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I’ve heard that adventure awaits in the out-of-doors and I believe it to be true. While hiking a mountain trail, I about scared myself half to death because I looked up to see a bear just yards away from me, with a look that said “Oh good, my lunch has arrived.” It thankfully turned out to be a charred old tree stump, but definitely made me feel like I had just slammed three energy drinks. Funny thing is that on the way back the same trail later that evening, I scared “the other half of me that was still alive” when I saw that “bear” again, this time ready for his dinner appetizer. I guess I don’t quite rank as fearless, but I sure enjoy reading about the true daredevils that venture into the wild.

The Amazon River, runs from its source in the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil, more than 4000 miles. Darcy Gaechter, at thirty-five, set out to kayak its entire length, the first woman ever, to accomplish that. “Amazon Woman: Facing Fears, Chasing Dreams, and a Quest to Kayak the World’s Largest River from Source to Sea” by Darcy Gaechter details her amazing story. With 16 years of kayaking experience to her credit, she was certainly prepared to be fatigued and hungry, getting trapped and pummeled by the water and jagged rocks, enduring all the inevitable hardships that would be constant companions during her journey. Awaiting her and her fellow kayakers, Don and Midge, was a month of traversing the most difficult whitewater in the world, followed by three to four months of flatwater paddling for over 3000 miles. What would come as a surprise, though, would be the unforeseen dangers of traveling through the Red Zone, an area of the river known for violence, danger, drug cartels and even murder. This is one exciting read, sure to be a wild ride.

Best-selling author and mountaineer, Jon Krakauer is well-known for his nonfiction works, “Into the Wild” and “Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster.” In “Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk” a collection of ten previously published articles from magazines like Outsider and Smithsonian, are presented featuring an assortment of dangerous endeavors. Follow Krakauer on a roped descent into Lechugilla Cave, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. He accompanies scientists who are hoping to better understand Mars through inspecting a mud-like substance called corrosion residue. Witness the last ride of professional surfer, Mark Foo at Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, Northern California. Speculate on alpinist Fred Beckey’s legendary “Little Black Book” with its secret notes on unclimbed peaks. Enjoy this collection of short reads from an always impressive outdoor enthusiast and journalist.

Here’s a quick look at one more gripping story from our new books section. “The Impossible First: from Fire to Ice-Crossing Antarctica Alone” follows Colin O’Brady from an unfortunate accident to a solo crossing of Antarctica, all 932 miles of it, in subzero temperatures for 2 months, pulling a sled that initially weighed a whopping 375 lbs. An incredible adventure that will transport you to a frozen world.

All of these books may be checked out by library cardholders using our Books to Go service. This can be done online, by email, or by phone. We’ll then check out the books on your card, bag them and call to set up a pick-up time to meet outside of the library. You’ll find the details on our website at akspl.org on the Books to Go link or call us at (909) 798-7565. See you soon.

So many things are happening in the library since we’ve been closed. We are still receiving wonderful, new books for you to check-out!

The Young Readers’ Room staff has been busy getting the Juvenile and Young Adult areas cleaned and tidied up for you when we are able to allow you to come back inside. In the meantime, please feel free to utilize our Books-to-Go program. You can reserve books three different ways:  online through our on-line catalog found at akspl.org; or you can email the library at:  circ@akspl.org; or you can call either the Main number (909) 798-7565 or the Young Readers’ Room @ (909) 798-7674. Please make sure your library card number and your contact information is up to date as well (address, phone number & email address). Once we have your books gathered up for you, we will give you a call to set up an appointment so you can come and pick up your books from the front of the library near the main entrance.

For this month’s article, you will find all of these books in our New Book area under the author’s last name. Please consider the following picture books for check-out:

“What Matters Most” by Emma Dodd is a lovely story made up of questions to make a little one think about things. The illustrations were created digitally and there is some sparkle sprinkled throughout the pages!  Emma Dodd has created yet another fabulous book for our young readers’ to enjoy.

Dianne White has written another lyrical picture book filled with color and wonder. “Green on Green” celebrates each season with spectacular colors and amazement while discovering something new that has sprouted, grown or was born.  The illustrations by Felicita Sala captures each season and expression. Enjoy this book today!

A lovely book written and illustrated by Zosienka can be found in “The Moon Keeper”. In my first reading of this story, I was hooked and had to read it again! Very artistic illustrations fill each page as the little bear is on a mission to be the new moon keeper. Emile, the bear is very excited and takes his job quite seriously. As the moon cycles through its phases, Emile is concerned that he has seemed to have lost the moon! Check this book out today to find out exactly what happened to the moon and Emile!

My fourth recommendation for you all is “The Bear Must Go On” written by Dev Petty and illustrated by Brandon Todd. What could be better than writing a play for you and your friends to be on stage together and recite the words you all have written? Except, for these four woodland friends, one does not want to be on stage! Being the writer for the script is actually a lot of work, especially when all three friends have a lot of words for you to write down! The show must go on, but what if the show hadn’t been written and it’s time to raise the curtain? Find out when you check out this book soon!

“Windows” by Julia Denos and illustrated by E.B. Goodale is a discovery book. Walk around you neighborhood and search for the windows that are dark, lighted, decorated or plain. There are lots of things to discover in and around windows. Is that a family reading together? Can you see the family cooking together through the kitchen window? Do you spy the kitty cat sleeping on the windowsill? This is an Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book, which honors outstanding new writers and illustrators.  Check out this great book today.

We often hear people say that libraries are magical places. It seems that, as if just by osmosis, some sense of beauty, of history, of curiosity, of warm childhood memories, of potential for access to infinite knowledge, or of a calming peace invades our being when we enter the special ones, when we enter our library. So today, let’s celebrate libraries, the community gathering sites with a soul, which all of us are especially missing right now. How do we celebrate, you ask? How else, but with a good book, or nine, on… libraries.

“The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World” by Guillaume de Laubier is just one of dozens of books on the theme of libraries which Smiley Library houses. It’s not located in our New Book area, but do you think you could pass up looking through gorgeous photographs of magnificent library buildings full of that bewitching allure if you had the chance?! People have been creating some exquisite shrines to the written word for centuries… Do you think our beautiful library could be included?

By the way, you do have the chance to check out library items: though we are physically closed for the moment, our Books to Go program is in full swing, allowing you to select library materials through our extensive online catalog to be picked up at a contactless outdoor appointment. Find our catalog at www.akspl.org (where you can also access eBooks, etc.), or call us at 909-798-7565 for more information.

The newest non-fiction work on libraries in our collection, out this year, is “Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe” by Kathy Lee Peiss. This is an absorbing and expertly investigated account of American librarians, archivists, and scholars who traveled Europe to gather books and documents to assist the military in the war effort, ensuring the preservation of the items, as well as providing critical information for intelligence purposes. Their missions also encouraged the postwar development of American research libraries, some becoming great international repositories of scientific reports, literature, and historical sources.

You knew your librarians and archivists were everyday superheroes, but this is next-level dedication! They are not an anomaly either; I’m reminded of another non-fiction book of a few years ago in our collection, “The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: and their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts” by Joshua Hammer, also available as an e-book.

I might also give a shout-out here to the enormously popular 2018 documentary, “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean, readily available here in book, e-book, audio book, and e-audio book formats. Orlean draws a detailed portrait of the history of the 150-year-old Los Angeles Public Library revolving around the tragic losses of a fire which befell it. Her admiration for this institution, not unlike our own, spills out to become a love letter to all libraries.

On the lighter side, Smiley carries fun fiction publications for all ages. From the Young Readers’ Room, “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” by Chris Grabenstein, (the sequel being “Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics”) is so popular it is provided in three formats: book, e-book, and e-audio book. Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to spend the night in a new library which, come morning, by some kind of alchemy, requires that he and his friends work puzzles in order to escape! Then there is “Evil Librarian” by Michelle Knudsen found in the Young Adult section, in book and e-book formats. High-school student Annie falls for the new, young school librarian who is, well… it’s in the title. If he thinks you’re not looking, you might see his horns–yikes!

Always attempting equal representation, as librarians do, Smiley also offers a publication for cats. (Dogs, I hear ya; you’ll get your turn.)  The featured feline of this book is Dewey Readmore Books, his name covertly buried here as a subliminal message. Vicki Myron’s “Dewey the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World” is an older offering available as an e-audio book. This fact is fortuitous because I do not believe cats can read. They can listen to the audio book, well, you know, if they feel like it, and, only if you do not look at them… But I digress. Dewey’s tail, uh, tale is actually remarkably enchanting: this small creature shared of himself and became a friend to all who came into his library. His fame grew until it became international, and through Dewey, an honorary librarian, we see his effect in the healing of his adoptive librarian and of his struggling town.

Let’s look finally at a more recent pick, last year’s “Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town under Siege,” located in the New Books section. Journalist Mike Thompson expounds here on his reporting for the BBC covering the Syrian town of Darayya which saw some of the heaviest fighting of the Syrian civil war. The few brave refugees who remained there after the war took on a dynamic enterprise: to construct a library underground, reclaiming thousands of books from the rubble. According to the author, these awe-inspiring survivors did so in order to construct, “a portal to another world: one of learning, one of peace, and one of hope.”

From this dogged pursuit to move forward we can take a lesson, especially in this dark hour in which we live. Like the refugees, let’s look toward rebuilding, and start with the library, that centering place which is constructed on the tenets of lifelong learning and education, preservation, intellectual freedom, democratic and diverse access for all with privacy, and social responsibility and service to the public good. You know, it just may be the concept of the library, upheld by these ideals, where that magic actually lives.

And so ends my love letter to our library.

Julia Child once remarked, “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”

For Julia Child, Ruth Reichl, Jose Andres and Anthony Bourdain, food has been their passion and a driving force in their lives and careers. All four memoirs can be checked out as audiobooks on our Overdrive database.

“Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child” by Bob Spitz chronicles the extraordinary and inspiring life and career of this pioneer in television cooking shows. Follow Julia as she makes her public television debut in 1962 at the age of fifty. With her easy-going manner, enthusiasm and unforgettable voice, Julia soon captivated audiences and won the hearts of the American public. Little did anyone suspect the lasting impact she would have and it all started with an omelet.

Before joining Gourmet Magazine as editor in chief, Ruth Reichl also held a powerful position as food critic for The New York Times. Remaining anonymous is key for reporting a truthful and unvarnished restaurant review. Once restaurant managers realized who she was, Ruth’s picture was circulated to every eatery in town. “Garlic and Sapphires” is a lively tale chronicling her incognito capers as Miriam, Chloe, Brenda, Betty, Emily and Molly to stay one step ahead as a critic in disguise.

On the April 6^th cover of Time magazine stands chef Jose Andres with a tall paddle in one hand and a giant kettle at his side. He was being recognized for his humanitarian aid in feeding masses of people affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This is not the first time he has come to the rescue of people in crisis. In September 2017, Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico with 155 mph winds. The island was flooded, without power and desperate for help. In “We Fed an Island”, listen to Jose tell the amazing and uplifting story of what happened from arriving four days after the hurricane to eventually preparing nearly 4 million meals for the residents of Puerto Rico and giving them hope.

Chef, author and world traveler, Anthony Bourdain left us too soon. He had a profound influence upon workers in the food industry as well as the general public. For many, his departure left a hole that will be hard to fill. Fortunately, we can listen to Anthony tell his own tales from his memoir,  “Medium Raw”. In this follow-up to “Kitchen Confidential,” he provides us a tasting menu of topics such as career experiences, overseas adventures, fatherhood, celebrity TV chefs, plus much more.

We have some exciting news to share! If you have been longing to check out books again from the Smiley Library, the wait is over! Our latest program, “Books to Go,” allows our patrons to select library materials from our online catalog and pick them up by appointment. For more information, please visit our website at www.akspl.org or call us at (909) 798-7565.