Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

On the shelves - Dec. 23

The following books are available at:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

"One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season" by Chris Ballard shares the memorable story of a team from rural Illinois that defied convention and the odds to emerge from a field of 370 teams and made an improbable run to the state finals.

"Spymasters" by W.E.B. Griffin blends World War II historical detail with riveting action as OSS spy chief Wild Bill Donovan is tapped by FDR to assist in coordinating a mission to sabotage Germany's torpedo munitions while uncovering a mole who is leaking Manhattan Project secrets to the Soviets.

"Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout" by Philip Connors offers the remarkable reflections of an ex- Wall Street Journal editor who spent half a year in a 7-square-foot tower at the top of a mountain in New Mexico's Gila wilderness keeping watch over a rugged and roadless landscape in one of the most fire-prone forests in the country.

"Shine, Shine, Shine" by Lydia Metzer travels from the dead surface of the moon to the hot center of the human heart as Sunny Mann, a woman longing for an ideal life, and her savant astronaut husband Maxon struggle through a troubled marriage until an accident in space reveals the strength of their deep bond.

"Amy, My Daughter" by Mitch Winehouse presents a candid, compelling and heartbreaking story of a remarkable and talented young singer whose public struggles with drugs and alcohol ended her life too soon, even as she left a music legacy that will live on for generations.

"The Great Escape" by Susan Phillips begins as Lucy Jonk, the daughter of the former president of the United States, jilts her soon-to-be husband at the altar and embarks on the adventure she has been waiting for in the company of a rough-looking, bad-tempered stranger who couldn't be more foreign to her privileged existence.

"Are Your Prescriptions Killing You? How to Prevent Dangerous Interactions, Avoid Deadly Side Effects, and Be Healthier with Fewer Drugs" by Armon Neel reveals what you and your loved ones need to know about the risks, dangers, and benefits of prescription drugs, and the catastrophic results that can occur when they react with one another.

Portales Public Library

"My New Granny" by Elisabeth Steinkellner with illustrations by Michael Roher. Before, Fini's granny would comment on Fini's strange hairstyles, help her feed the ducks in the park, had traveled all over the world, and was an amazing cook, but now her granny has changed. Now, Fini's granny admires wacky hairdos, eats bread crumbs meant for the ducks, and does not travel or cook anymore. Eventually, Granny has to come live with Fini's family because almost like a little child she needs to be watched. She needs help washing and dressing, and falls asleep underneath the kitchen table. Fini is unsure of this "new" Granny who looks the same, but certainly acts like a completely different person. How will Fini and her grandma be able to connect now that she's changed? Simple text captures the thoughts of a child while the illustrations paint a realistic picture of how children can learn to cope with a grandparent with dementia.

"A Thousand Deer: Four Generations of Hunting and the Hill Country" by Rick Bass. Countless families across Texas head out every November for the annual deer hunt, a ritual that spans generations, ethnicities, socioeconomics, and gender as perhaps to no other cultural experience in the state. For more than seventy-five years, Rick Bass's family has returned to the same hardscrabble piece of land in the Hill Country-"the Deer Pasture". Bass walks the Deer Pasture again in memory and stories, tallying up what hunting there has taught him about our need for wildness and wilderness, about cycles in nature and in the life of a family, and particularly about how important it is for children to live in the natural world.

"All-American Boy" by Larzer Liff. The all-American boy has been an iconic figure in American literature. Sometimes, he was a "good boy," whose dutiful behavior was intended as a model for real boys to emulate and other times, he was a "bad boy," whose mischievous escapades could be excused as youthful exuberance. Whether good or bad, the all-American boy was a product of the historical moment in which he made his appearance in print, and to trace his evolution over time is to take a fresh view of America's cultural history. Ziff looks at eight classic examples of the all-American boy -young Washington, Rollo, Tom Bailey, Tom Sawyer, Ragged Dick, Peck's "bad boy," Little Lord Fauntleroy, and Penrod-as well as Huckleberry Finn and Holden Caulfield. Ziff reveals how the all-American boy represented a response to his times, ranging from the newly independent nation's need for models of democratic citizenship, to the tales of rags-to-riches beloved during a century of accelerating economic competition, and to the recognition of adolescence as a distinct phase of life.