It’s not quite what Mattie had in mind, though she actually has the traits to be a deputy coroner like being a gossip as well as curious and tenacious. With a brash, sarcastic humor and numerous mishaps in tow, Mattie uses her skills of questioning to find the guilty in the Mattie Winston Mystery Series by Annelise Ryan.

Mattie’s first case is a little too close when the nurse Mattie’s husband was seeing is found murdered. Mattie is off the case, and she and her soon to be ex-husband are both suspects, though Mattie does get to meet the handsome detective, Steven Hurley, which might just make it all worth it in Working Stiff. The second book in the series is Scared Stiff, and the latest book is Frozen Stiff.

Martha Stewart has written a guide that will help prepare you not only for spring cleaning but everything required to run a clean and efficient household.  The book is Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide for Caring for Everything in Your Home.  This book is located in the Home Neighborhood, with other useful books on the same subject.  Stewart’s useful handbook tells the reader what they need to know to start, run, and maintain a household.  Do you want to know how to store knives?  Mend a ripped seam?  Keep track of warranties?  Keep bouquets fresh?  Find the best tools for keeping everything in your house clean?  All of this and much, much more is in this guide.
Stewart starts off with an explanation on how to use her book, and she moves to a tutorial on cleaning products.  She follows this advice with checklists for what cleaning should be done on a daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal basis with two extra checklists for spring and fall cleaning.  The rest of the book is packed with information and advice on how to complete these checklists.   She includes step-by-step instructions illustrated with photographs to assist you in whatever you are cleaning, repairing, or maintaining.

So to answer the question of where to start, start with Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping  Handbook.

Photo Credits
The Gardeners Network
BuySell.com

	1 KILL SHOT, by Vince Flynn. Mitch Rapp, a C.I.A. super-agent hunting down perpetrators of the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing, finds himself caught in a dangerous trap.
	2 CATCH ME, by Lisa Gardner.A woman asks the Boston detective D.D. Warren to prevent her being murdered in four days’ time.
	3  DEFENDING JACOB, by William Landay. An assistant district attorney’s ife is shaken when his 14-year-old son is accused of murder.
	4  PRIVATE: #1 SUSPECT, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. When a former lover’s dead body is found in his bed, Jack Morgan, a former Marine and the head of an investigative firm, is accused of murder.
	5 11/22/63, by Stephen King. An English teacher travels back to 1958 by way of a time portal in a Maine diner. His assignment is to stop Lee Harvey Oswald, but first he must determine if Oswald is guilty.
	6 DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY, by P. D. James. Six years after Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy marry, their comfortable life is shaken by a murder, as James recreates the world of “Pride and Prejudice” with a mysterious twist.
	7  HOME FRONT, by Kristin Hannah. A woman’s husband and children are challenged when she is deployed to Iraq.
	8  TAKEN, by Robert Crais. It’s Joe Pike to the rescue when Elvis Cole is seized by human traffickers.
	9 THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. The third volume of the Millennium trilogy, about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.
	10 LEFT FOR DEAD, by J. A. Jance. Ali Reynolds seeks justice for an old friend and an unidentified woman, both victims of brutal attacks.

NonFiction

	1  AMERITOPIA, by Mark R. Levin. A talk-show host and president of Landmark Legal Foundation surveys the utopian movement and warns that Americans must choose between utopianism and liberty.
	2 HILARITY ENSUES, by Tucker Max. More stories from a life of serial debauchery.
	3  AMERICAN SNIPER, by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. A member of the Navy Seals who has the most career sniper kills in United States military history discusses his childhood, his marriage and his battlefield experiences during the Iraq war.
	4 STEVE JOBS, by Walter Isaacson. A biography of the recently deceased entrepreneur, based on 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years.
	5 KILLING LINCOLN, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. The commentator looks at the heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
	6  QUIET, by Susan Cain. Introverts — one-third of the population — are undervalued in American society.
	7 ONCE UPON A SECRET, by Mimi Alford. A former White House intern recounts her affair with John F. Kennedy.
	8 BRINGING UP BÉBÉ, by Pamela Druckerman. An American mother discovers the principles of French parenting.
	9 BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS, by Katherine Boo. A journalist reports on families striving for better lives in a Mumbai slum.
	10  UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand. An Olympic runner’s story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.

If you own a Smartphone, then you should be utilizing various apps to help you travel with more ease. The apps mentioned below are available on both android and apple Smartphones. And there are many more travel apps available than what is mentioned, so search in the market/app store or travel magazines at the library to find the ones that work best for you!

Many of you may or may not have heard, but the State Library of Kansas has a mobile app called 3M Cloud Library. This app allows you to search, checkout, and read books right on your Smartphone! Before you leave for your trip, make sure you sign up for a Kansas Library Card at TSCPL so you have the ability to use this app. (Free)

Gas Buddy is a great resource that helps you locate the gas stations with the best prices in your area. (Free)

Gate Guru helps you navigate your way around airport terminals regarding restaurants, shops, and services. Reviews are available, and this app is available in 125 airports. (Free)

Google Goggles can identify landmarks, brands, works of art, and will even translate foreign text inside a picture. This is a must-have app for travelling overseas. (Free)

Google Translate will help you translate over 60 different languages. Most languages allow you to speak the phrase you want translated and you can hear the correct translation in the foreign language. (Free)

Hotel Tonight is a great app that allows you to search for hotels at the last minute. Within seconds, you can have the room reserved for a low rate. (Free)

Skype is a great resource to use if you have access to Wi-Fi. You can call any phone much cheaper than you otherwise would. The best part is if your family/friends also have Skype, your calls are absolutely free. If you don’t have time to talk, then you can use Skype’s chatting feature to send free instant messages. (Free)

Trip It allows you to send your airline, hotel, restaurant, and tour reservations to plans@tripit.com, and the Trip It app will merge everything into the app. You can see and manage all your travel plans and not lose the data. (Free)

Trip Journal is essentially a digital diary. You can record all the sights and sounds by recording the routes you take, take videos and photographs, and make notes of what you see and experience. You can connect the app to your blog, facebook, twitter, and more! Also, trips can be archive so you have them for future reference. ($2.90)

uPackingList is a great tool to help you pack for your trip without the headache. You won’t forget to pack even the smallest item due to the ability to check an item off from a convenient list of necessary items right on your Smartphone. You also have the ability to send any list via email. (Free)

Where uses the GPS locator in your phone to real-time information regarding cheap gas, weather forecasts, movie show times, restaurant reviews, traffic conditions, and news headlines. This app also lets you browse the yellow pages and the Yelp app directory. (Free)

XE Currency is a currency exchange app that is updated every minute so you have up to date currency conversions. There are over 180 currencies that the app provides the exchange rates. The app also stores the latest currency rate. You can follow up to 10 different currency exchange rates at once. (Free)

Yelp helps you find restaurant where you are visiting. There are many restaurant finders out there, but Yelp has the comprehensive reviews. (Free)

Many airlines have apps to help you check the flight status, see a standby list, book flights, and even check in. Some airlines have better apps, but it is a great convenience to have on your trip. Make sure you get the app for the airline which you fly the most since it may not be worth downloading every airline app. Some airlines that have apps include: American Airlines, Continental, Southwest, United Airlines, and US Airways. (Free)

Do you have a favorite app that you can’t live without that you’d like to add to the list? Please share!

Four artists work collaboratively to produce these scenes, or tableaus, in The Waiting Room - Marguerite Perret, Stephanie Lanter, Bruce Scherting, and Robin Lasser. These four artists also work with communities, collecting stories and experiences, making more objects that convey ideas. The artists put these elements together into whole scenes, what artists call installations. An installation changes the space it’s in. The arrangment of the objects can change with each exhibit. Each tableau depicts a women’s health issue. A sculptural chair represents the “patient”. Around this chair are other elements, related to some aspect of the problem.

Watching the artists working together, and talking about what they were trying to convey, was really fascinating. For the Melancholia (Depression) chair, the artists combined a Victorian fainting couch with Dr. Sigmund Freud’s study chair. Beside the chair is an ornate opera glove, covered with beadwork and dangling, tear-shaped beads. “If someone were actually wearing it, the weight of the tears would literally drag them down,” said Stephanie Lanter, who hand-crocheted the glove. “It shows the heaviness of the disease. It’s beautiful, but it doesn’t allow you to do anything.”

I’ve heard people ask “What do they have to be depressed about?” And often, there isn’t any “cause” for depression, nothing to point to and say “I’m depressed about this.” Such is the case with depression. The imbalance of chemistry in the brain keeps the sufferer from shaking off the sadness. The cheerful chemicals fail to kick in. The sadness stays. And weighs.

I think this glove, combined with this chair, is a visually articulate way to convey this idea.

They’re here! Check out all the hot new titles that are available in Large Print. There’s a little something for everyone with non-fiction, detective, romance, and inspirational works. You can get on the reserve list today, just click on the title to go straight to the catalog listing or call 580-4545 to place your order.

Don’t see a particular title on the shelf? Check with our friendly Red Carpet staff to see if a 14-day express copy is available.

Non-Fiction

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Fiction

Capital Wives by Rochelle Alers

Seduced By Grace by Jennifer Blake

The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden

The Stonehenge Legacy by Sam Christer

Don’t Look Back by Lynette Eason

Dark Predator by Christine Feehan

Spirit Bound by Christine Feehan

Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist

Kissing Comfort by Jo Goodman

Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason

Springtime of the Spirit by Maureen Lang

Stagestruck by Peter Lovesey

Secret Obsession by Kimberla Lawson Roby

The Chair by James L. Rubart

A Whisper of Peace by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Guilty Pleasures by Beatrice Small

Life Everlasting by Robert Whitlow

Hometown Sweetheart by Lenora Worth

Through a series of flashbacks to her rich, hippy, private jet upbringing, readers surmise that life as a celebrity kid isn’t that different from a life in Hell.

New friendships, telemarketing during the dinner hour, meeting and dissing Hitler, and a healthy variety of disgusting daemons await Madison, who dishes it all out in matter-of-fact, typical preteen style. Maddy is remaking her crappy old-life image with her eye on the prize.  She wants to take over Hell.

Palahniuk delivers a series of pop culture, drug, and popular media references in his trademark tongue-in-cheek style.   Fans of his writing are sure to get a familiar chuckle or gag from this work.

On January 2nd I started a new workout plan – Les Mills PUMP. I had been flip-flopping between Insanity and P90X for awhile and was getting a little bored with them. They are both great programs but I needed to make a new commitment to my health and I needed something different. I am now 45 days into PUMP, midway through the 90 day program and it has just flown by. During this time I have noticed several things.

First, I am stronger than I think I am both mentally and physically. I can push past myself when I need to. It is where real change happens.

Secondly and more importantly, I need others to help me succeed. I call them accountability partners. This could be a spouse, colleague, friend, acquaintance, or even a group on Facebook of more than 650 people (shout out to TEAM PUMP) I have never met. I was part of another group when I went through my first round of Insanity. The InsaneCrew (hashtag #insanecrew) was a group I connected with on Twitter. Just like TEAM PUMP they are like minded individuals located all around the United States and they have been there with me every step (jump, squat, pushup, etc.) of the way. Accountability partners can’t lift the weight for you, or do the cardio that you need, or even pick the foods that you eat. But they can be there to encourage you, answer questions that you have, share recipes, or give you a laugh when you need it.

Whether you need to lose 10 pounds or over 100, find someone or a group of people that will support you during this journey. At least for me, these two groups have helped me get in the best shape of my life. Who helps YOU be the best you can be? Let me know in the comments section below.

If you are not on Facebook and want to know how to connect to others take our Facebook for Beginners class. Call our trainers at 580-4606 or email class@tscpl.org to get more information. For other great ideas on making healthy changes in your life visit the health neighborhood.

The Exodus of the Northern Cheyenne synopsis: The Northern Cheyenne Indians’ attempt to flee from Indian Territory and return to their homeland in Montana in 1878 and 1879 is an important event in American Indian history. It is equally important in the history of towns like Oberlin, Kansas, where more than 40 settlers died at the hands of Cheyenne warriors on their flight north. Subsequently more than 60 Cheyennes were killed when they resisted the U.S. Army’s order to return to Indian Territory. The authors explore ways in which the event has been remembered, told and retold.

Leiker is associate professor of History at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. He earned his undergraduate degree from Fort Hays State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Kansas. He has numerous publications including Racial Borders: Black Soldiers along the Rio Grande and The Changing Village: A History of Antonino, Kansas, 1905-2005.

Powers, formerly executive director of the Kansas State Historical Society, also holds an undergraduate degree and an M.A. from Fort Hays State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. He is the author of numerous articles on Plains Indian history.

Books will be available for purchase and a book signing will follow the author talk. For more information please call the Topeka Room at 785-580-4510.

The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library is a 21st-century, landmark library, and features the Alice C. Sabatini Art Gallery, the Millennium Café, Chandler Booktique, meeting rooms, and free computer and Internet access and training.

Library hours are Mon. through Fri. 9 am to 9 pm, Sat. 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday 12 pm to 9 pm.