February 5, 2014

There will be no free Federal Income Tax assistance at the Quitman Public Library this year due to a shortage of AARP volunteers in Wood County.  The nearest locations and times for assistance are the Lindale Public Library, each Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the Wesley United Methodist Church of Sulphur Springs, each Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Join area acoustical musicians on February 14, 2014 from 6 – 9 p.m. for the 2^nd Friday Acoustical Jam Circle in the library’s community room located at 202 East Goode Street in Quitman. Bring your acoustical instruments and join in, or just stop by and listen to the local talent. This is a free community event. Refreshments are available and donations are welcome.

Media displays throughout the library for February will highlight President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, National Heart Month, and Black History Month.  Stop by soon and check out what your library has to offer.

Regular library hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.   For more information, please call 903-763-4191 and visit our website at www.quitmanlibrary.org.

Adult Services

GED preparatory classes are available at the library from 10 – noon each Thursday to help you prepare for the GED test.  English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are also offered on Thursdays from 4 – 6 p.m. in the library’s conference room.  These classes run concurrently with the Q.I.S.D. holiday schedule.  ESL and GED classes are taught by certified instructor, Sandra Grider. To sign up, just stop by during class hours or call 903-763-4191.

Knitting and crochet instructor, Virginia Hoffpauir, invites students of all ages and skill levels to bring their own supplies and join the group for free knitting and crochet instruction. If you have a pattern to share, please bring it.  The class meets each Thursday 2 – 4 p.m. in the library’s main gallery.

Young Adult and Children’s Services

Join us for Story Time at the Quitman Public Library, 202 East Goode Street, Quitman TX each Friday from 11 a.m. - noon for an hour of story time activities.  Elizabeth Soutendijk, who works with Gateway to Libraries - Reading Literacy, and her assistant, Jessica King, have designed a wonderful thematic program that teaches as well as entertains. The program is designed for young readers and home-schooled students; however anyone who wants to hear a great story is welcome.  For more information, call 903-763-BOOK (2665).

Friends of the Library

            The Friends of the Library invite the public to the next meeting on February 11, 2014 at noon in the Shamburger Community Room.  Special guest will be Linda Kunze, Educational Curator, from the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler.

Friends of the Library is a group of volunteers dedicated to the growth and improvement of the library. 

                                                                                                            

Genealogy

             The Wood County TX Genealogical Society will meet Monday, February 17, 2014 at 7 p.m. in the library’s Shamburger Community Room. For more information or to make an appointment with a genealogist from the Wood County TX Genealogical Society, contact the library at 903-763-4191 or visit the society’s website at http://www.woodtxgene.com for links to photographs and family histories. For those who wish to browse the library’s collection of Wood County Democrat newspapers dating from 1917, has a microfilm reader/printer to help with your research. 

New Arrivals

The Body Book: The Law of Hunger, the Science of Strength, and Other Ways to Love Your Amazing Body by Cameron Diaz, The Knight Marshal by Karen L. Azinger, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range by Spur Award-winning author, Rod Miller and the complete Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward.

A Guide to Cozy Winter Reading

Reading more books in the coming year is a good New Year's resultion, and a great way to relax after the holidays. It might even help cure the winter blues. So bundle up, head over to your local library and check out a few good reads.

Some of the lastest editions to our collection here at the Quitman Public Library are some excellent candidates for good winter reads:

The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo
The Pursuit of Murieta by Thomas D. Clagett
Always Remembered by Janella Mowery
Dark Prairie by John D. Nesbitt
Bad Day at Willow Creek by Ralph Cotton
Killer Poker by J. Johnstone
Savage Desert by L. Patten

Plus the new Divergent Series: Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth is in our collection now. I hear it's pretty popular.

And for some reason I find that winter weather is excellent for reading mysteries and classics, so if I had to suggest some good cold weather books from my own experience, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and The Murder of Roger Acroyd by Agatha Christie are a couple of the first titles that come to mind.

Obviously the winter reading experience is rather incomplete without a comfy chair by the window, a blanket and a hot beverage. The Quitman Public Library can provide the comfy chair by the window
(check out the sweet chairs in our reference section), but as for the blanket and beverage, you'll have to bring your own. Covered beverages are allowed, so you can bring in that cappucino.

For reading at home, hot chocolate or tea is the perfect companion
to a good book. I'll include a homemade hot chocolate recipe below
for just such purposes:

    Sara's hot chocolate recipe:
   
    One tablespoon of cacao
    Two teaspoons of sugar
    One teaspoon of honey
    A dash of cinnamon
    A splash of half and half
    Maybe throw in some marshmellows

    Combine all this in a mug and add some hot milk.
    It makes an individual serving. This is my own
    little recipe and I'm not really sure if the measurements
    are correct because I'm just guessing. Every time I make
    it I just use my own judgement. I like to live dangerously.

Anyway, whether you prefer the comraderie of reading among other readers at the library or the solitude of reading by yourself at home, don't forget to take in a few books over the rest of the
cold/rainy weather season. Chilly weather plus a good book can equal a pretty great affect on the imagination.

Sara de la Rosa



"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that is kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'" ~Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass (perhaps another good winter read).

2nd Friday Acoustical Music Jam Circle

Friday, January 10, 2014 is the 2nd Friday Acoustical Music Jam Circle at the Quitman Public Library from 6 - 9 p.m. Come early and tune up. We are located at 202 East Goode Street, Quitman TX. Call 903-763-4191 All ages and skill levels welcome.

We are located at 202 East Goode Street, Quitman TX. Call 903-763-4191