Spring is in the air - why not do some gardening?

I don't know about you, but this beautiful weather gets me in the mood to start gardening. Why not stop at the library and pick up some books to find out what will work best in your space? We have a great selection to choose from, and a lot of them are region specific. I've listed some books below to get you started, but why not browse our gardening section the next time you're in?

If you are looking for information on flowers:

The Illinois Gardener's Guide by James A. Fizzell, 635.9 FIZ

Gardening Through the Year by Ian Spence, 635.9 SPE

If you are looking for information on vegetable gardening:
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith, 635 SMI

Vegetable Gardening: From Planting to Picking by Fern Bradley, 635 BRA

Short on space? No problem! Try container gardening:

Crops in Pots: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs in Easy Care Containers by Bob Purnell, 635.9 PUR
Successful Container Gardening: 75 Easy-to-Grow Flower and Vegetable "Gardens" by Joe Provey, 635.986 PRO

If you are looking for garden design ideas:

The Big Book of Garden Design by the Editors of Time Life Books, 712.6 BIG
Sunset Midwestern Landscaping by Craig Bergmann, 712.6 MID

For general gardening tips, stop by our magazine stand and pick up "Chicagoland Gardening." Current and back issues are available!

Book Review- "Friday Night Bites" by Karen Berman

Not limited to Fridays, this cookbook is for any of those nights when the whole family is home and wants to spend some time together in the kitchen. In this book you'll find the blueprints for 20 or so themed dinners with food and activities that will appeal to kids. Some of the different themes include "Dinner on the Moon" (Green Cheese Tortellini Alfredo and Moon Rock Chocolate Biscotti) and "You're a Grand Old Flag" (Patriotic Potato Salad and Yankee Doodle Chicken Skewers). If you're looking for gourmet, this cookbook is not for you. But if you're looking for recipes that will ensure family fun-time, this a book to check out.

Did you know this about Easter?

As Easter quickly approaches, I thought it would be fun to list some interesting facts. These are tidbits I didn't know, so I'm hoping they are new to you too. Have a fun and safe holiday everyone!

• The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes the hare and the egg.
• Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting.
• Each year witnesses the making of nearly 90 million chocolate bunnies.
• When it comes to the eating of chocolate bunnies, it is the ears that are preferred to be eaten first by as many as 76% of people.
• The first chocolate eggs were made in Germany in the 19th century and remain one of the
  most popular Easter candies today.
• The initial baskets of Easter were given the appearance of bird's nests.
• The Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn has been a tradition since 1878.
• After Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy consuming holiday.

Book Review- "Under the Dome" by Stephen King

Don't let the sheer volume of "Under the Dome" turn you off-- it is engaging and a real page-turner. What starts as a typical fall day for the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine turns into a battle of survival when a huge, clear dome cuts off the townspeople from the rest of the world. Although gore and murder play parts in the book, it is more unsettling than scary.

Within days, murder, conspiracy, corruption and increasing fear are in place all over the town. The town's police fall under the control of a charismatic town selectman with dictatorial ambitions. Vocal dissenters are jailed--or worse. Soon the air quality inside the dome begins to change. Illnesses are on the rise. Children begin to have seizures and frightening dreams. As tension mounts, the stage is set for a final showdown between those who will stop at nothing to see to their agenda for the town and those who believe the town's increasingly dangerous leaders must be stopped at any cost.

This book will leave you guessing, and not just about why the dome is in place or how it will end. Check it out at the library today!

This is it!

No, I will not be blogging about Michael Jackson today, RIP. I'm here to tell you about our new blog here at the Shorewood-Troy Public Library. Our goal is to keep you informed of all our library's events, programs, and announcements while in the comfort of your own home, office, school, or wherever you use the Internet.

This blog is pretty easy to navigate, so hopefully you will have no problems finding the information you need. First off, what you are reading right now is a post. These will show up every time I have something new and (hopefully) interesting to write. Older posts will continue to be pushed down the page until they disappear (but not really--I'll show you how to find them in a bit).

On the left side of the page is our menu bar. This is where you can navigate the blog. Right below the picture of the library, you can click on the links to use our catalog, visit our databases, or check out our events calendar. Below that are all the upcoming events. These are linked to each sign-up page-- please sign up for events!! Below that are all the labels that we have associated with blog posts. So if you are maybe looking for a good romance book, click on "romance" under the labels and it should take you to all the book reviews that were posted on the blog. Hopefully you get the idea. The archives below will also take you to past blog postings; this time though you pick the year and month of an entry you wish to see.

Thanks for reading!