Garden Gate and Organic Gardening: March Magazines of the Month

Spring is finally on its way, and with the official change of season on March 20th, it's time to start planning your garden. Whether you're looking at grand landscaping or just trying to grow some potted flowers, Carnegie-Stout has the materials to help you get started.

We're highlighting two of our many gardening magazines this month:

Garden Gate began publication in 1995, and has remained a popular source for gardening advice, tips, and information. The magazine's publisher, August Home, is based in Des Moines, Iowa, and the magazine is notable for the lack of advertisements. You can check out an issue from the library, or take a look at the extra features available on their website: www.gardengatemagazine.com 

 Organic Gardening began publication in 1942, and is today part of the Rodale, which publishes several health and wellness magazines. The magazine's decades of focus on the environment provide a wealth of expertise for today's interest in sustainability and the green movement. Organic Gardening is available in both print and digital collections. To check out a digital issue of this or many other magazines through your computer or tablet, check out Zinio. Additional features and content are available through their website: www.organicgardening.com

Previous magazines of the month with a gardening theme have included: Urban Farm and Fine Gardening. Or if you find that you much prefer reading about gardening to actually getting your hands dirty, check out this list of gardening themed mysteries.

Staff Review: Unmentionables by Laurie Loewenstein

Laurie Loewenstein has written a simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting insight into our world as it was a century ago. With scenes in small-town Illinois, war-torn France and gritty Chicago, you will experience both humor and hardship along with Loewenstein's flawed but lovable cast of characters.

The story reads as though in a contemporary setting. You'll find yourself immersed in long-standing feuds, cruel discrimination, military hospitals, and of course, love and adventure, almost without noticing the author's thorough research. She includes fascinating details of everything from clothing to printing presses to relationships and expectations. Your eyes will be opened to the obstacles and charm of the slower communication and transportation, and the (even more) judgmental neighbors, our ancestors lived with not so long ago.

Unmentionables includes a little something for everyone. You'll learn about the struggle for women's suffrage and early 20th-century politics and economics. The characters are diverse and complex, and you may find yourself missing a couple of them when you finish the book. If you're looking for a feel-good novel with a little extra education and drama, Unmentionables is perfect for you.

~Rachel, Technical Services

Dubuque Tournament of Books 2014: Meet the Books

March is just around the corner and that means it's time for the 2nd Annual Dubuque Tournament of Books! Be sure to stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor to pick up your tournament bracket for a chance to win a fabulous prize!

This year we have a team of local judges who will decide which book is our champion:

Judge: Fran

River Lights Bookstore 

 Gulp by Mary Roach

Mary Roach (author of Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers) continues to explore the weirder corners of science in this witty look at the digestive tract.
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

Lucy Knisley's engaging, lively graphic memoir about the importance of good food to her life and family received a 2013 Alex Award.

Judge: Marie

River Lights Bookstore 

 

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

A lyrical story of an Afghani family through the turbulence of the 20th century from the author of The Kite Runner.
The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

The richly detailed history of life in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the WWII factory town devoted to the top secret project to build the atomic bomb.

Judge: Charleen

Cheap Thrills book blog 

Suspect by Robert Crais

A fast-paced tale of a cop hunting for his partner's killers with the help of Maggie, a German Shepard suffering from PTSD after deployment in Afghanistan, from the author of the Elvis Cole mystery series.
Sycamore Row by John Grisham

John Grisham's first sequel returns to the characters and setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill, as Jake Brigance takes on the controversy that erupts after the suicide of a wealthy man.

Judge: Bethany

Finding Pins and Needles 

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

A suspenseful story from the Australian Liane Moriarty, Cecelia's life is perfect until the day she discovers a letter from her husband that contains a shocking secret.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

The first in a fast-paced series featuring private investigator Cormoran Strike from the author best known for writing the Harry Potter series.

Judge: Becky

Charles C. Myers Library, University of Dubuque

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

A bittersweet story of first love between misfits in 1986, Rainbow Rowell's first young adult novel is a 2014 Printz Honor book.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Personalities clash in this thought-provoking novel, directionless Louisa takes a job as an assistant to Will, a paraplegic adrenaline-junky who doesn't want to live his life in a wheelchair.

Judge: Sue

Nicholas J. Schrup Library, Clarke University

 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

An engaging and funny novel by debut novelist Graeme Simsion, the super logical scientist Don's plan to find a wife is thrown into chaos when he meets Rosie, who is searching for her biological father.
The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway

Debut novelist Bee Ridgway's intricately plotted story of conspiracy, time travel, and romance features compelling characters and enough mystery to keep the pages turning.

Judge: Megan

Telegraph Herald

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Kline examines the overlooked stories of unwanted children in this moving novel. Molly, a teen who's spent years in the foster system, meets Vivian, who came to Minnesota on an orphan train decades ago. 
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini 

The author of the popular Elm Creek Quilts series turns her pen to the life of Elizabeth Keckley, former slave and dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln in this richly detailed novel.

Judge: Bob

Dubuque 365Ink

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

This bittersweet and haunting tale of childhood friendship is a good entry point to the dreamlike writing of the popular Neil Gaiman.
Tenth of December by George Saunders

Wry, whimsical, and unpredictable, this short story collection by essayist and novelist Saunders was a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award.

FY15 Library Budget Presentation Video

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council last night about the Library's fiscal year 2015 budget recommendations. Here's the video:


For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2015 Budget.

You can pick up a copy of the Annual Report for Carnegie-Stout Public Library by stopping in, or on our website.