On the shelves - June 17

A brief look at other top stories:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

"Weekends with O'Keeffe" by C.S. Merrill and "Santa Fe Reflections" by Steve Larese were given by Oscar and Carolyn Toliver in memory of Wiley Snyder.

At the age of eighty-five, Georgia O'Keeffe hired C.S. Merrill, then twenty-six, to organize her extensive library; a job that lasted for seven years as Merrill worked with the artist in her library and in her home as personal assistant, caretaker, cook, and secretary, all the while keeping a journal of their daily life that formed the background for Weekends with O'Keeffe.

"Santa Fe Reflections" contains 250 glorious, colorful images that reflect Santa Fe's year-round appeal in a fresh look at this historic and modern city where streets, monuments, and architecture recall the past; festivals celebrate the mix of cultures in the region, rodeos continue the activities of cowboys and life in the Old West, and artists create a shopper's Mecca.

"The Hurt Machine" by Reed Coleman begins as Moe Prager is asked to investigate the murder of a New York paramedic; an event that may have been triggered when the victim and her partner refused to give assistance to a dying man at a downtown restaurant, leading Moe on a trail of bureaucratic greed, sexual harassment, and blackmail.

"Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals: Delicious Primal-approved Meals You Can Make in Under 30 Minutes" by Mark Sisson makes it easy to transition from the typical American grain-based diet to fresh, organic, gluten-free, low carbohydrate food choices that provide the foundation for a lifetime of simple and healthy eating.

"Death of a Kingfisher: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery" by M.C. Beaton is set in the quaint Scottish village of Braikie where the citizens are forced by the recession to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their town, but just as the town's luck starts to turn, a wave of vandalism, animal cruelty, and murder threatens to ruin Braikie forever.

"National Geographic Guide to Medicinal Herbs: The World's Most Effective Healing Plants" by Rebecca Johnson showcases 72 of the world's most effective healing plants along with their botany, medicinal uses, how-to advice, dosages, and medical cautions.

Portales Public Library

"Tumbleweeds," by Leila Meacham

Eleven-year-old Cathy Benson feels she has been dropped into a cultural and intellectual wasteland when she is forced to move from her academically privileged life in California to the small town of Kersey, Texas after being recently orphaned. She is quickly taken under the unlikely wings of up-and-coming gridiron stars and classmates John Caldwell and Trey Don Hall in the Texas Panhandle where the sport of football reigns supreme. They are orphans like herself with whom she forms a friendship and an eventual love triangle that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. Taking the three friends through their growing-up years until their graduations from high school when several tragic events uproot and break them apart, the novel expands to follow their careers and futures until they reunite in Kersery at forty-years-old. Desperate to discover how it all plays out, readers of Tumbleweeds will definitely be turning the pages.

"The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep," by Harvey Karp, M.D.

Dr. Harvey Karp once again works his magic in The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep focusing on the #1 complaint of new parents. Parents experiencing bone-deep fatigue when their children sleep poorly is not just a nuisance, but very serious. Sleep deprivation can provoke illness, depression, marital conflict, and even obesity. Based on Dr. Karp's thirty years as a pediatrician and child developmentalist, this new book reveals groundbreaking new ideas to prevent or cure most sleep problems in children under five years old, including: how to adjust baby's day/night schedule; how to use sleep cues like swaddling and womb sounds; and how to defuse bedtime struggles and help your toddler fall asleep faster. Includes many more foolproof tips used by Dr. Karp with thousands of families to quickly turn nighttime shrieks into nightlong slumber.

"Wicked Business," by Janet Evanovich

Once leading a normal life as a pastry chef in Salem, Massachusetts, Lizzy Tucker has been turned upside down as she battles both sinister forces and an inconvenient attraction to her unnaturally talented but off-limits partner, Diesel. Lizzy and Diesel take up the quest for the Luxuria Stone of English professor Gilbert Reedy after he is mysteriously murdered. The ancient relic is believed by some to be infused with the power of lust. Lizzy and Diesel tear through Boston catacombs, government buildings, and multimillion-dollar residences following cryptic clues leaving behind a trail of robbed graves, public disturbances, and general mayhem. Gerwulf Grimoire also wants the stone, but his motives are far from pure. Lizzy has no idea what he plans on using it for, but fears she is in his crosshairs. Treasures will be sought, and the power of lust will be unmistakable as Diesel and Lizzy attempt to stay ahead of Grimoire, his medieval minion, Hatchet and Anarchy in this ancient game of twisted riddles and high-stakes hide-and-seek.