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Category Archives: New Books
History Notes: 75 years ago this month
President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. The order authorized the military to designate “military areas” from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” In June of 1942 all Japanese Issei and Nisei people were evacuated Wednesday under U. S. Army supervision. The Great Northern depot in Burlington was the scene of excitement and tearful farewells, as Japanese from Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan and Island counties gathered with baggage and belongings and transported to Tule Lake in California.
There were a few families of issei and nisei who worked in the oyster beds and farmed potatoes. The local photographer and the laundry owner was also Japanese.
Newsclippings from the Burlington Journal document this event that took place in June. See our Hub History page to see the clippings and further information about the Internment of local Japanese. For the conclusion of the Burlington story, which is more positive than most. See the unpublished Master’s Thesis describing how this event affect the local Takagi and Akita families by Alyssa Joy Vis “Where everybody knows your name: growing up Japanese in Burlington, WA, 1920-1942” (2013). WWU Masters Thesis Collection. 316.
http://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/316
Filed under Burlington, Government, History, Non-fiction
While you are waiting for “Victoria”
In anticipation of Womens’ History Month here are few biographies you might have missed.
Queen Victoria always suffered from a rather stuffy, prudish reputation until Masterpiece Theater’s latest historical drama on Sunday nights. If you are enjoying the program, there is a new biography of her that will soon be on the shelves (click the book cover to place a hold).
While you are waiting there are other historical biographies of women ruler’s on our shelves to try:
Elizabeth The Queen – The Life of A Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith
Queen Isabella – Treachery, Adultery and Murder in Medieval England by Allison Weir
Christina Queen of Sweden by Veronica Buckley
Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
As Always – Ask A Librarian
Filed under Biography, Autobiography & Memoir, History, Non-fiction, Readalikes
New chapter books for young readers
Here are some of Librarian Lisa’s favorites for 2016 to try. Click on the books or titles to find them in the catalog; the catalog record of the books has reviews and short descriptions to learn more about each title.
More titles –
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox
Click here to Start by Denis Markell
The Best Worst Thing by Kathleen Lane
My Life with Liars by Caela Carter
As always – Ask Us
Filed under Books, For Children, New Books
Looking for Betty Macdonald – The Egg, the Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I
Tuesday afternoon, January 17th 2017 2 p.m.
Program “Looking for Betty MacDonald – The Egg, the Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I”
Speaker : Paula Becker, Seattle Author and Historian
January 17th 2017
Tuesday afternoon, 2 p.m.
Burlington Public Library
820 E. Washington Ave
Burlington WA
www.burlingtonwa.gov/library
Join us for a slide presentation and reading from the new biography “Looking for Betty MacDonald – The Egg, the Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I” by the author Paula Becker.
This new book is the story of the life of Betty MacDonald, one of only a few nationally celebrated authors from Washington State in the 1940s and early 50s. Biographer Paula Becker chronicles MacDonald’s vibrant, close family life, writing career, her books and her era.
Material from letters, personal accounts, and her own writing made it possible for Becker to explore what drove this unconventional often irreverent woman. MacDonald’s first bestselling success “The Egg and I” (1945) evolved from stories she told and re-told of her experience chicken farming as young wife on the rural Olympic Peninsula. She followed her unexpected success with the children’s book “Mrs. Piggle Wiggle” (1947), another memoir “The Plague and I” (1948) and more of the children’s stories, articles and memoirs until her untimely death at the age of 49 in 1958.
Join us to hear Becker share her observations about MacDonald’s humorous writing style and the world as Betty saw it. Q & A to follow.
For more information, contact the Burlington Public Library at 820 East Washington Avenue, call 755-0760, or visit the Burlington Library
More links:
http://crosscut.com/2016/12/the-best-northwest-non-fiction-of-2016/
http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/BECLOO.html
Filed under Adult programs, Authors, Books, Library events, New Books, Non-fiction, Washington
The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party and other new Christmas books!
The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party – Christmas Crafts, Recipes, Activties by Brandy and Matt Shay
A Very Vintage Christmas – Holiday collecting, decorating and celebrating by Bob Richter
One Hundred Little Christmas Gifts to Make 
Check with us for more suggestions!
Filed under Books, Celebrations & holidays, New Books, Non-fiction
Olympic Reads
More movies and books on the Olympics like “The Boys in the Boat”? Here are a few titles:
Triumph : the untold story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics by Jeremy Schaap.
Tumbling : a novel by Caela Carter.
Rising from ashes – a T.C. Johnstone film
The Three-year Swim Club : the untold story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch kids and their quest for Olympic glory by Julie Checkoway.
Gold by Chris Cleave
The vision of a champion : advice and inspiration from the world’s most successful women’s soccer coach by Anson Dorrance
Grace, gold and glory : my leap of faith : the Gabrielle Douglas story
Chariots of Fire [Movie / DVD]
Filed under Books, Movies, Non-fiction, What we're reading
May is “Get Caught Reading” month
There are lots of ways to find new books to read – our catalog now shows what’s new and what’s returned (click the image below for a link) – OR try our Wowbrary site for new titles on order.
Our catalog now shows new titles and just returned items for ideas for reading your next book you can get caught reading!
Nancy Pearl’s monthly interviews with authors
About once a month Nancy Pearl, our favorite librarian reader’s advisor, does a monthly interview with an author. I lose track once in a while myself but here is the link for the video interviews on the Seattle Channel – generally about 30 minutes but always enjoyable to hear about how the authors create their great stories.
Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
Her latest is with Mary Doria Sparrow talking about her latest –
“Epitaph” a new twist on the O.K. Corral legend
Here is a review.
