Happy New Year!

2012 is ending in 90 minutes.

Happy New Year!
Afrikaans - Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Arabic - Antum salimoun
Chinese - Xin Nian Kuai Le
Dutch - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
French - Bonne Annee
German - Prost Neu Jahr
Greek - Kenourios Chronos  
Hebrew - L'Shannah Tovah
Indonesian - Selamat tahun baru
Iraqi - Sanah Jadidah
Italian - Buon Capodanno  
Melanesian Pidgin:  Hepi Niu Yia
Norwegian - Godt Nyttar
Polish - Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese: Feliz Ano Novo
Russian - S Novim Godom
Spanish - Feliz Ano Nuevo
Swedish: Gott Nytt år
(Translations courtesy of J. McRee Elrod to AUTOCAT)

Determined to Have a Fabulous Christmas

We had a rough start this Christmas. Since midnight, Mom had been so uncooperative at her care facility, that my sister had to be called in early Christmas morning to talk her out. My sister-in-law had a severe car accident last night, probably due to her distraction over my brother's imminent appointment of VP at a giant PC company in PRC, starting January 2, 2013.

But the depressive atmosphere did not enclose us for too long. We were all determined to have a fabulous Christmas with our kids and Lew.  Our hot sweet potato soup, mashed potatoes, and Lew's deliciously glazed ham finally brought out our high spirits. With bubbling sparkling cider, we chatted late into the night, even though the rain prevented us from taking our Christmas walk. My sister's late call was icing on the cake: Mom had a great night out with her family after all!

SCPL 2012 Noteworthy Fiction and Non-Fiction

Santa Cruz Public Libraries just announced two online reading lists: Notable 2012 Fiction and Notable 2012 Non-fiction. Compiled by two Reference Team members, the lists also reflect the groundwork done by all the staff of Collection Management Services, from selections to acquisitions, from receiving to cataloging, and from processing to distributions to all users. It is gratifying to see what they do making a difference to their community. The following is a list of noteworthy fiction popular and about to be popular in Santa Cruz.

 

Bring Up the Bodies
by Mantel, Hilary

Canada
by Ford, Richard

Dear Life
by Munro, Alice

Flight Behavior
by Kingsolver, Barbara

This is How You Lose Her
by Diaz, Junot

The Invisible Ones
by Penney, Stef

NW
by Smith, Zadie

The Round House
by Erdrich, Louise

Some Kind of Fairy Tale
by Joyce, Graham

The Song of Achilles
by Miller, Madeline

Telegraph Avenue
by Chabon, Michael

The Yellow Birds
by Powers, Kevin