Starry Night - Isabel Suppe, Author

Isabel Suppé - Author Program

Monday October 28, 2013 @ 6:30 pm.

Event is free and open to the public

Starry Night, is based on the story of a real life experience involving a 1,100 ft fall while ice-climbing in the Bolivian Andes where Isabel Suppé spent two days and nights dragging herself over the ice in order to be rescued.  Suppé s book, Starry Night ,tells the story of her survival and her passion of climbing.

Author Talk & Book Signing

Celebrating National Library Week

Author Talk & Book Signing – April 14, 2011 @ 6:30 pm.

The Colfax Public Library is happy to announce a new young adult novel “Shooting Two” written by former Colfax resident, Jeanne Foley (PhD). Foley is currently an associate professor in the math department at University of Wisconsin-Stout.

A graduate of Le Sueur High School in 1971, Foley recalls there was no girls basketball program, however, girls could play with the Girls Athletic Association. Foley continued her love of basketball and pursued her basketball interest at St. Olaf College, where she received a degree in both math and physics. Throughout Foley’s academic career, she coached women’s basketball at Michigan Tech, Michigan State, the University of Michigan and Princeton University.



Foley followed her dream and wrote her first fictional novel about a small-town girls basketball team, set back in the 1980’s. The book centers on high school girls, their friendships and a team’s passion of winning the state championship.



The Colfax Public Library has invited Jeanne Foley to come and speak about her new book and what challenged her to begin writing. The Colfax Public Library will hold a books signing that night and books will be available for purchase.



For more information about the author talk and signing, please call 715-962-4334, or email: cocirc@colfaxpubliclibrary.org The program is free and open to anyone.

 

Book Review - The Red Garden

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman caught my eye in the Bookpage news, that our library subscribes to, to circulate to our patrons.  I have never read any other books by Alice Hoffman, so I have nothing to base my inclinations on other than feeling. 

The story follows a linear gathering of characters from the mid 1760's till the present day in an area around the small town of Blackwell, MA.  A rich tapestry of players enter the stage, from Hallie, a simple colonial girl searching for something more, to a contemporary girl that has her life planned out, only to be interrupted by the tenderness of a secluded poet. 

Each chapter represents differing stories that are faintly connected through geographical location, sentiment or family heritage.  I found this format to be on one hand, a fresh idea in a book, but on the other, it left me with a bit of a disjointed feeling.  One thing that does tie the character's stories together is a liberal dose of mystery, that includes a ghost of a drowned girl, an apple tree that blossomed and provided fruit to the town of Blackwell in the year without a summer, a supposed mermaid, and of course a garden where everything that is grown is red.

Some chapter stories were painted more rich and bold by the author and some held more of an impressionist style that had me trying to read between the lines for thoughts on how all the pieces fit together and left me wondering what the characters lives were like in the future.

Over all, I found the book to be interesting, drawing me in with the layered time periods and characters that form around an area that comes to be known as the Red Garden. 

A Must Read

Hi, Jenny here....I guess it has been awhile since my last book review, not that I haven't been reading some great books, just haven't taken the time to write down my thoughts. Out of all the books I've read these past months, Bloodroot was the best and I highly recommend it as a must read for 2010.

If you are looking for a book that will stick with you, this is the one. First time novelist Amy Greene weaves a fascinating story of one Appalachian family that spans decades. The book unfolds like a living scrapbook, penned all in first person using the voices of each different character to write on the hearts of readers the ethereal joys, sorrows and intimate decisions of each person.

I am intrigued with the authors ability to breathe life into each character and give them their own distinctive voice. The story language of this book is like a slow brewed and savored drink that once drunk, becomes a part of you.

Click here to reserve your copy.


"Named for a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power both to heal and poison, Bloodroot is a stunning fiction debut about legacies - of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss - that haunt one family across the generations, from the Great Depression to today." (taken from the publishers description)

Victoria Houston - Program & Book Signing

Author Program & Book Signing

Colfax Public Library

Thursday January 21, 2010 @ 6:30 pm

Please be sure to come and join us January 21st to welcome Victoria Houston, author of the poplular series, "Loon Lake Fishing" mysteries. Houston just released her 10th book in the series called "Dead Renegade." As of today when I checked the MORE system, there were already 40 holds on her new book!

We are all excited to meet Victoria and learn more about her, so please stop by Thursday night. Any questions about the author program, give us a call 962-4334, or email: colfaxpl@ifls.lib.wi.us Hope to see you there.

Lisa

Meeting Ree!

Saturday November 21st. was a super day. One of my co-workers and I got the chance to meet Ree Drummond (a.k.a. Pioneer Woman), who happens to be a very popular blogger in the the blogger world. Be sure to check out her blog, Pioneer Woman.

Ree & Me

We happen to get to the MOA early in the morning, so luckily we were within the first 150 people to be near the front of the line. It still took us about 3 hours to finally get the chance to sit down and met Ree. It was a quick 1 minute chit chat and a quick snap of the digital camera....wow, all for 3 hours. It was really fun talking with Ree and seeing all the people in line.

By the way, The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook is awesome. She did all the photography herself, which makes the cookbook very visual just like her blog. After some questions and answers, Ree went right into signing books. The crowd became excited when Ree's husband (a.k.a Marlboro Man) showed up and randomly started signing his name to his picture, which is featured in her cookbook.

Be sure to request her new cookbook online (http://www.more.lib.wi.us/).

Lisa

Summer Reading Guest

This week for our Summer Reading Program we had author/illustrator David La Rochelle come and do a presentation for the kids. David told and illustrated a story with participation from the kids. Everyone listened attentively and really enjoyed David's tale about a king who loved to eat spinach, a troll who wanted the king's spinach and the knight who vanquished the troll from the kingdom.

David also read to the kids from his book, The Best Pet of All. It is a great story of a boy and a dragon who work together to get the best pet of all for the boy. You'll have to read the book to find out what the best pet is.

David signed bookmarks for the kids and answered questions about being an author and illustrating books. We also got a sneak peek at David's next picture book, a funny tale that partners with the illustrations to tell the story of a cow on a ride.

We enjoyed having David for a presenter and would recommend him to any school or library that would like to have an author/illustrator come.