Holiday Hours

The Luck Library will be closed
Friday Dec. 24
Saturday Dec. 25
Friday Dec. 31
Saturday Jan. 1
Merry Christmas!
Happy Solstice!
Joyous Kwanzaa!
Happy Hanukkah!

PLAYGROUP!

WINTER REGISTRATION IS MONDAY, DECEMBER 20 AT 9:00 AM!
Playgroup begins Thursday Jan. 6 and will be held Thursdays 9:30 - 11 am. This playgroup is facilitated by the Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley, please contact them for further info and to register.
Please register by calling FRCSCV at 715-684-4440 or visit them online at www.frcscv.org/.

Book Club

Come to discuss The Postmistress by Sarah Blake at the next book club meeting.
6pm, Monday Dec. 20 at the library. Everyone welcome!

SANTA DAY!

Santa Day!
Sat Dec 4, 10-1pm
Free visit with Santa!
Bring your camera!

The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

“The Brightest Star in the Sky” is a crazy ride of a book. At the beginning, I wasn’t too impressed. I couldn’t keep track of all the characters and had trouble figuring everything out. Once I synchronized all the characters and understood the humor, I loved it.

There are seven neighbors in a Dublin apartment whose lives become entangled in a rush of events. The story is told by an unknown presence whose identity you will try to solve yourself or will have to wait until near the end for it to be solved for you. Married and single people in the building become involved in affairs of the heart….and body. Matt and Maeve are married with troubles from the past messing up their hearts; Lydia, a single cab driver, has an attitude that annoys and humors; Katie, the single PR executive, is looking for something more in her life; and the eighty-eight year old, Jemima, is full of wisdom and caring, while temporarily housing her handsome foster son, Fionn.

This book had me laughing out loud. It also had me puzzling over how or when everything would be explained. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it ends with the puzzle being solved – over and over.

If you are looking for a fun book, with lots of mystery, this is the one.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

I’m afraid I can’t say any good things about “The Reliable Wife.” I did finish the book – I don’t like to quit – but I felt it was time wasted. The book was depressing. It also skipped into so many different time periods, with no explanations, that it became confusing. It was not good confusion.

The story is about a mail order bride who arrives in a Wisconsin town intent on marrying a wealthy businessman, Ralph Truitt. Right from the beginning, a sense of calamity prevails. There is something amiss in the intentions of the mail order bride, Catherine Land. Catherine wishes to do away with Richard and become a rich widow. Richard is a figure of complexity in his own right. The story takes us through a multitude of twisted and questionable scenarios; none of them caught my fancy. Things do come together in the end but the process of getting there is dismal and perverse.

I would not recommend this book; although I know there is a market for this kind of fiction. You might have to read it to see if you agree or disagree with my take on this book. Just remember my perverse comment if you start the read.

Happy Halloween

Trick or treat at local Main Street Luck businesses on Saturday, October 30, from 11 - 1:30 pm. Wear those costumes! Stop in at the library for a glow in the dark sticker and then let the kids display their costumes in a parade on Main Street at 2pm!

Holiday hours

The Luck library will be closed Labor Day, Monday Sep. 6.
Enjoy your holiday!

MORTGAGE Burning Party

Join us at 5:30pm Tue August 10 for a Library/Museum Building MORTGAGE Burning Celebration! The building is officially paid off and we're having a party.

Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

"Beneath the Lion's Gaze" by Maaza Mengiste, is a fascinating history lesson on Ethiopa in 1974. I'm afraid I am not well versed in any of Ethiopa's history and have now become mesmerized by this country. This is a very well written fiction/history tale.

This story is about a family trying to overcome the horrors of the revolution of 1974. It is a story of torture (sometimes unbearable to read), love of a family and bravery. The father, Hailu, is a prominent physician and becomes involved with the victims of torture and murder. His youngest son, Dawit, joins the underground resistance movement. The family becomes entangled in all sorts of misery and through the horror they become closer. They find a way to overcome hard feelings and to love without prejudice.

There is so much more involved in this "never put it down" story and I don't want to take away from the read by revealing too much. I admit there are times I could hardly bear to read the scenes of torture but pushed through to get the full picture of the trials the people of Ethiopa struggled with in this insane revolution.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly for the story line and the fabulous writing. However, it does bring to mind the evils of some of mankind and might be too much for some readers. I would love to hear any remarks by anyone who reads this terrifying look into the history of Ethiopa.

Lucky Days @ the Library!

Fri 7/16 : 7pm. Traveling Lantern Theater Group presents Pinocchio at the Triangle Park on Park Ave
Fri 7/16: 8-3pm Rummage Sale at Lions Hall (former DBS)
Sat 7/17 : 9-3pm Book Sale

CLOSED on the 5th of July

The Library will be CLOSED on Monday, July 5
to celebrate Independence Day!
We WILL be open from 10am-1pm on Saturday, July 3
We will reopen on Tuesday, July 6
at our usual business hours.
Have a Safe Holiday!

Summer Reading Program Week 2

Summer Reading Program participants go to China, making paper lanterns and cooking a stir fry to celebrate the Lantern Festival! Reading takes you everywhere! Come join us at 4pm Wednesday June 23 on a trip to Mexico to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos!

Luck Book Club

Luck Book Club! Come to discuss Angry housewives eating bon bons by Lorna Landvik at 6pm on Monday, June 21. Everyone welcome!

SUMMER READING PROGRAM

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult usually has a dilemma in her books. Her new book "House Rules" follows that trend. It is well worth reading as it has learning value, also. It is about an 18 year old boy who has Asperger's Syndrome. If you have no idea what Asperger's Syndrome is, you will by the end of this book. Jodi did plenty of research on this subject and it clears up any questions you might have about the syndrome.

The boy with Asperer's is Jacob Hunt and he has an obsession with forensic analysis. He knows plenty about it and likes to show up at actual crime scenes. He becomes well-known to the police when his tutor is murdered and they suspect Jacob. His Asperger actions gives him the appearance of guilt and he becomes the main suspect in the murder. The legal authorities fail to understand Asperger's Syndrome and the story goes from there. The devotion of his mother is admirable and her character is a big part of the book. Reading it made me wonder if I would have the stamina she did while raising such a high maintaince child.

It was a good read. If you like Jodi's writing style, you will enjoy this one.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Today I wanted to tell you all about a book I heard about a month or so ago. It is not often that I hear of a book and I just cant wait until it comes out but when I read about The Passage by Justin Cronin I couldnt contain myself. This book appears to be the perfect book for me. I love Stephen Kings The Stand and this has been compared to it many times. Just read this synopsis and try to not to get excited.

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.(from the publisher)

Got questions? This is the spot for answers!

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Luck Book Club

Luck Book Club!

Come to discuss The Accordian Crime by E. Annie Proulx at 6pm on Monday, May 17. Everyone welcome!

Luck Book Club

Come to discuss The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver at 6pm on Monday, April 19. Everyone welcome!
See what the New York Times has to say about her newest novel.

National Library Week is April 12-17. Register to WIN prizes when you check out library materials or sign up for your first library card! Enjoy games and puzzles at the library!

The Big Read @ the library!

The Luck Public Library has copies of The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town by Thornton Wilder available to be discovered at the library! Come pick up a copy (while available) or request one through the library and join readers across the country who are enjoying the classics together. The copies are made available through the NEA's Big Read Program. Throughout the spring the St. Croix Falls public library will be hosting a number of events to celebrate the Big Read program. For more information, check out the links below.

The Big Read
St. Croix Falls Public Library

The Art of Racing in the Rain

I just finished listening to The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein today, and my life is better for it. I can't describe exactly what the magic was, but I would recommend trying this story. Perhaps non dog-lovers will not be AS effected by this story, the narrator being, after all, a dog, but the nuances of canine behavior are richly developed, the characters rich and when it ended, i felt sad having to go about my day, knowing that there is no more to listen to. There were elements of the plot that i found not so believable and bits that seemed excessively glossed over but STILL this book with all its car racing metaphors gripped me until the very end.

Digital Scrapbooking

5pm, Friday Feb. 26

Photo files piling up on your computer? Use Creative Memories Storybook Creator to turn your computer photo files into a digital scrapbook... free tutorial with Susan Rupp

Luck book club

Come to discuss Last Standing Woman by Winona LaDuke at 5:30pm on Monday, March 15. Everyone welcome!

Beading @ the library!

3pm Thurs Feb 18
Bead up some jewelry for someone you love!
Supplies are provided but you are welcome to bring your own.

Luck Book Club

Come to discuss Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger at 5:30pm on Monday, Feb 15. Everyone welcome!

Winter Carnival Book Sale

Sat 2/13 9-3pm
Stop in during Winter Carnival for our book sale. You never know what you might find!

Prices:

Hardcover books, audio books and VHS/DVD: $1
Paperbacks: $0.25 Magazines: $0.10
1-2pm: 1/2 price on all items
2-3pm: fill a bag for $1
Donations of books, movies and audiobooks accepted until 5pm Fri 2/12

Make a heart for your valentine!

Fri 2/12 3:30pm

Come to the library and make a valentine's day card for the ones you love. All supplies will be provided for this card making event.

Bookmarks: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Summer, 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Along with his partner, Chuck Aule, he sets out to find an escaped patient, a murderess named Rachel Solando, as a hurricane bears down upon them. But nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. And neither is Teddy Daniels. Is he there to find a missing patient? Or has he been sent to look into rumours of Ashecliffe's radical approach to psychiatry? Or is there another, more personal reason for his presence? The deeper Teddy and Chuck's investigation goes, the more elusive the truth becomes, and the more they begin to believe that they may never leave Shutter Island--because someone is trying to drive them insane.
After seeing the trailer for the movie version of Shutter Island I had to check out the book. I have read a few of Lehanes other books and enjoyed them, but this was a huge surprise to me. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. It had great pacing and some of the best dialog I have read in a while. The plot is exciting and it takes you places you never see coming. This is a book that when you finish you may want to start again right away. I cant recommend it enough.

Bookmarks: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger follows the strange adventures of Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. One dusty postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline-its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his.
I had high hopes for this book after Stephen King named it one of the best books of 2009. I love a good ghost story and this book had been compared to The Haunting of Hill House, which in my opinion is one of the best haunted house books ever written. I started reading and soon found myself over 100 pages in and realized that nothing was happening and I was getting bored. That was a real problem for me with this book. Nothing seemed to happen and what did happen was told to the narrator. He never experienced anything. The book was well written and I did finish so it was not terrible but it was just to boring for me.

Beading @ the library!

Join us for extra beading time: 3-5pm Wed 1/27/10
No experience necessary, beads provided.
February's beading day is 3 pm Thu 2/18/10

Happy Taxes!

Some federal and state forms available now.

Top 5 of 2009

I love New Years. I think its because I love to see all the "Top" lists that everyone seems to make. Now is my chance to make my Top 5 books of 2009. All of these books were published in 2009. First I have to say 2009 was a GREAT year for books. I read over 25 books that were published in 09 and I could probably recommend almost all of them. So getting the list to 5 was tough. Here we go

5. The Angels Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
After reading "The Shadow of the Wind" I fell in love with this author and his writing. Then I heard there was a prequel in the works and I was over the moon. When The Angels Game came out I was so excited and I was not disappointed.
In Barcelona in the 20's a Young David Martin make his living as a writer of pulp fiction novels under a pseudonym. He stays in an abandoned mansion in the heart of the city hiding from his troubled childhood. In this mansion David finds a locked room full of pictures and letters that lead him to believe that the previous owner may have died from unnatural causes. David receives a letter from a strange reclusive french editor offering him a deal that is too good to be true.
Zafon ties all this together while giving us a look at Barcelona in the 1920's.

4. Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Just this year I was introduced to Atwood and I cant get enough of her dystopic fiction. Her novel Oryx and Crake tells the story of a virus that destroys a large part of the worlds population. Year of the Flood tells this same story but from other characters points of view. Overall just a great novel.


3. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The much hyped and anticipated sequel to last years breakout hit "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". This book picks up soon after the last and takes everything that was great about the first and adds an incredible amount of action and drama. There is not much else I can say about this book just read it!


2. The Unit by Ninni Holmquist
The second dystopic novel on my list. The Unit takes place in a future where men and women who have no children and unimportant jobs are taken to the unit where they are taken care of and every need is met a perfect life, the one drawback is that they are required to give donations. These donations come in the form of medical experiments, tissue donations and even limb donations until they give the final donation. Dorrit Weger is admitted into the unit and everything is grand. Until she falls in love.
I am not sure what it was about this year and my reading of dystopic fiction but this is one of the best.


1. Columbine by Dave Cullen
No one is more surprised by this pick than me. I don't read a lot of non-fiction but this book hit a cord with me. The book tells the complete and untold story of the Columbine school shooting. It is the best true crime have ever read. I thought I knew allot of what happened it turns out most of what I knew was false and I really knew nothing. I compare this book to "In Cold Blood" by Capote. This book has stayed with me for a long time and I urge you to read it.