Jan Bobbett

Probably the most popular genres in our library are mysteries and thrillers. You will find hardcover and paperback books in those and other genres. But what you won’t find on our regular shelves is non-fiction. Or, more precisely, non-fiction books are kept on the non-fiction shelves behind the librarian’s desk.

Limited space is the reason we cannot display more non-fiction. However, we do accept donations and keep what we have space for.

Anyway, here are three types of non-fiction we do have:

• Biography: As recently mentioned, we do have quite a few biographies, so look for titles such as Mother Teresa, Colonel Roosevelt, and Charles Kuralt: A Life on the Road.

• History: Quite a few of our readers appreciate history books. Here are two of the military history books that are on the shelf as I write: Battles and Leaders of the Civil War and The Army of the Potomac.

• Environment: Occasionally, we have some very good books about nature and the environment, such as Silent Spring and Climate Balance. Also, we recently purchased Brave the Wild River (2023), which is currently available in our Best Sellers cabinet and can be checked out. It’s the story of the two daring women who mapped the botany of the Grand Canyon and also “ran the rivers,” and they lived to tell about it.

The last non-fiction category I’ll mention is one the library might never have available. But it’s my favorite nonfiction read, so I’ll mention it here: Geography or, more specifically, World Maps. We know that this library will never be collecting atlases, but below are two map books I study. I use them so much that I don’t expect to donate them to our library, but they are moderately priced should you want to buy them.

* Countries of the World is probably for middle schoolers, but I learn a lot from it. In Botswana, for example, termite mounds can be used for outdoor ovens. Another country, Ethiopia, is split by the Great Rift Valley.

* The other book of maps is History of the World Map by Map. It includes maps of ancient civilizations, changing continents, and wars, such as those in Vietnam. It’s big (440 pages) and heavy—quite a book for study and contemplation.

Focus on Librarian: Bette Hargrave

Bette’s previous work in business and customer service prepared her well for her position in our library. She is quick to serve customers by helping them find books they might enjoy.

Among her favorite books are history, historical fiction, and westerns. She has several favorite authors, including Lee Child, Tom Clancy, Louis L’Amour, and Janet Evanovich. She likes book clubs and told me about being in a “mystery book exchange.” As I understand it, members of the group would read a book, write notes, and then the books would be exchanged—an interesting variation on a book club.