The ultimate classic, ‘The Hobbit’ by J. R. R. Tolkien, is the perfect book for reading for pleasure or aloud to the kids.  Tolkien is a gifted author who can use words to paint wonderful scenes inside your imagination.

‘The Hobbit’  is the prequel to ‘The Lord of the Rings’  trilogy. ‘Nuff said’  

The Library also recently acquired the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

New books

The Library has received some new books which delve deeper into some prevalent cultures here in Del Norte County. A lot of the residents in our city were raised in cultures that emphasize balance with nature, self-sufficiency and delicious food. These books will help each of us learn more about the Hmong culture and Local Native American cultures.

The History of the Hmong by Thomas S. Vang, attempts to relate the history of a people whose culture and traditions are primarily oral. The Hmong name and history have been ignored by the majority population in China and Laos since 2300 BC. This history, written by and about the Hmong, puts this right, recording as much history as he could find and when you are done reading the more than 400 pages and well researched history, you will know why he felt this history was so important.

Ya Po Cha introduces us to the traditional and changing cultural elements of the Hmong people in An Introduction to Hmong Culture. With chapters on children, weddings, politics and funerals, you will find interesting elements of this fascinating culture on every page.

Finally, Cooking from the Heart: the Hmong Kitchen in America, is a cookbook that teaches how to make things, but also when. Different events and seasons call for different recipes and the fact that this book was written by two women living in America, means the ingredients can be found in your local markets, with name variations when appropriate. There are explanations and definitions of certain ingredients as well.

The Hmong escaped war and settled here in Del Norte County, but there is another group who has been here for centuries, a group for whom war was brought to them.

In To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman, we are able to get inside the mind of Lucy Thompson, a woman who realized the history of her people was not being written, so she wrote it.

We also have Flutes of Fire, a book describing and cataloguing Native American Languages in California, Native American Clothing, a photo book by Theodore Brasser and Folk-Tales of the Coast Salish by Thelma Adamson.

Finally, we are also adding Dancing Between Two Worlds to our collection. This psychology book explores the interactions between Jung and his ideas and "the Native American soul." It is by Fred R. Gustafson.

New books for January

Outliners The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell, addresses the question, “Why do some people succeed far more than others?” To understand rates of success, it’s key to look at the culture of the person. Gladwell’s book “Outliners” uses examples of historically successful people and groups to back up his thesis. Someone with an interest in psychology or sociology would be the ideal candidate for this book.

The Handy Geography Answer Book, by Paul A. Tucci and Matthew T. Rosenberg, is essentially a reference book for the geologist. This reference book is filled with the questions and answers to commonly asked geological questions. For example, “Why did the sun never sets on the British Empire?” and, “How was Pompeii destroyed?”. You’ll have to check this book out if you want to know the answers to the many questions about the world and its geology in this handy reference book.

Perfect Madness Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, by Judith Warner, is an inquiry into, “what’s gone wrong with the culture of parenting”? There is a lot of weight on modern mother’s shoulders to live up to an ideal standard of mothering. Which can also be termed “intensive mothering” or extreme mothering when a mother takes her role so seriously that she forgets about her needs? “Perfect Madness” is a great book to read if you’re interested in the modern mother’s predicament.

Born to Buy, by Juliet B. Schor, takes a look into the targeting of the market system especially in its relationship with children and their development. Schor explains how advertising is nearly everywhere and socializes children in what is cool and what they should buy to have that’s status. This is an excellent book to read if you’re interested in how advertising and marketing effect consumers and particularly children consumers.

Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep On Buying No Matter What, by “Lee Eisenberg, takes a look into the economy. “Shoptimism addresses the questions, “Are you a Classic Buyer or a Romantic Buyer? Is there a “Buy button” buried in your brain? Are men and women all that different when they shop? And, Why do we keep on buying—and buying—in good times or bad? If any of the previous questions ignite curiosity this is a good book for you.

History and nonfiction

New Year and we have some great new books to entice you with.

Steward's Fork deals with the natural history (and a little human history) of the entire Klamath region. Our little river just 20 miles south reaches far up through California and up into Oregon.

The Joy of Geocaching explains and advertizes the world's fastest growing treasure hunt. If you have a GPS, you can fins "caches" all across the world and use the internet to track them, leave messages and trinkets for others and create your own cache.

The Faith Instinct: How religion Evolved and Why it Endures seeks to understand religion and its changing permanence. It does not seek to attack or defend religion, instead, it seeks to understand it.

Death in Salem is a combination of 64 biographies of peopleburned at the stake as witches in Salem, Massachusetts. Started as the notes accompanying a novel, it has taken on a life of its own and is a valuable book for anyone researching this dark time in American History.

Finally, Why Machiavelli Matters: a Guide to Citizenship in a Democracy, is part biography and part critical essay. If you have ever been assigned the Prince and wondered why, this book for you.