DB69481 When Everything Changes, Change Everything by Neale Donald Walsch

DB68513 A Lifetime of Wisdom, Embracing the Way God Heals You by Joni Eareckson Tada

DB72501 Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive: 101 Inspirational Stories about Counting Your Blessings and Having a Positive Attitude by Jack Canfield and others

DB68923 Never Give Up: Relentless Determination to Overcome Life’s Challenges by Joyce Meyer

DB73781 Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier Seven Days a Week by Joel Osteen

DB73924 Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan

DB73955 Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well by Billy Graham

DB68583 How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth) by Henry Alford    Humorist Alford interviews well-known people over 70 who share a variety of experiences.

DB 68937 – Rescue Your Money (Ric Edelman)

DB 69694 – Getting Back to Even (Jim Cramer)

DB 67859 – Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan (Suze Orman)

DB 69533 – AARP Retirement Survival Guide (Julie Jason)

DB 70720 – First Budget Smarts – for young adults (Judy Peterson)

DB 72343 – A Purse of Your Own (for women) (Deborah Owens)

DB 69499 – Estate Planning for People with a Chronic Condition or Disability (Matthw Shenkman)

The National Library Service has contracted with two news-content and media-placement services to prepare and distribute newspaper, radio, and television features about the talking book and braille program.  The two services offer the features free of copyright and free of charge.

The first of those features is now available to newspapers across the U.S.  It is entitled “Money Matters for Visually Impaired People” and focuses on how important it is for blind and physically disabled people to understand the economy and personal finance.

You may read the feature at www.napsnet.com/articles/68007.html.

Two community partnerships help us find those giving people who help us help you.  The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and the Morton High School special education program have been long term partners that connect us with willing hands and caring hearts.  The four  Morton High School special needs students come with a job coach that teaches them the task, oversees their work, and works with them on basic work and socialization skills.  These talented coaches  teach students to say thank you, how to use a microwave at lunch, and how to manage their tasks effectively.  The RSVP volunteers are  retired people who give us a portion of their week year after year.  They are both sunny, dependable people who either pull books for mailing or open the returned containers to speed up the check-in process.   Two other community people come in weekly to open containers to help check in books or  to fill in where needed on special projects.

Having been a volunteer myself,  I can tell you what a rewarding experience it is to do something to help others.  I have knitted hats and scarves for the homeless and lapghans for hospice, manned the Salvation Army kettles at Christmas, worked food booths for Kiwanis, …  It makes me feel good to help and adds much to my life.  As the director of Mid-Illinois Talking Books Center, I can tell you it also makes be feel good to be on the receiving end of the help.    If you have time, consider giving back to your community.  It enriches your own life while helping others who need it.  We are doing okay, but there are many other organizations that would benefit from your time and help.

The following titles can provide you with more information and adventure.

DB 66711 Beyond Reach:  The Search for the Titanic” by William Hoffman

An account of the 1981 search for the wreck of the Titanic.  It also recounts the Titanic’s sinking.

DB 71644 “Disasters:  Natural and Man-Made Catastrophes through the Centuries” by Brenda Guiberson

Written for grades 6 – 9, this title includes the sinking of the Titanic, the 1930′s Dust Bowl and other disasters.

DB 72188 “Voyage of the Great Titanic:  The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady” by Ellen Emerson White

Written for grades 4-7, this is the fictional diary of a 13-year-old aboard the Titanic.

DB 48575 “Raise the Titanic!” by Clive Cussler

This fictional book describes Cussler’s character, Dirk Pitt’s adventurous attempt to raise the ship.

A salesperson ignores your requests

A fellow driver responds with a vulgar gesture

Your child’s playmate misbehaves

Your boss publicly reprimands you

We find ourselves in a world where we are confronted by rudeness every day  Because rudeness begets rudeness many of us are not sure how to respond.  We have received some books that will inform us how to confront these difficult situations by being assertive as well as civil.

DB 69018 ” The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude” by P.M. Forni        The author asserts that we want to stand up for ourselves when others are trying to put us down.  We need to reply to rudeness without becoming aggressive, contentious, litigious, or argumentative.   He states that,  “civility may not be an appropriate response to every act of rudeness, but it is surely the place to start.”

DB69993  “Excuse Me, But I Was Next: How to Handle the Top One Hundred Manners Dilemmas by Peggy Post (great-granddaughter-in-law of Emily Post)

The book covers 100 etiquette dilemmas that turn up in everyday life.  Everything from what constitutes black tie and white tie down to whether an e-mail thank you is ever appropriate.   To Peggy Post, etiquette is used to make others feel comfortable and to prevent hurt feelings that can ruin a group’s ability to enjoy itself.  The book is full of wonderful examples that model proper responses to uncomfortable situations

DB67124  “Isn’t It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check?  Dealing with All of the Trickiest Money Problems Between Family and  Friends–from Serial Borrowers to Serious Cheapskates”  by Jeanne Fleming and Leonard Schwarz

These authors dissect a host of thorny, sometimes comic, inevitably awkward, and frequently infuriating money-and-ethics problems that arise among friends, relatives and neighbors.  Bequests and gifts can also lead to acrimony that shatters families and friendships.  This book explains how to resolve these issues and more importantly, how to avoid them in the first place.

DB 69709 Emily Post’s Table Manners for Kids by Peggy Post   This book opens with a quote from the twentieth-century etiquette expert, Emily Post.  “The purpose of table manners is “to avoid ugliness.”  One of the best gifts a parent can give their child is to teach them how to behave at a public gathering in such a way that they will not  embarrass themselves or others around them.

This book is written for young people  seven to twelve years of age,  but parents of children at any age will find this book useful.  The reader will learn that anything gross is simply something to be avoided at all costs.  The reader will learn what to do when they spill something, how to react when they find something unwelcome in their food, how to engage others in conversation at the table, and learn about manners they might need in different types of settings (potlucks, picnics, buffets, etc).   The material in this book is educational as well as entertaining.

DB68850 ”Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age; Mistress of American Manners” by Laura P. Claridge    This is a biography of the 20th Century etiquette expert.  The book describes Post’s privileged upbringing, her scandalous 1906 divorce and her decision to work as a fiction writer to support her family.  Ms Post’s first book of manners was published in 1922 when she was 50 years old.

DB 69864 – All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less

DB 66173 – Fallscaping: Extending your garden season into Autumn

DB 67452 – Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate: The founder of an organic farm and garden program describes 7 principles that influence her garden work & instructions to follow her example.

DB 67838 – Grow It-Cook It: Explains gardening basics.

DB 68366 – Gardening When It Counts – Growing food in hard times.

DB 69189 – Our Life in Gardens – Life partners who co-founded a landscape design firm share gardening history and lessons they’ve learned.

DB 66349 – Dog-Friendly Gardens:Garden-Friendly Dogs – Tips on harmoniously keeping both a garden and a dog.

DB 69998 – Designing the New Kitchen Garden:An American Potager Handbook –Landscape designer discusses year-round kitchen gardens for herbs and vegetables plus ornamental perennials.

DB 69712 – Covering Ground – Ideas for landscaping with colorful and low-maintenance flowers, shrubs, etc.

DB 71745 – The Non-Stop Garden – Step by step guide to smart plant choices and landscaping.

DB 69246 – Plant-Driven Design: Creating gardens that honor plants, place and spirit.

This is the week that all little boys and girls go to bed and wake up with new books in their stockings.  Well, no, but wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?  It IS the week that you celebrate one of the greatest organizations in the world–your library!

National Library Week began in 1958 to celebrate the contributions of all types of libraries to your life.  Remember how your mother read you books as a child, the joy of choosing the first book you wanted to read from the library, and the excitement of knowing your favorite author just published a new book?  If you use a public library, did you go to story hour as a child and learn finger plays and catchy songs, attend educational or how-to programs, or use the library’s computers to apply for a job or do research?

When you found Talking Books, did you find the reader adviser that brightened your life by talking to you about books and connecting you to great authors, narrators, and series?   Did the talking book center feel like a group of new friends?  Did you join the winter reading program and win a prize?  Did your books show up often and when you needed them?

If you have experienced any of those things, remember to celebrate libraries this week.  Introduce a friend to the library experience, share a good book with a family member, and thank your library for being there.

DB 66850 “Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying” by David Bach and Hillary Rosner

DB 67574 “My Space/Our Planet:  Change is Possible” by Tom Anderson (for grades 6-9)

DB 68195 “Careers in Renewable Energy: Get a Green Energy Job” by Gregory McNamee

DB 68733 “The Green Bride Guide:  How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget”  by Kate L. Harrison

DB 69573 “True Green Kids:  One Hundred Things You Can Do to Save the Planet” by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin (for grades 3-6)

DB 69820 “Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life” by Linda Sivertsen and Tosh Sivertsen

DB 70202 “Ed Begley Jr: Living Green” by Robert Grayson (for grades 4-7)

DB 70305 “Sleeping Naked is Green:  How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged her Fridge, Sold her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days” by Venessa Fairquharson

DB 70499 “Recycle this Book: One Hundred Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green” by Dan Gutman

DB72572   Reading the Man: A portrait of Robert E. Lee through His Private Letters by Elizabeth Brown Pryor   The author uses personal letters of Robert E. Lee to recap the life of the Confederate general.

DB73236    Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything by Kevin Cook    “Titanic” is a gambler from rural Arkansas whose exploits included five murders and won and lost him millions.

DB73132  Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda   Biography of T. E. Lawrence, the British officer who led Arab armies against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

DB72189  The Last Empress:  Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China by Hannah Pakula   Traces the path of Soong May-ling from Western-educated daughter of a wealthy Christian family to wife of Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek.

If you are more interested in people born in the twentieth century the following books may be of interest.

DB73177  Robert A Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century: Volume 1, 1907 -1948, Learning Curve by William H Patterson, Jr.  Portrait of award-winning science fiction writer Rober A Heinlein.

DB73428  Jeannie Out of the Bottle by Barbara Eden    Actress Barbara Eden reminisces about her career in Hollywood including her starring role on “I Dream of Jeannie”.

DB73151 Thriller: The Musical Life of Michael Jackson by George, Nelson  Explores the origin of nine songs on Michael Jackson’s album, Thriller.  Chronicles Jackson’s musical rise and his impact on pop-culture.

DB72665 Hoda: How I survied War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer and Kathie Lee by Hoda Kotb  Newscaster Hoda Kotb chronicles her career as a reporter for Dateline and the Today Show.  Also discusses her personal life through a divorce and cancer in the same year.