The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

Elana Klovis is tired of waiting for her prince to come. She decides to leave her evil step-family and go find herself a job. Really, how much worse could it be? She ends up the new Fairy Godmother of the land. Talk about a whole new lot on life. But can a Fairy Godmother do her job and fall in love? This is something Elana has to wrestle with along with trolls, pixies, and evil witches and warlocks. This was a fun read and I really enjoyed the beginning of this series and can't wait to read more.

Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook Feasting With Your Slow Cooker by Dawn J. Ranck

Here it is the month of January, so I decided I should try some new recipes. This slow cooker cookbook looked interesting, and yes, I tried 4 recipes from the book. The first one was Hamburger Vegetable Soup on pg. 32. The soup turned out well. It was tasty and it was a big recipe so the family could have soup a couple times that week. It was not fast to make as I had to chop all the vegetables and brown the hamburger first, but once it was in the pot I could go to work for the day and forget it.
I noticed that this book included desserts that could be made in the slow cooker. I tried 2 desserts. Hot Fudge Cake took 3 hours in the cooker and was immediately devoured with a scoop of vanilla ice cream(pg. 249). Cherry Delight was also easy and delicious with a 3 hour cooking time (pg. 248).
The last thing I tried was the Wild Rice on page 227. I added slender pork shops and had a good meal for the family.
So I had some fun cooking in January. If you didn't know, we have dozens of beautiful cookbooks at the library. Come and try one out!

Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine

Following the incidents of a dysfunctional female college graduate whose name the author never reveals, the novel is a tragic comedy of errors. After reading Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, the graduate is determined to emulate Jim Hawkins, the adventurous hero of the classic, because her life seems stagnant with a series of meaningless jobs. With the help of her mother, she was hired by a Pet Library in a mall. Everything goes downhill from there, as she was fired after stealing the owner's money to buy a parrot for the Library's collection...
Although the story is entertaining, it also alludes to the reality that many people are indeed crying out for help.

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

Alice Grace Ripley, a librarian in Illinois, loses her job because of cutbacks during the Great Depression. She loves to read but her boyfriend breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a dream world of books, even reading a book during a funeral. Alice flees to the Kentucky mountains to deliver boxes of donated books she has been collecting to a library. She plans to stay just a short time until relatives pick her up but ends up left in this town. Lillie, a 100 year old past slave and Mack, the librarian, add a lot of humor to the story. In the town of Alcorn times are rough with no running water or electricity and a long-time family feud. She delivers books in the mountains by horseback to people in need. Dangers exist in this town; there is a fake death and questions concerning a past coal mining accident. Alice finds many real life adventures in these mountains and a little romance too.

One For The Money by Janet Evanovich

I wanted to read One For The Money because the library is doing a program on it prior to it coming out in cinemas. It seems like almost everyone on staff has read Evanovic but me. I found it to be a fast paced read and it was easy to get to know the characters. The action is attention-getting and I can see how it could easily be made into a movie. You are quickly involved in the life of Stephanie Plum, a girl down on her luck and ready to try anything. Being out of a job she convinces her cousin Vinnie to let her take a shot at being an apprehension agent (bounty hunter). Although she has no skills, she has a few friends she figures can give her a few pointers. Besides, she needs the money. This is where the real adventure and danger begin. After reading the first novel in the Stephanie Plum series I would definitely be a member of "Team Morelli" (come to our program to learn what this is). Read this book to get your crime novel fix.