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Community Library Network District Newsletter March 2026 |
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March is National Reading Month, a time when
stories take center stage and communities come together to celebrate the joy, comfort, and adventure found in books. Whether you’re diving into a brand-new novel, revisiting a timeless favorite, or exploring a topic that sparks your curiosity, this month invites readers of
all ages to discover something meaningful. At the Community Library Network, we believe that every page turned opens new doors—encouraging lifelong learning, creativity, and connection throughout our communities. Throughout March, our libraries are highlighting the
many ways reading enriches our lives, from strengthening early literacy skills to offering adults a chance to explore new topics. Everyone will find a variety of programs and resources designed to inspire curiosity and support their unique journeys. Together, let’s celebrate the stories that bring us together and the shared love of reading that strengthens our community. |
Youth Programming This is an early learning program that gives your baby the opportunity to hear lots of language while you get to know other young families.
Open up the world of language, culture, music and play. Designed to provide parents and care-providers hands-on experiences, based on developmental stages, so children enter kindergarten ready
to learn. Join us for activities, projects, games, and
social time! Take this opportunity to hang out with friends while trying new things and exploring themed games, crafts, and activities. |
Adult Programming Enjoy this annual series with a broad
selection of topics to: learn about gardening,
discover new techniques, gather seeds, and cultivate knowledge. Improve your writing skills, bounce ideas off of fellow writers, or explore where to start. From Yoga or journaling, to fitness that improves your lifestyle, explore what we have to offer
this month! Get help with your devices, explore 3D printing, learn about Apps like Libby and Aspen, and so much more! Find a Book Club that fits your style,
availability, and prefered genre, we have a lot
to choose from! Want to learn an new craft? Experienced at crafting and want to share with others? We have a wide range of available opportunities! |
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The Hadacol Boogie: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
by James Lee Burke
Dave Robicheaux, James Lee Burke's iconic detective, returns to investigate the death of an unidentified woman, pulling him into a vortex ofcorruption and violence in the Louisiana bayouWhen a cloaked, disfigured man leaves a dead woman in a garbage bag on Dave Robicheaux's property, he knows his world and family are about to change.With Valerie Benoit, a detective new to the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Department who is grappling with sexist and racist harassment from their colleagues, and the volatile but fiercely loyal Clete Purcel, Dave embarks on an investigation that brings him into the most dangerous moments of his career and threatens the lives of Valerie and his daughter Alafair.He encounters a local handyman who leaves cryptic notes and warns of the ghosts who roam the shores of the bayou and is targeted by a vicious New Orleans button man and gangsters from the north.Through brilliant prose and a quintessential cast of characters, James Lee Burke weaves a portrait of a gritty, violent Louisiana at the turn of the 20th century. Visceral, atmospheric, and wholly original, The Hadacol Boogie brings to life Dave Robicheaux's fierce determination to confront evil both past and present.
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Isles of the Emberdark: A Cosmere Novel
by Brandon Sanderson
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes a legendary standalone novel that navigates the seas and the stars of a far-future Cosmere. Illustrated by Esther Hi'ilani Candari. All his life, Sixth of the Dusk has been a traditional trapper of Aviar--the supernatural birds his people bond with--on the deadly island of Patji. Then one fateful night he propels his people into a race to modernize before they can be conquered by the Ones Above, invaders from the stars who want to exploit the Aviar. But it's a race they're losing, and Dusk fears his people will lose themselves in the effort. When a chance comes to sail into the expanse of the emberdark beyond a mystical portal, Dusk sets off to find his people's salvation with only a canoe, his birds, and all the grit and canniness of a Patji trapper. Elsewhere in the emberdark is a young dragon chained in human form: Starling of the starship Dynamic. She and her ragtag crew of exiles are deep in debt and on the brink of losing their freedom. So when she finds an ancient map to a hidden portal between the emberdark and the physical realm, she seizes the chance at a lucrative discovery. These unlikely allies might just be the solution to each other's crises. In their search for independence, Dusk and Starling face perilous bargains, poisonous politics, and the destructive echo of a dead god. Sanderson expands his thrilling novella Sixth of the Dusk into a mythic novel of legends, lore, and warring galactic superpowers.
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It's Not Her: A Twisty Thriller about Two Families and a Chilling Lake Resort Crime from the Author of Local Woman Missing
by Mary Kubica
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A gripping thrill ride. --Jeneva RoseTantalizing, terrifying and all too real. --Shari LapenaCancel your plans, you won't be able to put this one down. --Chris WhitakerWickedly smart and incredibly twisted. --Ashley ElstonTerrifying. --Megan MirandaTwo families at a secluded lake resort are at the center of a chilling crime in this twisty thriller from the bestselling author of Local Woman Missing A scream shatters the silence...Courtney Gray's peaceful vacation turns into a nightmare when she discovers her brother and sister-in-law dead in their lakeside cottage. Her niece Reese is missing. Her nephew Wyatt is asleep upstairs--unharmed.A town full of secrets...As police swarm the quiet resort, dark truths about Courtney's family--and the town itself--begin to surface. Is Reese a victim... or the killer?A truth no one saw coming...With everyone hiding something, Courtney races to uncover the terrible mystery. But the closer she gets, the harder it is to know who--or what--to trust.For a limited time get this deluxe edition hardcover featuring beautiful packaging and custom designed endsheets.Check out these other riveting thrillers from Mary Kubica: The Good Girl The Other Mrs. Local Woman Missing She's Not Sorry
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Homeschooled: A New York Times Bestselling Memoir and Read with Jenna Pick
by Stefan Merrill Block
Stefan Merrill Block was nine when his mother pulled him from school, certain that his teachers were 'stifling his creativity.' Hungry for more time with her boy who was growing up too quickly, she began to instruct Stefan in the family's living room. Beyond his formal lessons in math, however, Stefan was largely left to his own devices and his mother's erratic whims, such as her project to recapture her twelve-year-old son's early years by bleaching his hair and putting him on a crawling regimen. Years before homeschooling would become a massive nationwide movement, at a time when it had just become legal in his home state of Texas, Stefan vanished into that unseen space and into his mother's increasingly eccentric theories and projects. [So] when, after five years away from the outside world, Stefan reentered the public school system in Plano as a freshman, he was in for a jarring awakening--
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American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology
by Jon Meacham
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America unites centuries of essential American voices to understand our national debates and divisions from 1619 to the present, with his signature commentary on the consequential speeches, letters, and essays that led us to this moment. Jon Meacham has done it again. If there is a soul in American history, it emerges--indeed, explodes--from these pages.--David W. Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom In a polarized era, history can become a subject of political contention. Many see America as perfect; many others argue that the national experiment is fundamentally flawed. The truth, Meacham shows, likely lies between these extremes. America has had shining hours, and also dark ones. In American Struggle, Jon Meacham illuminates the nation's complicated past. This rich and diverse collection covers a wide spectrum of history, from 1619 to the twenty-first century, with primary-source documents that take us back to critical moments in which Americans fought over the meaning and the direction of the national experiment. From the founders to Lincoln to Obama, from Andrew Jackson to Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan, from Seneca Falls to the March on Washington, this chorus--sometimes discordant and always fascinating--tells the story of the country and of its people. As clashes over liberty and slavery, inclusion and exclusion, play out, these voices, brilliantly framed by Meacham's singular commentary, remind us that contentious citizenship and fair-minded observations are essential to bringing about the more perfect union envisioned in the Preamble to the Constitution, which Frederick Douglass called a glorious liberty document. Conflict is nothing new in our democracy; rather, as Meacham and these texts show, tensions are inherent, stubborn, and perennial. And American Struggle teaches us anew that to know what has come before, to watch as long-running disputes rise and fall, is to be armed against despair.
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Stolen in Death
by J. D. Robb
A violent death and a vault of stolen treasures has Eve Dallas struggling to solve crimes old and new in the next thriller in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series.A blow to the head with a block of amethyst has left multibillionaire Nathan Barrister dead--while nearby, a vault, its door ajar, sits filled with priceless paintings, jewelry, and other treasures. Lieutenant Eve Dallas's husband, Roarke--who misspent his youth in Ireland as a scrappy thief--recognizes at least two stolen pieces among the hoard. The crime scene suggests a burglar caught in the act. But only one item seems to be missing. Then it's revealed that the vault had actually belonged to the victim's late father--and no one in the household knew it was there until a recent remodeling project exposed it. To protect the family name and business, they explain to Eve, they'd been looking for a way to return the ill-gotten gains anonymously and avoid the police. But now the police are all over their elegant house, and have a bigger, bloodier mystery to solve. By all accounts, Nathan Barrister was a good man, a generous employer, a devoted husband and father. As for his father--he clearly had secrets. Now it's up to Eve and her team to find out if those secrets got Nathan killed--and if it was a crime of passion or revenge.
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Jigsaw: An Alex Delaware Novel
by Jonathan Kellerman
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The iconic thriller series that inspired the upcoming streaming show on Prime Video, in development now Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis, the most beloved duo in American crime fiction, return in this electric novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense (Los Angeles Times). This one looked like a slam dunk: a young woman found dead at her kitchen table, DNA on cigarette butts linking quickly to an ex-boyfriend with a criminal record. Or so homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis thought. Then everything changed and a quick close turned into a mind-bending whodunit. That's when Milo called in psychologist Alex Delaware, his best friend and a long-term consultant on those cases. The ones that are different. Then there's another one: an old woman found brutally murdered, her body stashed in a deep freeze and mutilated. And when Milo learns who she is, he's stunned. This victim is someone he once knew. Complicating matters further, her home is an extreme hoarder's den, virtually impassable due to years of stored trash and apparently meaningless objects. Except for the envelopes of cash stashed among the garbage. As Alex and Milo dig deeper into the seemingly unrelated crimes, they discover shocking links between the victims and realize they have a labyrinthine--and deadly--puzzle to solve. Cast against the unforgettable L.A. ambience unique to the novels of Jonathan Kellerman, this is classic Delaware at its best.
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Of Course It's Good!: Aggressively Delicious Meals Anyone Can Make and Everyone Will Love
by Jessica Secrest
**New York Times Bestseller**None of the Nonsense, All of the Flavor Prepare delicious meals with this no-frills, all-flavor recipe collection from Jessica Secrest, the wildly popular home chef known for her hostile humor and affordable recipes. Her long-awaited debut cookbook has an array of mouthwatering meals that focus on low-effort ingredients and techniques--think pre-shredded cheese, tater tots galore, and your handy-dandy slow cooker--so you'll have an endless source of recipes to feed your family without wasting time or money. Jessica's well-known style is present throughout each page, loudly guiding you in the kitchen and reminding you that tasty cooking doesn't always need to be done with a smile. Recipes include: - The BEST Baked Mac and Cheese- Taco Potato Tot Casserole- Egg Roll in a Bowl- Cowboy BBQ Burgers- Teriyaki Pork- Fried Pickle Quesadillas- Sloppy Joe Fries- Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip Whether you are looking to tackle weeknight dinner, Sunday breakfast, or an out-of-nowhere dessert craving, you'll have Jessica in your corner each step of the way, aggressively reminding you that no matter what you create, there's no doubt it'll be good.
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WE'RE HIRING! Check out our open positions in the Public Services and Programming Departments. |
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NoveList If the library is closed or your favorite library staffer is busy, you can still get book recs from NoveList Plus! It’s available 24/7 on your library’s website, and because it’s connected to the catalog you can place holds right away. |
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NoveList K-8 Does your young reader like to read about animals who act like humans? Do they like bold illustrations? No matter their mood or preferences, NoveList K-8 Plus helps you get to the root of what your young reader loves about a book and delivers great recommendations. Explore titles by story element on the homepage, where you can mix and match their favorite appeal factors, genres, themes, and subjects to create a personalized list of book recommendations. It’s a fun and interactive way to uncover their next great read! |
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