The merry month of May has arrived, bringing with it Better Sleep Month, Creative Beginnings Month, Family Support Month, International Business Image Improvement Month, More Than Just a Pretty Face Month, National Barbecue Month, National Bike Month, National Egg Month, National Hamburger Month, National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, National Recommitment Month, National Salad Month, National Salsa Month, National Scholarship Month, National Teaching and Joy Month, Older Americans Month, Revise Your Work Schedule Month, and Get Caught Reading Month!

This week alone, you can celebrate National “Get Happy” Week, National Connecting Week, and National Peace of Mind Week.  Today is May Day, and it is also Executive Coaching Day, Mother Goose Day, and School Principals’ Day.  Wednesday is Sibling Appreciation Day, Thursday is Tax Freedom Day, Friday is Relationship Renewal Day, Saturday is National Scrapbook Day (as well as Cinco de Mayo and Totally Chipotle Day), and Sunday is National Clergy Day.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

      Wednesday’s 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. story times feature lion stories and crafts.  Saturday morning’s 10:00 story time celebrates Cinco de Mayo and May Day.  On May 11, the library will offer a class on Computer Basics for complete beginners in the public computer area.  The class is limited to five, so call or stop by the Reference Desk to reserve your place!

BOOK TALK

Librarian Barbara Harris provides this week's book information.    Although they may not be the best reading while you're in bed with the flu or the ideal gift for a friend facing a stay in the hospital, medical thrillers are a very popular genre.  Here are some less familiar books and authors to try while you await the latest novel from Tess Gerritsen or Robin Cook.

     If prescription prices have elevated your blood pressure, you may get some satisfaction from stories in which determined heroes take on crooked pharmaceutical companies.  Try Paul Reinken's "Judgment Day," Harry Stein's "The Magic Bullet," Colin Alexander's "God's Adamantine Fate," or Tom Ferguson's and Joe Graedon's "No Deadly Drug."

     Rogue viruses are the villains in "The Carrier" by Holden Scott, "Carriers" by Patrick Lynch, and "The Plague Tales" by Ann Benson.  They're the tools of bioterrorists in "Resurrection" by Ken McClure and "The Eleventh Plague" by John S. Marr and John Baldwin.

     Reading "The Deus Machine" by Pierre Ouellette or "Fire Cracker" by Shirley Kennett may confirm your suspicion that computers and medicine shouldn't mix.  Ben Mezrich's "Threshold" and Stanley Pottinger's "The Fourth Procedure" may convince you that government and medicine shouldn't either. If you are a mystery fan, you might like medical thrillers that feature investigations into mysterious deaths.  These include Steven Spruill's "Painkiller," Leah Ruth Robinson's "Blood Run," and Philip Harper's "Final Fear."

Next time you're in the Library, ask a reference librarian for a copy of our medical thrillers list that includes these and other authors.

DID YOU KNOW?

      According to a new study by Harvard economist David Cutler, HMOs treat seriously ill patients just as well as traditional health plans.  Contrary to popular opinion (and the above listing of books), HMOs do not cut back on expensive treatments for heart attacks or cancer.  In addition, treatment may cost much less than under traditional plans because HMOs bargain with hospitals for price reductions.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: "Pride is the disease that makes everyone sick except for the person who has it.” 

JUDY ARMSTRONG, 624-7276

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