Rice Lake’s Anniversary!

Rice Lake is celebrating its Quasquicentennial Anniversary. That means we have been a city for 125 years! And to celebrate this milestone, we are having a whole summer of activities. There are single day events as well as multi-day events and contests. These events kicked off on April 1, 2012, but the fun won’t stop until August 4. You still have time to join in the fun!

125 Minutes of Legos!
Tuesday, July 10 @ 2 pm
Rice Lake Public Library
We will be building Legos for 125 minutes in celebration of the 125th year of the city of Rice Lake! Build what you think Rice Lake will look like in another 125 years! Drop in anytime!

Lumberjack Breakfast
Saturday, August 4 @ 6:30 am
Rice Lake Senior Center
Stop in for a hardy breakfast before the big parade including eggs, hash browns, sausage, ham, biscuits, sausage gravy, cheese sauce, muffins, fruit, juice, milk and coffee. $3-6 depending on age.

Good Times Parade
Saturday, August 4 @ 10 am
Main Street
26-block route – Main Street (Short to Water); Water Street (Main to Wilson) and Wilson Avenue (Water to Short).

Family Fun Events
Saturday, August 4 @ after parade
Barron County Fairgrounds
There will be: contests, flea / craft market, food and refreshment, concessionaires, fun stations (inflatable bouncer, dunk tank, bean bag toss, coin toss, ring toss, pick up ducks, etc.), International Paul Bunyan lumberjack shows (2 shows), LMC/Marshfield Clinic health/wellness station Magic: The Gathering collectible card game tournament, music, Native American TRAILS Youth Dance Troupe performances (2 performances), parade unit/vehicle display, Quasquicentennial merchandise, Rice Lake Fire Department smoke house, Rice Lake memorabilia display, Rice Lake Police Department Bicycle Patrol, Sons of the Voyageur music concert (1 concert), Wisconsin Army National Guard pedal go-carts, Wisconsin “BAD” (Bold and Dedicated) Dogs Police Canine Team demonstrations, Barron County Sheriff Department booth, Barron County Aging/Disability Resource Center booth, Focus on Energy booth, and Wisconsin State Patrol booth.

To learn more about the Quasquicentennial and its events and contests, visit these websites:

2012 Quasquicentennial Official Page

Facebook – Quasquicentennial Celebration

Discover More about Our History @ Your Library

The Rice Lake Public Library has a separate section of books about the history of Rice Lake, Barron County, and Wisconsin. You can find these books on the first floor of the library, and over by the DVD section.

Some of the most popular books on this topic include:

Around the four corners : a Pioneer history of the Washburn, Sawyer, Barron and Rusk counties
by Ethel Elliot Chappelle

Focusing on Rice Lake : a photo journal of the past 100 years, 1887-1987

Rice Lake : gem of the Red Cedar Valley
by Robert Heffner

Rice Lake’s past
by Blayne Barta

Second Anniversary!

This is the second anniversary of the Rice Lake Public Library Adult Services Blog. Thank you all for reading along with me. The blog is such a super opportunity to share the library’s events and books with you. I look forward to it continuing for many more years!

Teen Books that Adults Should Read

Teen books aren’t just for teens. They are well written, engaging books that are grabbing the attention of all ages – maybe because a younger family member introduces the book, or because the story is being made into a movie, or perhaps because it has won an award. Whatever the reason, here are some fantastic teen books that we think you should read.

A teen book is any book or story that has primary appeal to teenagers. This usually translates into young protagonists exploring their place in the world. Sometimes this coming of age is completed in a contemporary, realistic setting, but more often than not lately, these big questions are answered through tableaus of mortal danger and dystopian settings.

The following list is not comprehensive. It’s not a list of award winners. It’s not a list of the best sellers. It’s not a list of the newest, hottest, most daring or whatever “-est” adjective you can think of. It is a list of titles found on YA Lit bloggers’ websites that I thought sounded like they might appeal to adult readers interested in YA Lit. Hopefully some of these titles will appeal to you.

The Chocolate War (1974)
by Robert Cormier
Jerry Renault is forced into a psychological showdown with Trinity School’s gang leader, Archie Costello, for refusing to be bullied into selling chocolates for the annual fund raising.

The Mockingbirds (2010)
by Daisy Whitney
When Alex, a junior at an elite preparatory school, realizes that she may have been the victim of date rape, she confides in her roommates and sister who convince her to seek help from a secret society, the Mockingbirds.

My Beating Teenage Heart (2011)
by C.K. Kelly Martin
Two unexpected and heartbreaking deaths cause the lives of two very different teenagers to become intertwined as one struggles to deal with his grief and stay in this world, and the other finds herself inexplicably caught between this world and the next.

Once Was Lost (2009)
by Sara Zarr
As the tragedy of a missing girl enfolds in her small town, fifteen-year-old Samara, who feels emotionally abandoned by her parents, begins to question her faith.

Rats Saw God (1996)
by Rob Thomas
In hopes of graduating, Steve York agrees to complete a hundred-page writing assignment which helps him to sort out his relationship with his famous astronaut father and the events that changed him from promising student to troubled teen.

The Space Between Trees (2010)
by Katie Williams
When the body of a classmate is discovered in the woods, sixteen-year-old Evie’s lies wind up involving her with the girl’s best friend, trying to track down the killer.

The True Meaning of Smekday (2007)
by Adam Rex
When her mother is abducted by aliens on Christmas Eve (or “Smekday” Eve since the Boov invasion), 11 year-old Tip hops in the family car and heads south to find her and meets an alien Boov mechanic who agrees to help her, and save the planet from disaster.

Father’s Day Films 2012

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Rated NR

A Southern lawyer defends a black man accused of rape. The story is viewed through the eyes of his young daughter, Scout.

Finding Nemo (2003) Rated G

The fretful Malin and his young son Nemo, become separated from each other in the Great Barrier Reef. Nemo, a clown fish, is unexpectedly taken from his home and thrust into a fish tank in a dentist’s office overlooking Sydney Harbor. Buoyed by the companionship of a friendly fish named Dory, Malin embarks on a dangerous trek and finds himself the unlikely hero.

Father of the Bride (1950) & (1991) Rated NR & PG

A father deals with his only daughter’s lavish wedding.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Rated PG

When his wife walks out, Ted Kramer and his six-year-old son have a chance to really get to know each other. Then Ted’s wife returns and she wants her son back.

Parenthood (1989) Rated PG-13

The Buckmans are a modern family facing the age-old dilemma of trying to raise children the “right” way.

PageTurners Read “The Language of Flowers”

The Language of Flowers
by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.

The PageTurners Book Club met on Thursday, June 7, at 6 pm in the Bottom Shelf Room at the Rice Lake Public Library. Six people attended the discussion. The average score awarded to this book was  3.83 out of 5 books; the lowest score was a 2.5 / 5 and the highest score 4.5 / 5.

Click on the book graphic below to see a full recap of book club members’ opinions.

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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is available at the Rice Lake Public Library. There over ten copies of this book in the MORE System. Please visit the card catalog website or call us at 234-4861 to reserve a copy today.

New Books of June 2012

The Cottage at Glass Beach
By Heather Doran Barbieri
Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, Nora Cunningham is a picture-perfect political wife and a doting mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she, along with the rest of the world, learns of the infidelity of her husband, Malcolm. Humiliated and hounded by the press, Nora packs up her daughters, Annie, seven; and Ella, twelve, and takes refuge on Burke’s Island, a craggy spit of land off the coast of Maine. Just as she begins to regain her balance, her daughters embark on a reckless odyssey of their own, a journey that will force Nora to find the courage to chart her own course and finally face the truth about her marriage, and her long-buried past.

Far Side of the Sky
By Daniel Kalla
The Japanese Imperial Army rampages through China in 1938 and tightens its stranglehold on Shanghai, a city that becomes the last haven for thousands of desperate European Jews. Dr. Franz Adler, a renowned surgeon, is swept up in the wave of anti-Semitic violence and flees to Shanghai with his daughter. At a refugee hospital, Franz meets an enigmatic nurse, Soon Yi “Sunny” Mah. The chemistry between them is intense and immediate, but Sunny’s life is shattered when a drunken Japanese sailor murders her father. The danger escalates for Shanghai’s Jews as the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Facing starvation and disease, Franz struggles to keep the refugee hospital open and protect his family from a terrible fate.

The Infinite Tides
By Christian Kiefer
Capt. Keith Corcoran, “genius” mathematician, engineer, and astronaut working aboard the International Space Station, discovers during his deployment that his 16-year-old daughter has died in a car wreck and his wife, embroiled in an affair, wants a divorce. Once back on the ground, Keith takes an indefinite vacation from NASA while battling recurring migraines and his sudden solitude, and hanging out at the local Starbucks, where he befriends Peter Kovalenko, an impetuous Ukrainian former astronomer presently working at Target. The two alienated men soon bond and share their various misfortunes while smoking pot, drinking beer, and stargazing through Peter’s telescope in an abandoned suburban lot. Keith’s stasis and confusion stem, in part, from his uncertain job status, but his newfound relationships enable him to strive toward a self that will persevere and survive his losses.

The Hypnotist’s Love Story
By Liane Moriarty
Ellen O’Farrell is a successful hypnotherapist with a thriving practice; a new boyfriend, Patrick; and a newly found emotional distance from her unconventional upbringing. Content for the first time in recent memory, Ellen realizes how tenuous her happiness is when Patrick lets her know that his ex-girlfriend, Saskia, has been stalking him ever since they broke up. As a mental-health professional, Ellen realizes that Saskia isn’t a violent stalker who needs a restraining order but a jilted former lover who probably just needs a listening ear. But when Saskia’s methods of surveillance become more extreme, Ellen has to decide how much longer she’s willing to put up with Patrick’s former life if she wants to be a part of his future.

The Red House
By Mark Haddon
Shortly after their mother’s death, wealthy doctor Richard invites his estranged sister and her family to accompany him on holiday in the Welsh countryside with his new wife and teenage stepdaughter. Angela, a teacher grieving in a much less clinical fashion than her brother, convinces her husband and their three children to come on the premise that it’s the best, or only, vacation they can afford, and so begins the novel’s seven-day drama—each relative descending on the country manse with an obligation either to invite another or to attend on another’s behalf.

The Summer House
By Marcia Willett
Matt has always felt that there was something missing in his life. His mother kept all his childhood memories in a small inlaid wooden box, along with many photos of Matt as a child. But something about these photos has always puzzled Matt. Why doesn’t he remember those clothes? The toys? And where, in the photos, is his sister Imogen? Imogen and her husband, a country vet, are living in a rented cottage with their gorgeous baby but must soon move on. Since her childhood, Milo has assumed the role of honorary father. Knowing how she loves it, he offers to sell them the Summer House, a charming folly in the grounds of his beautiful ancient house on Exmoor, but Imogen’s marriage is threatened when her husband refuses to live so far from his practice. Meanwhile, Matt begins to discover the strange and tragic secret which has affected his whole life.

Best Friends in Movies

Wayne’s World (1992) Rated PG-13

Wayne and Garth have their own public access TV show. When it becomes popular, a local station decides to hire them to do their show professionally. Meanwhile, Wayne meets and falls in love with Cassandra, a bass guitarist, who he helps by getting her career started by using his connections. But the road from basement to big time is fraught with danger and temptation.

The Odd Couple (1967) Rated G

A film about two divorced men who decide to share a New York apartment. One of them is fastidious and the other a slob.

Thelma and Louise (1991) Rated R

Thelma is an abused and neglected wife, while her friend Louise is a bitter, hard-edged waitress. The two decide to take a brief vacation to escape the drudgery of their everyday lives. Immediately, they run into trouble, as Louise shoots and kills a man who tries to rape Thelma in the parking lot of a country bar.

When Harry Met Sally (1989) Rated R

Will sex ruin a perfect relationship between a man and a woman? That’s what Harry and Sally debate during their first meeting and for the next eleven years.

Beaches (1988) Rated PG-13

Traces the friendship of two very different women, who meet on a beach as young girls, through good and bad times, career and marriage changes until together they must face a final challenge as only best friends can.