What's New

One recent addition which has already been making an impression in the Library lobby is our new Rotating Book Display. This interactive showcase isn’t just a piece of furniture, it’s a dynamic gateway into everything the library has to offer; perfectly curated by our staff to align with the month-to-month interests that resonate with our community.

For Halloween enthusiasts seeking a spine-chilling read, a selection of spooky horror novels was available throughout October. During the Thanksgiving season the rotating book display was packed with an array of tantalizing cookbooks, inviting readers to explore culinary delights and share the joy of festive meals. Now, as the end of the year draws near, the shelves have transitioned to a showcase of heartwarming holiday-themed books for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and more! Embrace the spirit of togetherness and celebration this December at A.K. Smiley!

This dynamic display isn’t just about sharing the latest and greatest titles, however; it’s also a reflection of our commitment to providing a space that celebrates inclusivity, cultural appreciation, and the joy of reading. Cultural heritage months such as Native American Heritage and Hispanic Heritage have featured prominently, providing patrons an opportunity to explore titles which they may not have known about. Additionally, the display was used to draw attention to Banned Books Week and some of the titles which have been challenged the most in the last few years.

With each rotation, our new book display invites our patrons on an engaging and enlightening journey through different themes and cultures, fostering curiosity, understanding, and deep appreciation for the diverse tapestry of human experiences. We look forward to sharing this new space with you and hope you will stop by the Library to see everything we have to offer.

Ted Conable, Principal Librarian

Teens, are you fa-la-la-la-la-ing yet? I dusted off my elf suit extra early this year so I could recommend some Young Adult (YA) rom-com titles to get you in the holiday spirit. Cancel your subscription to the Hallmark channel immediately…we’ve got your romantic holiday media needs covered! AND, I have some pre-holiday surprises for you at the end of this article…read on and you can unwrap them early.

In Hannah Reynolds’ “Eight Nights of Flirting,” sixteen-year-old Shira Barbanel has her sights set on a holiday hookup. When her big and boisterous extended family convene at her grandparents’ Nantucket home for Hanukkah, the scene is set for love…her great-uncle’s tall, dark, smart, and handsome intern will be joining them and despite her past romantic flops, Shira is determined to do what it takes to get sparks flying.

There’s just one problem. Despite Shira’s go-getter attitude, she’s a dunce when it comes to love. She makes a deal with her charming ex-crush-next-door-neighbor, who happens to be a flirting prodigy, to teach her his player ways. Surely nothing could go awry with this fool-for-love-proof scheme, right?! To find out if Shira gets the romantic miracle of her dreams, make plans to snuggle up with “Eight Nights of Flirting.”

If holiday romances are your love language, don’t stop with just one…put Tiffany Schmidt’s “I’m Dreaming of a Wyatt Christmas” next on your list. Sixteen-year-old Noelle is crazy for Christmas. Ever since her mom died six years ago, she throws herself headfirst into the holiday season, keeping all of her mom’s traditions going with a level of enthusiasm that borders on maniacal. But this year seems cursed…her festive plans keep getting thwarted, her dad is distracted to the point of ignoring her, and she’s ready to throw her jingle bells out the window. To escape all the things that are making her un-merry, Noelle accepts a ski-trip babysitting gig with her favorite family.

What happens on this babysitting ski trip? It may involve getting puked on by a four-year-old. It may involve an obnoxious (but very cute) older half-brother who shows up on the ski trip out of nowhere. It may involve getting to the rock bottom of Noelle’s manic quest for the perfect Christmas. If you’re in the mood for something simultaneously sentimental and sparkly, with a dash of love, this may be the book for you.

And now, teens, for your early present…are you ready to rip it open? The library now offers video games for checkout! We have games for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. If you want to expand your gaming repertoire, or even just try out a new game before you purchase it, come check one out to play on your home console. Video games are located to the right of the New Adult Fiction books, just behind the Adult Reference Desk. From “Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe,” to “NBA 2K24,” we have a little something for everyone. So come get your holiday gift-receiving started a little early and borrow one!

We’re also hosting a Barbie movie-watching extravaganza for teens on Wednesday, December 20, from 2-4 p.m., in the Contemporary Club. Iron your pink garments and prepare to join us! More information about this event will be available at www.akspl.org/teens in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back.

Teens, the library loves treating you year-round, but we especially hope to entertain you this holiday season. We wish you all things bright and jingly in the weeks ahead…stop in and we’ll do our best to add a little extra sparkle.

Kristina Naftzger is a Youth Services Librarian at A.K. Smiley Public Library, who only wishes she owned an elf suit.

The once popular genre of Western fiction books seems to be fading into the sunset, with fewer of them being written or checked out. There are currently only three new Westerns on our new book shelf, with some still coming in. However, if you have a hankerin’ for similar reads, saddle up and come on down to Smiley Library for some non-fiction books that are sure to fill the bill!

“The Summer of 1876:  Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season that Defined the American West,” ties together several legendary individuals with the backdrop of other noteworthy historical events of that year. Names like Custer, Masterson, Hickok, Earp, James, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull are included. These are woven together and explored by author Chris Wimmer along with the beginnings of Major League Baseball, the Philadelphia World’s Fair, the invention of the telephone, the publication of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and other events.

“Follow Me to Hell: McNelly’s Texas Rangers and the Rise of Frontier Justice,” delves into the adventures of Captain Leander McNelly and the inception of the Texas Rangers. Best-selling author Tom Clavin takes readers back to the origins of the dangerous pursuit of justice in Texas and the surrounding areas, including apprehending cattle rustlers and bandits, land skirmishes, and Civil War battles.

Nathan Ward shares a narrative of the same era in “Son of the Old West: The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier.” Siringo lived his personal dream of being a cowboy, then became a detective with the Pinkerton Agency, an author, and also a consultant in the early years of Hollywood for Western films.

“Gentleman Bandit: The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West’s Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber,” by John Boessenecker is about Charles Boles, a wealthy and educated socialite that lived in San Francisco. His acquaintances had no idea that he was actually the very successful stagecoach robber, aka Black Bart.

Switching gears to where the old West meets modern day, Tracy Daugherty has authored “Larry McMurtry: A Life.” He chronicles the man and his works that surely come to mind when thinking of great Western books and screenplays. In addition to being a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, McMurtry was also passionate about collecting and selling books.

If you haven’t had your Western appetite quenched quite yet, you can hit the road, or be an armchair adventurer, and visit some of the notable places you have heard about in “Discovering the Outlaw Trail: Routes, Hideouts & Stories form the Wild West.” Mike Bezemek suggests driving, biking, camping, riding a train, and paddling your way along legendary outlaw routes. The book is divided into four sections: Discovering the Outlaw Trail, Stories from the Outlaw Trail, Traveling the Outlaw Trail, and The Ends of the Outlaw Trail-Stories Conclude. Color pictures and maps add to the enchantment of this fascinating travelogue.

I can’t believe that the holiday season is upon us! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was decorating my Halloween tree and drinking my first pumpkin spice latte of the season (yes, I have a Halloween tree that beautifully transitions to a Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Christmas tree). If you are not quite ready for the upcoming holiday season or you are ready with your peppermint mocha in hand, then here are few new titles from your favorite public library, A.K. Smiley Library.

If you are not ready to read holiday-themed books quite yet, may I suggest Phantom, by Helen Power. Regan Osbourne is in a tight spot–she’s broke, in a bad relationship, and her art career is getting her nowhere. One night, desperate and fed up, a mysterious man approaches her with a proposition she can’t refuse, one million dollars for one of her hands, her dominant hand to be exact. Regan agrees. Come and check out Phantom to see what happens to Regan and her missing appendage.

If you are ready to go all-in on the holiday season, I suggest to you Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley. Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson are strangers, but fate has other plans for them. Both are flying home to Toronto, Canada for the holiday season until severe turbulence diverts their plane and plans and leaves them stranded in a picturesque town called Snow Falls where destiny has other plans for them.

If neither of these titles appeals to you and you want something more in the fairy tale realm, then I suggest to you, After the Forest by Kell Woods. After the Forest takes place 20 years after Greta and Hans escape the infamous witch who lived in a gingerbread house. While Greta was being held captive all those years ago, she took the witch’s grimoire which holds magic spells that are more powerful than Greta can comprehend. Will Greta succumb to the lure of the grimoire to help her and the village which she grew up in, or will the villagers turn against her and her new found magical abilities?

So, come visit your favorite local library and check out these festive and not-so-festive titles for your reading pleasure.

-Shannon Harris is a library specialist who enjoys reading horror and holiday-themed books so much that she is currently reading a book called Christmas and Other Horrors.

I’ve been making a real effort to spend time focusing on fitness this fall. Nothing outrageous mind you, just walking or hiking when I can and trying to eat a little better. I’ve even moved my hand weights out of the closet and into the front room, where they now sit glaring at me–I mean motivating me to use them. Baby steps. I am NOT the next American Ninja Warrior and I’m OK with that. I just want to feel more energetic and maybe clear my head a bit. If you’re ready to feel a little healthier too, we’ve got books to guide you, no matter your level of fitness. Check these out.

Think you can’t run a race because you don’t have the typical runner’s physique, or maybe you have health issues? Think again. “Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run” by Martinus Evans shows you the steps to take to become a runner, just as you are. As you can tell by the title, he tells it like it is. Evans started his running journey in 2012 when a doctor told him he was fat and to “lose weight or die.” Well, he decided right then and there, he wasn’t going to be body-shamed and would run a marathon instead. And he did–running over 100 races, including eight marathons. He’ll share everything you need to know to become a runner: training, mental challenges, recovery, all of it. His book is informative, inspiring, and very funny.

Unfortunately for some, aches and pains seem to be unwanted, but constant companions in life. This next book was written to help ease that predicament. To the rescue is “Built to Move: The 10 Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully,” by Kelly and Juliet Starrett. The focus here is not on cardio or strength training. It’s on improving mobility, increasing your range and minimizing your pain. Sounds pretty good. Each chapter will assess your current condition with simple tests of mobilization and balance, like “Sit-and-Rise.” Then you’ll be offered physical techniques designed to help you feel better, move better and incorporate healthy habits. This is an outstanding resource.

If you’ve never heard of rail-trails, they’re typically railroad tracks that have been abandoned and converted into shared public use trails. “Rail-Trails: California: The Definitive Guide to the State’s Top Multiuse Trails” by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy highlights 72 of these pathways. Due to the gentle grades, they are great for runners, bikers, and hikers, many being wheelchair assessible. Whether you’re looking to visit California’s beaches, mountains, or deserts, you’ll find a variety of trails to choose from with descriptions, maps, and mileage for each.

I haven’t forgot about those hand weights. We have a variety of weight training books available for checkout. Designed for men and women, 40 and up, our most recent addition is “Muscle for Life: Get Lean, Strong, and Healthy at Any Age” by Michael Matthews.

Now that you’re excited about fitness, I have some good news. The annual Redlands Turkey Trot is coming up on November 23, 2023! There will be a 5K run/walk as well as a 1K Fun Run for the kids. All proceeds go to benefit Redlands schools and local charities. Find information at: www.redlandsturkeytrot.com