The library’s next movie, “Wonka,” will be shown at noon tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Cumberland Room. It’s rated PG.
At noon Wednesday, Feb. 19, “Inside Out 2,” rated PG, will be shown in the Cumberland Room.
Art Circle Public Library is at 3 East St., Crossville. Check artcirclelibrary.info or call the library at 931 484 6790 for additional information.
Great new books
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
Tyler is exceptionally adept at exhilarating dialogue and the nuances of relationships. Like many of her other Baltimore-set novels, this delectable, tightly focused, and piquant comedy portrays a family whose alliances and conflicts are set to boil during the heat of a special occasion.
It begins with a duel between the tightly wound protagonist, Gail, age 61, and her boss, who seems to be trying to edge Gail out, suggesting that she might long for a change. Gail thinks, “I am not the kind of woman who dreams of doing things.” Now she’s angry, as well as anxious about her daughter’s wedding. Then Max, her ex-husband, arrives uninvited with a cat.
As the wedding veers toward disaster, Gail wonders “how it was that anyone on earth found the courage to marry.” During those fateful June days delicately laced with funny and poignant moments, hidden aspects of Gail and Max’s unconventional natures, marriage, and divorce are revealed to profound effect.
With every character, cat included, incisively and vividly realized, and myriad preoccupations and emotions limned with nimble wit and empathy, this is a keen delight.
The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict
In this excellent novel, Benedict vividly brings to life real Golden Age mystery novelists and a 1930s setting.
Dorothy Sayers is miffed that she is considered just a second-tier member by the male writers of the Detection Club, although she’s one of its founders. She calls on other women writers who live nearby — Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy — to form their own rival group, the Queens of Crime.
The men are not impressed, even when the Queens declare they will solve a real-life mystery, pooling their considerable talents to prove that their skill is equal to that of the men. Soon, they are embroiled in the case of a young woman, May Daniels, who went missing during a day trip to France.
As their inquiries progress, the case takes a tragic — and dangerous — turn, and May’s mangled body appears in the park where she had rested briefly on that day. An attack on Dorothy proves to the Queens that they are getting close to the perpetrator.
The Medici Return by Steve Berry
Five centuries ago, Pope Julius II asked the powerful Medici family for a favor — a very expensive favor — and made a promise, a Pledge of Christ, that the debt would be repaid.
But it never was. And now, someone who claims to be a descendant of the Medici family (which history says died out 300 years ago) has come forward to demand repayment.
Enter Cotton Malone, former U.S. government operative turned rare-book dealer. The 19th Malone thriller finds him trying to find one of two copies of the Pledge of Christ for his former bosses.
At stake: the future of the Catholic Church, the fate of Italy, and the truth about the Medicis. (But no pressure, Cotton.) There is a formula to the Malone novels — a present-day mystery tied to an ancient mystery, some deliciously evil bad people, lots of scrapes and near misses — but it’s such a winning formula that we never tire of it. Cotton, too, is a marvelous character: world-weary but not jaded, cynical but not close-minded, and intensely curious.
Library Laugh IWhy have you never seen elephants hiding in trees? Because they’re really good at it.
Stingy Schobel SaysWhen you’re watching your favorite shows on a streaming platform, the way you watch it can have a profound impact on how much energy you use for your entertainment.
Start by watching at a lower resolution; instead of the super-high res 4K or 1080p, try for 720p to reduce energy usage.
If you watch shows on your phone, always stream over a Wi-Fi network instead of cellular, since the latter uses significantly more energy.
And if you watch on a television, opt for an Energy Star-certified TV.
Library Laugh IIWhat do you call it when one bull spies on another bull? A steak-out!
Libraries=InformationIf you buy food packaged in cans, you’re probably choosing the most environmentally friendly option. Nearly 70 million tons of steel is recycled every year and made into new steel products. And the long shelf life of canned food (typically three to five years) makes cans the ideal packaging to stock a pantry.
But a big reason why cans are far superior to any other packaging is this: They don’t require any refrigeration, from transporting to stores to filling store shelves to keeping at your home.
Snowflake BonusWhat is an owl’s favorite TV show? Doctor Who!