“Librarian’s Shelf” by   Sally Hansen  "Winter Good Time for Good Reads" Now that Old Man Winter has finally arrived, I really want to put a dent in that pile of books I’ve been intending to read the past few months. I can’t think of anything more enjoyable to do on these cold, snowy nights than peruse through the eclectic reading material I’ve accumulated. Of course, at the top of my pile is E.L. Doctorow’s most recent contribution to the literary world: “The March”. Not only has his work been published in thirty languages, but among his many honors are the National Book Award, two National Book Critics Circle awards, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Edith Wharton Citation for Fiction, the William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal. Whew!!! Some of his titles include “City of God”, “Welcome to Hard Times”, “Ragtime”, “World’s Fair”, “Billy Bathgate”, and “The Waterworks”. In 1864, after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman burned Atlanta, he marched his sixty thousand troops east through Georgia to the sea, and then up into the Carolinas. The army fought off Confederate forces and lived off the land, pillaging the Southern plantations, taking cattle and crops for their own, demolishing cities, and accumulating a borne-along population of freed blacks and white refugees. Those that remained were the dangerous—the transients, the uprooted, and the triumphant. Doctorow gives the reader an enormous cast of unforgettable characters---white and black, men, women, and children, unionists and rebels, generals and privates, freed slaves and slave owners. Only a master novelist could so powerfully and compassionately render the lives of those who marched. The great march in E.L. Doctorow’s hands becomes an unforgettable reading experience with awesome relevance to our own times. I want to give you an update on our “One Book---One Columbus”. As planned, once each month from January through June, we will hold at the Library an open-to-the-public book discussion session. Members of our local book clubs have volunteered to provide snacks and a moderator to keep the discussions moving along. The schedule for the ”One Book” project is being firmed up and will soon be published in the Columbus Telegram and printed on posters all around town. The book, of course, is “Goodnight, Nebraska” by Tom McNeal. The Columbus Public Library has over 40 copies available for check-out. We also have the book on sale for the very reasonable price of $8.50 plus tax which comes to a very affordable $9.05. Tooley’s Drug Store and Traditions Restaurant and Gift Shop also have copies for sale. In addition to the book discussions, there will be three special presentations that tie in with the three main themes of “Goodnight, Nebraska”. Honorable Judge Patrick McDermott will be conducting the first workshop. The topic/theme will be on Creative Sentencing in the Juvenile Court System. I’m really looking forward to hearing all about the legal system and how it works for our young citizens. The three football coaches from the area high schools will discuss sportsmanship, athletics, self-esteem, and citizenship among the teens who choose to become involved in any of the many sports activities that are offered locally. The last special topic will be Marriage: What’s the Secret to a Successful Relationship? Our director, Bob Trautwein, has lined up some wonderful professionals in the mental health arena for this workshop. When looking for a good book to read, please choose “Goodnight, Nebraska”. An easy New Year’s Resolution to make is to join the Columbus Public Library, Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and the Sesquicentennial Committee in an exciting new venture—“One Book---One Columbus