"Beneath heaven is hell. Beneath hell is Furnace."

So begins Alex Sawyer's new life inside Furnace, a high security prison built to house the worst of the worst juvenile offenders. A life of harsh rules rules. A life of hard labor and brutality. A life without the sun or freash air. A life where a single mistep could bring the blood watch in a place where there are things worse than death.

Problem is, Alex is innocent.

Set in the turn of the 20th Century China City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell is the stoy of two Mennonite Missionaries who leave home to live in the plains of Northern China. In China they discover love, hate, danger, turmoil, doubt, but also deep contentment. Life is hard, sometimes excruciatingly so, but their love for the people of China and dedication to God keeps them standing firm through good times of plenty and hard times of drought, famine, and war.

This tender story is one of deep relationships and the amazing power forgiveness has on the lives of all it touches. Full of wisdom it is based on the real lives of Caldwell's grandparent's, enhanced with pieces from the lives of other missionaries to China making the book an even more compelling read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Once again I find myself procrastinating on my classwork.

This semester's class is Collection Development which is actually pretty interesting. We have developed a plan for collections for a library of our choice and mine is a mobile library. Imagine that. Only one part of this plan remains, it is the shortest assignment to date and probably the least challenging and yet I find myself sitting in front of my computer screen staring at a mostly blank word document.

I think it's finally happened. My brain is full. The knowledge is now jammed in there so tightly that it can't get back out. Do you think my professor would accept that as an excuse?

What to do?

Since I'm a children's librarian (almost) and use this song all the time but hate spiders, sleep talkin' man made me guffaw out loud.

This is what he said but you really need to hear him, say it. The link is in my blog list on the bottom right of this page and the date is Nov. 2.

"(sing-song) The itsy-bitsy spider, craaaawling.... SMACK IT WITH A NEWSPAPER, get on with your life!"

(I tried to link or inbed it here but it wouldn't allow it. Or maybe I just couldn't figure it out. Either way)

Things that bug me...

People who are so self-absorbed or too stupid (yes I said stupid) to realize that it is inappropriate for a three year old to be in a rated R movie!

I dislike bugs. I don't want them in my house, flying around my head, crawling on my legs, or sneaking up on me when my back is turned. They do that you know.

Spiders are the absolute worst. I scream like a little girl and usually stand frozen for a good 2 minutes before I figure out how to get back past the spider to a shoe. Not using a tissue. There isn't enough between me and the creepy crawlie. Plus I don't like to feel or hear them crunch or squish.

Now that you know that you might be surprised to hear that I have become obsessed with a show called Billy the Exterminator on A&E. This guy looks total heavy metal
80s scary covered in black leather with studs. And he is hilarious! I've seen him rid places of ants, wasps, bats, spiders, snakes, foxes, armadillo, racoons, nutria, beavers, crocodiles, and roaches. It never gets old. There is always campy humor along with great information about pests, how to keep them out, how to get rid of them, and why you should get them out as soon as you notice a problem.

Some of these homes are so far gone I would have tented the whole thing and given up.

And he's relatable. I actually heard him scream like a little girl when he was bitten on the head by a spider. Made me feel loads better.

Read Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine!

The story's heroine is Caitlin, an 11 yr. old girl living with Asperger's. Everything is good until "The Day Our Life Fell Apart." Caitlin must find a way "To Deal With It" and in the process help her Father and the community in which she lives "To Deal With It" too. It's a story of family and friendship and the meaning of empathy. I hope you find Caitlin to be as delightful and insightful as I did.

The book is classified juvenille at the library but don't let that stop you. After all it is a National Book Award Finalist!