviction of the man’s guilt, he easily sends a bullet into the man’s skull. But in the split second it takes the bullet to leave the silenced pistol, everything changes. The door to the hotel room is kicked open and gunfire erupts all around Rapp. In an instant the hunter has become the hunted. Rapp is left wounded and must flee for his life.

The next morning, the news breaks in Washington that Libya’s Oil Minister has been killed along with three innocent civilians and four unidentified men. The French authorities are certain that the gunman is wounded and on the loose in Paris. As the finger pointing begins, Rapp’s handlers have only one choice—deny any responsibility for the incident and pray that their newest secret weapon stays that way, avoiding capture and dying quietly. One person in the group, however, is not prone to leaving things to chance. Rapp has become a liability, and he absolutely cannot be allowed to be taken alive by the French authorities. But it will soon become clear that nothing is more dangerous than a wounded and cornered Mitch Rapp.

The Litigators by John Grisham 10/15
The partners at Finley & Figg—all two of them—often refer to themselves as “a boutique law firm.” Boutique, as in chic, selective, and prosperous. They are, of course, none of these things. What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of their big break, ambulance chasers who’ve been in the trenches much too long making way too little. Their specialties, so to speak, are quickie divorces and DUIs, with the occasional jackpot of an actual car wreck thrown in. After twenty plus years together, Oscar Finley and Wally Figg bicker like an old married couple but somehow continue to scratch out a half-decent living from their seedy bungalow offices in southwest Chicago.

And then change comes their way. More accurately, it stumbles in. David Zinc, a young but already burned-out attorney, walks away from his fast-track career at a fancy downtown firm, goes on a serious bender, and finds himself literally at the doorstep of our boutique firm. Once David sobers up and comes to grips with the fact that he’s suddenly unemployed, any job—even one with Finley & Figg—looks okay to him.

With their new associate on board, F&F is ready to tackle a really big case, a case that could make the partners rich without requiring them to actually practice much law. An extremely popular drug, Krayoxx, the number one cholesterol reducer for the dangerously overweight, produced by Varrick Labs, a giant pharmaceutical company with annual sales of $25 billion, has recently come under fire after several patients taking it have suffered heart attacks. Wally smells money.

A little online research confirms Wally’s suspicions—a huge plaintiffs’ firm in Florida is putting together a class action suit against Varrick. All Finley & Figg has to do is find a handful of people who have had heart attacks while taking Krayoxx, convince them to become clients, join the class action, and ride along to fame and fortune. With any luck, they won’t even have to enter a courtroom! It almost seems too good to be true. And it is

Bonnie by Iris Johansen 10/18
When Eve Duncan gave birth to her daughter, she experienced a love she never knew existed. Nothing would stand in the way of giving Bonnie a wonderful life---until the unthinkable happened and the seven-year-old vanished into thin air. Eve found herself in the throes of a nightmare from which there was no escape. But a new Eve emerged: a woman who would use her remarkable talent as a forensic sculptor to help others find closure in the face of tragedy. Now with the help of her beloved Joe Quinn and CIA agent Catherine Ling, Eve has come closer than ever to the truth. But the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Bonnie’s father is a key player in solving this monstrous puzzle. And that Bonnie’s disappearance was not as random as everyone had always believed . . .

Gideon's Gift by Karen Kingsbury 10/10
Gideon Mercer, an eight-year-old leukemia patient, is hoping for a huge Christmas miracle. She does not wish that her parents will scrape together $50,000 for a life-saving bone marrow transplant for her. Nor does she want her dream Christmas with a light-filled tree and a truck for her little brother. Instead, Gideon hopes that the belligerent homeless man she met while her family worked in a food kitchen will believe in God. Five years prior, Earl Badgett lost his faith when his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. Unable to go on, he took to the streets, hoping to die. An unexpected Christmas gift from Gideon brings God back into Earl's life with repercussions for both of them.

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson 10/17
The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married--and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day--she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.

A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry 10/25
In A Christmas Homecoming, a familiar face from the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels—Charlotte’s mother, Caroline—travels with her young husband, Joshua Fielding, and his theatrical troupe to Whitby, the Yorkshire fishing village where Dracula the vampire first touched English soil in the sensational novel named after him. Joshua has arranged to produce a stage adaptation of Dracula by the daughter of Whitby millionaire Charles Netheridge during the Christmas holiday, but after the disastrous first read-through of her amateurish script, only the fact that the company is depending on Netheridge’s financial backing for their spring tour keeps them at work.

As tempers flare and wind and snow swirl around Netheridge’s lonely hilltop mansion, a black-cloaked stranger emerges from the storm—an eerily opportune arrival, for this enigmatic figure, one Anton Ballin, turns out to be a theatrical genius. At the same time, a brooding evil makes itself felt. Instead of the theatrical triumph that Netheridge desired for his daughter, there is murder—shocking and terrifying.

Shock Wave by John Sanford 10/4
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.

The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site itself. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage-and they do. Who's behind the bombs, and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out . . . before more people get killed.

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks 10/11
In the fall of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for a funeral. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers soon realize that everything they thought they knew-about themselves and the dreams they held dear-was not as it seemed. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

Grandparent Day Storytime at Praire Meadows

2011-09-01T10:56:00.002-05:00

The Kasson Library has an outreach program called Books On Wheels that visits the seniors at Prairie Meadows the first Thursday of each month for an intergenerational storytime. The seniors, children and their parents eagerly wait to share stories, a craft and some yummy treat each month.

Additional pictures may be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

This month we celebrated Grandparents Day. The children and their moms made casting of the children hands to share with all of the grandpas and grandmas that attend the storytime. The seniors were thrilled to have a gift specially decorated by the children.

Brazil Storytime Week of August 29

2011-09-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

This week Children's Llibrarian Invild chose Brazil as a destination in our One World...Many Stories. The children enjoyed the stories and craft.
Additional pictures of this event and many others may be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Library Cards Required To Check Out Items at the Library

2011-08-30T10:37:00.004-05:00

Library Cards will be required at Kasson Public Library after Monday, August 5, 2011.

Due to data privacy laws, family members must have the correct library card to check out or pick up items at the library as this insures accuracy of checked out items. Please make sure if you are asking other family member(s) or friends to pick up your requested items that they have the correct library card with them.

Left your card at home? Library cards are available for purchase for $2.00.

September New Books

2011-08-29T07:33:00.000-05:00

Killing the Blues by Robert B. Parker 9/13
Paradise, Massachusetts, is preparing for the summer tourist season when a string of car thefts disturbs what is usually a quiet time in town. In a sudden escalation of violence, the thefts become murder, and chief of police Jesse Stone finds himself facing one of the toughest cases of his career. Pressure from the town politicians only increases when another crime wave puts residents on edge. Jesse confronts a personal dilemma as well: a burgeoning relationship with a young PR executive, whose plans to turn Paradise into a summertime concert destination may have her running afoul of the law.

When a mysterious figure from Jesse's past arrives in town, memories of his last troubled days as a cop in L.A. threaten his ability to keep order in Paradise-especially when it appears that the stranger is out for revenge.

Lethal by Sandra Brown 9/20
When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.

But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it -- at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society

Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke 9/27
Sheriff Hackberry Holland patrols a small Southwest Texas border town with a deep and abiding respect for the citizens in his care. Still mourning the loss of his cherished wife and locked in a perilous almost-romance with his deputy, Pam Tibbs, a woman many decades his junior, Hackberry feeds off the deeds of evil men to keep his own demons at bay.
When alcoholic ex-boxer Danny Boy Lorca witnesses a man tortured to death in the desert and reports it, Hack’s investigation leads to the home of Anton Ling, a regal, mysterious Chinese woman whom the locals refer to as La Magdalena and who is known for sheltering illegals. Ling denies having seen the victim or the perpetrators, but there is something in her steely demeanor and aristocratic beauty that compels Hackberry to return to her home again and again as the investigation unfolds. Could it be that the sheriff is so taken in by this creature who reminds him of his deceased wife that he would ignore the possibility that she is just as dangerous as the men she harbors?

The Affair by Lee Child 9/27
Everything starts somewhere. . . .For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.

A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington.

Reacher is ordered undercover—to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control.

Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justice—and an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.

The Race by Clive Cussler 9/27
It is 1910, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than fifty days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates-an intrepid woman named Josephine Frost-and that's where Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in.
Frost's violent-tempered husband has just killed her lover and tried to kill her, and he is bound to make another attempt. Bell has tangled with Harry Frost before; he knows that the man has made his millions leading gangs of thieves, murderers, and thugs in every city across the country. He also knows that Frost won't be only after his wife, but after Whiteway as well. And if Bell takes the case . . . Frost will be after him, too.

An Angel for Christmas by Heather Graham 9/27
Christmas has never brought out the best in the MacDougal family. Still, year after year, they gather together in the Blue Ridge Mountains to try to make the season merry and bright. But this year is an especially strained one, with Shayne’s impending divorce, Morwenna’s slavish devotion to work and Bobby’s reluctance to face what life has to offer. They’ve never felt less like a family. Then, in the midst of a snowy sibling shouting match, a mysterious stranger appears. He could be a criminal, a madman — or something far more unexpected. Despite their fears and the growing danger in the dark woods around them, the MacDougals take a leap of faith. But when another stranger arrives on the mountainside, they don’t know which of them to believe. One of these men can’t be trusted.

Prey by Linda Howard 9/6
Thirty-two-year-old Angie Powell has always spoken her mind, but in the presence of Dare Callahan she nurses a simmering rage. After all, why give Dare the satisfaction of knowing he can push her buttons and push her to the edge?

Three years ago, Dare returned home to rural western Montana and opened a hunting business to rival Angie’s. Complicating matters is the fact that Dare has asked Angie out (not once but twice) and has given her a gift of butterflies in the process. Angie has no patience for butterflies. They only lead to foolish decisions. And now the infuriatingly handsome Iraq war vet has siphoned away Angie’s livelihood, forcing her to close up shop.

Before Angie is to leave town, she organizes one last trip into the wilderness with a client and his guest, who wants to bag a black bear. But the adrenaline-fueled adventure turns deadly when Angie witnesses a cold-blooded murder and finds herself on the wrong side of a loaded gun. Before the killer can tie up this attractive loose end, a bear comes crashing through the woods—changing the dark game completely.

The Pirate King by Laurie R. King 9/6
In England’s young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. Nevertheless, at the request of Scotland Yard, Mary Russell is dispatched to investigate rumors of criminal activities that swirl around Fflytte’s popular movie studio. So Russell is traveling undercover to Portugal, along with the film crew that is gearing up to shoot a cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for moviemaking for a generation . . . or sink a boatload of careers.

Nothing seems amiss until the enormous company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, where the thirteen blond-haired, blue-eyed actresses whom Mary is bemusedly chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity. But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell feels a building storm of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance—and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their dangerous outlaw leader. Plus, there’s a spy on board. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout.

The Mercy by Beverly Lewis 9/6
Rose Kauffman pines for prodigal Nick Franco, the Bishop's foster son who left the Amish under a cloud of suspicion after his foster brother's death. His rebellion led to the "silencing" of their beloved Bishop. But is Nick really the rebel he appears to be? Rose's lingering feelings for her wayward friend refuse to fade, but she is frustrated that Nick won't return and make things right with the People. Nick avowed his love for Rose--but will he ever be willing to sacrifice modern life for her?Meanwhile, Rose's older sister, Hen, is living in her parents' Dawdi Haus. Her estranged "English" husband, injured and helpless after a car accident, has reluctantly come to live with her and their young daughter during his recovery. Can their marriage recover, as well? Is there any possible middle ground between a woman reclaiming her old-fashioned Amish lifestyle and thoroughly modern man?

1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber 9/27
The people of Cedar Cove know how to celebrate Christmas. Like Grace and Olivia and everyone else, Beth Morehouse expects this Christmas to be one of her best. Her small Christmas-tree farm is prospering, her daughters and her dogs are happy and well, and her new relationship with local vet Ted Reynolds is showing plenty of romantic promise. But...someone recently left a basket filled with puppies on her doorstep, puppies she’s determined to place in good homes. That’s complication number one. And number two is that her daughters Bailey and Sophie have invited their dad, Beth’s ex-husband, Kent, to Cedar Cove for Christmas. The girls have visions of a mom-and-dad reunion dancing in their heads. As always in life — and in Cedar Cove — there are surprises, too. More than one family’s going to have a puppy under the tree. More than one scheme will go awry. And more than one romance will have a happy ending!

New York to Dallas In Death by J.D. Robb 9/13
When a monster named Isaac McQueen-taken down by Eve back in her uniform days-escapes from Rikers, he has two things in mind. One is to pick up where he left off, abducting young victims and leaving them scarred in both mind and body. The other is to get revenge on the woman who stopped him all those years ago.

Son of Stone by Stuart Woods 9/30
After an eventful trip to Bel-Air and a reunion with his sophisticated (and very wealthy) former love, Arrington Calder, Stone Barrington is back in New York, and he's looking to stay closer to home and cash in on his partnership at Woodman & Weld.
But Arrington has other plans for Stone...including introducing him to the child he fathered many years ago.

Free and Bargain E-books

2011-08-19T10:55:00.004-05:00

A friend told me of a great site that lets you download free and reduced books for your Nook or Kindle and it is called Pixil of Ink http://www.pixelofink.com/. It is great to find a bargain site for getting more books on eother your Kindle orNook. Enjoy!!

Here’s what you will find for both the Kindle and Nook:
Free eBooks – both the Limited Time Offers and often forgotten but Popular Classics Bargain eBooks that are highly rated (4-stars and up) yet a bargain at under $1, under $3, or under $5

Free Nook Books http://www.pixelofink.com/category/free-nook-books/
The section “Free Nook Books” on Pixel of Ink includes Limited Time Offers and often forgotten but Popular Classics. Grab these books while you can – most of these books are available for a Limited Time only!

Free Kindle Books http://www.pixelofink.com/category/free-kindle-books/
The section “Free Kindle Books” on Pixel of Ink includes Limited Time Offers and often forgotten but Popular Classics. Grab these books while you can – most of these books are available for a Limited Time only!

If you like to receive the Free & Bargain eBooks Newsletter every afternoon, direct to your inbox - Subscribe today

Italy Storytime WeeK of August 15th

2011-08-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

This week theme for One World...Many Stories is Italy. To view the pictures go to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Italy is famous worldwide for its delicious cuisine, its trendy fashions, luxury sports cars and motorcycles, diverse regional cultures and dialects, as well as for its many beautiful coasts, alpine lakes and mountains (the Alps and Apennines). There are also two independent mini-states are surrounded entirely by Italy: San Marino and Vatican City. No wonder it is often nicknamed Il Bel Paese (The Beautiful Country).

Pixlr-o-matic

2011-08-15T15:51:00.000-05:00

Pixlr is a company that makes Flash-based photo editing services that are cloud based. Pixlr-o-matic is one of their services. It lets you add vintage touches to your photographs. The interface is easy and inviting. Just locate the picture you want to manipulate either from online or a local file.

Then the fun begins! You can select from several pre-set options that change the color, intensity and just add a vintage vibe to the photo. There are many to choose from and you can merrily click from one to the next to see the effects in action.

When you find your favorite, click on the arrows at the bottom of the screen. Heading to the right will take you to additional items for your photo. You can add glitter, burn, fog, scratches and much more to add an even more vintage feel.

Finally, you can click to the right again and change the edges of the photograph. They can be scrapbook style, flowery, or even grunge.

Then you have the option to save the image either up to imm.io where you can send it out via social media or to your local drive.

Beware, it’s addictive! If you are looking for a more robust photo editor, you will also want to check out Pixlr Editor which is a very nice cloud based editor with lots of features.

Russia Storytime week of August 8th

2011-08-09T07:18:00.008-05:00

This weeks theme is all about Russia. We will talk about babuskkas,(grandmothers) or matroishka (nesting dolls) and turnips.Plan on attending one of our many storytimes and learn more about Russia and its heritage.
Additional pictures maybe found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Russia is the largest country on earth and within this vast expanse lie the largest freshwater lake in the world, rivers and forests teeming with fish and wildlife, awe inspiring volcanos, and towering mountains. Russia covers more than 17 million square kilometres. It takes about a week to cross the country's two continents, eleven time zones by train, and ten hours by air and ends less than 50 miles from North America. Russia's population is about 150 million. The national language is Russian. Russia has the largest river in Europe, the Volga, the world's largest lake, the Caspian Sea, the world's deepest freshwater lake, the Baikal, and the Europe's highest peak, Elbrus.

Reading on the Rise

2011-08-08T09:26:00.002-05:00

National Endowment for the Arts has a new report out about reading levels in the United States. And brace yourself, this one’s a doozy! Just look at the first paragraph of the preface, and you will be eager to read the rest:

Reading on the Rise, the National Endowment for the Arts’ new report, documents a significant turning point in recent American cultural history.

For the first time in over a quarter-century, our survey shows that literary reading has risen among adult Americans. After decades of declining trends, there has been a decisive and unambiguous increase among virtually every group measured in this comprehensive national survey.

Yippee! Reading levels have actually increased! Now, the data in here is from 2008, so it really doesn’t include the surge in ebooks that we have seen lately. Just think, the news about reading may get even better in years to come. Also, they look specifically at “literary reading” which includes novels, short stories, poetry, and plays in both print and online. And literary reading has increased with over half of American adults reading literary works in the previous 12 months.
If you are looking for a report filled with good news about the future of reading, look no further!

Germany Storytime Week of August 1

2011-08-03T12:28:00.009-05:00

Germany is the theme country this week. Germany, one of the most visited countries in Europe, and is centrally located in the heart of Europe. Neuschwanstein, was a model for Disney's World's Cinderella Castle. Children also heard Fairytale by the Grimm's Brothers. Children enjoyed coloring Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

Additional pictures may be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

2011 Grand Finale in the Park

2011-07-29T08:38:00.018-05:00

The Kasson Public Library's summer reading program One World... Many Stories was a huge success. Over 525 children signed up for this exciting and fun-filled adventure.

Our Grand Finale in the Park was held on Wednesday, July 27 at 10:30 am. The over 250 children that attended this event had a great and fun time playing the games and spending the library bucks earned through reading the past eight weeks. We had one child read 200 hours and may attained 50-100 hours. WOW!!

Children's Librarian Ingvild Herfindahl worked very hard planning country story hours and crafts that pertained to the country. Many times at story time we had between 50-80 children at our storytimes. Sometimes crowded but fun nevertheless.

Without our volunteers the party in the park could not take place. We would like to thank all that helped us in the park. Thanks to staff member Donna for taking all of the wonderful pictures. These pictures and many more of our events can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Children's Librarian Ingvild Herfindahl talks to the crowd at the start of festivites.

August New Books

2011-07-28T07:14:00.000-05:00

Heartwishes by Jude Deveraux 8/30
Gemma Ranford wants the job cataloging the documents of the Frazier family so much that she is ready to do battle to get it. Fascinated with history, and desperately trying to finish her dissertation, she's hoping against all hope that the papers will yield new information to invigorate her research.
What she didn't expect to find is references to the Heartwishes Stone - believed by most to be pure legend - and said to grant wishes to anyone named Frazier.
As Gemma learns more about the family -- and even begins falling in love with the eldest son, Colin -- it becomes increasingly clear that their wishes are actually coming true.

The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood 8/9
Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby, she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals, a couple identified as the Landrys. The only person to see the shooter's face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation.

Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case. A no-nonsense lawman, he's definitely not the ideal man that Ellie has always imagined, yet she's attracted to him in a way she can't explain.

Ellie heads home to Winston Falls, South Carolina, to attend her sister's wedding. Shortly after she arrives, though, she receives a surprise visitor: Max Daniels. The Landrys have been captured, and she'll be called to testify. But they've been captured before, and each time the witnesses are scared into silence-or disappear before they can take the stand. Max vows to be Ellie's shadow until the trial, and it isn't long before sparks fly.

The Ballad of Tom Dooley by Carla Neggers 8/30
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley…The folk song, made famous by the Kingston Trio, recounts a tragedy in the North Carolina mountains after the Civil War. Laura Foster, a simple country girl, was murdered and her lover Tom Dula was hanged for the crime. The sensational elements in the case attracted national attention: a man and his beautiful, married lover accused of murdering the other-woman; the former governor of North Carolina spearheading the defense; and a noble gesture from the prisoner on the eve of his execution, saving the woman he really loved.

Saint's Gate by Carla Neggers 8/23
When Emma Sharpe is summoned to a convent on the Maine coast, it's partly for her art crimes work with the FBI, partly because of her past with the religious order. At issue is a mysterious painting depicting scenes of Irish lore and Viking legends, and her family's connection to the work. But when the nun who contacted her is murdered, it seems legend is becoming deadly reality.

Colin Donovan is one of the FBI's most valuable assets—a deep–cover agent who prefers to go it alone. He's back home in Maine after wrapping up his latest mission, but his friend Father Bracken presents him with an intrigue of murder, international art heists and a convent's long–held secrets that is too tempting to resist. As the danger spirals ever closer, Colin is certain of only one thing—the very intriguing Emma Sharp is at the center of it all.

A ruthless killer has Emma and Colin in the crosshairs, plunging them into a race against time and drawing them deeper into a twisted legacy of betrayal and deceit.

Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson 8/29
Trailing him is the Ghost, the world's greatest assassin, who has just pulled off his most high-profile hit: killing Walter Zelvas, a top member of the international Diamond Syndicate. There's only one small problem: the diamonds he was supposed to retrieve from Zelvas are missing. Now, the Ghost is on Bannon's trail--but so is a rival assassin who would like nothing more than to make the Ghost disappear forever.

Acceptable Loss by Anne Perry 8/9
When the body of a small-time crook named Mickey Parfitt washes up on the tide, no one grieves; far from it. But William Monk, commander of the River Police, is puzzled by the expensive silk cravat used to strangle Parfitt. How did this elegant scarf—whose original owner was obviously a man of substance—end up imbedded in the neck of a wharf rat who richly deserved his sordid end?

Cold Vengeance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs 8/2
Devastated by the discovery that his wife, Helen, was murdered, Special Agent Pendergast must have retribution. But revenge is not simple. As he stalks his wife's betrayers-a chase that takes him from the wild moors of Scotland to the bustling streets of New York City and the darkest bayous of Louisiana-he is also forced to dig further into Helen's past. And he is stunned to learn that Helen may have been a collaborator in her own murder.

Peeling back the layers of deception, Pendergast realizes that the conspiracy is deeper, goes back generations, and is more monstrous than he could have ever imagined-and everything he's believed, everything he's trusted, everything he's understood . . . may be a horrific lie.

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs 8/23
Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble’s sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi’s? Or Cale’s?

India Storytime week of July 25th

2011-07-26T06:23:00.006-05:00

This week storytime will feature India. Pictures of this week's storytime may be found at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Bedtime storytime

Summer Reading Program Grand Finale in the Park

2011-07-25T14:40:00.008-05:00

The Kasson Public Library will host a end of Summer Reading One World...Many Stories party in the park on Wednesday July 27 at 10:30 am. We will will draw names from all completed reading contracts for prizes and award special prizes to our top readers.

At our games no one goes away emplty handed-you get a library buck or a tootsie roll. There will be many games to play to win additional library bucks to spend at our library store which is also located in the park.

China Storytime Week of July 18th

2011-07-18T15:07:00.005-05:00

This week theme is China. The children enjoyed the stories read by the children's librarian and guest readers. Craft this week was tanagrams. Additional pictures may be found at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Kenya Storytime Week of July 11th

2011-07-15T13:12:00.000-05:00

This week theme is Kenya. We are fortunate that our children's librarian has a sister-in-law from Kenya and has lots of additional information to tell the children about KENYA. The craft was a traditional afrian game the children could share with their familes. Additional Pictures of this weeks storytimes maybe found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Mexico Storytime Week of July 5th

2011-07-06T06:17:00.008-05:00

This past week theme was Mexico. Aditional Pictures may be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/page2/

There over 55 children and parents at Tuesday's storytime and each day has many more children. We are excited that the children and their parents value reading during the summer.

July 2011 New Books

2011-06-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Escape by Barbara Delinsky 7/5
Emily Aulenbach is thirty, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, but she spends her days in a cubicle talking on the phone with victims of tainted bottled water—and she is on the bottler’s side.
And it isn’t only work. It’s her sister, her friends, even her husband, Tim, with whom she doesn’t connect the way she used to. She doesn’t connect to much in her life, period, with the exception of three things—her computer, her BlackBerry, and her watch.

Acting on impulse, Emily leaves work early one day, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off. Groping toward the future, uncharacteristically following her gut rather than her mind, she heads north toward a New Hampshire town tucked between mountains. She knows this town. During her college years, she spent a watershed summer here. Painful as it is to return, she knows that if she is to right her life, she has to start here.

The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen 7/5
Every crime scene tells a story. Some keep you awake at night. Others haunt your dreams. The grisly display homicide cop Jane Rizzoli finds in Boston’s Chinatown will do both.

In the murky shadows of an alley lies a female’s severed hand. On the tenement rooftop above is the corpse belonging to that hand, a red-haired woman dressed all in black, her head nearly severed. Two strands of silver hair—not human—cling to her body. They are Rizzoli’s only clues, but they’re enough for her and medical examiner Maura Isles to make the startling discovery: that this violent death had a chilling prequel.

Nineteen years earlier, a horrifying murder-suicide in a Chinatown restaurant left five people dead. But one woman connected to that massacre is still alive: a mysterious martial arts master who knows a secret she dares not tell, a secret that lives and breathes in the shadows of Chinatown. A secret that may not even be human. Now she’s the target of someone, or something, deeply and relentlessly evil.

Cracking a crime resonating with bone-chilling echoes of an ancient Chinese legend, Rizzoli and Isles must outwit an unseen enemy with centuries of cunning—and a swift, avenging blade.

Betryal of Trust by J.A. Jance 7/5
At first glance, the video appears to be showing a childish game: a teenage girl with dark wavy hair smiles for the camera, a blue scarf tied around her neck. All of a sudden things turn murderous, and the girl ends up dead.
It’s as bad as a snuff film can get, and what’s worse, the clip has been discovered on a phone that belongs to the grandson of Washington State’s governor. However, the boy, who has a troubled background, swears that he’s never seen the victim before.
Fortunately, the governor is able to turn to an old friend, J. P. Beaumont, for help. The Seattle private investigator has witnessed many horrific acts over the years, but this one ranks near the top. Even more shocking is that the crime’s multiple perpetrators could be minors.

Along with Mel Soames, his partner in life as well as on the job, Beaumont soon determines that what initially appears to be a childish prank gone wrong has much deeper implications. But Mel and Beau must follow this path of corruption to its very end, before more innocent young lives are lost.

Quinn by Iris Johansen 7/12
As a former Navy SEAL turned cop, Joe Quinn has seen the face of evil and knows just how deadly it can be. When he first met Eve Duncan, he never expected to fall in love with a woman whose life would be defined by her dual desires to bring home her missing daughter and discover the truth behind her disappearance---no matter how devastating. With the help of CIA agent Catherine Ling, they make a shocking discovery that sheds new light on young Bonnie’s abduction and puts Quinn squarely in the crosshairs of danger. Eve’s first love, John Gallo, a soldier supposedly killed in the line of duty, is very much alive---and very much a threat.
Emotionally charged, with one shock after another, Quinn reveals the electricity of Joe and Eve’s first connection, and how they fell in love in the midst of haunting tragedy. As their search takes them deeper and deeper into a web of murder and madness, Joe and Eve must confront their most primal fears . . . and test their resolve to uncover the ultimate bone-chilling truth.

Merciless by Diana Palmer 7/26
Tall, dark and eligible? That’s all that matters to the women of Jacobsville when it comes to handsome and aloof FBI agent Jon Blackhawk. But if it were up to him, he would never settle down. Luckily, Jon has the best gatekeeper: his efficient and reliable assistant, Joceline Perry. Without her help, he’d be at the mercy of husband hunters — but the more he comes to rely on her, the more he notices how invaluable she really is.... While Joceline can’t deny that her boss is attractive, as a single mother with responsibilities she’s determined to be professional. But when Jon is accosted by a criminal seeking revenge, she comes to his aid — fueling the spark that is growing between them. As the attempts on Jon’s life increase, Joceline stands by his side. But when the smoke clears, will the man who avoided love realize that all he ever needed was right there all along?

Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel 7/19
Valerie Wyatt is the queen of gracious living and the arbiter of taste. Since her long-ago divorce, she’s worked hard to reach the pinnacle of her profession and to create a camera-ready life in her Fifth Avenue penthouse. So why is she so depressed? All the hours with her personal trainer, the careful work of New York’s best hairdressers, cosmetic surgeons, and her own God-given bone structure and great looks can’t fudge the truth or her lies about it: Valerie is turning sixty.

Valerie’s daughter, April, has no love life, no rest, and no prospect of that changing in the foreseeable future. Her popular one-of-a-kind restaurant in downtown New York, where she is chef and owner, consumes every ounce of her attention and energy. Ready or not, though, April’s life is about to change, in a tumultuous transformation that begins the morning it hits her: She’s thirty. And what does she have to show for it? A restaurant, no man, no kids.

Jack Adams once threw a football like a guided missile. Twelve years after retiring from the NFL, he is the most charismatic sports analyst on TV, a man who has his pick of the most desirable twentysomething women. But after a particularly memorable Halloween party, Jack wakes up on his fiftieth birthday, his back thrown out of whack, feeling every year his age.
A terrifying act of violence, an out-of-the-blue blessing, and two extremely unlikely love affairs soon turn lives inside out and upside down. In a novel brimming with warmth and insight, beginning on one birthday and ending on another, Valerie, April, and Jack discover that life itself can be a celebration—and that its greatest gifts are always a surprise.

First Dance by Richard S. Wheeler 7/5
Miles City, Montana. 1885. Barnaby Skye's mixed-blood son, Dirk, has just married a beautiful Metis girl, Therese.

But Dirk’s position as a civilian translator for the U.S. army threatens to shatter their union. Montana ranchers wrestling with livestock theft and the incursion of settlers into their range have persuaded the army to send the Metis people back to Canada. The military enlists Dirk to translate between the two sides in the brutal campaign.

Unable to reconcile her love for Dirk with the pain he is inflicting on her people, Therese flees on their wedding night. Heartbroken, Dirk rides off with the army.

Therese has a powerful vision. She is inspired to build a church that will be a gathering place for her people and a symbol of their resistance to deportation.

The suffering refugees--driven into the wilderness by Yankee soldiers and cruel ranch vigilante gangs--find a friend in Dirk and an inspiration in Therese. In their common cause, the lovers are reunited.

Library Closed For Holiday

2011-06-29T15:56:00.001-05:00

The Kasson Public Library will be closed on Monday, July 4th.

Australia Storytime Week of June 27

2011-06-27T16:04:00.023-05:00

This weeks theme was Austrailia. The children made their own didgeridoo. A wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia at least 1500 years ago. The children loved testing out their own didgeridoo to see what tune they could play .

Additional pictures can be found at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/?saved=1

Tuesday, June 28

Making their own didgeridoo.

Bedtime Storytime 6/27/11

Pop Wagner, Cowboy Entertainer

2011-06-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

The Kasson Public Library was excited to present for the children, enrolled in their summer reading program, Cowboy Entertainer Pop Wagner. Pictured with Pop Wagner is Library Director Bonnie Adams and Children's Librarian Ingvild Herfindahl.

Additional pictures may be found at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

video of rope twirling can be found at;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4zcUDeSTKI

Pop Wagner performed on Wednesday, June 22 at the KM Elementary school gym at 10:30 am. 396 children and their parents attended the free program sponsored by Kasson area businesses and the Friends of the Kasson Library. The children enjoyed his songs, his rope twirling and western humor.

Pop has quite the reputation as a singer, picker, fiddler, lasso twirler, poet. He appeared quite frequently on Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion.

Native American Art & Science with Ingvild 6/22/11

2011-06-22T15:00:00.007-05:00

Children's Librarian Ingvild talks with the children about how Indians wrote their stories using symbols for words. The children had fun choosing the stamps.

Ingvild and the children working on the stories. Ingvild finishes the poster by writing about what she saw on the paper.

Native American Storytime Week of June 20

2011-06-21T09:24:00.012-05:00

This week the children hear Native American stories and make a Native American Stick Game.

Additional pictures may be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Tuesday, June 21 WOW!! 59 children and their parents came to today's storytime.

Finished stick for the Native American game.

Monday Night June 20 Bedtime Story

Cowboy Entertainer Pop Wagener

2011-06-20T08:57:00.005-05:00

The Kasson Public Library is proud to present for the children enrolled in their summer reading program Cowboy Entertainer Pop Wagner. Pop Wagner will perform on Wednesday, June 22 at the KM Elementary school gym at 10:30 am.

All are invited to attend this free program sponsored by Kasson area businesses and the Friends of the Kasson Library.

Pop has quite the reputation as a singer, picker, fiddler, lasso twirler, poet. He appeared quite frequently on Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion during the show's formative years. His cowboy anthems crackle with the warmth of a prairie campfire and his old time fiddle tunes set toes a-tappin' while he serves up spellbinding rope tricks and tall stories -- all with a good dose of friendly humor.

"Pop Wagner is a mesmerizing, authentic cowboy, who possesses the unique ability to transport an audience to the simpler times of days gone by. His captivating cowboy wit, combined with his musical talents are a treat for an audience of any age. Pop Wagner is a rich historian of our culture and, as such, is truly an American treasure."
Jo McLachlan,
Wheatland Music Organization,
Remus, MI

Japan Storytime Week of June 13

2011-06-15T15:28:00.013-05:00

Going along with the Summer reading theme of One World,many Stories, Children's Librarian Ingvild chose Japan to explore
with the children. The craft was making their own Japaneses style fan.

Guest Student Reader Alex read two books to the children.

Thirty-eight children and parents attended Wednesday, June 15

Tuesday, June 14 Over 70 children and their parents showed up today for storytime. Needless to say it very, very crowded but everyone with the storytime and those who stopped in for materials got along quite well.

35 children and parents at Bedtime Storytime group

Monday night June 13th

Flag Day

2011-06-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day. "Star's and Stripes" or "Old Glory" the first American Flag was approved by the Continent ail Congress on June 14, 1777. In 1818, after five more states joined the Union, Congress passed legislation fixing the number of stripes at 13 and requiring that the number of stars equal the number of states in the union.

Fly your flags proudly!!

Fresh Air Fund

2011-06-10T07:05:00.004-05:00

The Fresh Air Fund is in need of 1200 host families for this summer. Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and homes to children from the city to give them a Fresh Air experience that can change lives. If you could help to get the word out it would really help us place these wonderful children into a loving host family. It's only for up to two weeks, but it's an experience that can change their lives forever.

THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2010, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!

2011-06-08T08:51:00.013-05:00

Children's Librarian, Ingvild Herfindahl has chosen Norway as this week theme for our summer reading program. She has great stories and a wonderful craft involving a troll.

Wednesday, June 8th 33 people attended the troll storytime.

Tuesday, June 7th 56 people attended the storytime. Was a bit crowded at times but we are fortunate that everyone understand the limited space.

One World..Many Stories-Norway Storytime 6/6

2011-06-06T10:52:00.003-05:00

Norway, a Scandinavian country known for its midnight sun, fjords, and ravishing natural beauty.

Children's Librarian, Ingvild Herfindahl has chosen Norway as this week theme for our summer reading program. She has great stories and a wonderful craft involving a troll.

Make plans with your, family and friends to attend a storytime at 10:30 am on Tuesday or Wednesday. Too old for storytime? Students can come on either Wednesday's or Thursday's to do a science or art project at 1:30 pm in the library geared towards older children.

One World...Many Stories

2011-06-03T08:46:00.003-05:00

Sign up at the libray or online http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/signupform.html to be part of our summer reading program.

You may also download our flyer to help you keep up with all the events. http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/Flyer%202011%20full-page.pdf

We also have a special art contest that runs from June 1st through June 16th. Print off your choice of our World Globe or try to make your own Comic Strip and let your creativity loose! Color, cut, paste, sculpt, or modify your entry however you think is most "artistic" and bring it back to us. Entries are judged by age group.

One World...Many Stories

2011-06-02T15:40:00.003-05:00

Kasson Public Library is sponsoring the 2011 Summer Reading Program. (SRP) The SRP is open to children 0-18 and we have schedule many different and exciting events.

You may register on -ine and download the reading contracts and coloring pictures. http://www.kasson.lib.mn.us/Summer.html

Children's Librarian has been hard at work organizing
the coloring contest, transportation guess bowl, where is T. Rex?, and the reading contracts, and our Grand Finale int he Park. Entertainer, Pop Wagner will perform for the crowd his songs, rope twirling and poetry.

There will be storytime on Tuesday and Wednesday morning at 10:30 and on Tuesday's and Thursday she will have for the older children science and art projects.

Kasson Public Library SRP will run from June 1-July 27.

One World...Many Stories Week of May 31

2011-06-01T12:43:00.001-05:00

Pcitures from this week's storytime can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/?saved=1

New Books for June

2011-05-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

One Summer by David Baldacci 6/14
Jack Armstrong, a terminally ill family man just praying to make it to Christmas. Sadness abounds, much more so when Jack's wife, Lizzie, is killed in a car wreck while on a medicine run. Plans are made by Jack's mean mother-in-law Bonnie: the three kids will get divided up among aunts and uncles across the country, and Jack will be put into hospice. Miraculously, Jack's health turns around, and he's able to reclaim his kids and move the brood from Ohio to the South Carolina shore where Lizzie grew up. There, he tries to reassemble the family and learn how to be a single parent, and just as they're beginning to settle into a functional family again, Bonnie sues for custody of the kids.

The Kingdom by Clive Cussler 6/6
The Fargos are used to hunting for treasure, not people. But then a Texas oil baron contacts them with a personal plea: an investigator friend of the Fargos' was on a mission to find the oil baron's missing father-and now the investigator is missing, too. Would Sam and Remi be willing to look for them both? Though something about the situation doesn't quite add up, the Fargos agree to go on the search.

What they find will be beyond anything they could have imagined. On a journey that will take them to Tibet, Nepal, Bulgaria, India, and China, the Fargos will find themselves embroiled with black-market fossils, a centuries-old puzzle chest, the ancient Tibetan kingdom of Mustang, a balloon aircraft from a century before its time . . . and a skeleton that could turn the history of human evolution on its head.

Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver 6/14
Jeffery Deaver has been selected by Ian Fleming Publications to write the new James Bond thriller. The plot of the new novel—which features a contemporary setting and brings Fleming’s legendary 007 character firmly into the modern age—is being kept tightly under wraps until publication.

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich 6/21
Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list.

Short on time to find evidence proving the killer’s identity, Stephanie faces further complications when her family and friends decide that it’s time for her to choose between her longtime off-again-on-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie’s mom is encouraging Stephanie to dump them both and choose a former high school football star who’s just returned to town. Stephanie’s sidekick, Lula, is encouraging Stephanie to have a red-hot boudoir “bake-off.” And Grandma Bella, Morelli’s old-world grandmother, is encouraging Stephanie to move to a new state when she puts “the eye” on Stephanie.

With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie’s life looks like it’s about to go up in smoke.

Hit List by Laurel Hamilton 6/7
Word has leaked to Anita Blake that hit men are headed for St. Louis- and that she, Jean-Claude, and Richard are the targets.

Learning by Karen Kingsbury 6/21
Bailey Flanigan is growing closer to her dream to be an actress and dancer in New York while Cody coaches a small high school football team ... on and off the field. But neither feels complete without the chance to share their dreams with one other. Can distance truly make the heart grow fonder? Or will Cody learn to turn to others to share in his happiness? And when tragedy strikes? Who will be there to provide comfort in the face of loss? As Cody's past catches up with him, he must learn to reach out for help or risk withdrawing permanently inside himself.

Thunder of Heaven by Tim F. LaHaye 6/28
An epic thrill ride ripped from today's headlines and filtered through Scriptural prophecy. As world events begin setting the stage for the 'end of days' foretold in Revelation, Joshua Jordan must weigh the personal price he must pay to save the nation he loves.

When Passion Rules by Johanna Lindsey 6/14
Forced to flee Napoleon’s rampaging army on the continent, orphaned Alana Farmer and her eccentric guardian make a new home for themselves in London. There, Alana enjoys every privilege a daughter of the nobility could hope for, plus an education fit for a queen. Now, on the eve of her debut into London Society, she learns the shocking secret of her birthright. Can it be true? Is she really the lost princess of the European kingdom of Lubinia? Persuaded by her guardian to return to their homeland to quell a bloody revolt, Alana finds herself in an isolated, mountainous country whose customs strike her as medieval!With controversy and intrigue brewing around the beautiful newcomer, Christoph Becker, the captain of the palace guards, arrests Alana on suspicion that she is either a wily imposter or a seductive spy working for the shadowy figures determined to depose the king. No stranger himself to seduction, Christoph uses every means at his disposal to draw the truth from his alluring prisoner, even if he must lay his own life on the line to protect her from harm. Now, as a fiery passion flares between Alana and the man who has wrongly imprisoned her, the fate of a nation rests in their hands and on their hearts.

The Dog Who Came in from the Cold by Alexander McCall Smith 6/21
In the elegantly crumbling mansion block in Pimlico called Corduroy Mansions, the comings and goings of the wonderfully motley crew of residents continue apace. A pair of New Age operators has determined that Terence Moongrove’s estate is the cosmologically correct place for their center for cosmological studies. Literary agent Barbara Ragg has decided to represent Autobiography of a Yeti, purportedly dictated to the author by the Abominable Snowman himself. And our small, furry, endlessly surprising canine hero Freddie de la Hay—belonging to failed oenophile William French—has been recruited by MI6 to infiltrate a Russian spy ring. Needless to say, the other denizens of Corduroy Mansions have issues of their own.

Now You See Her by James Patterson 6/27
The perfect life.
A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York--including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes.

The perfect lie
Nina's secret life began 18 years ago. She had looks to die for, a handsome police-officer husband, and a carefree life in Key West. When she learned she was pregnant with their first child, her happiness was almost overwhelming. But Nina's world is shattered when she unearths a terrible secret that causes her to run for her life and change her identity.

The perfect way to die
Now, years later, Nina risks everything she's earned to return to Florida and confront the murderous evil she fled. In a story of wrenching suspense,

Armed Forces Day Saturday, May 21

2011-05-20T07:46:00.007-05:00

Take a moment today to thank someone in our armed forces.

President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.
On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense.

Major Upgrade to SELCO our Regional Library System

2011-05-19T17:07:00.004-05:00

SELCO our regional libray system is going through a major upgrade with our servers and databases. We will have limited use of these databases on Tuesday, May 24 through Thursday, May 26.

We apologize in advance for any undue stress this might cause you. You will be able to check out items but we will not be able to check them in. We have to wait until Thursday to officially check your items in. We cannot look to see what else you might have out.

Still available during the upgrade: Checkout with alternate datebase, "card catalog" no requests, no paying fines, no renew.

With this upgrade things will work better at the regional office and give the libraries additonal benefits. Thank you in advance for understanding this is out of our control so please be patient.

Yes or No Storytime Week of May 16th

2011-05-17T12:39:00.008-05:00

Additional pictures may be viewed at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/page2/

Tuesday, May 17

Monday, May 16th

Destiny A. wrote and illustrated her own book and wanted to share it during the bedtime storytime. Congratulations Destiny for a great job!

Old Elementary School Tour

2011-05-16T12:32:00.002-05:00

The Kasson Public Library Building Committee is hosting an Open House for the public at the Old Elementary School on Saturday, May 21st from 1:30-3:00 pm.
No one under 18 will be allowed to enter the building.

Birds Storytime Weekof May 9th

2011-05-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

Children's Librarian Ingvild chose Birds as this week's theme. The children's craft project was wonderful.

Additional pictures may be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/page2/

Mary K. was Tuesday, May 10 guest reader.

Over 50 parents and children attended the storytime.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-06T07:36:00.002-05:00

Friends of the Library Book Sale

2011-05-05T14:53:00.012-05:00

The Friends of the Kasson Library are holding their Book Sale on
Thursday, May 5-Monday, May 9th.
$3.00 Bag Sale will be on Monday.

John Talcott and Marcia Drazkowski Clint Patterson and Pat Coy

People choosing books.

Signs around town advertising the Friends Book Sale.

Mother's Day Storytime Week of May 2-6

2011-05-04T07:49:00.008-05:00

Mother's Day was chosen as this week's theme. The children enjoyed the stories and the coloring sheet that Children's Librarian Ingvild provided for them.

Additional Pictures may be found at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Just Like Home Daycare 5/5/11

Tuesday Storytime 5/3

Bedtime Storytime 5/2

AM Monthly Book Club

2011-05-03T11:00:00.001-05:00

Eleven people attended attended the the monly morning book club. This month's book was Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. As usual there was quite a lively discussion about this book.
June's Book will be Prayers For Sale by Eve Dallas.

Friends of the Library host two book clubs a month in the library. AM Book Club is the first Tuesday of the Month and the PM Book Club is the third Thursday of each month.

Mapcrunch

2011-04-28T08:42:00.003-05:00

I ran across this from one of my favorite spots to look for information Sites and Soundbytes by Tasha http://sites.wakingbraincells.com/. She has lots of great up-to-date information.

MapCrunch randomizes Google Maps, taking you on a tour of the world in a very random but equally easy and fascinating way. Click on the bright green Go! button and you will be whisked away visually to another place. You can use the buttons above the Go button to limit the images to specific continents or countries.

A handy little map appears telling you where you are within the country. It can be hidden too, but I enjoy seeing right where I have landed. Just as with any Google Street View, you can journey up the road, zoom in and out, and head off in new directions. Down in the bottom corner of the view is the city and country you are in. I seem to be seeing a lot of Ireland and Scandinavia so far.

Related articles:
MapCrunch lets you teleport to random and interesting Street View locations (downloadsquad.com)
MapCrunch: It’s Chatroulette Meets Google Street View (techcrunch.com)
Teleport Anywhere with Google Maps Street View (programmableweb.com)

May New Books

2011-04-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Trader of Secrets by Steve Martini 5/31
The crusading lawyer is on the trail of dangerous criminals who are trying to steal state-of-the-art weapons technology…with nothing less than the future of America at stake.

While in Paris to find a former NASA employee whose name has been found on papers left in his nemesis's apartment, Paul Madriani stumbles upon a plot to harness the destructive forces of nature using stolen technology that foreign powers will stop at nothing to get their hands on.

Sixkill by Robert B. Parker 5/3
On location in Boston, bad-boy actor Jumbo Nelson is accused of the rape and murder of a young woman. From the start the case seems fishy, so the Boston PD calls on Spenser to investigate. The situation doesn't look good for Jumbo, whose appetites for food, booze, and sex are as outsized as his name. He was the studio's biggest star, but he's become their biggest liability.

In the course of the investigation, Spenser encounters Jumbo's bodyguard: a young, former football-playing Native American named Zebulon Sixkill. Sixkill acts tough, but Spenser sees something more within the young man. Despite the odd circumstances, the two forge an unlikely alliance, with Spenser serving as mentor for Sixkill. As the case grows darker and secrets about both Jumbo and the dead girl come to light

Buried Prey by John Sanford 5/10

A house demolition provides an unpleasant surprise for Minneapolis-the bodies of two girls, wrapped in plastic. It looks like they've been there a long time. Lucas Davenport knows exactly how long. In 1985, Davenport was a young cop with a reputation for recklessness, and the girls' disappearance was a big deal.

His bosses ultimately declared the case closed, but he never agreed with that. Now that he has a chance to investigate it all over again, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: It wasn't just the bodies that were buried. It was the truth.

Poetry Month Storytime April 25-28

2011-04-26T13:11:00.006-05:00

Poetry month is April and Children's Librarian Ingvild chose 2 great poems from Shel Silverstein and 2 other books that rhymed. The craft involved children drawing their own poems or things they heard during storytime. Additional pictures may be found at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Wednesday, April 27

Tuesday, April 26
Library Director Bonnie Adams reads poems to the children. The children drew poems for all of us to see and talk about. Thanks to the children and their moms.

Bedtime Storytime Monday night 4/25

Kindle Library Lending and OverDrive – What it means for libraries and schools

2011-04-25T14:08:00.003-05:00

Aurora Jacobsen SELCO Librarian Selco librarian added these comments:
After yesterday's big announcement that the Kindle was going to work with Overdrive, there were more questions than answers. Today, more details are emerging, although the picture is far from complete. One of the big answers came from the Overdrive blog, which clarified:

Your existing collection of downloadable eBooks will be available to Kindle customers. As you add new eBooks to your collection, those titles will also be available in Kindle format for lending to Kindle and Kindle reading apps. Your library will not need to purchase any additional units to have Kindle compatibility. This will work for your existing copies and units.

Overdrive books won't be available until this coming fall, and by then, many more answers should be available.

Karen Estrovich manager of content sales for OverDrive wrote this article on April 20, 2011
http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/04/20/kindle-library-lending-and-overdrive-what-it-means-for-libraries-and-schools/

Today Amazon and OverDrive announced the Kindle Library Lending program, which will enable Kindle customers to borrow and enjoy eBooks from our library, school, and college partners in the United States. The program is scheduled for launch later this year, and will significantly increase the value of the investments that libraries have made in OverDrive-powered eBook catalogs.

Many of our partners will immediately receive inquiries about this new program, so here is a brief introduction into what can be expected when the program launches:

The Kindle Library Lending program will integrate into your existing OverDrive-powered ‘Virtual Branch’ website.

Your existing collection of downloadable eBooks will be available to Kindle customers. As you add new eBooks to your collection, those titles will also be available in Kindle format for lending to Kindle and Kindle reading apps. Your library will not need to purchase any additional units to have Kindle compatibility. This will work for your existing copies and units.

A user will be able to browse for titles on any desktop or mobile operating system, check out a title with a library card, and then select Kindle as the delivery destination. The borrowed title will then be able to be enjoyed using any Kindle device and all of Amazon’s free Kindle Reading Apps.

The Kindle eBook titles borrowed from a library will carry the same rules and policies as all our other eBooks.

The Kindle Library Lending program will support publishers’ existing lending models.
Your users’ confidential information will be protected.

The Kindle Library Lending program is only available for libraries, schools, and colleges in the United States.

We’re thrilled that our library, school, and college partners will be able to provide Kindle customers with access to eBooks from their digital collections. And we look forward to providing you with more information on the launch of the Kindle Library Lending program as it becomes available.

2011-04-22T10:29:00.010-05:00

Congratulations to Shelby B and Jace H the winners of the two Easter baskets designed by staff members
Donna Kirchgatter and Sandy Riedel.

This fun activity helped celebrate the holiday with a great guessing game for the children. It was interesting to see the different methods the children had for choosing their special number. One little 2 year old guessed the number 5 and no matter what her mother said to encourage her to guess a larger number she refused and said her favorite number was 5. The correct number of the eggs in a bowl was 145 eggs.

Thank you to all who participated.

Jace H. and her sister will share the basket.

Shelby will have help from her two older sisters eating all the goodies.

Children's Librarian Quoted in the New York Times!!

2011-04-21T15:11:00.010-05:00

Kindle Users Gain Access to Library E-Books. Amazon, the maker of the Kindle e-book reader, said it would reverse its policy and allow the device’s users to borrow e-books from public libraries later this year.

Ingvild Herfindahl posted an update on this exciting news about eBooks and Kindleon our Library's Facebook pagehttp://www.facebook.com/kassonlibrary and not 5 minutes later got a call from the New York Times - they're doing a story on it and wanted to interview her.

Ingvild's quote was chosen and quoted in the NY Times! Check it out: http://nyti.ms/flI2FY

Congratulations Ingvild!

Easter Storytime April 19-21

2011-04-20T14:42:00.001-05:00

Easter and the Easter bunny was on all the children's mind this week. Children's Librarian Ingvild read great bunny stories and talk about egg of all sizes. The children were able to go on their very own Easter Egg hunt in the library. The children found their egg and turned in the empty egg for one filled with candy. The craft was to create their own egg out of a coffee filter, magic markers and a spray bottle. Wonderful creations out of this fun project.

Additional pictures may be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Wednesday, April 20

Tuesday, April 19

Rain Storytime Week of April 12-14

2011-04-14T14:40:00.000-05:00

Rain was chosen as this week's theme and the children were excited about the stories and the craft.
Additional pcitures may be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Public Libraries Are Not Just Internet Access Points

2011-04-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

I checked with one of my favorite website Sites and Sound Bytes by Tasha Saecker, director of the Menasha Public Library in Menasha, WI. I liked what she wrote on October 21, 2010 http://sites.menashalibrary.org/2010/10/21/public-libraries-are-not-just-internet-access-points/about one of the roles a library provides to the public. As Tasha said "Yes, that is a very important piece of what we do, but take a look at the map that ALA created about how much technology training we do as well. I think that that is one of the biggest pieces of the digital divide puzzle, how to help the people who are not online, not using computers, or just not comfortable with them at the level they wish to be. Public libraries are stepping up and taking that on themselves. " Weekly and sometimes daily we do one-on-one training for individuals on many different topics but we are seeing more computer training for on so many have people stop in and ask us to help them fill out job applications, compile a resume, or just learn how to type on a computer. In fact a while back we had a person sitting at a computer ask what is the purpose of the space bar? The library is not just books any more. We do so much more and fill the gaps with people and their needs.

Honor Books Storytime Week of April 4-8

2011-04-05T14:00:00.003-05:00

The Newbery Medal is without doubt the most prestigious award for children’s literature in the USA and is known internationally. It was first awarded in 1922. It was named after the eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery.

The Caldecott Medal was named in honour of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is the most significant award for picture books in the USA.It is presented to the author of the book judged to have made the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Additional pictures may be found at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/ Regular Storytime Tuesday, April 5 Bedtime Storytime 4/4/11

Beauty and the Beast

2011-04-04T11:02:00.013-05:00

A traditional fairytale with French origins from the 18th century, Disney's Beauty and the Beast is about a spoiled prince who makes an enchantress upset. To punish him, she casts a spell transforming him into a beast and his servants into household appliances. To break the curse, the beast must learn to love and be loved. Just beyond the woods, Belle struggles with her own burden of beauty and brains in her provincial hometown. On top of that, the village hunk targets her to be his bride.

Fifty people from the Kasson Public Library service area attended a full house of Rochester Civic Theater (RCT) musical production of Beauty and the Beast on Sunday, April 3rd at 2 pm. The children, parents and grandparents wholeheartedly enjoyed the musical and eagerly talked to each other about it. Also it was wonderful to see little girls dressed as princesses with their pretty dresses and some even had tiaras!

Last Fall Library Director Bonnie Adams obtained the Perfect Partners grant by forming a partnership with Rochester Civic Theater (RCT) and the Minnesota Library Legacy Grant program. The money offset the expense of patrons attending the three plays at Rochester Civic Theater during the 2010-2011 season. 115 K-M people attended one of the three plays and enjoyed the cultural experience that was the main goal of the grant

Minnesota Clean Water Legacy Act and Minnesota Library Legacy was voted and approved on by Minnesota voters in November, 2008.

Belle with her fans:

Some of the K-M families that attended the musical.

April New Books

2011-04-01T07:13:00.001-06:00

The Sixth Man by David Baldacci 4/19 Edgar Roy-an alleged serial killer held in a secure, fortress-like Federal Supermax facility-is awaiting trial. He faces almost certain conviction. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called in by Roy's attorney, Sean's old friend and mentor Ted Bergin, to help work the case. But their investigation is derailed before it begins-en route to their first meeting with Bergin, Sean and Michelle find him murdered. It is now up to them to ask the questions no one seems to want answered: Is Roy a killer? Who murdered Bergin? With help from some surprising allies, they continue to pursue the case. But the more they dig into Roy's past, the more they encounter obstacles, half-truths, dead-ends, false friends, and escalating threats from every direction. Their persistence puts them on a collision course with the highest levels of the government and the darkest corners of power. In a terrifying confrontation that will push Sean and Michelle to their limits, the duo may be permanently parted. Mobbed by Carol Higgins Clark 4/5 PI Regan Reilly and her husband, Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, plan to spend the weekend at the Jersey shore with her parents. Regan’s mother, suspense writer Nora Regan Reilly, will be celebrating her birthday on Saturday. But Regan’s weekend gets off to an early start when she receives a phone call from her mother asking if she’d hop on a train right away. Regan had just finished delivering bad news to a high school classmate. Hayley Patton is a successful New York City event planner, who had become suspicious that her beau, Scott, was seeing other women and hired Regan to follow him. When Hayley got the lowdown on Scott’s treachery, she vowed revenge with such vehemence that Regan is worried that Hayley might go too far. Turns out Nora had also just spoken to an agitated high school classmate. Karen Frawley Fulton, who lives in San Diego, called Nora after learning her mother’s plans for the day. To Karen’s shock, Edna Frawley just sold their home at the Jersey shore and is having a garage sale to end all garage sales. Everything the beautiful young actress Cleo Paradise left behind when she recently rented the house is up for grabs. The irrepressible Edna even rented a plane to fly over the beach touting the sale, using Cleo’s name as bait. Karen’s heading East but asks Nora to please go to the house and, she hopes, curtail any other outrageous antics her mother probably has in mind. Nora agrees and asks Regan to join her. Regan and Nora arrive at the Frawley home to find a mob of garage-sale junkies waiting at the front gate. Regan is astonished to see Scott’s brand-new fiancée, who quickly makes herself scarce. Once inside the house, Regan becomes increasingly suspicious about why Cleo left so many belongings behind when she vacated Edna’s home unexpectedly. Was she in that much of a hurry? Regan wonders. “Where did Cleo go?” is a question too many people are suddenly asking. But no one has the answer. It isn’t long before Regan finds herself searching for Cleo, whose next hours may be her last. I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark 4/5 Alexandra “Zan” Moreland, a gifted, beautiful interior designer on the threshold of a successful Manhattan career, is terrified to discover that somebody is not only using her credit cards and manipulating her financial accounts to bankrupt her and destroy her reputation, but may also be impersonating her in a scheme that may involve the much more brutal crimes of kidnapping and murder. Zan is already haunted by the disappearance of her own son, Matthew, kidnapped in broad daylight two years ago in Central Park—a tragedy that has left her torn between hope and despair. Now, on what would be Matthew’s fifth birthday, photos surface that seem to show Zan kidnapping her own child, followed by a chain of events that suggests somebody—but who? Zan asks herself desperately, and why?—has stolen her identity. Hounded by the press, under investigation by the police, attacked by both her angry ex-husband and a vindictive business rival, Zan, wracked by fear and pain and sustained only by her belief, which nobody else shares, that Matthew is still alive, sets out to discover who is behind this cruel hoax. What she does not realize is that with every step she takes toward the truth, she is putting herself— and those she loves most—in mortal danger from the person who has ingeniously plotted out her destruction. Even Zan’s supporters, who include Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner and amateur detective, and Father Aiden O’Brien, who thinks that Zan may have confessed to him a secret he cannot reveal, believe she may have kidnapped little Matthew. Zan herself begins to doubt her own sanity, until, in the kind of fast-paced explosive ending that is Mary Higgins Clark’s trademark, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with an unexpected and shocking revelation. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly 4/5 Mickey Haller (after Reversal) finds the maverick L.A. lawyer who uses his Lincoln town car as an office specializing in "foreclosure defense." Haller's first foreclosure client, Lisa Trammel, is fighting hard to keep her home, maybe too hard. The bank has gotten a restraining order to stop Trammel's protests, and she becomes the prime suspect when Mitchell Bondurant, a mortgage banker, is killed with a hammer in his office parking lot. A ton of evidence points to Trammel, but Haller crafts an impressive defense that includes "the fifth witness" of the title. Connelly has a sure command of the legal and procedural details of criminal court, and even manages to make the arcane, shady world of foreclosure interesting. Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson 4/5 Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz cooks up big trouble as she tries to help her longtime friend and fellow chef Yolanda Garcia. When the rental house shared by Yolanda and her irrepressible aunt Ferdinanda is destroyed by arson, the pair move in with cop-turned-PI Ernest McLeod. But then Ernest is shot dead and his house is set on fire, nearly killing Goldy, Yolanda, Ferdinanda, and nine beagle puppies that Ernest had recently rescued from a puppy mill. Concerned for her friends, Goldy invites them to stay with her while the sheriff’s department investigates. Yet even Goldy’s house isn’t safe, and after a failed break-in by an unknown intruder a cop is sent to keep an eye on things. Then a second body is found. Swapping her chef’s hat for a sleuthing cap, the intrepid Goldy steps up the investigation. But she’s got to move fast. It’s crunch time to close in on a killer, before he can close in on her. Miles To Go by Richard Paul Evans 4/5 Alan Christoffersen, a once-successful advertising executive, wakes one morning to find himself injured, alone, and confined to a hospital bed in Spokane, Washington. Sixteen days earlier, reeling from the sudden loss of his wife, his home, and his business, Alan left everything he knew behind and set off on an extraordinary cross-country journey. Carrying only a backpack, he planned to walk to Key West, the farthest destination on his map. But a vicious roadside stabbing has interrupted Alan’s trek and robbed him of his one source of solace: the ability to walk.Homeless and facing months of difficult recovery, Alan has nowhere to turn—until a mysterious woman enters his life and invites him into her home. Generous and kind, Angel seems almost too good to be true, but all is not as it appears. Alan soon realizes that before he can return to his own journey, he must first help Angel with hers.From one of America’s most beloved and bestselling storytellers comes an astonishing tale of life and death, love and second chances, and why sometimes the best way to heal your own suffering is by helping to heal someone else’s. Eve by Iris Johansen 4/19 The forensic sculptor zeros in on the kidnapper and serial killer who years earlier abducted and murdered her seven-year-old daughter, Bonnie. Eve's obsession with the case draws in her good friend, CIA agent Catherine Ling, as well as her lover and would-be protector, police detective Joe Quinn. In spite of their problematic relationships due to Eve's protracted and intense search, Ling and Quinn work together to call in favors and pursue every possible lead. Their joint efforts uncover a cadre of sharply drawn malefactors who may be deeply involved, notably emotionally unstable John Gallo, Eve's former lover and Bonnie's father, who spent six years as a prisoner in North Korea. The explosive finale set in the Wisconsin woods leads to an emotional cliffhanger. The Judgment by Beverly Lewis 4/5 Rose Kauffman is engaged to Silas Good, a well-liked Amish fellow, so why does she still pine for Nick Franco, the former foster son of the bishop? Especially now that Nick has left the Amish community under a cloud of suspicion after the death of the bishop's biological son? Will Rose marry Silas, even while struggling with romantic feelings for Nick? Meanwhile, Rose's older sister, Hen, has returned to live at her parents' farm with her young daughter. Hen and her modern husband, Brandon, are separated by mutual agreement, although he is threatening to sue for custody of their daughter if Hen does not return soon. Will the judge rule in Brandon's favor? Is there any way Hen can reestablish her place among the People without sacrificing her marriage? Southern Comfort by Fern Michaels 4/26 Atlanta homicide detective Patrick 'Tick' Kelly turned his back on the world the day his wife and children were murdered. Abandoning his city and his career, he holed up in a beach house on Mango Key, Florida, and drowned his grief in Jack Daniels. Now sober and a bestselling author, Tick would gladly stay a recluse forever if his brother Pete didn't keep trying to drag him back to the land of the living. After years of sacrificing her personal life in favour of her DEA job, special agent Kate Rush resigned and moved back to her native Miami. But the unofficial assignment that has just come her way is too intriguing to pass up. She and a fellow ex-agent are relocated to Mango Key to keep an eye on an imposing, mysterious fortress believed to be at the centre of a human trafficking ring. At first, the Kelly brothers are suspected of involvement, but Kate is sure Tick poses no danger - except for the slow-burning gaze that makes her breath catch and her heart race. Tick finds himself fascinated by Kate's investigation - and by her inviting mix of courage and kindness. Teaming up, they uncover a web of betrayal, blackmail, and ruthless greed. And as danger mounts, Tick realizes how far he'll go to protect the rare and surprising gift that's come his way: a second chance at a happy ending. Treason at Lisson Grove by Anne Perry 4/5 The man who lies bleeding to death in a London brickyard is no ordinary drifter but a secret informant prepared to divulge details of a potentially devastating international plot against the British government. Special Branch officer Thomas Pitt, hastening to rendezvous with him, arrives a second too late, preceded by a knife-wielding assassin. As the mortally wounded man’s life slips away, so too does the information Pitt desperately needs. The killer in turn flees on an erratic course that leads Pitt in wild pursuit, from London’s cobblestone streets to picturesque St. Malo on the French coast. Meanwhile, Pitt’s supervisor, the formidable Victor Narraway, finds himself accused of embezzling government funds. With Pitt incommunicado in France, Narraway turns to Pitt’s clever wife, Charlotte, for help. The man who badmouthed Narraway and ruined his career with innuendo can be found in Ireland—so Charlotte agrees to pose as Narraway’s sister and accompany him to Dublin to investigate. But unknown to Pitt and Narraway, a shadowy plotter is setting a trap that, once sprung, could destroy not just reputations but the British empire itself. The Silver Boat by Luanne Rice 4/5 Dar McCarthy is expecting her sisters, Delia and Rory, to join her in Martha�s Vineyard for a final visit to the family home before it has to be sold for taxes. Each of the sisters has taken a different path, and Dar is the only one remaining on the island. The house has been in the family for generations, and as the sisters reunite to pack up mementos, they broach the one subject that has haunted them, the disappearance of their father when they were young. Michael was an Irish immigrant shipbuilder, while their mother came from a prestigious New England family. Michael always maintained that his family had a land grant from the king of England on Martha�s Vineyard. Driven by the need to prove his worth, he sailed to Ireland to look for the original deed. After unearthing love letters between her parents, Dar and her sisters go to Ireland on their own quest. Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts 4/12 Celebrateing the smoke jumpers of Missoula, Mont., who routinely risk life and limb to beat down raging forest fires. As close knit as any military combat unit, the "Zulies" include veteran Rowan Tripp, haunted by the loss of Jim Brayner, her onetime jump partner who was killed the previous season in a fall, and rookie Gulliver Curry, who soon earns the nickname "Fast Feet" for his speed and prowess. Threatening trouble is cook Dolly Brakeman, Jim's girlfriend, who blames Rowan for his death—and whose new baby may well be Jim's. Rowan and Gull grow closer as the team battles fires from Montana and Idaho to California and Alaska. Meanwhile, the Zulies are plagued by vandalism and sabotage as well as a killer with arson among his crimes. Save Me by Lisa Scottoline 4/12 Suburban mom Susan Pressman is forced to make a split-second decision after an explosion goes off in the school cafeteria in which she volunteers. Should she rescue her own daughter, Melly, trapped in the bathroom, or lead the girls standing in front of her, who constantly bully her daughter, to safety? Her choice reverberates throughout the little town of Reesburgh, Pennsylvania, as she is cast as the villain by the local news anchor, parents, and the school. While her attorney and husband construct a defense plan that includes filing a lawsuit against the school, Susan sets out to seek the truth behind this mysterious, accidental fire. With the help of a construction worker who may know the cause of the explosion as well as an incognito visit to a local factory, Susan slowly unravels the truth and along with it some hidden secrets in Reesburgh�s dark past, including one horrifying buried memory of her own 44 Charles Street by Danielle Steel 4/15 After her boyfriend and business partner leaves her, Manhattan art dealer Francesca Thayer is forced to take in boarders in order to save her beloved home. In short order, she rents out rooms to Eileen, a young teacher; Marya, a famous chef; and Chris, an attractive single father. They all become close friends, but their lives remain chaotic. Eileen falls in love with tattooed men, Marya has a persistent, married suitor, and Chris gains full custody of his son as his ex-wife becomes increasingly erratic. Along the way, Francesca stops worrying about what might have been, and becomes more involved in the world around her-romances, plumbing problems, and all. While addressing the recession, the lethal danger of Internet dating, and the evils of drug abuse, Steel keeps the tone gentle and soothing in this warm, cozy tale about the triumph of love, friendship, and second chances. Bel-Air Dead by Stuart Woods 4/26 Stone Barrington receives a rather unexpected phone call from Arrington Calder, the ex-girlfriend with whom he has a son. Arrington's much older husband, the actor Vance Calder, has just died, leaving her a fortune in Centurion Studios stock. Arrington has plans for the money and asks Stone to represent her in the sale of the company. But when he arrives at her home in Bel-Air to finalize the deal, things take a nasty turn. It seems many of Hollywood's rich and beautiful have Arrington and Centurion in their sights, and Stone finds himself dragged into a surprisingly deadly web of intrigue.

Lamb Storytime Week of March 28

2011-03-29T12:58:00.008-06:00

Lambs were the subject of this week's storytime. Children's Laibrarian Ingvild chose a really cute lamb craft for the children and they loved coloring, folding and gluing their project. Thanks Ingvild for all of your hard work and dedication. Just Like Home Daycare Thursday, March 31 Wednesday, March 30 Tuesday, March 29

Additional Pictures can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/page2/

K-M Residents to Attend Beauty & the Beast Musical

2011-03-28T11:21:00.000-06:00

Last Fall Kasson Public Library partnered with Rochester Civic Theater's Perfect Partner's grant. This grant made tickets available to KM residents as part of the greater Minnesota Library Legacy Grant. Fifty residents of the Kasson-Mantorville area will attend the musical Beauty and the Beast on Sunday, April 3rd at 2pm. There is a great mix of children, parents, and grandparents going to the play to make it a great trip for all ages to enjoy a timeless musical.

Bike Rack is Back!

2011-03-25T09:46:00.006-06:00

After being gone for the winter months our improved bike rack is back thanks to city worker Al Riedel. The much larger bike rack was hit by many cars, trucks etc. and was becoming a harzard and needed to be replaced. Al took on the task of designing a smaller version, fits about 4 bikes, that would fit between two poles and be more friendly to vehicles. Thank you Al for helping us maintain a bike rack for the residents of Kasson.

Spring Is Here Storytime 3/21

2011-03-24T09:14:00.001-06:00

Spring was this week's storytime theme. The children loved the stories that children's Liabrarian Ingvild read to them. They also created a small mural that hang at our front door and the children were excited to help place their handprints into flowers. Stop by and look at the mural. Additional pictures may be view at :http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Just Like Home Daycare Storytime on Thursdays

Wednesday Storytime Tuesday Storytime

Bedtime Storytime

NEW FEATURE-Cup of Coffee, Tea or Hot Cocoa for your enjoyment!

2011-03-18T08:48:00.005-06:00

The Friends of the Library and Library Staff are excited to announce that coffee, tea, and hot cocoa is available for library patrons for $1.00.

Patrons had approach the staff over the years and asked if coffee or covered drinks could be brought into the library and enjoyed while they look for their library items. The staff talked to the Friends' of the Library about this issue and President Judy Wagener decided to donate a Keurig mini brewer to the Library. Now patrons can choose from a variety of coffee, hot chocolate, or tea to sip while you are in the library.

Stop by and have a cup of coffee or invite your friends to discuss your favorite book over a cup of coffee. The Library staff and Friends looks forward to seeing you!

St. Patrick's Day and Seniors at Prairie Meadows

2011-03-17T11:00:00.000-06:00

Friend of the Library member Arlene Wallin and Library Director Bonnie Adams made their monthly visit to the seniors at Prairie Meadows to talk about St. Pat's Day. We told jokes and toasts, talked about legends and superstitions.

When the seniors were asked who were Irish just one spoke up and two said they were orange Irish not green, the rest were of Scandinavian decent. Most seniors present did know the difference between green and orange Irish. I explained to the others that green represents catholics and orange represents protestants which in Ireland is a big distinction.
Everyone enjoyed the program and the green ribbons handed out.

St. Pat's Day Storytime 3/14

2011-03-15T09:20:00.002-06:00

This week everyone was Irish with our St Patrick's Day theme for the children. They heard some great stories about leprechauns and pots of gold and were really excited to chose from many green items to glue to their shamrock picture.

Minnesota Greatest Generation Exhibit Bus Trip

2011-03-11T09:57:00.025-06:00

The Kasson Library received a Minnesota Library Legacy Grant from the Minnesota Historical Center and formed a partnership with the area community education departments to offer a free trip to the Minnesota Greatest Generation exhibit on Thursday, March 10, 2011 The bus trip, tickets, and the history players were all provided FREE through this grant. The Kasson Library was honored to be a part of this memorable experience for our area seniors.

73 people rode two buses up to St. Paul to the history center to experience this wonderful exhibit. Many who attended talked about how they lived through the depression, the war years and talked about their personal experiences. It was great for me to listen to them and hear about some of the displays. A very worthwhile exhibit for all ages and I would highly recommend taking your children and grandchildren to it. Additional pictures of this event can be found at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassonlibrary/

Minnesota History Center actress as Author Maude Hart Lovelace. Library Director Bonnie Adams with Maude.

Earlene King, Arlene Wallin and Pay Coy help Maude Hart Lovelace out with her story.

People who saw the exhibit: Red Hat Society Members, Lucy Baker, Dodge Center people

Pictures Minnesota Greatest Generation Exhibit

Wall of Contributor Names