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Come join us for a lively discussion of the book Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. The Mandarin Library Book Club is on January 12, from 1:00-2:00pm.  Make a resolution to read in 2009!   

 "Here is a gorgeous, slow-burning story set in the rural “badlands” of northern Ontario, where heartbreak and hardship are mirrored in the landscape. For the farming Pye family, life is a Greek tragedy where the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, and terrible events occur—offstage.

Centerstage are the Morrisons, whose tragedy looks more immediate if less brutal, but is, in reality, insidious and divisive. Orphaned young, Kate Morrison was her older brother Matt’s protegee, her fascination for pond life fed by his passionate interest in the natural world. Now a zoologist, she can identify organisms under a microscope but seems blind to the state of her own emotional life. And she thinks she’s outgrown her siblings—Luke, Matt, and Bo—who were once her entire world.

In this universal drama of family love and misunderstandings, of resentments harbored and driven underground, Lawson ratchets up the tension with heartbreaking humor and consummate control, continually overturning one’s expectations right to the very end. Tragic, funny, unforgettable, Crow Lake is a quiet tour de force that will catapult Mary Lawson to the forefront of fiction writers today."

The 2009 MCC Membership Drive will officially begin January 1. Perhaps best known as host of the Mandarin Art Festival held every Easter weekend, the Mandarin Community Club also holds a variety of programs throughout the year. In 2007, the Holiday Trolley Tour of Lights was added to the calendar and is already an extremely popular event. Membership is open and encouraged of all interested parties, especially those living within the Mandarin area. Membership levels range from Individual/Family ($35) to Life ($1000). Starting in 2009, all levels will enjoy enhanced membership benefits including free or reduced admission to most Club programs and events, a 10% discount on Club merchandise, and discounted rental rates of the Club facilities (certain restricitions apply).

TAX SEASON WILL SOON BE HERE   

The AARP Tax Aide is a program of the AARP Foundation.  It is the nation’s largest, free, volunteer-run tax preparation and assistance service.  We serve low-and middle-income taxpayers with special attention to those ages 60 and older.

New Year New You!

Join us to learn 5 easy things you can change tomorrow in your diet. Learn easy and fun ways you can incorporate it into your life and find some simple ways to get dinner on the table in a flash.  This program is presented by Clara LeBlanc from InShape Ladies Fitness.  The program is on January 6th, 6:30-8:45pm.

The Mandarin Branch Library has many programs for teens of all ages scheduled for this January. 

After School Playstation 2, now offered at 2 different times:

    3pm - Every Thursday, Except for New Years Day

I-10/I-95 interchange reconstruction project
A new traffic shift for vehicles going from I-95 southbound to I-10 westbound is scheduled to occur on Saturday, December 20. The Forest Street off ramp from I-95 southbound WILL BE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE on Friday, December 19 at 10 p.m.  The Bay Street on ramp to I-10 westbound  and the Adams Street on ramp to I-10 westbound WILL BE TOTALLY CLOSED from 10 p.m. on Friday, December 19 until 5 a.m. on Saturday, December 20. Detour signs will be posted.  Lane closings may occur at various locations within the project limits on I-10 and I-95 and on the side streets between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The anticipated completion time for this project is early 2011.

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago you would have $49.00 left.
With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.
With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.
But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year
ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the
aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have $214.00 cash.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is
to drink heavily and recycle.
It's called the 401-Keg.

On a regular basis the Mandarin Branch Library receives new material for the library.  Here is a selection of the latest arrivals to our collection.

 Fiction

The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen

Good Luck by Whitney Gaskell