Speaking from Among the Bones

Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley

                A missing organist, ghostly sightings, a buried Saint, and an eleven-year-old amateur sleuth with a penchant for poisons…This and more you will find in the latest offering by Alan Bradley. Flavia de Luce (chemistry genius, youngest of three sisters, and fearless adventurer) once again falls headfirst into a murder mystery in her hometown of Bishop’s Lacey. While seeking clues and traipsing the countryside on her beloved bike Gladys; Flavia meets a bevy of intriguing and mysterious characters. These characters and a number of strange happenings help her to put all of the pieces of this murder mystery together. The story is told from Flavia’s point of view and has the insights and humour only a young girl can find in the everyday! Set in 1950’s England this book offers all the best parts of a good murder mystery without the foul language and situations that can accompany stories set in modern-times.

                This is the fifth Flavia de Luce novel written by Alan Bradley and is every bit as strong and well written as his first: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Published in 2009). If you loved the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew books as a child (or perhaps you still do), or if you are looking for a good murder mystery that will make you smile, laugh, and shake your head in wonderment…look no further. Flavia de Luce delivers it all! To accept delivery you need only visit your local library (or a bookstore) for copies of these wonderful titles. They are available in CD Audiobook, Hardcover, Large Print, or E-book.

                Alan Bradley and has had a long and varied career working in Radio and Television; and has taught Script Writing and Television Production courses at the University of Saskatchewan. He currently lives in Malta and has been nominated for, and won, numerous awards for this series of books. So support another talented Canadian author and give Alan Bradley’s books a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Book Review by Diana McCarthy, Falkland Branch

Try a New Author - Elizabeth Peters

Elizabeth Peters:

Meet Amelia Peabody. Victorian England gentlewoman who decides to use her inheritance to see the world. The only problem is her trip is cut short when she gets to Egypt and meets Emerson. He is crass, loud and everything Amelia can’t stand in a man. They are perfect for each other. The fact that he is an Egyptologist and Amelia has fallen in love with the country doesn’t hurt either. One of my all-time favourite series. Start with Crocodile on the Sandbank.

Mystery


Recommendation by Annette at the Mission Branch

Bones of the Lost - Mummified Dogs and Murder!

Kathy Reichs has released another novel in her TemperanceBrennan series entitled Bones of the Lost. This series now stands at 16 published novels (plus one “E-Short” that has just recently been released.) FYI: E-Shorts are novels that can only been downloaded onto an e-reader or other device and/or read on a computer…no paper copies are available. For those who haven’t tried this author before I encourage you to give it a chance. And if you already read and enjoy the stories…what are you waiting for?? And don’t forget about her Virals series for young adults!

This story features a hit-and-run murder of an anonymous girl in a shady stretch of town, smuggled mummified dogs, a serious murder investigation by the American army on foreign soil, some issues with ex’s, and a web of connections that will leave you still trying to get it all straight in your mind once you finish the book! It is an enjoyable read that will make you smile, laugh, and feel a bit sad all within minutes.

The library has copies of this title available as a Quickread, as a regular hold, and in Audio format.

 

Review by Diana McCarthy, Community Librarian, Falkland Branch

Try a New Author - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon

The first book in her Dark Hunter series is Fantasy Lover or if you are into Manga try Dark Hunters, Vol 1. This series highlights a different character in every installment and even though the basic plot is the same each book is a treat to read. Basically each book has a character who is either a Dark Hunter (Vampire that doesn’t drink blood), Were Hunter, Dream Hunter or God. Each has trials to get through to meet the love of their life. The books have lots of angst, humour and sex. This is another series that should not be missed if you are a Paranormal Romance reader.

Recommended by Annette at Mission Branch

October is Small Business Month in BC and at the Library!

It's Small Business Month and you won't believe all the resources we have available at the library to help your small business succeed!

Let's start with books! Our reference staff have put together the following booklists:

Entrepreneurship
Human Resources
Business Communication
Branding

As a part of Small Business Month, we are featuring some of the ORL’s online resources that can entrepreneurs may find useful. 

All resources discussed below can be accessed by ORL patrons through the “View all Digital Resources” button found on the ORL homepage, www.orl.bc.ca .

Looking to get your business off the ground and need some guidance on how to write a business plan to seek out funding? Check out the Business Plans Handbook; it offers a wide collection of sample business plans and business plan templates from everything from bakeries, to specialty clothing stores, to photography studios.

To find a sample business plans,

·         Search through all volumes of this series using the search box underneath the cover image of the handbook, or, 
·         Click on one of the listed volumes to browse through its contents.

You can find full-text articles on business news and management from the following magazines in the Canadian Business and Current Affairs index: 

·         Canadian Business 
·         Report on Business Magazine
·         The Canadian Manager

For a refresher on how to search through CBCA by publication, check out last month’s blog post.

Do you want to read your magazines in full colour print-like layout? You can find these magazines, which focus on how Canadian issues affect businesses and entrepreneurs, in the ORL’s Zinio for Libraries collection: 

·         BCBusiness Magazine
·         Profit

If you are new to Zinio for Libraries, check out this helppage on the ORL website on how to get started.

Finally, here are some helpful links: 

Small Business Accelerator

Small Business BC

We hope you have a successful Small Business Month!