We hope you enjoy our latest VPL Newsletter; to subscribe, email library@vintonia.gov. See you at the library!

• 'Buried Too Deep' by Karen Rose
• 'Pink Glass Houses' by Asha Elias
• 'A Well-Trained Wife' by Tia Levings
• 'Look in the Mirror' by Catherine Steadman
• 'The Perfect Son' by Freida McFadden

• 'The Lost Coast' by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman
• 'Fire and Bones' by Kathy Reichs
• 'Born of Blood and Ash' by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• 'Like Mother, Like Daughter' by Kimberly McCreight (regular type and large type)

• 'The Wedding People' by Alison Espach
• 'The Year of What If' by Phaedra Patrick (regular type and large type)
• 'Bad River' by Marc Cameron

• 'Close Knit' by Jenny Colgan
• 'Shadow of Doubt' by Brad Thor
• 'Arkangel' by James Rollins
• 'The Rose Arbor' by Rhys Bowen
• 'The Horse' by Willy Vlautin

On April 12, 1912, Hazel Rothbury boarded the Titanic. Hazel, who is only twelve years old, travels alone to America to work with her aunt in a factory. Working in a factory away from her family is not something Hazel wants to do but must help make income to support her mother and brothers. Hazel's real dream is to become a journalist! Alone and unsure of the Titanic, Hazel meets a few friends that can help her get some questions answered about the Titanic for her news story. From the beginning, Hazel questions how the Titanic was built, why there aren't enough lifeboats, what are icebergs, and how do the fires not spread from down below. Hazel is full of courage and determined to write a story by the time she lands in America so that she doesn't have to work in a factory. People doubt Hazel due to her age and social class, but Hazel is willing to do anything to share Titanic's secrets.

~Kellie Roberts, Children's Librarian

Review of 'The Briar Club' by Kate Quinn:

Don’t even stop to read the rest of this review until you get this book! VPL has a copy which you can reserve, and Libby has a 15-hr. audiobook. One of the most riveting historical fiction books I’ve read in a long time, 'The Briar Club' is rated 4.46 by Goodreads, and has gotten raves by fellow authors Kristin Harmel and Fiona Davis! It was just released and is on the NYT best seller list for the second week. In my opinion, Quinn has a blockbuster with this one!

Although billed as historical fiction, Quinn has woven actual people and events so skillfully into the narrative that it reads like nonfiction.

Set in the early-to-mid 1950s at the height of the McCarthy era, a boardinghouse full of women in Washington, DC, form unlikely friendships over sun tea and deadly secrets. Each chapter tells the backstory of a different character, then draws all of the lives together into an intimate story of world proportions. Don’t miss this one! (Disclaimer : violence, language, sexual themes.)

~ Connie, Library Assistant

This weekend I read the 2022 debut novel from Shelby Van Pelt titled 'Remarkably Bright Creatures.' In a word, this story was lovely. We meet Cameron, a thirty year old man granted no favors in life who hasn't quite grown up; Tova, a stoic widowed Swede plugging away at her solitary life; and Marcellus, an intelligent and sneaky Pacific octopus living out his remaining days in captivity. These characters' lives intertwine in several unexpected ways in a subtle and heartwarming reflection on grief, family and being present for one another.

In her acknowledgements, the author shares that the story began as a writing exercise involving writing from an unexpected point of view.

This title currently has 4.39/5 stars on goodreads.com, and is available at VPL in regular type and large type.

Happy reading!
~Kelly Henkle, Library Director

I am so glad I stuck with this novel until completion even though it took me almost three weeks to finish! 'Long Island Compromise' by Taffy Brodesser-Akner is a character study of generational trauma caused by wealth passed down through a Jewish American family living in Middle Rock, Long Island. There was so much self-loathing and self-sabotage in the beginning of the novel that I had to take a break: sexual transgressions on the really dark side (here's your warning) and so much drug usage that an elephant would black-out. But it was comical. Comical in a very dark way that made me pick up the book again and next thing I knew I had a soft spot for the Fletcher family of Long Island that were systemically destroying themselves through each generation because, yes, too much money can be a problem. Especially when you haven't earned it.

"In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse, and the family moves on with their lives, resuming their prized places in the saga of the American dream, comforted in the realization that though their money may have been what endangered them, it is also what assured them their safety.

But now, nearly forty years later, it’s clear that perhaps nobody ever got over anything, after all. Carl has spent the ensuing years secretly seeking closure to the matter of his kidnapping, while his wife, Ruth, has spent her potential protecting her husband’s emotional health. Their three grown children aren’t doing much better: Nathan’s chronic fear won’t allow him to advance at his law firm; Beamer, a Hollywood screenwriter, will consume anything—substance, foodstuff, women—in order to numb his own perpetual terror; and Jenny has spent her life so bent on proving that she’s not a product of her family’s pathology that she has come to define it. As they hover at the delicate precipice of a different kind of survival, they learn that the family fortune has dwindled to just about nothing, and they must face desperate questions about how much their wealth has played a part in both their lives’ successes and failures."-Goodreads (3.96 rating)

Happy reading, friends!~Heather

You're opinion matters! Click Here to take a brief survey on our 2024 Children's Summer Reading Program!

Our library is selling a collection of 25 of Mark Twain's books, Author's National Edition, on auction. Please visit govdeals.com/vintonia for details and to place your bid. Auction ends August 8th, 2024, at 2:36PM CDT.

Thanks to the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, our library received a $1,000 grant to help us purchase new books for our bicycle-powered bookmobile! Lois Lenski is the author of the classic children's book 'Strawberry Girl.' We're celebrating with a strawberry party! Join us at the park for a special treat!

• Monday, August 12th: Kiwanis Park @ 10am
• Monday, August 12th: Jaycee Park @ 11am
• Friday, August 16th: Lions Park @ 10am
• Friday, August 16th: Riverside Park @ 11am

Join us at Vinton's Celebration Park for lunch with the library staff! Bring a sack lunch and join us for a casual conversation about books; we’ll have a limited number of adult fiction titles available for checkout. We'll meet every Monday in September and October, beginning September 9th, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Everyone is welcome. Scheduling subject to staff availability and the weather.

• Monday, September 9th
• Monday, September 16th
• Monday, September 23rd
• Monday, September 30th

Would you rather vacation on THE BEACH or THE MOUNTAINS ? Stop in and cast your vote! We are divided at the library!!!

This summer we have been focusing on how to reduce, reuse and recycle. During Craft Squad, children used old noodles to create clay art. This was a fun way to reuse items to create something new!

We love our volunteers! Emma M. is an art student who has volunteered this summer with many children's events during the Summer Reading Program! The kids love her drawings! We hope she comes back next summer, too! Thank you, Emma M.!!!

We have 'It Ends With Us' by Colleen Hoover available for checkout in regular type; happy reading!

Save the Date!! Make plans to join us for our 2nd Annual Red Carpet Party! Semi-formal dress is encouraged but not required. We will have Oscar-themed trivia games, beverages, appetizers, and more! Thanks to a generous donation from Express Limousine of North Liberty, we are once again holding a raffle for a 2-hour limo ride prior to the event. This event is for patrons 21+. All proceeds benefit the 2025 Children's Summer Reading Program.

Iowa's 14th Annual Healthiest State Walk is Wednesday, October 2nd, and our library is walking to help Make it OK!! Join us at Noon on Oct. 2nd for a 30-minute walk around town; everyone is welcome! Iowa Healthiest State Initiative

High five to this guy who has read 100 books!

Thank you, ISU Extension! We enjoyed making salsa!

The Summer Reading Program ended with prizes! Roxann H. was the lucky winner of the Baking Lovers gift pack! She took home a cupcake carrier, cake mix, frosting, and cupcake liners! Yay!!!

This week's Volunteer Spotlight is: Athena A.! Athena has been volunteering her time painting an adorable fairy village scene in the Children's Library! She has also helped us during the Summer Reading Program for special events! We love our volunteers! Thank you, Athena!!!

Matt W. is a winner of the Beanstack reading challenge and took home Prize 1: Vinton Value dollars totaling $40!!! Yay! Congrats, Matt!

Yippee! This friend has joined the 300 book club!

Our 2024 Children's Summer Reading Program ended today with some fun in the sun...and FOAM!!! Thanks to our friends from Absolute Science lots of kids got to play in the foam and make memories to last a lifetime! Also a huge thank you to our business neighbor McDowell's for letting us use the lot next door to our library!! We also played with sidewalk chalk, pinwheels and bubbles and enjoyed tasty popsicles!

Congrats to these kids for winning our 2024 Children's Summer Reading Program grand prize drawings!! Every child that signs up earns 4 prizes donated by our local businesses just by logging their reading. A big thanks to all of our business sponsors for their generous support of our library! We couldn't do it without you!

The Summer Reading Program was a hit! We have another lucky winner! Chelsea L. took home the Mindfulness Prize pack which included: a Yoga mat, VPL journal and an essential oil diffuser! Congrats, Chelsea!!!

Hours of Operation:

Mondays: 9a-5p

Tuesdays: 9a-6p

Wednesdays: 9a-5p

Thursdays: 9a-8p

Fridays: 9a-4p

Saturdays: 9a-Noon

Sundays: Closed

Copy services: $0.20 per black and white, $0.25 per color

Fax services: $1.00 for 1-2 pages, $2.00 for 3+ pages

Notary services: No charge, call 319-472-4208 for availability

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Boardroom available at no charge; reservations required

Email: library@vintonia.gov
Website: vinton.lib.ia.us
Location: 510 2nd Avenue, Vinton, IA, USA
Phone: (319) 472-4208
Facebook: facebook.com/heartofvinton