Trapping, Hunting & Fishing:Two Programs Coming Up

Saturday, September 24 at 3:00pm, join us at the library with Frank Grindrod of EarthWork Programs who will teach the art and skill of trapping in his workshop Trapping: The Sacred Harvest. Bring a knife and be prepared to go outside to learn the intricacies of finding and following tracks in nature in order to build traps.

Wednesday, September 28 at 7:00pm, Brian Hawthorne of Fisheries and Wildlife will speak about Hunting and Fishing in Massachusetts. The season is approaching and now is time to learn about these skills.

These programs are brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

BE PREPARED

Saturday September 17 at 4:00pm, join us at the Worthington Library to hear local author, Kathy Harrison speaking about her book JUST IN CASE. Most of us in the hilltowns have had to deal with power outages, ice storms and deep snow. This year we even had a tropical storm! Were you prepared for a week without power? Do you know where you would go or what to take if you had to leave? What about your pets? Kathy will talk about many of the things we might not have thought of. Don't miss this informative discussion, part of the year long series based on The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Be self sufficient when the unexpected happens.

This program is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Authors to present "Veggie Tips" on Wednesday

At 7 pm on Wednesday September 7, the Worthington Library will be hosting authors Ron and Jennifer Kujawski. Their book, The Week by Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook, inspires their talk and slide program, "Veggie Tips." They will discuss techniques to use to get an early start on the vegetable garden in spring and to extend the harvest in fall. They will also discuss soil enrichment via cover crops, space saving methods, and provide a few tips for food preservation.
Come in out of the rain and join us for this informative program!

New Book Reviews

New books deserve a look. See what our reviewer, Susan Arthen, has to say:

Hotwire by Alex Kava

This book is described as a thriller and is apparently the 9^th book by Kava featuring Maggie O'Dell as an FBI profiler. I haven't read any other of the novels featuring O'Dell but I plant to do so after reading this one. She is skillfully drawn as a talented, intelligent and resourceful character which is of course, requisite. However, just a skillfully revealed are her "ordinary" qualities- her anxiety about her life partner, the mistakes she realizes she has just made, her confusion while sorting out a bizarre case of electrocuted teens and so she is more readily perceived as a regular person. The mystery she is working on is interwoven with the case her FBI partner is working on, a deadly pathogen showing up in school lunches, and this leads to a USDA corruption scandal. Sound too predictable? I can guarantee there are enough well thought out twists and sub-plots in Hotwire to keep you interested!

Lot's Return to Sodom by Sandra Brennan

This book begins with Liv Bergen visiting her family in their hometown territory in the Black Hills of South Dakota while recuperating from the injuries she received in the 1st book of this series, "In the Belly of Jonah". During Liv's visit, her brother's girlfriend is murdered during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which draws over 500,000 bikers to the Black Hills each summer. I liked that it is a stand alone book, and that I didn't feel as though I was missing something by not having read the first book. You are drawn into the story and that she ended up in the middle of this particular investigation is smoothly handled. Puzzling out who the killer was and in the end having the killer be both surprising and someone who was woven into the action all along makes this a great read for those who loves the suspense novels.

A Grown Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

Jackson takes you on an interesting journey as she builds the story in A Grown Up Kind of Pretty. It is multi-generational, though Ginny, the oldest is only 45, and bases the narrative on the fact that every 15 years some kind of trouble up ends her life. One story line is about her daughter Liza, and her daughter Mosey, whose blood connection comes into question when a grave with an infant's skeleton is found in Ginny's back yard. Another is about Ginny's relationship in the past with the love of her life, who was married (but separated!) at the beginning of their relationship and is now divorced. A third story line is about Liza, and who fathered her child, and who now is recovering from a stroke. Each story line is well thought out, holds hidden information that gets revealed with excellent timing and weaves in with the other story lines pretty seamlessly. You get attached to the characters immediately and can't wait to see how everything works out.

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

This book works well for readers of history and readers of fiction as well. Taking the facts of the assassination attempt on President Garfield, Millard narrates a totally believable story about Garfield, elected president by acclamation, an office he attempted to avoid. It was clearly a loss to the nation, a bad case of what might have been had he lived, that rises up off the pages. What was even more horrific is that Garfield, shot by a deranged man within weeks of taking office, is basically killed by his own doctor. I was cringing every few pages as the story reveals his medical care from the moment he fell to the floor of the train station right up to his final moments because I knew how much was going wrong based on medical knowledge today. What is tragic is that the idea of germs, of keeping things sterile, and finding the exact location of the bullet within Garfield were all just newly known then but not accepted at all. And so a possibly great President died a painful and tragic death. Since I do not, as a rule, read non-fiction history books, the combination of fact and story was quite appealing and informative.

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

This is a terrific thriller with an extremely talented serial killer as the focus. Of course you immediately root for Keye Streete, the ex-FBI profiler who has been getting by on small investigative jobs after getting sober. As she gets closer to the killer, the killer seems to be making attempts to keep her out of the way of the investigation, which confuses things of Keye. A decent amount of solid red herring work, a twist near the end that works even though it seems to come out of no-where, a stupid ex-husband and a current but unacknowledged love interest provide a fully fledged book that intrigues right to the last page.

Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping

The Worthington Library Presents

EDIBLE PERENNIAL GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING

with

JOHN ROOT

Saturday August 27
4:00pm at the
Worthington Library


Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping is a comprehensive introduction to the variety of delicious vegetables, fruits, and nuts that can be grown in the Northeast, including both traditional and novel planting selections. This presentation includes basic gardening tips for establishing perennial herbs, vines, shrubs and trees that will yield abundant crops year after year throughout the growing season with minimal maintenance. Participants learn how to integrate the needs of plants, beneficial insects and soil organisms using organic gardening techniques. Everyone is offered samples of edible perennial fruits and nuts for tasting. Handouts with resources for further study and recommended sources of seeds and plants will be available.

This program is brought to you with federal funds provided by the institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

New Books, Summer Reading and Mushrooms

First of all, there are a lot of new books to read at the library You will find a bit of everything from romance to science fiction on the new books shelf. Don't forget to look at the new CD shelf, too! Both young adults and kids will find some treasures featured on shelves in their areas - look for the "New" stickers and you'll have quite a treat.

This Thursday, August 18 at 10:30, we will host the Summer Reading Party with DJ, Into the Groove. This year our reading program, One World, Many Stories, has partnered with Heifer International. The more books read, the more money will be donated to provide an animal through Heifer's "Read to Feed" program. If you want to help them out, the kids have made a donation can which is on the circulation desk.

Last, but not least, coming up next Saturday, August 20 from 3 - 6pm is a workshop on Mushroom Log Inoculation. In this hands on workshop, we will be drilling oak logs and inoculating them with edible mushroom spore. Participants will be able to take home a log (as long as they last) and grow their own delicious mushrooms. Local mushroom enthusiast, Martin Bridge will be conducting this workshop.

Summer Reading starts this week

Join us on Thursdays this summer as we explore "One World, Many Stories" with Heifer International as our partner. This year's summer reading program gets off to a start on Thursday, July 14 at 10:30 am with storyteller, Eshu Bumpus.

Let's not leave out the adults! Novel Destinations is the theme as we embark on new horizons. This month's book club pick is The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King. Pick up a copy of this Holmesian mystery at the library. Our discussion is Thursday, July 28 at 7:00 pm.

New Book Shelf

Quite a number of new books have been cataloged recently. Many of them are children's books. There is a wonderful series on cooking from cuisines around the world, Cool World Cooking. Easy to follow pictures and simple recipes guide the young chef to success with a little help from adults. These are great confidence builders and they also tie in with our summer reading program, "One World, Many Stories" and the discussions we have been having about local food this year. Don't forget to take a look at the young persons' edition of the Omnivore's Dilemma.

Also written for juniors is a very informative series on weather. The series title is Science of the Skies and it has such titles as Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Clouds and Snow. The six books of this series have phenomenal photographs and clear, scientific explanations.

In junior fiction, my favorite is The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens. At first, I thought this might be another of the children save their parents or the world books so popular after the Harry Potter series came to an end. While The Emerald Atlas begins in a similar fashion to the His Dark Materials series by Pullman, this first book in The Books of Beginning quickly shows a greater depth to its characters and much more challenging twists of fate for the children to navigate. I found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading; only very compelling characters crawl into my head when I am not watching. I eagerly await the next book in the series. Make sure you put this one on your list, too.

On the adult shelf, look for Faith by Jennifer Haigh and Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda:

Faith by Jennifer Haigh

What could be more intriguing than a family drama where the much beloved son and brother, Art, a priest, is accused of molesting the son of his housekeeper. And in this case, he is innocent. With the news coverage still tracking molestation cases, and the outrage many of us feel about them, it is easy to forget that not all those accused are guilty. The characters all ring true; their strengths and foibles make you want to have everything work out in the end. It does, but not in any way that is predictable.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

The stories of the adoption of children from other countries by parents from the United States is a popular topic these days, from totally fictional accounts to memoirs. The challenges of a couple from different cultures and countries has also been thoroughly explored. Secret Daughter wrestles with both of these situations in a deft and interesting way. In some ways, there is a degree of predictability- the couple in question sadly underestimated how undermining their family of origin traditions are to their relationship and neither of the pair seem to have a clue. Weave in the strand of raising their daughter, who is of the same nationality as her father, and it is obvious that her mother becomes the odd one out. However, there is a subtlety, almost a sneakiness, to the degree of denial all three main characters indulge in and as things unwind you find yourself talking to the characters aloud, wanting them to shape up. An important lesson that is being offered here is the cost of unconsciously living your life on autopilot and then making some choices to wake up.

Passes for the summer

The library now has the following passes:

The Berkshire Museum thanks to the Friends of the Library

Historic Deerfield thanks to the Worthington Historical Society

The Clark Art Museum thanks to the Clark (this pass activates in June)

Plan your vacation to include one of these outstanding museums. The library has information about upcoming shows or you can check out their websites.

Movie time

On Saturday April 2, we showed the movie, The World According to Monsanto. We had a good number of people attend and they got a special treat! We were able to show the movie on our new 72" screen, using a projector which runs from a computer. New speakers rounded out the set-up so we can proudly say we now have a proper movie theater setting. A set of comfortable new chairs add to the experience.

Our next movie is The Lion in Winter showing April 14 at 7:oopm. We hope to make our movie nights more attractive to more people by adjusting time of day and day of the week, so if you have a preference, please let us know at the library. Coming attractions will include some of the newest films available. Put your selection on our queue!

Movie on Saturday

Saturday April 2 at 4:00pm, the Worthington Library will host the movie, The World According to Monsanto. This is a movie which investigates the many questions surrounding genetically modified foods and seeds and their ubiquitous but unrecognized presence in our lives. Following the film, there will be a question and answer session by Ed Stockman of Plainfield.

This program is part of our study of The Omnivore's Dilemma and is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

MAPLE DAY AND MORE

The Worthington Library would like to invite you to join us for a celebration of MAPLE DAY. We encourage you to enjoy yourself at our local sugar houses on Saturday March 26. The sugar houses are listed below with their hours of operation. Tell them the library sent you!

High Hopes Farm Sugar House

Karen and Brian Rowe

11232 Huntington Road

413 238 5919

Sat and Sun: 7:00AM – 2:00PM

http://highhopesmaple.com/

Justamere Tree Farm

JP and Marion Welch

Patterson Road

413 238 5902

https://justameretreefarm.com/

The Red Bucket Sugar Shack

LeAnn and Jeff Mason

584 KinneBrook Road

413 238 7710

Sat: 8:00AM – 2:00PM

Sun: 8:00AM – 3:00PM

Snowshoe Farm

David Gage and Paul Sena

151 Buffington Hill Road

413 238 5922

OPEN HOUSE: 2:00PM – 4:00PM

Free hot dogs and 2 new maple soda flavors

Windy Hill

Jerry Mollison

Sam Hill Road

413 238 5378

Sat and Sun: 8:00AM – 3:00PM

Call for extended hours

After you have eaten your fill of delicious pancakes and local maple syrup, head for the Cummington Community House where Sarah Stockwell-Arthen is presenting the Earth Hour Concert beginning with a Kid’s Dance at 5:00pm, a potluck at 6:00pm and Sarah’s concert at 7:30. Lights go out for an hour at 8:30 to celebrate Earth Hour around the world – bring a candle in a jar! If you have been attending the Library’s events related to Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, you know how wonderful a performer she is!

On Sunday, March 27 at 2 PM, a video titled "KARIN AND BOB COOK: SURVIVING

INDEPENDENTLY IN A MODERN WORLD" will be shown publicly for the first time

at the Worthington Historical Society. This tribute to the Cooks is part of the WHS's

ongoing oral history project. It was created by Helen and Ed Pelletier of Berkshire Hills

Productions, and includes interviews by Kate Ewald and Pat Kennedy. The project was

funded, in part, through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The video is about an hour long, two parts, and focuses on the story of the Cooks' arrival

in Worthington in the early 1970s and their decision to live off the land as simply as

possible. They describe their maple syrup business, their wreath making and wood

harvesting ventures, raising their kids off the grid with almost no modern conveniences

(they powered their single lamp at night with a car battery) and Karin's life as an artist.

Join us during this weekend to celebrate local sustainability. We’ll see you there!

The Kitchen Gardener

Saturday, February 26 at 4:00 pm
The Worthington Library will host

JAMES BOWLES, THE KITCHEN GARDENER
A free clinic featuring

Strategies for coping with climate change, disease, pests and other challenges

Create beautiful, bountiful organic gardens on your property

This program is part of a year-long discussion of The Omnivore's Dilemma and related themes at the Worthington Library and is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

February is packed with exciting events

Snow or no, February is packed with exciting events you won't want to miss beginning with Movie Night at 7:00 pm on Thursday the 10th when we will watch Despicable Me.

The Friends of the Library's Midwinter BOOK SALE will be held on Saturday the 12th at the Town Hall from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Early birds may shop starting at 9:00am for a fee. If you have books to contribute, take them to the Town Hall Stage during the week. To volunteer to help set up or take down the book sale, call Laurie at 238-4229 or Susan at 238-0047.

The first discussion group for The Omnivore's Dilemma will be held on Wednesday the 16th at 7:00pm at the library. We will be discussing the first meal - an industrial agricultural model based on corn.

On February 26 at 4:00pm stop by the library to hear James Bowles, The Kitchen Gardener, speak about creating kitchen gardens and growing vegetables year round.

These last two programs are part of the On the Same Program which is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. All programs are free of charge. Refreshments will be provided.

Free Concert at Historical Society

Tonight! Saturday, January 22
7:00 pm
at the
Worthington Historical Society

The Worthington Library presents

Sarah Stockwell-Arthen
in concert

Come to the heart of Worthington for a free winter evening of music and community! Refreshments will be served.

Pick up a copy of the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen and get On the Same Page! Discussions start soon.

This program is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.