The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee

First Line: Maura Beth Mayhew shut her sky blue eyes and let the unsettling words that had just been thrown her way sink in for a few tense moments.

The library in Cherico, Mississippi, isn't going to win any design awards. It's tiny, has corrugated iron siding, and no parking lot, but for the past six years, it has been librarian Maura Beth Mayhew's pride and joy. When City Council members tell Maura Beth that the library will be closed down, she fights back until she's given a grace period. She has to boost library circulation dramatically, or she'll be looking for another job-- and Cherico's citizens will have to travel a distance to get their reading materials. It's not until the Cherry Cola Book Club is founded that Maura Beth has something to smile about.

This book is filled with Southern charm and warmth, and scenes of people getting together over good food to talk books and get folks using the library warm the cockles of my heart, but I have to admit that I could never completely believe the premise of this book-- and it's got everything to do with my childhood. I grew up in a small village in central Illinois. My mother took over as librarian of a neglected, seldom-used building of out-dated books and a floor that was held up by huge jacks in the basement. With a tiny budget, it was my mother's job to increase circulation and make that library something of which to be proud. She did. By the time she left, our village library had over twice the circulation of the library in the much larger county seat.

Why does this prevent me from falling hook, line, and sinker for this book? Because Maura Beth has been the librarian in Cherico for six years, and during that time it seems that all she's done is ask for a parking lot and computers. One of her assistants states that there are plenty of days that no one at all comes in the library-- and Maura Beth is shocked when the City Council starts thinking of closing the place down? It's only when she has that "gun" of closing held to her head that she finally rolls up her sleeves and starts doing her job.

Don't get me wrong: there's a lot to like in this book, and there are good tips for anyone who's wanting to increase their library traffic. But my own memories of all the work my mother put into the library in our village prevents me from giving this book a whole-hearted recommendation. Loving books and libraries as I do, this makes me feel a tad guilty.

The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee

ISBN: 9780758273413

Kensington © 2013

Paperback, 272 pages

Fiction, #1 Cherry Cola Book Club

Rating: C

Source: Purchased from Amazon as an eBook. 

White Tank Library and Nature Center Now Open

Maricopa County opened a brand-new library this weekend. What makes it different from many others in the country is that the building is meant to be a part of its Sonoran Desert surroundings, it's as ecologically friendly as possible, and it's part of a nature center that will happily tell patrons about the wildlife that surrounds the library.

Books and critters. That is definitely my kind of library, and somehow I feel a visit coming in the future. However, there's no way I can tell you all about the place, so I thought I'd let the folks who work for Maricopa County tell you about it for me. Enjoy the video!

Musing Mondays-- The Library

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the library…

How often do you visit the library? Do you have a scheduled library day/time, or do you go whenever? Do you go alone, or take people with you?


I grew up in a library. My mother was the librarian in our village, and I was unpaid labor until my sixteenth birthday. I might have been unpaid, but it was a labor of love. Mom and I spent at least part of each day at the library, except for Sundays and the rare vacation. When I went to college, I was still spending most of my time in a library...a considerably bigger one. When I graduated and moved to Phoenix, I fully intended to patronize the Phoenix library system. I obtained a library card and began browsing, using a huge list of books that I'd heard about and wanted to read. Out of a list of at least 200 books, I found three. Several trips confirmed that I just wasn't finding the books I wanted. I obtained a library card for the Arizona State University and almost went wild. Not only was I finding the books I wanted, but many more of which I'd never heard. Trouble is, transportation was difficult. It didn't take very long for me to stop going to the library--any library--at all.

I'm a mood reader, and as such, it's best to get my own copies of books. I've owned books for ten years before I've gotten around to reading them, but I have read them and enjoyed them. If I'm not in the mood for them, I don't have to worry about fines or taking them back and being able to find them again. Many years have passed since those dismal attempts at finding books in my local library. I'm positive things have changed. Perhaps I'm too possessive or insecure, but I prefer that the books I have be mine and subject to my own whims.

Now that I've begun paring my books down so they don't completely take over the house, I'm finding myself going to the library once again--to donate the books I don't post on my favorite swap site, Paperback Swap.

Want to see more answers and perhaps join in this meme? Click on the Musing Monday graphic at the top of this post!