What We're Reading Now: Spoils of War

Monuments Men by Rober M. Edsel [940.531 EDSEL]

What happens to priceless art in the event of total war-in this instance World War II?  The Nazis looted many museums and private collections in the occupied countries; they were determined to take what they wanted for the Fuhrer (or themselves) and destroy what they considered degenerate.  George Clooney’s 2014 movie Monuments Men focused on a unit of Allied soldiers tasked with saving Europe’s art not only from the Nazis, but from Allied bombardment and Allied soldiers as well. Monuments Men highlights part of the story, but the history of the stolen art is more complicated. Check out these titles for a more nuanced view. 

Lost Lives, Lost Art by Melissa Muller [940.318 Muller] 

Lost Masters by Peter Harclerode [940.5314 Harclerode]

Rape of Europa [DVD 709.409 RAPE]

Rescuing Da Vinci by Robert M. Edsel [709.409 EDSEL]

What We’re Reading Now: Spies in the Shadows

Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst [M FURST]

Backstory: The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) fractured Spanish society and served as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for World War II. Fascist Italy and Germany supported the Nationalists while Communists, anarchists and democrats rallied to the Republican cause.

Paris, 1938: Spanish émigré and Republican sympathizer Christian Ferrer agrees to help the Republicans obtain weapons in their struggle.  It leads him to a netherworld of arms dealers, spies, and those eager to profit from others’ misery. Justice does not prevail.

What We're Reading Now: Police Procedural With a Twist

The Invisible Code by Christopher Fowler [M FOWLER]

The Peculiar Crimes Unit is always under threat of being disbanded, but Arthur Bryant and John May keep their group together by solving crimes that Scotland Yard and other legal entities won’t touch. In Christopher  Fowler’s “Invisible code”, disapproving security man Oskar Kasavian promises the unit a free pass if they can determine the cause of his wife Sabira’s  recent anxiety attacks and dangerous behaviors. Witchcraft plays its part; little known facts about London’s history add to the mix before the case is closed.

Don’t miss any entry in this fun series. The Peculiar Crimes Unit’s adventures will always provide you with historic tidbits to make you the hit of any trivia get-together in 2016.

What We're Reading Now: Death of a Journalist

Holy Orders (M BLACK)

Pathologist Quirke becomes involved in another murder in 1950’s Dublin, the sixth book of Benjamin Black’s series. When daughter Phoebe’s friend Jimmy Minor turns up as a badly beaten corpse, Quirke finds himself caught between Irish travelers and the Catholic clergy, with no easy answers. Jimmy was a dedicated newshound: what was he investigating that ended in his death?

Benjamin Black also writes highly acclaimed novels as John Banville. Check out his fiction for another look at the Irish.

What We're Reading Now: A Crime Analyst's View of Murder

Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes [M HAYNES]

Police intelligence analyst/author Haynes brings her own life experience to bear on this first of a series.  DCI Louisa Smith is dealing with her first murder case when a suspected suicide adds to the mix.  Murder victim Polly Leuchars was a free spirit sexually-everyone loved her-and then someone killed her. Significant traces of Polly’s blood are found with the supposed suicide, but DI Smith rejects easy answers. Haynes draws the reader behind the scenes- police reports, interviews and phone records-to give a fuller view of the investigation and its stunning conclusion.  

Follow DCI Smith’s latest case in Behind Closed Doors (FICTION HAYNES):

Super Bowl 50

When do football and fresh produce fans intersect? This Sunday, February 7, is Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, which means that the Farmer’s Market will relocate to the parking lot across from the Library. Farmer’s Market hours will be 9 am-12 pm this Sunday because of the expected crowds at the Super Bowl; the Library will be open its normal Sunday hours, 1-5 pm but parking may be at a premium.  

Coloring for Grown-Ups at MVPL

Have you tried introducing some color into your life to relieve the winter blahs? You don’t need to buy a new wardrobe - just sign up for a session of Coloring for Grown-Ups at the MVPL. The Library provides the materials and the rest is up to you - just color.   Your focus is on filling in the spaces of the pattern as you please; your brain can relax with a simple task that takes you away from worries about tomorrow or next week. You can view it as meditation of a different sort. Try it –you may find a new way to relieve stress.

Coloring for Grown-Ups takes place this Thursday, January 28, from 6:30-8:00pm in the Community Room.  The Library will provide coloring sheets, colored pencils, crayons, markers, and a relaxing environment for adults to color in while their stress melts away.

Get in the habit of regular relaxation: Coloring for Grown-Ups at MVPL happens on a monthly basis!  Join us to color in February on Thursday, February 25, from 6:30-8:00pm, and find out about more fun-filled events by subscribing to our new Library Newsletter here.