Upcoming Events at HPL

Winter evening storytimes 6:45 pm, Monday, April 2 Storytelling, picture books, finger plays, holidays tales and special fun. Each session ends with a craft. Registration required. Please call 722-7276, x230 Youth Services

Winter morning storytimes 11:00 am, Tuesday, April 3 Storytelling, picture books, finger plays, holidays tales and special fun. Each session ends with a craft. Registration required. Please call 722-7276, x230 Youth Services

Gluten Free Cooking 6:00 PM, Tuesday April 3 Jeanette Waite, a nutritionist with Mercy Health Partners will discuss gluten free cooking. She’ll explain what it is and how to do it. She’ll have recipes and samples! Meets in the Julia Hackley Room. Free and open to the public. Brought to you through the generosity of the PNC Foundation.

Muskegon County Genealogical Society 6:30 – 9:30 pm, Tuesday, April 3 Muskegon County Genealogical Society Board meeting at the Torrent House.

Marbelized Easter Eggs 2:00 - 4:00 pm, Wednesday, April 4 Bring 2 or more hardboiled eggs. HPL’s Egg-stravaganza! Make amazing marbleized eggs with dots and stripes, initials and swirls. Drop in anytime during event hours. Families bring their own hardboiled eggs to take part.. Youth Services Department

Tech Wednesday-Publisher 2:30 pm, Wednesday, April 4 Tech Wednesdays Each class will cover a specific topic and run from 30 – 60 minutes. No registration is required, just show up! All classes will start at 2:30 pm in the Julia Hackley Room. If you have your own laptop feel free to bring it along, otherwise these are watch and learn classes. April 4 Publisher

Good Yarn Knitters 5:30 pm, Wednesday, April 4 Open to knitters of all skill levels, from beginners to advanced. Learn to knit, hone your skills, help other knitters! For more information call 231-722-7276 and ask for Jocelyn

Computer Class-Advanced Beginner 10:00 am, Thursday, April 5 Computer classes are offered on Thursdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. We provide the computers. Attendees should already be comfortable using a mouse and with basic computer skills. Space is limited to 18 people, and you may have to share a computer. Call 231-722-7276 two weeks before the start of class to register.

Computer Class-Advanced Beginner 1:00 pm, Thursday, April 5 Computer classes are offered on Thursdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. We provide the computers. Attendees should already be comfortable using a mouse and with basic computer skills. Space is limited to 18 people, and you may have to share a computer. Call 231-722-7276 two weeks before the start of class to register.

Paleo Joe-The Science Guy 2:00 pm, Saturday, April 7 Paleo Joe dresses the part of a “Digger” and introduces animals, plants, and creatures that have been extinct for millions of years. His high energy program brings life to these creatures of long ago. Join us to see what Paleo Joe digs up...Dinosaurs? Maybe. Youth Services Department

Winter evening storytimes 6:45 pm, Monday, April 9 Storytelling, picture books, finger plays, holidays tales and special fun. Each session ends with a craft. Registration required. Please call 722-7276, x230 Youth Services

Yarnspinners 7:00 - 9:00 pm, Wednesday, April 9 Muskegon's own storytelling group. Torrent House

Ulysses Group 10:00 am, Tuesday, April 10 Led by Fran Fisher, this book discussion group meets in the Julia Hackley Room of the Library on the second Tuesday of each month at 10:00-11:30 am. For more information call 231-722-7276 x 222.

Winter morning storytimes 11:00 am, Tuesday, April 10 Storytelling, picture books, finger plays, holidays tales and special fun. Each session ends with a craft. Registration required. Please call 722-7276, x230 Youth Services

Zumba! 6:00 PM, Tuesday April 10 Are you ready to party yourself into shape? That’s exactly what the Zumba� program is all about. It’s an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party™ that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health. Zumba Fitness� is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music, created by Grammy Award-winning producers, and contagious steps to form a "fitness-party" that is downright addictive. Learn more with Lois Morris as she leads an introductory class. Meets in the Julia Hackley Room. Free and open to the public.

MS Support Group 5:30 - 6:30 pm, Wednesday, April 11 Torrent House

Good Yarn Knitters 5:30 pm, Wednesday, April 11 Open to knitters of all skill levels, from beginners to advanced. Learn to knit, hone your skills, help other knitters! For more information call 231-722-7276 and ask for Jocelyn. This week only we'll meet at the Torrent House

Paddling Michigan's Hidden Beauty with Doc Fletcher 6:00 pm Wednesday, April 11 Please join us as PBS-featured Michigan author Doc Fletcher presents river trips from his new book, "Paddling Michigan's Hidden Beauty". The program is an hour-long photographic journey on 7 rivers from the book, plus an urban paddling adventure down the Chicago River. Hear what makes each river uniquely fun, learn about histories of towns along the riverbanks, and of local, old-time, taverns in those towns where you can relax and relive the day's river adventure. Free and open to the public. At the end of the program one attendee will have her/his name drawn to win a gift certificate good for a free canoe or kayak day trip down a Michigan river (winner may choose from several river options). For those interested, Doc will sign and sell copies of his four books. Visit his website at www.canoeingmichiganrivers.com to check out his books (at 'What's New/Doc's books") and river adventures. Meets in the Julia Hackley Room. Brought to you through the generosity of the PNC Foundation.

Yarnspinners 7:00 - 9:00 pm, Wednesday, April 11 Muskegon's own storytelling group. Torrent House

Computer Class-Word Processing 10:00 am, Thursday, April 12 Computer classes are offered on Thursdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. We provide the computers. Attendees should already be comfortable using a mouse and with basic computer skills. Space is limited to 18 people, and you may have to share a computer. Call 231-722-7276 two weeks before the start of class to register.

Computer Class-Word Processing 1:00 pm, Thursday, April 12 Computer classes are offered on Thursdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. We provide the computers. Attendees should already be comfortable using a mouse and with basic computer skills. Space is limited to 18 people, and you may have to share a computer. Call 231-722-7276 two weeks before the start of class to register.

Annual Friends of the Library Book Sale Public Sale: Friday and Saturday April 13 and 14, 9:00 - 5:00. At the Walker Arena Annex. $3 bucks-a-bag Sale: Sunday afternoon. 1:00 - 4:00 pm. At the Walker Arena Annex.

Annual Friends of the Library Book Sale Public Sale: Friday and Saturday April 13 and 14, 9:00 - 5:00. At the Walker Arena Annex. $3 bucks-a-bag Sale: Sunday afternoon. 1:00 - 4:00. At the Walker Arena Annex.

Book Review-Flavia de Luce Series

Everybody loves a good mystery, and one that has a 10 year old as the detective is bound to be interesting. Flavia de Luce is the main character in Alan Bradley's series of books, set in 1950s England.  She is 10 years old and lives in Bishop's Lacey, a small hamlet outside London where everyone knows everyone else.  Her family owns Buckshaw, a rambling estate, but because of the death of her mother 10 years earlier in a mountain climbing accident (when Flavia was an infant) the family has money problems.  (Her mother owned the estate and died without a will.)   Her father is a reclusive stamp collector who is letting his daughters, Ophelia, Daphne, and Flavia, grow up somewhat wild. Flavia's passion is chemistry.  One of her ancestors was a chemist and had a fully stocked lab in the west wing of the house.  Flavia spends quite a bit of her time experimenting there.  She also loves to solve murders (and for a small town, there are quite a few to keep her occupied.) With each book we learn more about the family circumstances in addtion to having the fun of watching Flavia solve crimes. I've been reading the audio book versions and the narrator is amazing.  She, of course, has a British accent, but her voice is somewhat childlike so the reader really gets the impression that Flavia is speaking. Great plots, interesting characters, amusing heroine.  What more could one ask for!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie By Bradley, Alan Read by Entwistle, Jayne 2011-01 - Random House Audio 9780307914200 Check Our Catalog It is the summer of 1950-and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. "I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn't. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life." "From the Trade Paperback edition." …More

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery By Bradley, Alan Read by Entwistle, Jayne 2010-03 - Random House Audio 9780307576415 Check Our Catalog From Dagger Award-winning author Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction's most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously brilliant eleven-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders …More

A Red Herring Without Mustard By Bradley, Alan Read by Entwistle, Jayne 2011-02 - Random House Audio 9780307576439 Check Our Catalog In this third installment of the bestselling, award-winning series, Flavia de Luce comes to the rescue when a Gypsy woman is charged with the abduction of a local child. Flavia must draw upon her encyclopedic knowledge of poisons--and gypsy lore--to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice. …More

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel By Bradley, Alan Read by Entwistle, Jayne 2011-11 - Random House Audio 9780307879455 Check Our Catalog It's Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce--an 11-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving--is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a concoction to ensnare Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luces' decaying English estate, to shoot a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern. …More

Read Alikes

Pirate King: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes By King, Laurie R. 2011-09 - Bantam 9780553807981 Check Our Catalog In this latest adventure featuring the intrepid Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, "New York Times" bestselling author Laurie R. King takes readers into the frenetic world of silent films--where the pirates are real and the shooting isn't all done with cameras. …More

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones By McCall Smith, Alexander 2010-02 - Center Point Large Print 9781602856851 Check Our Catalog The Unbearable Lightness of Scones continues the story of Bertie, a precocious six-year-old, and his dysfunctional family, -- in addition to favorite characters Big Lou, Domenica, and more -- as they all continue their daily pursuit of a little happiness. With customary charm and deftness, Alexander McCall Smith has given us a clever, witty and delightful new novel. The Scotland Street series is chock-full of the good-natured charm and inventiveness that is Alexander McCall Smith's hallmark. …More

44 Scotland Street By McCall Smith, Alexander Illustrator McIntosh, Iain 2005-06 - Anchor Books 9781400079445 Check Our Catalog Bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith brings all the warmth of his extraordinary No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books and the Sunday Philosophy Club series to this witty novel chronicling the lives of the residents of 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. Originally serialized in "The Scotsman, 44 Scotland Street is already an international sensation. When twenty-year-old Pat rents a room from handsome and cocky Bruce, she inherits some delightfully colourful neighbours: Domenica, an insightful and eccentric widow; Bertie, a five-year-old who's mastered both saxophone and Italian; and Irene, his overbearing mother. Pat's new job at a gallery seems easy enough. Her boss spends most of his time drinking coffee in a local cafe and discussing matters great and small, and Pat's duties are light. That is until she realizes that one of their paintings may be an undiscovered work of a renowned Scottish artist and she discovers that one of their customers may be in on the secret. Add to this a fancy ball, love triangles and an encounter with a famous crime writer, and you have Alexander McCall Smith's entertaining and witty portrait of Edinburgh society. …More

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HPL's New Books

Below is a partial list of our new books. To see the full list, download the Excel file for: 2012.  To see new books from other years try:  2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, or 2006.

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The Invisible Ones By Penney, Stef 2012-01 - Putnam Adult 9780399157714 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Small-time private investigator Ray Lovell veers between paralysis and delirium in a hospital bed. But before the accident that landed him there, he'd been hired to find Rose Janko, the wife of a charismatic son of a traveling Gypsy family, who went missing seven years earlier. Half Romany himself, Ray is well aware that he's been chosen more for his blood than his investigative skills. …More

Lone Wolf By Picoult, Jodi 2012-04 - Center Point Large Print 9781611733662 Check Our Catalog …More

Vanishing Acts By Picoult, Jodi 2005-04 - Atria Books 9780743267649 Check Our Catalog Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her widowed father, Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiance, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as Delia plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can't recall. And then a policeman knocks on her door, revealing a secret that changes the world as she knows it. What happens when you learn you are not who you thought you were? When the people you've loved and trusted suddenly change before your eyes? When getting your deepest wish means giving up what you've always taken for granted? "Vanishing Acts" explores how life as we know it might not turn out the way we imagined; how doing the right thing could mean doing the wrong thing; and how the memory we thought had vanished could return as a threat. …More

Cold Vengeance By Preston, Douglas J. Author Child, Lincoln 2011-08 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446554985 Check Our Catalog A bonding trip for Pendergast and his brother-in-law, Judson Esterhazy, turns violent. Before abandoning a mortally wounded Pendergast, Esterhazy announces his sister, Pendergast's long-dead wife Helen, is alive. …More

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ By Pullman, Philip 2011-04 - Canongate Books 9780802145390 Check Our Catalog In this remarkable piece of fiction, famously atheistic author Pullman challenges the events of the Gospels and puts forward his own compelling and plausible version of the life of Jesus. …More

Ceremony in Death By Robb, J. D. Author Roberts, Nora 1997-04 - Berkley 9780425157626 Check Our Catalog In a new age of criminal investigation, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is drawn into the most dangerous case of her career. Every step she takes makes her question her own beliefs of right and wrong--and brings her closer to a confrontation with humanity's most seductive form of evil. J.D. Robb is the pseudonym of bestselling author Nora Roberts. …More

Sleepwalker By Robards, Karen 2011-12 - Gallery Books 9781439183724 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Praised as one of the most popular voices in women's fiction ("Newsweek"), "New York Times"-bestselling author Robard delivers her latest thrilling romantic suspense novel. …More

Celebrity in Death By Robb, J. D. 2012-02 - Putnam Adult 9780399158308 Check Our Catalog Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she's managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating "The Icove Agenda," a film based on one of her famous cases. It's a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director's luxury building. 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 and step into the role she was born to play: cop. …More

Loyalty in Death By Robb, J. D. Author Roberts, Nora 1999-10 - Berkley Publishing Group 9780425171400 Check Our Catalog National bestselling author J. D. Robb's phenomenal series has captivated readers nationwide with its tantalizing blend of romance, suspense, and near-future police procedural. New York cop Eve Dallas returns to face her most ingenious foe -- a "secret admirer" who taunts her with letters... and kills without mercy. An unknown bomber is stalking New York City. He is sending Eve Dallas taunting letters promising to wreak mass terror and destruction among the "corrupt masses". And when his cruel web of deceit and destruction threatens those she cares for most, Eve fights back. It's her city...it's her job... and it's hitting too close to home. Now, in a race against a ticking clock, Eve must make the pieces fit -- before the city falls. …More

And Then There Was You By Roberts, Nora 2010-10 - Silhouette Books 9780373285938 Check Our Catalog "New York Times"-bestselling author Nora Roberts returns with two unforgettable stories in one heartwarming volume. Includes the classics "Island of Flowers" and "Less of a Stranger." …More

Summer Pleasures: Second Nature/One Summer By Roberts, Nora 2007-06 - Silhouette Books 9780373285464 Check Our Catalog Two classic yet sizzling tales of summer pleasures and unexpected love by "New York Times" bestselling author Nora Roberts are collected in this two-in-one volume. Includes "Second Nature" and "One Summer." Reissue. …More

Truly, Madly Manhattan By Roberts, Nora 2007-11 - Silhouette Books 9780373285631 Check Our Catalog Showing the sensual side of love while capturing the splendor and excitement that New York City is famous for, this dramatic volume of two full-length novels takes readers on a romantic excursion into the passionate heart of the city that never sleeps. …More

Bleed for Me By Robotham, Michael 2012-02 - Mulholland Books 9780316126380 Check Our Catalog A teenage girl--Sienna, a troubled friend of his daughter--comes to Joe O'Laughlin's door one night, covered in blood. The police find Sienna's father, a celebrated former cop, murdered. Tests confirm that it's his blood on Sienna. She says she remembers nothing. Investigators take aim at Sienna. O'Laughlin senses something different is happening. …More

Miss Julia Delivers the Goods By Ross, Ann B. 2010-03 - Penguin Books 9780143116493 Check Our Catalog Get ready for double the trouble and twice the fun in Ross's 10th Miss Julia adventure. …More

Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle By Ross, Ann B. 2011-04 - Thorndike Press 9781410435194 Check Our Catalog Indomitable Southern heroine Miss Julia has promised her husband, Sam, to mind her own business. She doesn't have to spring into action after a dead body is found in a toolshed near her house. Instead, she can concentrate on figuring out who's been passing bad checks in her name and, most important, preparing for Hazel Marie's impending due date. …More

The Mirage By Ruff, Matt 2012-02 - Harper 9780061976223 Check Our Catalog From the beloved cult author of "Bad Monkeys" comes an unprecedented, mind-bending psychological thriller, in which an alternate history of 9/11 uncovers startling and harrowing truths about America and the Middle East. …More

On the Beach By Shute, Nevil 1983-09 - Ballantine Books 9780345311481 Check Our Catalog "The most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off." THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE They are the last generation, the innocent victims of an accidental war, living out their last days, making do with what they have, hoping for a miracle. As the deadly rain moves ever closer, the world as we know it winds toward an inevitable end.... …More

A Chance on Lovin' You By Snoe, Eboni 1999-09 - Avon Books 9780380795635 Check Our Catalog Sasha Townsend always plays it safe -- in life and in love -- until an unexpected inheritance brings her to the lushly tropical Florida Keys. There, beneath the hot sun of Magic Key, she begins to relax and renew...until she's summoned to the neighboring estate by its enigmatic owner, Cay Ellis. The handsome millionaire's highhanded ways and infuriating demands awaken Sasha to emotions and a world available only in her imagination. From the moment Cay first lays eyes on Sasha he knows she's trouble. Not only does she refuse his claim on her property, but she insists on poking her nose in where it doesn't belong. For all is not what it seems on Magic Key, and though Cay would do anything to keep Sasha in his protective embrace, he knows that by falling in love with this beautiful woman he's taking the greatest chance of his life. …More

Wire to Wire By Sparling, Scott 2011-05 - Tin House Books 9781935639053 Check Our Catalog …More

Mrs. God By Straub, Peter 2012-02 - Pegasus Books 9781605983042 Check Our Catalog …More

Still Wifey Material By Swinson, Kiki 2010-11 - Dafina Books 9780758238931 Check Our Catalog Kira's had enough drama, and the only way she's going to make a new start is by moving to Houston with her cousin Nikki. Little does she know that the streets in Houston, and the men who run them, are just as dangerous as the hometown she has fled. …More

The New York Five By Wood, Brian Illustrator Wood, Brian Illustrator Kelly, Ryan 2011-09 - Vertigo 9781401232917 Check Our Catalog The long-awaited sequel to THE NEW YORK FOUR! There's nothing more exciting than college life in the big city. But complications can follow you from dark places - and not just from your boring hometown. In THE NEW YORK FIVE, Riley's sister Angie is making a name in the Lower East Side with her new band, and now Riley is the black sheep of the family. Lona's murky past appears to have been hiding an alarming proficiency for stalkerism, and Merissa and Ren will confront uncomfortable situations involving older men. But who is the "five" in THE NEW YORK FIVE? This collection also includes special bonus material! …More

Bel-Air Dead By Woods, Stuart 2011-05 - Thorndike Press 9781410436085 Check Our Catalog Stone Barrington receives a rather unexpected phone call from Arrington Calder, the ex-girlfriend with whome he has a son. Arrington's much older husband, the actor Vance Calder, has hustdied, leaving her a fortune in Centurioon 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 adn Centurion in their sights, and Stone finds himself dragged into a surprising deadly web of intrigue. …More