Episode Transcript
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Greetings, readers. Welcome to the second episode of our December 2025 Library News.
Winter has officially arrived, and you know what that means. It's the perfect season to cozy up with a great book.
This month's D List is all about comfort blankets, books, and Christmas lights. Leland is back with a super useful tech tip, and Jerry steps into the spotlight as our featured staff member. And of course, we'll wrap things up with all the latest library events. So settle in, grab a blanket and a snack, and get ready. It's time for Library News.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: And now for this month's D List. Blankets, Books and Christmas lights classic Christmas stories 16 Timeless Yuletide Tales edited by Julia Lifsheen, DBC17261 a collection of 16 heartwarming literary gems from some of the world's best loved writers. Some celebrate traditional Yuletide sentiment, while others present surprising twists on the Christmas theme. Some portray New York socialites, others robust country folk, others the poor and homeless. All offer something worthwhile to think about at this most festive time of year. With contributions from O. Henry, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Anton Chekhov, Arthur Cohen, Boyle, Edward Eggleston, Frank R. Stockton, Mary Agnes Tinker, Robert Grant, Bret Hart, and many others.
Fudgy Christmas Murders By Nancy Coco DB126127 A bundle of holiday novellas from Nancy Koko's perennial popular candy code and mystery series set in Michigan's Mackinac island, where sleuth extraordinaire Ally McMurphy and her friends solve murders when she's not whipping up Fudgy delights.
All I Want for Christmas is Fudge this Christmas. Event planner Jen Christiansen has come back to Mackinac island to race for charity and the Santa Fun Run, rekindle her love for CSI tech Shane Carpenter, and indulge in her BFF ally McMurphy's fabulous fudge. But there's one event she didn't plan Chasing down a Killer Deck the halls with Fudge in the cozy warmth of their new home, newlywed seniors Francis and Douglas Devaney savor the picture postcard snowy scenery through their kitchen window. But when they spy a horse drawn sleigh dashing through the snow bearing a frozen stiff, they'll have to track down a killer themselves, since Ally McMurphy is busy filling holiday orders for peppermint candy Fudge.
Have a Fudgy Christmas Time Carol Tunisian is looking forward to finishing plans for the Mackinac Island Senior Center Christmas Ball. But when she arrives at the center, she finds the door jimmied open and a dead man inside rallying the troops of silver haired sleuths with some Support from Ally McMurphy. In between her batches of Christmas fudge, Carol sets out to discover which Grinch tried to steal this Christmas A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens, DB43546 A classic 19th century Christmas story set in England describes a conversation of grasping old miser as Ebenezer Scrooge when he is visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Megan Quinn, DB125807 as his fellow citizens decorate their quaint town brimming with carols and glad tidings, Cole wants nothing more than to hibernate the winter away. But his dreary plans are thwarted when his Christmas nemesis Story Taylor moves in next door to care for her aunt Cindy. Immediately the new neighbor turns his life into a real nightmare before Christmas, especially when she decides to enter the town Christmas Kringle concert in honor of Cindy. And better yet, Story is determined to win over Cole's dead body. She will. With help from his friend Max, Cole decides to enter the competition as well to beat Story at her own game by pretending that this hometown grump's heart has grown three sizes this season and he's fallen for the girl next door. And unfortunately for Story, she has to follow his lead to have a chance at the Christmas Kringle title. But the competition isn't the only thing that heats up. Cole and Story's fake relationship becomes very real and before they know it, they're attempting to hide it from Ian, Cindy, things get complicated, the competition gets tough, and all it takes is one single night for someone to steal it all.
[00:05:00] Speaker C: Murder at An Irish Christmas by Carlene O', Connor, DB 125905 the O' Sullivan clan of County Cork, Ireland, are back to investigate another case of murder, this time at Christmas. Garda Siobhan o' Sullivan's holiday plans hit a sour note when Murder rearranges the Yuletide carols into unexpected eulogies this December in Kilbane. If you're planning to warm up with a cup of tea at Naomi's Bistro, you may have a bit of a wait. The entire o' Sullivan brood has gone off to West Cork to spend the holidays with brother James's fiance Elise's family, including her grandfather, the famous orchestral conductor Enda Elliot. Siobhan is so happy for James and Elise, but also quietly disappointed that she must put her own wedding to fellow Garda MacDera Lannery on hold. Mac will have to join them later so he can spend part of the holidays with his ma'. Am. When the o' Sullivans learn, everyone will choose a name from a hat to buy a music related Christmas gift for someone else. At the gathering it seems like there's greatest concern until the cantankerous conductor is discovered crushed under a 90 pound harp in a local concert hall.
With the extended family including Enda's much younger new wife Leah, a virtuoso violinist suspected in his murder, it's up to Siobhan to ensure the guilty party faces the music. But as a snowstorm strands both families lavish farmhouse on a cliff, Siobhan better pick up the tempo before the killer orchestrates another untimely demise the Christmas Inn by Pamela M. Kelly, DB 124450 Explore this delightfully cozy and joyful novel of second chances at the most wonderful time of the year from USA today's best selling author, Pamela Kelly. A feel good novel is delightful and comforting as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night.
The Christmas Inn is best selling author Pamela Kelly's most heartwarming and magical book yet. Riley Sanders didn't plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn nestled along the shores of Cape Cod in time for the Christmas rush.
She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall. When she gets there, she not only finds delicious cookies and a crackling fire to lift her spirits, but also the sense of family that she has been missing all along.
There's Franny, a woman who has just lost her sister and has four unopened letters from her that she plans to use to open her up to new experiences on the Cape.
And there's Aiden, her high school sweetheart, now a widower, who is staying at the inn with with his 9 year old son Luke. What begins as a quick stay over the holidays to help her mom turn into something that means much more a second chance at romance, a deeper sense of found family, and all the joy and wonder that comes with Christmas time on Cape Cod.
A Christmas Blizzard By Garrison Keillor, DB 122833 A wealthy and depressed Chicago man bound for Christmas in Hawaii is abruptly summoned home to North Dakota. He arrives just in time to be trapped there by a blizzard. During his stay he reaches an epiphany worthy of the season, and resolves to simplify his life.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: Lady Louise's Christmas By Grace Burrows, DB120988 Years ago, Lady Louisa Windham acted rashly on a dare from her brother, and that indiscretion is about to come to light. She knows her reputation will never survive exposure. Just as she's nearly overwhelmed by her dilemma, Sir Joseph Carrington offers himself to her as a solution. But Sir Joseph has secrets as well, and as he and Louisa become entangled with each other, their deceptions begin to close in on them both. A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong By Cecilia Grant, DB 123559 it should have been simple.
With one more errand to go the purchase of a hunting falcon.
Andrew Blackshear has Christmas completely under control. As his sister's impending marriage signals the inevitable drifting apart of the Blackshear family. It's his last chance to give his siblings the sort of memorable, well planned holiday their parents could never seem to provide.
He has no time to dawdle, no time for nonsense, and certainly no time to drive the falconer's vexing, impulsive, lush lipped, midnight haired daughter to a house party before heading home. So why the devil did he agree to do just that? It couldn't be more deliciously mixed up. Lucy Sharp has been waiting all her too quiet life for an adventure, and she seems to make the most of this one. She's going to enjoy the house party as no one has ever enjoyed a house party before.
And in the meanwhile, she's going to enjoy every minute in the company of amusingly stern, formidably proper, outrageously handsome Mr. Blackshear.
Let him disapprove of her all he likes. It's not as though they'll see each other again after today. Or will they? When a carriage mishap and a snowstorm strand the pair miles short of their destination, threatening them with scandal and jeopardizing all their Christmas plans. They'll have to work together to save the holiday from disaster, and along the way they just might learn that the best adventures are the ones you never would have thought to play in the Christmas Quilt By Patricia Davids, DB1232 21 years ago, Rebecca Beachy kept her reasons for rejecting Gideon Scheuer's marriage proposal a secret. Then Gideon left their Amish community. Now Rebecca crafts quilts to raise money to cure her blindness.
She's also busy guarding her heart against love until Gideon returns, at risk of being shunned to make the winning bid on one of her exquisite quilts. Will a quilt a patchwork promise of rediscovered love Bring Gideon and Rebecca back together again.
[00:13:16] Speaker B: The December magazine of the month is Good Housekeeping. This monthly publication covers everything related to family and home, offering practical tips for managing daily life, along with fresh ideas for cooking and decorating and more. A trusted resource for generations, Good Housekeeping remains a go to guide for anyone hoping to make life at home a little simpler and a little more enjoyable. It's available each month in audio format on cartridge, as well as a downloadable version through Bard.
[00:13:48] Speaker C: Welcome to this month's Tech Tip. I'm Leland and this month I wanted to share a helpful way to make any Word document you create look visually appealing. Whether it's a cover letter for a job application, a homework assignment for school, or a letter you are planning to mail, this tip will help. Let's get started.
Being blind can make it difficult to tell whether something looks visually or good, especially in additional space.
Luckily, there are a few quick things you can do to help, but first, what makes a Word document look bad?
The most common issue is mismatching fonts. That includes the type of font being used, the size attributes like bold, underline, italics, and even color. Most of the time these things stay consistent, but if you copy and paste from different sources, you may accidentally change formatting without realizing it.
Now for the tip. If you highlight your entire document and check the font settings, it becomes easy to see if anything doesn't match.
When you highlight text with mismatching formatting, the setting box in Word will appear empty. For example, if part of the text is 12 point font and another part is 14 point font, the font size box will be blank.
Word can't display both at once, so it shows neither. If you notice any empty boxes after highlighting, simply choose the option you want and it will apply to all selected text. If you use a mouse, you can quickly see the font settings by right clicking the selected text. The settings will appear in the top section of the pop up menu.
If you use a screen reader, here are the keyboard shortcuts. Control A this highlights everything.
Control Shift F opens the font settings and there you go. Now you know how to quickly check your document for mismatching fonts to make the best looking document you can.
Final note, Sometimes you do want different fonts within one document. In those cases, highlight only the section you want to apply formatting to so you don't change the entire document.
[00:16:52] Speaker D: Hello everyone.
Jerry here with this MUD staff pick. A book that I recently came across was the Boys in the Bunkhouse By Dan Barry DBC01811 this is a nonfiction investigation into the shocking exploitation of a group of men with intellectual disabilities who were forced to live and work in Annalissa, Iowa, for decades. These men, most of them from Texas and diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities, were employed by the Henry's Turkey Service under the guise of providing them opportunity. The company housed them in a dilapidated former schoolhouse, paid them pennies on the dollar for grueling labor at a nearby turkey processing plant, and subjected them to verbal, physical, and physiological abuse.
Barry reconstructs their childhoods, their recruitment, and the insidious system that trapped them in isolation from the wider world.
The book also follows the unraveling of this exploitation the whistleblowers, journalists, social workers, and federal investigators who slowly piece together the truth in the lawsuit that finally brought some measure of justice. Barry humanizes the men at the center of the story, portraying their friendships, personalities, aspirations, and resilience despite years of mistreatment. Ultimately, the Boys in the Bunkhouse becomes both an expose and a meditation on dignity, disability, institutional failure, and the moral obligations communities bear toward their most vulnerable members.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Get ready to explore the globe one city at a time. Beginning January 2026, Picabox returns. We invite you to travel through the pages of exciting books set in Olympic host cities from around the world.
Each month, participating patrons will receive a cartridge of specially curated books and set in that month's Olympic host city, and a sticker to stamp the passport they will receive with their first box. As the year unfolds, readers will build their passports, fill them with stamps, and discover new cultures, iconic locations, and inspiring stories connected to the legacy of the Olympic Games. Picabox encourages reading, exploration and a sense of adventure. No plane ticket required. Join us in January and start your journey around the world one Olympic city at a time.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: Do you need something to beat the winter blues? Shake off the winter chill and brighten your day with our cozy Virtual Coffee Hour held on Zoom. Join us for a relaxing, conversation filled break where you can sip your favorite warm drink, connect with others and enjoy a little lift during the colder months. This informal gathering is a perfect chance to unwind, share stories, meet new people and feel part of a friendly community all from the comfort of home. Bring your coffee, tea, cocoa or whatever warms your hands and heart.
Whether you're looking for company, conversation or just a cheerful way to start your day, our Virtual Coffee Hour is here to help you beat the winter blues. We can't wait to see you there. Starting January 5, 2026, virtual coffee hour will be held every Tuesday at 10am and Friday at 2pm until the end of February. Stay tuned for more information on how.
[00:20:13] Speaker C: To join Youth Services librarian Denise Bean is leading a much anticipated Crafting your Story After School Program, a monthly virtual series from the Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled running from September through April.
Each month features a new theme packed with four weeks of hands on projects, creative exploration and fun, all from the comfort of your home. Participants are making new friends, reconnecting with familiar faces and expressing their imagination in a fully accessible, welcoming space designed just for them. Join Denise every Tuesday from 4:15 to 5:00pm for an after school adventure filled with creativity, connection and fun.
Join us for Braille Babies story Time every Thursday from 10 to 10:30am this fun and interactive program is designed for children ages 0 to 4 and their caregivers and is offered both virtually via Zoom and in person at the Iowa Department for the Blind.
Each weekly session encourages early learning through stories, songs and sensory play while introducing the basics of Braille and playful, age appropriate way children will explore touch, textures and tactile materials to help build important pre Braille skills. Families will also receive a personalized activity box at signup, monthly Braille themed activities and helpful parent resources.
Braillebabies offers a welcoming, inclusive space to support your child's development and love of literacy.
We can't wait to share this experience with you.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled has resumed its Regular scheduled programs Smart speaking to the smart speaker on Thursday, December 18th at 6pm the all may eread on Tuesday, December 30th at 6pm all programs are held via Zoom and the topics for the NLS programs have not been released yet. Check our blog IowaLibrary blog for updated information.
Contact the library to get more information or go to www.loc.gov.
the library will be closed on Wednesday, December 24, Thursday, December 25 and Thursday, January 1 for the holidays from all of us at the Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. Happy Reading and Happy Holidays.
