HARNEY COUNTY LIBRARY
  • About Us
    • Contact Library
    • Support the Library >
      • Bricks for Books
    • The HCL Foundation
    • Advisory Board
    • FAQ
    • Policies >
      • Bulletin Board Policy
      • Internet Use Policy
      • Patron Rules
      • Collection Development
      • Photography Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Social Media Policy
      • Weapons Policy
    • Subscribe to Newsletter!
  • News & Events
    • Bird Festival - Beginners Leathercraft Lab
    • March Programs
    • Fine Free
    • Events Gallery
    • Little Free Libraries
    • Recorded Programs
    • Program Feedback Form
  • Kids
    • Virtual Story Time
    • Kids Learn at Home
    • Story Time
    • Field Trips
  • Teens
    • Paracord Bracelet
    • Teens Learn at Home
  • Western History Room
    • Research
    • Individual & Family Histories
    • Oral History Collection
    • Newspapers & Microfilm Collection
    • Special Collections
    • Photo Galleries
    • Copyright Information
    • Contact Western History Room Staff
  • Resources + Services
    • Library Services
    • Free Digital Services >
      • Hoopla
      • Library2Go
    • Research and Learning
    • Coyote Cinema
    • Takeout From HCL
    • Seed Library >
      • Seed Library Catalog
      • Seed Library Gallery
  • Blog

Notes from Harney County Library

Written by the staff

RSS Feed

Notify Me

MARCH IS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH!

3/8/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
A tribute to women of significance in Harney County history begins with a special acknowledgement of Claire McGill Luce, namesake of archival repository at the Harney County Library.

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗲 was an accomplished businesswoman, humanitarian, and philanthropist born in Andrews, Harney County, Oregon. She successfully worked her way up the corporate ranks from humble beginnings but never lost touch with her roots. Although much of her adult life was spent traveling the world, experiences during her girlhood in rural Oregon were never forgotten.

In 1969, Luce heard that a new library was being planned for Burns and determined to preserve the history of the county she loved. It was Luce's goal to encourage the local community not only to appreciate its rich history but to preserve it for future generations. The next year, she wrote George Hibbard, a friend in Burns, that she had

“...found faith and courage in a place of ghosts, Harney City, from my Grandfather who never experienced comfort and security, but whose door was never locked, and whose meager table was freely shared by every stranger. I am forever grateful to Harney County.”

Beginning in 1970, an annual $1,000 endowment from Luce to the Harney County Library led to the collection of oral history interviews and the gathering of other local historical resources. Her vision culminated with the addition of the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room archives and research room to the Harney County Library.

Shortly after Claire’s untimely death on June 22, 1971, the initial annual endowment was converted to a lump sum distribution in the form of Time-Warner stock. Decades later, the stock value soared and a non-profit library foundation was created to oversee the funds. In 2006, coupled with grants, donations, and matching community-raised funds, creation of the archival room blossomed from Luce’s vision and the seed of her initial bequest.

Read more about Claire McGill Luce's life and accomplishments in a short biography temporarily located on the 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 display at the Harney County Library.

Search the indexed oral history interview transcripts collection and much more online through our Digital Collections website.

0 Comments

February 14th, 2023

2/14/2023

0 Comments

 
Regarded as a fine collection of items, the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room housed within the Harney County Library contains a collection of ‘Harney County’ archived and curated by our staff. Whether you are reading for your own interest or research this room is dedicated to preserving local history.

Here's a recommended reading list:

Picture
Feelin’ Fine!   Bill Hanley's Book Put Together by Anne Shannon Monroe.
Garden City 1931. 8o. Illustrations by William L. Finley. Original cloth. 'Feelin Fine' has long been out of print It has always been a favorite to pass along to someone interested in the subject of Harney County. Bill Hanley was widely known, and greatly admired.

Picture
Harney County by Karen Nitz
Archivist at the Claire Mcgill Luce Western History Room housed within the Harney County Library, combines a lifelong interest in photography and local history to portray early life in one of the West’s final frontiers. She has selected images from the combined collections of the Western History Room, the Harney County Library, the Harney County Historical Society, and private collections throughout the county to illustrate the trials and triumphs of life in the high desert. This book is available for checkout and you can also purchase it online or in the library.

Harney County, Oregon and its Range Land by George Brimlow
This colorful action-packed history runs from Indian times and the first explorations by white men through the period of settlement and Indian wars, the decades of the cattle kings, and into the modern scene of industry and change.
Picture
Harney County: an Historical Inventory by Royal G. Jackson 
This historical mosaic is replete with people, places, and events which have been the primary shapers of the Harney County story. Among these are such notable names as Peter Skene Ogden, John Devine, Sarah Winnemucca, Chief Egan, Peter French, Bill Hanley, Henry Miller, George Smyth, George McGowan, Charles Voegtly , Nathan Brown and others. Harney County Place names reflect the vitality and descriptive powers of hardy settlers adapting to a diverse and demanding environment.

Footloose and Ahorseback: Memories of a Buckaroo on Steens Mountain, Oregon by Johnie “Cactus” Smyth
 Cactus Smyth lived in Andrews, Oregon at the base of the Steens Mountains. He has written stories of his life in the surrounding area.
Picture
Also check out our Special Collection Scrapbook of Mary Neal Kueny: Woman Buckaroo of Harney County

A collection of photographs of the life and times of a true buckaroo woman, Mary Neal Kueny, ranch owner in the Wild Horse Valley on the edge of the Alvord Desert, a true pioneer of the west. She once wrote “It will be nice to know that my name will be in a book to read many years after I have galloped over the mountain.” Over 200 photographs available in this scrapbook.  For more information visit our online digital collections database at: https://harneycountylibrary.catalogaccess.com/search. Select photos of this scrapbook are currently on display at the Harney County Library.


0 Comments

Harney County Library Historical Archives Added to Regional Digital Collections Hub

2/6/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
This February will see two new Oregon collections added to Northwest Digital Heritage: Weston Public Library and Harney County Library.  
Visitors to Northwest Digital Heritage will soon be able to search the Digital Historic Archives Collections of Harney County Library. Harney County has a diverse collection of records that includes images and documents from the Basque community as well as the Burns Paiute Tribe. Adding these archives to Northwest Digital Heritage will improve overall accessibility, allowing more people a chance to discover, access, and view the records.  
Northwest Digital Heritage seeks to enhance access to collections at Oregon’s smaller libraries and museums through digitization, collection hosting and migration services, metadata harvesting, and building local skills and capacity.
Northwest Digital Heritage is a partnership between the State Library of Oregon, Oregon Heritage, and the Washington State Library. To date, Northwest Digital Heritage has added over 200,000 unique items related to Northwest history and culture, and has recently worked with the Orbis Cascade Alliance, Oregon Digital, and University of Washington Libraries to create a distinctly Northwest portal of over a half million unique items available at nwdh.dp.la. 
For questions and inquiries about Northwest Digital Heritage, please contact Ross Fuqua, Data & Digital Projects Consultant, State Library of Oregon, at ross.fuqua@slo.oregon.gov

Harney County Library and Harney County Historical Museum historical archives are also searchable online through our own local Digital Collections website. Explore hundreds of photos, oral history interviews and more. Contact Karen in the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room with questions or for additional research help.
0 Comments

A Year in Fiction Books from the HCL Staff

12/31/2022

0 Comments

 
​As the year comes to an end, here is a reflection of our staff Adult Fiction picks for the year 2022. So many great books and not enough year to read them all. Here is a recap of what Harney County Library staff read and recommends for anyone looking for something to knock their socks off.

Stay tuned for 2023 blog posts to highlighting important reading materials and cheers to a wonderful year ahead. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
ADULT:
  •  A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman: Ove is grumpy but loveable. He points at people he does not like. But underneath his bitterness, there is a kind man with a story that will warm your heart. This book is funny, filled with unexpected friendships and a story to be shared over and over.
  • The Essential Oils Book Creating Personal Blends For Mind & Body: recommended for its simple approach to creating herbal potpourri, salt baths, herbal steams, and sets up the reader for success on the education of essential oils to use and blend successfully.  
  • Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom: Available as an audiobook on Hoopla! A sharp look at Instagram culture and a deeper look at feminism in the digital age through the eyes of an influencer. Makes you think.
  • Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid: A former tennis star returns to retake her record. Fascinating even for non-tennis afficionados.
  • The Paris Wife by Paula McClain: A poignant historical fiction account of Hadley Richardson. Hemingway’s first wife and their life in Jazz Age Paris. 
  • Rose Code by Kate Quinn: 1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

  • Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Toweles: With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.” 
  • The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn: In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kiev (now known as Kyiv), wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper--a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour. 
  • Conviction by Denise Mina: It’s just a normal morning when Anna's husband announces that he's leaving her for her best friend and taking their two daughters with him. With her safe, comfortable world shattered, Anna distracts herself with someone else's story: a true-crime podcast. That is until she recognizes the name of one of the victims and becomes convinced that only she knows what really happened.     
  • Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates: Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. 
  • The Music of Bees, a debut novel by Oregon author, Eileen Garvin: It portrays how a true family can be formed from loving bonds of friendships and compassion, especially when there are limitations in family ties. It is heartwarming and uplifting, giving the reader a reminder that humans can be truly wonderful. It is set in Hood River Oregon, and th author did a good job of describing place and community complication
  • Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier: In another one of her delightfully historical novels, Tracy Chevalier tells the story of early 19th-century British fossil collector Mary Anning, and her lifelong friendship with amateur paleontologist and artist Elizabeth Philpot. "There was something different about her, though I could not say exactly what it was. It was as if she were more certain. If someone were sketching her they would use clear, strong lines, whereas before they might have used faint marks and more shading. She was like a fossil that's been cleaned and set so everyone can see what it is."
0 Comments

NOVEMBER IS NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

11/7/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.

Pictured here are Marian Louie, Mary Teeman, Annie Kennedy Shakespeare, Jennie Louie, and Everett Capps of the Burns Paiute Tribe in 1939.

Marian Louie was a keeper of Burns Paiute tribal history handed down from elders such as her husband's parents, Captain and Jennie Louie, who experienced the atrocities of the 1878 Indian wars in Harney County first hand. Following is an excerpt from the History of the Malheur Paiutes as told by Marian Louie, translated by Minerva Soucie.
 
“𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 “𝘞𝘢𝘥𝘢.” 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 “𝘞𝘢𝘥𝘢-𝘋𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘢” 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘳 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵.”
 
Read the entire text online in the Individual and Family History Files section of the Western History Room on the Harney County Library website.

Browse our new online digital archive and learn more about the local Paiute culture and history.

NEW to our digital collections are four short Paiute creation myths as told by Marian Louie and Chester Beers to Robert W. Gail who illustrated and compiled the stories into booklets.

0 Comments

Miss Isy’s October Books for Tweens (10-13 Years Old) With Ghosts in the Title or as One of the Main Characters:

10/13/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Graphic Novels
 
Bone Vol. 7 - Ghost Circles by Jeff Smith (author) and Steve Hamaker (colorist.)
Summary: The war in the valley rages on while the Bones, Gran'ma Ben, and their loyal rat creature cub venture on a dangerous trek to Atheia, the old city of the royal family. The goal is to bring Thorn to safety, but to do so they must first travel through fields of the mysterious ghost circles where reality meets the supernatural -- and all this while fending off deadly attacks from Briar, Kingdok, and the rat creatures.
 
Short Stories
 
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark collected by Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Brett Helquist
Summary: Tapped from the oral traditions of American folklore, these ghost stories and tales of weird happenings, witches, and graveyards have startling, funny, or surprising endings.
 
Spooky America - Four real Ghost Stories by Lori Haskins, illustrated by Viviana Diaz
Summary: Recounts four fact-based tales of hauntings, including a ghost horse on the coast of Massachusetts, a haunted painting at a Virginia plantation, a skeleton in Colorado, and a ghostly sea captain of California.
 
 
Shorter Fiction
 
The Berenstain Bears and the Galloping Ghost by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
Summary: Brother Bear learns about fear and getting back in the saddle when a ghost haunts the riding academy.
 
The Ghost Town Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Author) illustrated by Charles Tang.
Summary: While visiting a recent purchase of Grandfather's, a ghost town in the Rocky Mountains, the Aldens encounter a mystery involving a run-down motel and a woman who may be a ghost.
 
Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House #10) by Mary Pope Osborne.
Summary: Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie back to the Wild West, where they experience excitement and danger and try to solve a riddle.
 
Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Summary: A family of nice ghosts protects a British orphan from the diabolical plans of his evil guardians.
 
 
Longer Fiction
 
Pony by R. J. Palacio
Summary:
Twelve-year-old Silas is awoken in the dead of night by three menacing horsemen who take his father away. Silas is left shaken, scared, and alone, except for the presence of his companion, Mittenwool...who happens to be a ghost. When a pony shows up at his door, Silas makes the courageous decision to leave his home and embark on a perilous journey to find his father.
 
The Ghost Sonata by Gilda Joyce
Summary: When ninth-grader Gilda travels to an international piano competition in Oxford, England, as page turner for her friend Wendy Choy, she finds adventure investigating why Wendy is being haunted and who is frightening the performers, while enjoying a romance with a British boy and her first kiss.
 
Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko
Summary: Zee Puckett loves ghost stories. She just never expected to be living one. It all starts with a dark and stormy night. When the skies clear, everything is different. People are missing. And Zee is seeing frightening things: large, scary dogs that talk and maybe even . . . a ghost. When she tells her classmates, only her best friend Elijah believes her…
 
The Ghost of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage
Summary: When Miss Lana accidentally buys a haunted inn at the Tupelo Landing town auction, Desperado Detectives--aka Mo LoBeau and her best friend Dale--opens up a paranormal division to solve the ghost's identity before the town's big 250th anniversary bash"--
 
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Summary: Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better. Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances…
 
Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret
Summary: Sixth-grader Rusty, determined to help an injured dog that is chained outdoors in frigid weather, calls animal control then takes matters into his own hands, aided by his best friend and a ghost collie that leads Rusty to an even deeper secret. Includes instructions for knitting cat blankets.
 
Golden Ghost (Phantom Stallion series) by Terry Farley
Summary: Sam discovers a lost palomino mare in a spooky ghost town. Is she just a mirage, or will Sam manage to return her to her owner?
 
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Summary: "Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential"

0 Comments

How to Not Be Scared When Watching or Reading Horror (Plus Some Great Book Recs!)

10/12/2022

0 Comments

 
By Visalia
Horror isn’t that bad after one is over the intense feeling of shock and disgust. As far as movies, instead of being fearful and scared, imagine being one of the actors in the movie, imagine how much fun it could possibly be to a part of the cast. If you love Halloween, then you probably would dream of being on a set of Stephen King’s “IT”.

These movies are only scary because they are edited and produced so well. They are just actors, it’s not real. But then there is the fact that, in some cases, the brain does not distinguish our imagination from reality. But one must override the primitive part of our brain (our amygdala!) and just be grounded in knowing that you’re just watching a movie or reading a story.

And, plus, if you have ever Googled your medical symptoms, oftentimes the results can seem far more horrific than any horror movie or book. (Sometimes WebMD is not your friend!).

Still in the mood to relish in a scary story or two? Read on:
Picture

 Magical realism and Horror are a great combination in Stephen Graham Jones' The Only Good Indians
Picture
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

Want to read it?

Find it in the catalog / Find the Audio & eBook on Libby


Picture
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.

Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges… a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body.

Want to read it?

Find it in the Catalog / Find the Audio/eBook on Libby


If you just want to get creeped out, then Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the first 100 pages are a “slow burn” and really sets the reader up for the rest of the book.  This book is definitely gothic horror inspired by Jane Eyre. It is a perfectly moldy book. 
Picture

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemí’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

Want to read it?
Find it in the Catalog / Find the Audio and eBook in Libby



It. By Stephen King. Its horrific, creepy, and this is the reason people fear clowns. Classic.
Picture
It by Stephen King

o the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry, Maine, was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered, a good place to live. It was the children who saw--and felt--what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, It lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each person's deepest dread. Sometimes It reached up, seizing, tearing, killing ... The adults, knowing better, knew nothing. Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of It was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until the grown-up chldren were called back, once more to confront It as It stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.

Want to read it?
Find it the Catalog
(Bonus: screen TONS of Stephen King's movies on Hoopla.)



Picture
Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond

A mysterious lab. A sinister scientist. A secret history. If you think you know the truth behind Eleven's mother, prepare to have your mind turned Upside Down in this thrilling prequel to the hit show Stranger Things. It's the summer of 1969, and the shock of conflict reverberates through the youth of America, both at home and abroad. As a student at a quiet college campus in the heartland of Indiana, Terry Ives couldn't be farther from the front lines of Vietnam or the incendiary protests in Washington. But the world is changing, and Terry isn't content to watch from the sidelines. When word gets around about an important government experiment in the small town of Hawkins, she signs on as a test subject for the project, code named MKULTRA. Unmarked vans, a remote lab deep in the woods, mind-altering substances administered by tight lipped researchers . . . and a mystery the young and restless Terry is determined to uncover. But behind the walls of Hawkins National Laboratory--and the piercing gaze of its director, Dr. Martin Brenner--lurks a conspiracy greater than Terry could have ever imagined. To face it, she'll need the help of her fellow test subjects, including one so mysterious the world doesn't know she exists--a young girl with unexplainable, superhuman powers and a number instead of a name: 008. Amid the rising tensions of the new decade, Terry Ives and Martin Brenner have begun a different kind of war--one where the human mind is the battlefield.

Want to read it?

Find it in the Catalog / Find the Audio on Libby


Picture
Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King

There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong, if time-rusted, iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside. Then one day when Gwendy gets to the top of Castle View, after catching her breath and hearing the shouts of kids on the playground below, a stranger calls to her. There on a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small, neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat.

Want to read it?
Find it in the Catalog / Find Audio & eBook on Libby


0 Comments

September Book Reviews

9/15/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Non-Fiction Review by Marjorie Thelen
(Find Marjorie Thelen's books in the catalog or on her website)
 
The Book of Joy – Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Doug Abrams, 2016.

Find it the catalog here.

This is an uplifting and inspiring book about two giants in the spiritual community -- Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.  Both are Nobel Prize Laurates. The Dalai Lama is head of the main Tibetan lineage of Buddhism. Tutu was a social rights activist and Anglican Bishop in South Africa. The book asks the question of how to find joy in the face of life’s inevitable hardships. Doug Abrams, writer, journalist, and friend, accompanied Bishop Tutu on a trip to Dharamsala, India to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday in April 2015. It was a strenuous journey for the archbishop who was suffering from cancer at the time. He died in 2021. The Bishop and the Dalai Lama had long been great friends. The more delightful part of their friendship was their ability to giggle together, to keep their sense of humor. Dharmsala sits in the Indian foothills of the Himalayas, and it has been the Dalai Lamas’ refuge since he was forced out of Tibet by the Chinese in 1959. Bishop Tutu was a leading force in driving apartheid out of South Africa. Both men have known unbearable hardships, but still retain unspeakable joy. The essence of the book is true joyfulness comes from helping others, the way to change our world is by teaching compassion, and the ultimate source of happiness lies within ourselves. If you need inspiration, read this book.


Picture
Fiction Review (Audiobook) by Cheryl Hancock
(Our Harney County Library Director)

​Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

​Find in the catalog here.

Historical fiction at its best! The reader is fabulous, the story riveting and although it’s a fictional account, it is based entirely on the true story of a woman sniper in the Russian army during World War II. Sometimes called Lady Midnight, other times Lady Death, Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a young single mother who became a sharpshooter so she could also be a father to her son. When Hitler invaded Russia, this young woman joined the army, became a sniper and began to record kills of the enemy, eventually totaling over 300. This fascinating story is full of family and friends, bravery, heartbreak and heroism and narrated perfectly by an extraordinary reader – I highly recommend it! 

0 Comments

Enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing? Here are some things to read next!

8/31/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.

Read it and looking for something to read next? Try one of these titles!


The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian

Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Southern novel weaves a beautiful and harrowing story of two teenage girls cast in an unlikely partnership through murder. Ada promised herself she would never go back to the Trace, to her hard life on the swamp and her harsh father. But now, after running away to Baton Rouge and briefly knowing a different kind of life, she finds herself with nowhere to go but back home. And she knows there will be a price to pay with her father.

Matilda, daughter of a sharecropper, is from the other side of the Trace. Doing what she can to protect her family from the whims and demands of some particularly callous locals is an ongoing struggle. She forms a plan to go north, to pack up the secrets she's holding about her life in the South and hang them on the line for all to see in Ohio.

Want to read it?
Find it in the Catalog / On Hoopla: Audiobook or eBook / Library2Go (eBook)

Picture

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Picture
Memphis, Tennessee, 1936. The five Foss children find their lives changed forever when their parents leave them alone on the family shantyboat one stormy night. Rill Foss, just twelve years old, must protect her four younger siblings as they are wrenched from their home on the Mississippi and thrown into the care of the infamous Georgia Tann, director of the Tennessee Children's Home Society. South Carolina, Present Day. Avery Stafford has lived a charmed life. Loving daughter to her father, a U.S. Senator, she has a promising career as an assistant D.A. in Baltimore and is engaged to her best friend. But when Avery comes home to help her father weather a health crisis and a political attack, a chance encounter with a stranger leaves her deeply shaken. Avery's decision to learn more about the woman's life will take her on a journey through her family's long-hidden history.

Want to read it?
Find it in the Catalog / On Library2Go: Audiobook or eBook


The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

Helena Pelletier has a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a business that fills her days. But she also has a secret: she is the product of an abduction. Her mother was kidnapped as a teenager by her father and kept in a remote cabin in the marshlands of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Helena, born two years after the abduction, loved her home in nature, and despite her father's sometimes brutal behavior, she loved him, too...until she learned precisely how savage he could be.

More than twenty years later, she has buried her past so soundly that even her husband doesn't know the truth. But now her father has killed two guards, escaped from prison, and disappeared into the marsh. The police begin a manhunt, but Helena knows they don't stand a chance. Knows that only one person has the skills to find the survivalist the world calls the Marsh King--because only one person was ever trained by him: his daughter.

Want to read it?
Find it in the Catalog / On Library2Go: eBook

Picture

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Picture
Alaska, 1974. Ernt Allbright came home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Cora will do anything for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, has little choice but to go along, daring to hope this new land promises her family a better future.

In a wild, remote corner of Alaska, the Allbrights find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the newcomers’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own.

Want to read it?
In the Catalog: Book or Playaway (audio) / On Library2Go: Audiobook / On Hoopla: Audiobook


The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England.  But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky. 

What happens to them--and to the men they love--becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity, and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.

Want to read it?
In the Catalog / Library2Go: Audio or eBook

Picture

Educated by Tara Westover

Picture
Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Want to read it?
In the Catalog / On Library2Go: Audiobook or eBook

Have recommendations to share? Leave them in the comments section!
0 Comments

August Nonfiction Reviews

8/12/2022

0 Comments

 
August Nonfiction Book Reviews by Marjorie Thelen
(Find Marjorie Thelen's books in the catalog or on her website)

Being interested in history, I look for authors and scholars who examine history from a different perspective. There are three such volumes available at the Harney County Library that feature scholars interested in looking at history from an Indigenous perspective. I recommend all three.
Picture
Archaeologies of Indigenous Presence, 2022 edited by Tsim D. Schneider and Lee M. Panich.

This is a collection of articles by a wide representation of anthropologists and archaeologists, some Indigenous. Among other subjects, they discuss how to incorporate Indigenous knowledge or presence into archaeological practice and research. Diane Teeman, enrolled member of the Burns Paiute tribe, and her colleague, Sarah E. Cowie, write about “Navigating Entanglements and Mitigating Intergenerational Trauma in Two Collaborative Projects”.  Teeman’s project is “Our Ancestors Walk of Sorrow” about the forced removal of the Burns Paiute Tribe from their ancestral homelands in the winter of 1879. Cowie’s project “Stewart Indian School Project in Carson City, Nevada” discusses the federal government’s forced assimilation of Native children from 1890 to 1980. Teeman is currently a doctoral candidate and faculty research assistant in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Cowie is a professor of anthropology at the same university. It is especially worth reading their articles, which start on page 265. They are thought-provoking and deserve careful reading as do the other articles in the book. As the editors, Schneider and Panich, point out “we will do well to reforge our institutional boilerplate to acknowledge that Native people have been here all along.” (See it in the catalog here.)

Picture
An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States, 2014 by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.

This Indigenous scholar looks at the history of the U.S. from an Indigenous perspective. She identifies settler colonialism as one of the primary causes of the harm done to Indigenous peoples and culture. The U. S. westward expansion took land from Indigenous peoples, moving them to reservations where promises by the U.S. government weren’t kept. Native culture was destroyed, and whole tribes exterminated. Indigenous children were moved to government and church run boarding schools to “civilize” them. Native peoples resisted, and they point out that “We are still here.” All of us need to read this perspective of history. (See it in the catalog here.)

Picture
Origin – A Genetic History of the Americas, 2022 by Jennifer Raft.

This anthropologist and geneticist speculates on how First Peoples arrived in North and South America based on sequencing their complete genomes. The migration of First Peoples is surrounded by controversy. Raft is critical of some of the outlandish theories that surround certain First Peoples sites in the U.S like the mound builders. If you want to learn about the speculation on how First Peoples arrived and thrived in “the New World” for thousands of years, take a look at this book. It is a challenging read. (See it in the catalog here.)

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Authors

    Authored by the staff at Harney County Library!

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021

    Categories

    All
    Book Recommendations
    Book Reviews
    Job Help
    Kids Book Recommendations
    Seed Library
    Services
    Western History Room

    RSS Feed

Map

Hours​

Monday
10 AM to 6 PM
Tuesday
10 AM to 6 PM
Wednesday
10 AM to 6 PM
Thursday
10 AM to 6 PM
Friday
10 AM to 6 PM
Saturday
Noon to 4 PM
Sunday
Closed

Contact Us

​80 West "D" Street
​Burns, OR 97720

541-573-6670

  • About Us
    • Contact Library
    • Support the Library >
      • Bricks for Books
    • The HCL Foundation
    • Advisory Board
    • FAQ
    • Policies >
      • Bulletin Board Policy
      • Internet Use Policy
      • Patron Rules
      • Collection Development
      • Photography Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Social Media Policy
      • Weapons Policy
    • Subscribe to Newsletter!
  • News & Events
    • Bird Festival - Beginners Leathercraft Lab
    • March Programs
    • Fine Free
    • Events Gallery
    • Little Free Libraries
    • Recorded Programs
    • Program Feedback Form
  • Kids
    • Virtual Story Time
    • Kids Learn at Home
    • Story Time
    • Field Trips
  • Teens
    • Paracord Bracelet
    • Teens Learn at Home
  • Western History Room
    • Research
    • Individual & Family Histories
    • Oral History Collection
    • Newspapers & Microfilm Collection
    • Special Collections
    • Photo Galleries
    • Copyright Information
    • Contact Western History Room Staff
  • Resources + Services
    • Library Services
    • Free Digital Services >
      • Hoopla
      • Library2Go
    • Research and Learning
    • Coyote Cinema
    • Takeout From HCL
    • Seed Library >
      • Seed Library Catalog
      • Seed Library Gallery
  • Blog