Story Time @ the Crooksville Branch.

Story Time @ the Junction City Branch.

Teen Sleuthing with Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys!

Nancy Drew Mystery Dinner Theater

Story Time @ the New Lex Library

Story Time @ the Somerset Branch.

Story Time @ the Thornville Branch.

Teen Gaming @ the Junction City Branch Library

We will be discussing "Seperate from the World" by P.L. Gaus.

Enos Erb, an Amish farmer, makes an unusual request of Michael Branden, burned-out history professor and amateur sleuth, given that the Amish practice nonviolence and have no use for the justice system of the outside English world. Erb wants the professor's help finding his brother's murderer. People's unwillingness to confront evil hampers Branden's investigation, which gets interrupted by the apparent suicide of a coed, campus unrest and the kidnapping of an Amish child. Between helping Pastor Cal Troyer cope with a personal crisis and keeping Sheriff Bruce Robertson from blundering impulsively, Brandon realizes that a clever, murderous sociopath is exploiting the preconceptions of Amish and English. While Gaus may not be an elegant stylist, a convincing plot and credible, sympathetic characters make another winner in this fine regional series.

For more information or to register for the "Can We Talk" program please e-mail Linda Parker at lparker@pcdl.org.

Story Time @ the Shawnee Church of Christ.

Story Time @ the Corning Branch.

We will be discussing the book "And You Know You Should Be Glad" by Bob Greene.

Bestselling author Greene (Duty) has filled a shelf with two dozen books, including his 1993 novel All Summer Long, while appearing as a broadcast journalist (Nightline) and writing for newspapers (the Chicago Tribune) and magazines (Life). Now he looks back on his youth in Bexley, Ohio (pop. 13,000), where he and his four pals grew up together, calling themselves ABCDJ (for Allen, Bob, Chuck, Dan and Jack). Their lives' paths diverged, but they always stayed in contact; in 2004, the news that Jack was terminally ill reunited them. Then and now, the group used jokes "to hide our feelings—to pretend to feel nothing... [which] seemed much better than the alternative." Greene met Jack in kindergarten, and they remained best friends for life. Remembering people and places they shared, the two revisit old haunts, discovering that their beloved Toddle House, where they once went for late-night chocolate pie, is now a Pizza Plus. Greene's repetitive, rambling free associations recall everything from his Halloween costume and old songs to ice cream parlors, state fairs and clothing fads. Unfortunately, the author's dusty attic of lost Americana is cluttered with clichés, nostalgia and overly sentimental yearnings.

For more information or to register for the "Can We Talk" program please e-mail Linda Parker at lparker@pcdl.org.