This best-selling book tells the story of two remarkable sisters, career trailblazers, who charted their own path in the world, guided by the strength they gained from faith and family.

The City of Columbia and RCPL have joined forces to launch the first citywide reading adventure, One Book, One Columbia.

All residents of Columbia and Richland County are invited to participate between April 1 and May 15, and then share their experiences with friends and neighbors.

For more information about One Book, One Columbia, visit http://www.myrcpl.com/onebook.

Pulitzer winner Gail Caldwell wrote an autobiography of her friendship with fellow writer Caroline Knapp who died young. Their acquaintance was through their pet dogs, a samoyed and german shepherd. Caroline Knapp had previously published Drinking: A Love Story before they met. Gail, also a recovering alcoholic, had not yet met Caroline when she read Drinking: a Love Story while spending a week in Cape Cod alone with her dog. Gail grew up in Texas and Caroline’s childhood was in intellectual Cambridge in the Boston area where the two lived. There are frequent humorous anecdotes comparing their family lives. Gail Caldwell published a previous memoir, A Short West Wind, describing her Texas life. During their years as friends, Caroline published Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs. Ms. Knapp’s work includes Gail and her dog Clementine but changes the names. They had coincidentally signed up for a weeklong camp for people and dogs fully immersing in training, agility, group meals and organized play. Eighty people enrolled, CBS news covered the event and Gail describes a group hike as a “Disney movie gone haywire”. A year after Caroline’s death Gail discovered a photograph taken by a mutual friend of their two dogs silhouetted in a window, “a classic dog photo, capturing vigilance and loyalty…in the middle distance of the picture, through the windows and the fields beyond…an outline of Caroline and me walking down the hill…a secret garden revealed only after it is gone.”

Best-selling author Dean Koontz is famous for his science fiction, horror and fantasy writing, but in Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life, he defers to his beloved, deceased dog Trixie by serving as editor of her advice on how to lead a happy life.
Deceased? Why, yes! According to Koontz, Trixie, a golden retriever originally trained by Canine Companions to assist persons with disabilities, had her career cut short because of elbow surgery. Forced into early retirement, she then came to live with Koontz and his wife Gerda where, after a number of happy years, she passed away shortly before her twelfth birthday.

Nonetheless, in life she had already made her mark as an author in her own right with her witty contributions to Koontz's web site, and after her demise she began posting messages and musings she labeled TOTOS--Trixie On The Other Side--to Koontz's computer.
Each night, Koontz would shut down the machine only to find it switched on again in the morning. And there, displayed on the screen, was Trixie's latest chapter. In eight chapters, she expands on necessities for bliss: Calm, Beauty, Fun, Wisdom, Meaning, Others, Humility, Loss and Gratitude.

Sensible of life's brevity and the need for simplicity, Trixie keeps her own counsel and writes in a style sometimes referred to as pidgin: economical, easy to understand, and very much to the point. For example, "To see beauty of world, must really, really, really look. Not look through. Not look at. Must look into." And, "Beauty helps calm you. Bad day at work, you almost assaulted fellow worker with stapler. Spend evening in garden, star-gazing, cuddling puppy, will lose homicidal urge." Or, "Calm is first step on road to bliss. Mustn't be angry, not even if have reason to be angry. Cannot be angry even at crazy Aunt Edna when she knits paw booties and berets with ear holes, makes you wear them when she visits."

January is a time when many resolve to improve themselves and their existence in the New Year. Bliss To You is a good place to begin for those wanting some competent guidance, even if, as Trixie herself candidly acknowledges, she does make cats the butt of occasional jokes.

Bragg writes poetically, a heart-wrenching autobiography of his growing up, dirt poor, in Alabama. Through his concise, descriptive words, the reader percieves a vivid picture of the events.

This authors life was unbelievable and this made this an incredible story. I would equal it to Angela's Ashes

If you are growing concerned about "green" living and earth's dwindling resources, "Farewell, my Subaru" by Doug Fine needs to be on your reading list. Fine grew up in the New York suburbs, graduated from Stanford University and travelled the world reporting for NPR, newspapers, and various magazines. Now in his late 30s, he purchased a ranch in remote New Mexico and set out to become independent from oil without losing his accustomed comforts like motorized transportation, hot showers, cold drinks, and the Internet. Not being given mechanical or technical skills, Fine shows in this biography that anybody can take the step towards solar-powered energy, alternative fuel driving, and growing one's own food. Fine does not leave out his set backs and doubts, but recounts them in an infectious and entertaining way that makes you want to move to the country, order some solar panels, and start driving on fast food waste grease. Judging by Doug Fine's blog and numerous public appearances following "Farewell, my Subaru," the move to his ranch and sustainable living is still proving successful.