Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Our Bacon Soap


We love our bacon here at From My Shelf Books & Gifts, and we have our very own brand of soap made right here in Tioga County. Now, for those of you that are unfamiliar with Tioga County, we're pretty rural. The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon* is just a short distance from Wellsboro where the bookstore is located, and it's a great place to hunt, hike, and fish.

In fact, last year Tioga County had a record bear harvest and it's all because of this soap. That's right. Most times, if you want to go hunting, you have to go out in the woods. You take a bath with our special bacon soap, and you cant just sit on the back porch with your favorite beverage** and wait for the bears to come to you.

If you aren't into hunting, that's just fine. You might be a dog lover, and if you are, you know that dogs are a mans best friend. Well, shouldn't you be his?

Maybe you are a single lady? Nothing is going to attract the men folk like the scent of bacon. There are so many uses for our famous bacon soap that maybe you better get yourself two bars...

*Currently there's pending litigation by the Arizona Tourist Board to make residents call it The Pine Creek Gorge.

**If your favorite beverage is beer then please don't combine it with firearms.



The Pirate Dictionary



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse all our books on pirates and fairies like The Pirate Dictionary. We hear the terms steer clear of, hit the deck, don't rock the boat, and to harbor a grudge and give little thought to their origin. Left together on ships for months, and often for years, pirate crews developed expressions that made their way into common usage. Terms for things related to life at sea became idioms used by land lubbers, a term derived from the holes in the platforms surrounding the mast that allowed sailors to avoid climbing the rigging around the platforms. A lubber was someone who was very clumsy, so a land lubber is someone who knows nothing about sailing and rigging.

Centuries ago, men wore wigs of length denoting their wealth and importance. Soon, many naval captains, including Sir Henry Morgan and Captain Chaloner Ogle, who killed Black Bart Roberts, began to adopt the style. A law was passed in England declaring that only nobility, judges, and bishops could wear full-length wigs and so was born the term bigwig .Reading through these words and phrases is an abbreviated trip through history, with lists of major naval mutinies, a summary of the slave trade, and even jokes. This dictionary is written to be entertaining as well as informative, to give a flavor of the interesting times from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries when pirates controlled many sealanes. It also contains a treasure trove of factual information about life aboard the ship, important pirate haunts, and technical terms.

Emma the Easter Fairy



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse all our books on pirates and fairies for all ages like Emma the Easter Fairy. Just in time for Easter, a brand-new Special Edition fairy -- and a brand-new adventure!

Every year, Emma the Easter Fairy paints the three special eggs that make Easter sparkle. But this year, Jack Frost has ruined everything! The magic eggs have disappeared. Now the chocolate is melting, the eggs are going bad, and the Easter Bunny is missing!

Can Rachel and Kirsty hop to it and help Emma the Easter Fairy save the holiday? Or will this Easter be totally rotten, thanks to Jack Frost and his goblins?

Find the magic painted eggs in all three stories inside this Rainbow Magic Special Edition and help save Easter!

Pirate Adventure Dice


Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse all our books on pirates and fairies like Pirate Adventure Dice. Revive the art of storytelling using these nine beautifully illustrated wooden dice to create the most imaginative, funny, and bizarre stories.

Construct your own pirate adventure tale with sea monsters, mermaids, parrots, and messages in bottles, not forgetting the all-important map and buried treasure!

This is the perfect family game that will stimulate the imaginations of children and adults alike. Ideal for playing by a log fire.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Unicorn Fart Soap



Just in time for Easter, we have a new batch of Unicorn Fart Soap back in stock. Supplies are limited, because it takes a long time to gather the flatulence of these beautiful horned creatures. Everyone knows that unicorns are magical and just plain smell good. Even their farts smell of sunshine and breezy meadows.

This soap will make you smell and feel good. It's our most popular and most environmentally friendly soap*. The captured methane helps keep green house gases from escaping into the atmosphere.

This standard size bar smells just like unicorn farts--a delightful, juicy blend of luscious pear, boysenberry, ripe raspberry and blackberry with lilac & turquoise glitter. This soap is exclusively made for From My Shelf Books by Pure Hart Soaps right here in Tioga County.

*Also try our bibliophile soap for your favorite book lover, and our bacon soap that will make your dog your best friend...


Fairies 101


Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse all our books on pirates and fairies such as Fairies 101. Fairies are very real and loving beings who want to help us live joyful, prosperous, and healthy lives. In this enlightening book, Doreen Virtue clearly explains who the fairies are, how they’re helping us, and ways to connect with their magical energy.

True stories from people who’ve encountered fairies and benefited from their assistance illustrate Doreen’s teachings. You’ll learn how fairies aid people in finding lost objects, heal themselves and their pets, make gardens grow miraculously fast, and help clean the environment. You’ll also see photos of a real fairy handprint, and other visual evidence that demonstrates that fairies are very real indeed.

The Mammoth Book of Pirates



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse all our book about pirates and fairies including The Mammoth Book of Pirates. Awash with skullduggery, malice, terror, and opportunism, here are 28 first-hand memoirs and contemporary reports of the most famous pirates to sail the seven seas, including Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham, Anne Bonney, and Jean Lafitte. These range from the Golden Age of piracy, beginning in the mid 16th century with the birth of the ‘buccaneers’ in the Caribbean, to more recent times.

Some of the accounts covered are Francis ‘Scourge of Spain’ Drake’s audacious night treasure raid on Nombre de Dios, the capture of Panama by Henry Morgan, cruelest of the ‘Brethren of the Coast’, Alexander Exquemelin’s fly-on-the-wall telling of the ‘wicked order of pirates or robbers of the sea,’ and the journal of William Dampier which was found stashed in a hollow bamboo tube, after he fled life as a Somerset farmer.

In addition, this book offers the Pirate’s Code of Honour (article 4: lights out at eight o’clock, 'if after that hour any still remained inclined to drinking, to do it on open deck'), a listing of pirate songs, and a full pirate chronology.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Gypsy, the Home Cat


"Hello, I am Gypsy. I am the home cat. I do not work at the bookstore. I take care of the house when the people are gone all day. I worry about my cat clan. My people suck at hunting.

Where do they go all day? What do they do? They seldom come home with a kill. Sometimes they come back with dry, crunchy food in a bag. They are not good hunters.

I am a mighty huntress. I kill more things than the humans do without even leaving the house. I catch bugs, voles, even bats that find their way into the house. I tried to share my bat, but the people threw it away. Stupid people. They should read a book on hunting..."

The Fairies' Birthday Surprise



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can can browse all our great books on pirates and fairies for all ages like The Fairies' Birthday Surprise. Come see the Rainbow Fairies in their early reader debut!

The Mystery of Blackbeard the Pirate



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse all our books on fairies and pirates for all ages like The Mystery of Blackbeard the Pirate by Carole Marsh. Four kids search the Bath, N.C. area for a missing prop from a play--the head of Blackbeard the Pirate.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Child Thief



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!

You can browse all our books on pirates and fairies like The Child Thief. Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland.

Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose?

There is always more to lose.

Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.

There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.

Blackbear the Pirate



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse our great fairy and pirate books for all ages like Blackbear the Pirate. Join Blackbear the Pirate as he sails about the high seas in search of fun and excitement in his great ship, the "Annie," with his all-bear pirate crew, including Calico, Izzy Paws, Le-Kidd, Pauly the Parrot, Barty, and Bonnie. In this first swashbuckling tale, Blackbear sets sail in search of the cave of the great Pirate King, Bearfoot, who lives on the mysterious island of Bearataria. It's nonstop pirate adventure for the buccaneer in all of us.

Fairy Tale Rituals


Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse our great books on pirates and fires like Fairy Tale Rituals by Kenny Kline. Magical and mysterious, Faeries are also subtle, sexual, sublime, stubborn, erotic, enticing, dark, and deadly... So you think you know Snow White? You're acquainted with Sleeping Beauty? You're quite familiar with Beauty and the Beast? Fairy Tale Rituals explores the eerie, seductive Faerie lore lying just beneath the surface of eleven favorite fairy tales. Feel the fear and passion these stories once inspired in ancient listeners. Learn how to create modern rituals that will bring the archetypal magical characteristics of these fairy tale icons -- the sexual attractiveness of Snow White, the totem animal journey of Rose-Red, the manifestation prowess of Cinderella -- into your own life. Each tale here is explored in two ways: first by looking at the story itself, with an eye toward its mythic roots and magical elements. Next, a powerful ritual or spell is presented based on the characters or events of the tale, which you can use to find a true friend or lover, glimpse the future using divination, celebrate a coming-of-age ceremony, honor the spirit of death, and much more. Praise: "Empowering rituals, often-forgotten histories, magickal lore, and insights into stories we only thought we knew--Fairy Tale Rituals is that rare book that goes beyond its title and offers a bit of myth, enchantment, and scholarly insight to all who walk a magickal path."--Jason Mankey, Pagan scholar, historian, and lecturer

Friday, March 27, 2015

Under the Black Flag



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!

You can browse our many books on pirates and fairies like Under the Black Flag. For this rousing, revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England's National Maritime Museum has combed original documents and records to produce a most authoritative and definitive account of piracy's "Golden Age." As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking the plank" is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex and often bloodier. 16 pp. of photos. Maps.

Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future!



""Rad American Women A To Z," by Kate Schatz and wonderfully illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl, is a fantastic book for any child, but especially for girls. I think it's so important that young girls realize all the amazing things women have accomplished throughout history, because, sadly, I don't think they hear enough about it in school, even today. I am happy to say I have heard about most of the women in this book, but there were several that I did not know about and I am so impressed with their strength and courage in the face of great odds. We have to let the young people of today know that anything and everything is possible, and this book is a simple, yet inspiring way to let them know that women have been getting it done forever "--Mary Engelbreit, renowned artist and children's book illustrator

Like all A-Z books, this one illustrates the alphabet--but instead of "A is for Apple," A is for Angela--as in Angela Davis, the iconic political activist. B is for Billie Jean King, who shattered the glass ceiling of sports; C is for Carol Burnett, who defied assumptions about women in comedy; D is for Dolores Huerta, who organized farmworkers; and E is for Ella Baker, who mentored Dr. Martin Luther King and helped shape the Civil Rights Movement.

And the list of great women continues, spanning several centuries, multiple professions, and 26 diverse individuals. There are artists and abolitionists, scientists and suffragettes, rock stars and rabble-rousers, and agents of change of all kinds.
The book includes an introduction that discusses what it means to be "rad" and "radical," an afterword with 26 suggestions for how you can be "rad," and a Resource.

The Girl on the Train



We've updated our membership benefits. One of those benefits is 25% off hardcovers like The Girl on the Train. This book retails for $26.95, but with your membership at From My Shelf Books, it will only cost you $20.24 that's a savings of $6.71. You are well on the way to making that membership pay you. You can read all about the membership program here at From My Shelf Books & Gifts.

The Girl on the Train is debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives. Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.

Giving a Shout Out to Platinum Tech Solutions



I've been in business for myself good chunk of my working life, from starting a lemonade stand, to private practice as a massage therapist, to having a bookstore. It's seldom easy, and getting started can be the toughest, and that's one reason I like to give a shout out to younger people just getting started. This shout out is for Platinum Tech Solutions which recently opened in the Pearl Street Shops here in Wellsboro Pennsylania.

Platinum Tech Solutions specialize in computer repair and service, and they are knowledgeable at what they do. If your computer is acting up, or running a little slow, check them out. There are several good places in the area to take your computer, but Platinum Tech Solutions is conveniently located down town. One of the owners dropped by the shop yesterday, and made sure one of the problems was the processor or the software.

The Pearl Street Shops are right on Pearl Street in Wellsboro. You can access Platinum Tech from the Pearl Street entrance, right across from Harlands Restaurant, and they are right on your left when you walk in the door. I've always liked the Pearl Street Shops, but the shops don't get as much walk-in traffic as they should.

Stewart's Opticians have been in the Pearl Street Shops for several years. I no longer wear glasses, as I had laser surgery, but my wife Kasey has bought glasses there and she was happy with them. One of the cats knocked her glasses off the night stand, and they adjusted them for her without an appointment and for no additional cost.

There's been a new addition with Grubby's Games which I gave a shout out to recently here, and there are a couple of locations that will be opening up in the shops, and the rent is reasonable. Family Hairstyling was located in the Pearl St. Shops for years, but they moved to Queen St. So, their location is available, and I've heard that there is another location opening up where the Republican Office is located, just inside the door to the right from the parking lot entrance.

The costs of renting on Main Street have increased and not conducive for someone just getting started in business, and recently. The Wired Rooster will be closing due to high rent demanded by the building owner, and a lot of cool retail and smaller services are leaving Main Street. From My Shelf Books moved to East Ave in March, because the landlord refused to renew the lease. We probably couldn't have afforded his rent increase anyway.

It's a shame, because I remember growing up when Wellsboro had a fun, family friendly Main Street. Now it's mostly filled with real estate offices, banks, or lawyers offices, but that doesn't mean that there aren't great stores that are fun to visit and just a short, little jaunt from Main Street. We do our best to be aware of what's opening in the area. You can always stop in and ask us where to eat, or some of the area attractions. We are your hometown bookstore, and we shop, eat, and drink local ourselves.




Healing with the Fairies


Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!

You can browse our many books on fairies and pirates afterwards or before like Healing with the Fairies. The author of "Angel Therapy" gives step-by-step instructions on how to contact fairies and work with them personally to heal career, health, and love-life issues.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Castle RavenLoft Board Game


We've upgraded our membership benefits. One of those benefits is 30% off board games like Castle Ravenloft. This games retails for 64.99 but if you are a member at From My Shelf Books, it will cost you only 45.49, that's a savings of 19.50, that almost pays your membership right there.

Membership is only $25 for a full year, or just $20 to renew. Read about all the great membership benefits at From My Shelf Books.

Castle Ravenloft is an exciting D&D™ boardgame for 1–5 players.
The master of Ravenloft® is having guests for dinner—and you are invited!

Evil lurks in the towers and dungeons of Castle Ravenloft™, and only heroes of exceptional bravery can survive the horrors within. Designed for 1–5 players, this boardgame features multiple scenarios, challenging quests, and cooperative game play.

Castle Ravenloft includes the following components:

• 40 plastic heroes and monsters
• 13 sheets of interlocking cardstock dungeon tiles
• 200 encounter and treasure cards
• Rulebook
• Scenario book
• 20-sided die

Growing the Northeast Garden



A gardener s plant choices and garden style are almost completely linked to the place in which they garden. And to successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener must know the specifics of their region s climate, soil, and geography. "Growing the Northeast Garden," by garden designer Andrew Keys, offers all this and more.

Gardeners in the northeast are lucky their regular summer rain, gorgeous summer blooms, and stunning fall color make it an ideal place to garden. But there are drawbacks, like hot and humid summers, bitterly cold winters, and mosquitos. This practical yet beautiful handbook starts with a comprehensive overview of the weather and geography of the area, along with regionally specific advice on zones, microclimates, soil, pests, and maintenance. Profiles of the best trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs offer hundreds of plant suggestions, along with complete information on growth and care. For home gardeners in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, southern Quebec and Montreal, southeast Ontario and Ottawa, and the Maritime Provinces."

The Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex

On November 20, 1820, the whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry whale. Within minutes, the twenty-one-man crew, including the fourteen-year-old cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, found themselves stranded in three leaky boats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with barely any supplies and little hope. Three months later, two of the boats were rescued 4,500 miles away, off the coast of South America. Of the twenty-one castaways, only eight survived, including young Thomas. Based on his New York Times best-seller In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick recreates the amazing events of the ill-fated Essex through the sailors own first-hand accounts, photos, maps, and artwork, and tells the tale of one of the great true-life adventure stories.

Northeast Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Beach Plums to Wineberrie


The Northeast offers a veritable feast for foragers. The woods, meadows, seashore, and even city neighborhoods are home to an abundance of delicious wild edible plants. A passionate wild foods expert, Leda Meredith emphasizes local varieties and traditions, showing you what to look for, when and where to look, and how to gather in a responsible way."Northeast Foraging" is a hardworking guide packed with detailed information and clear photography for the safe identification of more than 120 wild plants. It also features a seasonal guide for foraging year-round and collecting tips for sustainable harvesting. It is applicable to New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Ontario, and Quebec.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

From My Shelf Books Affiliate Program


Do you want to extend the knowledge and passion of independent bookstore into your own online community? Do you want to generate income through your website? If so, the From My Shelf Books Affiliate Program is a productive way to achieve both; a great opportunity that is just one Online Enrollment away!

How Does The From My Shelf Books Affiliate Program Work?

It is a simple and straightforward process. Once your application is approved, just log into your account and click on the affiliate center to generate the link to our website and copy and paste a block of HTML code into your website. (You can create a hyperlink to the product page for a book you are featuring on your website, or to the From My Shelf Books home page. The choice is yours.) When a visitor to your website clicks on your From My Shelf Books hyperlink, they will enter the From My Shelf Books website, where they can order books, read interesting articles, get information about store events, and more. All books ordered directly by visitors that come to From My Shelf Books by way of your website are tracked, so that you will receive a commission for each sale. The best part is that becoming an Affiliate of the From My Shelf Books community costs you nothing!

Why Should You Join?

When you join the From My Shelf Books Affiliate Program, you become a member of the From My Shelf Books community. When a visitor from your website shops at From My Shelf Books online, they experience the knowledge and passion of independent booksellers who share their love of books with their customers and their communities. They will also gain access to information and news about authors, store events, myriad recommendations, and access to a database of over five million titles.

How Do I Join the From My Shelf Books Affiliate Program?

Anyone with a qualified website can become a From My Shelf Books Affiliate. All you have to do is complete our easy Online Enrollment. Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an email notification of acceptance.
From My Shelf Books reserves both the right to decline your application and accept a re-application at future date.

How Do I Get Started?

Before you complete our Online Enrollment, you must be a registered user of From My Shelf Books. Once you have registered, take the time to read our From My Shelf Books Affiliate Program Agreement. Once you have submitted your Online Enrollment and received an email notification of acceptance, just log into your account and click on the affiliate center to begin.




Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln


The Union army's overwhelming vote for Abraham Lincoln's reelection in 1864 has led many Civil War scholars to conclude that the soldiers supported the Republican Party and its effort to abolish slavery. In Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln Jonathan W. White challenges this reigning paradigm in Civil War historiography, arguing instead that the soldier vote in the presidential election of 1864 is not a reliable index of the army's ideological motivation or political sentiment. Although 78 percent of the soldiers' votes were cast for Lincoln, White contends that this was not wholly due to a political or social conversion to the Republican Party. Rather, he argues, historians have ignored mitigating factors such as voter turnout, intimidation at the polls, and how soldiers voted in nonpresidential elections in 1864.

While recognizing that many soldiers changed their views on slavery and emancipation during the war, White suggests that a considerable number still rejected the Republican platform, and that many who voted for Lincoln disagreed with his views on slavery. He likewise explains that many northerners considered a vote for the Democratic ticket as treasonous and an admission of defeat.

Using previously untapped court-martial records from the National Archives, as well as manuscript collections from across the country, White convincingly revises many commonly held assumptions about the Civil War era and provides a deeper understanding of the Union Army.

Galeton & Wellsboro Teen Book Clubs


Do you remember what it was like to be a teenager? The hormones, the stress, the uncertainty? You probably do. It wasn’t that long ago. Or, maybe it was, but some things never change. I grew up in small town America, in the rural area surrounding Wellsboro. There weren’t a lot of opportunities, especially for adolescents. I loved to read, and we had a good library for a small town. Reading opened a world. It allowed me to learn about and observe cultures that I didn’t get to see otherwise.

I love books so much that I opened a bookstore in my hometown--the type of bookstore that I wish was there when I was growing up. Even in this wired age, I think there should a real place where youth can gather to hang out and talk about issues that they think no one will understand. There is a real need for a teenage book club--a club where it’s safe for teens to be who they are, to discuss a book, their love for reading, their excitement about stories, and not worry about being picked on, or ignored.

I believe reading as a teen leads to success, and so, I’m starting a teen book club at From My Shelf Books in Wellsboro. It’s modeled after the teen book club hosted by the Galeton Library, which we have supported, though it too is in need of funding. My goal, with your help, is to keep this book club going for Wellsboro, and keep the Galeton club burning bright.



Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits: Breeds, Care, Housing


"Storey s Guide to Raising Rabbits" is as essential to the owner of pet rabbits as it is to the farmer raising rabbits for meat or fur. Breed selection, year-round care and feeding, safe housing, humane handling, and disease prevention and treatment are all addressed.This is the classic, comprehensive, essential reference for all rabbit raisers."

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Rook



Myfanwy Thomas awakes in a London park surrounded by dead bodies. With her memory gone, her only hope of survival is to trust the instructions left in her pocket by her former self. She quickly learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. But there is a mole inside the organization and this person wants her dead.

As Myfanwy battles to save herself, she encounters a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, children transformed into deadly fighters, and an unimaginably vast conspiracy. Suspenseful and hilarious, THE ROOK is an outrageously inventive debut for readers who like their espionage with a dollop of purple slime.

Eat Bacon, Don't Jog Get Strong. Get Lean. No Bullshit.


This is your brain on Grant Petersen: Every comfortable assumption you have about a subject is turned upside down, and by the time you finish reading you feel challenged, energized, and smarter. In "Just Ride" "the bible" for bicycle riders (Dave Eggers, "New York Times Book Review") Petersen debunked the bicycle racing industrial complex and led readers back to the simple joys of getting on a bike. In "Eat Bacon, Don t Jog," Petersen upends the last 30 years of conventional health wisdom to offer a clear path to weight loss and fitness. In more than 100 short, compelling directives, "Eat Bacon, Don t Jog" shows why we should drop the carbs, embrace fat, and hang up our running shoes, with the latest science to back up its claims. Diet and Exercise make up the bulk of the book, with food addressed in essays such as Carbohydrate Primer and why it s okay to eat less kale and You ll Eat Less Often If You Eat More Fat. The exercise chapters begin with Don t Jog (it just makes you hungry and trains muscle to tolerate more jogging while raising stressors like cortisol) and lead to a series of interval-training exercises and a suite of kettlebell lifts that greatly enhance strength and endurance. The balance of the book explains the science of nutrition and includes more than a dozen simple and delicious carb-free recipes. Thirty years ago Grant Petersen was an oat-bran-, egg-white-, lean-meat-eating exercise fanatic who wasn t in great shape despite all that. Today, at sixty, he is in the best shape of his life with the blood panel to prove it."

Monday, March 23, 2015

Hooray for Spring!


Join Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and the rest of the ponies as they celebrate the beginning of spring! It's time to clear away the clouds, plant flower seeds, and wake up hibernating critters. Illustrated with charming stills from the hit TV show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!

Fairies 101



Looking for something fun to do Easter Weekend?? Before Easter baskets and egg hunts, before jelly beans and the big Easter ham for dinner, before church, but after family has arrived for the weekend..... join us for the Peter Pan Party: Pirates & Pixies! Saturday, April 4th, 12 to 3pm! FREE and open to the public!!!

You can browse all our pirate and fairy books for all ages like Fairies 101. Fairies are very real and loving beings who want to help us live joyful, prosperous, and healthy lives. In this enlightening book, Doreen Virtue clearly explains who the fairies are, how they’re helping us, and ways to connect with their magical energy.

True stories from people who’ve encountered fairies and benefited from their assistance illustrate Doreen’s teachings. You’ll learn how fairies aid people in finding lost objects, heal themselves and their pets, make gardens grow miraculously fast, and help clean the environment. You’ll also see photos of a real fairy handprint, and other visual evidence that demonstrates that fairies are very real indeed.

Sharpshooting in the Civil War


Here is the single greatest volume ever published about Civil War sharpshooting, from the expert perspective of world-renowned sniping and shooting authority John L. Plaster.

Comprehensive in scope, this book details how sharpshooters were recruited, trained, and organized. Plaster fully explores their armaments, their tactics and techniques, and how they operated (sometimes decisively) in battle. Discover dozens of accomplished and colorful but forgotten sharpshooters who, until now, had faded into the past.

Exhaustively researched and profusely illustrated, these pages contain more than 160 rare photos, along with original artwork.
"Excerpted from Plaster's epic History of Sniping and Sharpshooting, this book is a must-have for historians, reenactors, and students of the American Civil War."

Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure



Join Pete in New York Times bestselling author James Dean's Pete the Cat picture book series as Pete has a groovy Easter adventure. In this paper-over-board picture book, complete with poster, punch-out cards, and stickers, Pete helps out the Easter Bunny Fans of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, and Pete the Cat Saves Christmas will love this Easter-themed Pete storybook.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

The Poor Man's Wilderness Survival Kit

You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on the latest and greatest emergency survival gear for your outdoor adventures when you can assemble a functional, well-stocked kit for little or no money Best-selling preparedness author Jim Ballou shows you exactly how to do it with this guide to collecting no-nonsense, get-the-job-done-in-an-emergency gear and packaging it in self-contained, portable kits that are always ready to grab and go.

Instead of expensive tents, sheath knives, sleeping bags, and other conventional outdoor gear, Jim focuses on compact, lightweight, and even disposable, use-once-and-discard emergency equipment, and all of it dirt cheap Learn how to:

find standard survival kit components at the lowest pricescreate a poor man's survival kit for free from common household itemscollect or create your own edged tools, water containers, cookware, fire- and shelter-making gear, and weapons for very little moneyassemble a complete kit of new gear for under $10

Dozens of photos show examples of inexpensive but functional wilderness survival kits, as well as step-by-step instructions for creating your own poor man's gear. If you are a hiker, hunter, camper, preparedness type, homeless nomad, or other wilderness adventurer operating within a narrow budget, this book is for you.

Guide to Aquatic Insects and Crustaceans



Fully illustrated guide to identifying water-dwelling macroinvertebrates

A handy resource for anglers, students, biologists, or anyone else spending time near rivers and streams

Gives tips for distinguishing similar species and includes information for each species on behavior and role played in the ecosystem

From the damselfly to the whirligig beetle, our nation's streams are teeming with critters. This convenient, inexpensive guide allows you to identify any that you find--whether you're working on your fly tying, researching the local insect life, or just mucking around in the river. Also includes information on the river conservation and management work performed by the Izaak Walton League, making this an especially valuable resource for stream monitors, biologists, and other specialists.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Moon Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania resident and voracious traveler Anna Dubrovsky covers the best of the Keystone State, including Philadelphia, Amish country, the Pocono Mountains, Hershey, and Presque Isle. She offers a variety of unique travel strategies--from kid-pleasing getaways to rail fan meccas--and details the most popular sights, including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Gettysburg National Military Park, and Fallingwater. Complete with expert tips on places to dine, sleep, and shop, "Moon Pennsylvania" gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.

Live Writing: Breathing Life into Your Words


This book is based on the simple idea that every writer has a "tool box." Instead of awls and hammers, a writer's toolbox contains words, imagination, a love of books, a sense of story, and ideas for how to make the writing live and breathe. I wrote this book to give you some practical strategies to throw into your toolbox. I hope you'll try them, because these are ideas that can make you a better writer.

This book is titled Live Writing, and you may be wondering what I mean by that. Most of us have read (and written!) the opposite kind of writing-dull, drab language that sounds about as interesting as a city phone book. By "live writing" I mean the kind of writing that has a current running through it-energy, electricity, juice. When we read "live writing", the words seem to lift off the page and burrow deep inside us.

Recommended Reading Level
Minimum Age: 8
Maximum Age: 12
Minimum Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Maximum Grade Level: 7th Grade

Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs



The Alaskan landscape so vast, dramatic, and unbelievable may be the reason the people in Haines, Alaska (population 2,400), so often discuss the meaning of life. Heather Lende thinks it helps make life mean more. Since her bestselling first book, "If You Lived Here, I d Know Your Name," a near-fatal bicycle accident has given Lende a few more reasons to consider matters both spiritual and temporal. Her idea of spirituality is rooted in community, and here she explores faith and forgiveness, loss and devotion as well as raising totem poles, canning salmon, and other distinctly Alaskan adventures. Lende s irrepressible spirit, her wry humor, and her commitment to living a life on the edge of the world resonate on every page. Like her own mother s last wish "take good care of the garden and dogs" Lende s writing, so honest and unadorned, deepens our understanding of what links all humanity.

Friday, March 20, 2015

H Is for Hawk


* "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER
* Winner of the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize
* Named the Costa Book of the Year
* #1 bestseller in the UK
* A "Guardian" and "Economist" Best Book of the Year
When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer--Helen had been captivated by hawks since childhood--she'd never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk's fierce and feral temperament mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel, and turned to the guidance of "The Once and Future King" author T.H. White's chronicle "The Goshawk" to begin her challenging endeavor. Projecting herself "in the hawk's wild mind to tame her" tested the limits of Macdonald's humanity and changed her life.
Heart-wrenching and humorous, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement and a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, with a parallel examination of a legendary writer's eccentric falconry. Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator.

Healing Yoga for Neck & Shoulder Pain


Everyday activities such as using the computer, driving, or even curling up with a good book can create tension in the neck and shoulders. It's no wonder that so many of us have persistent discomfort and pain in these areas. Healing Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Pain presents simple, yoga-based practices that you can do at work and at home to release muscle tension for immediate relief. After suffering from chronic neck pain for years, author and yoga therapist Carol Krucoff developed the unique self-care program found in this book. Now you, too, can free yourself from neck pain by practicing simple yoga exercises to stretch tight muscles and strengthen weak ones and by learning to properly align your body when performing everyday activities that may be contributing to your pain. This fully illustrated, easy to follow guidebook also addresses common problems that may accompany neck tension, including headaches, upper back pain, and stress.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

How to Bury Your Goods: The Complete Manual of Long-Term Underground Storage


This is a hardcore book for hardcore individualists who don't trust banks, or anybody else for that matter. It tells you in step-by-step detail how to bury any valuables or contraband you might wish to store and conceal, and how to defeat searchers who might try to find your caches.

My Little Pony: The Daring Do Adventure Collection: A Three-Book Boxed Set with Exclusive Figure


For the ultimate My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fans! The book series seen in the animated television show becomes real...

This collectible treasure chest-shaped box includes three original novels starring adventurer pony Daring Do. These novels can only be found in this set! Read about Daring Do's latest exciting adventures in Daring Do and the Marked Thief of Marapore, Daring Do and the Eternal Flower, and Daring Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds. Each novel is 208 pages.

PLUS, inside the treasure chest is a special keepsake box with an exclusive golden-colored mini-pony figure inside. It's a golden idol of Daring Do herself! Use the box to hide your own treasures!

A Weaver's Garden: Growing Plants for Natural Dyes and Fibers


Valuable hints on dyeing fibers and fabrics, soap plants to use for cleaning textiles, fragrant plants to scent and protect fabrics; planning and creating a garden featuring cotton, flax, indigo, much more.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Hikes in High Places: Transforming Hikes Atlantic/Pacific



A hiking guidebook with literary substance, exploring the connections between mountains and coastline, deserts and forests, on hikes throughout the United States and British Columbia. Its topics are many and varied, ranging from viewing wildlife to hunting gemstones and photographing wildflowers, and the settings are all high places, whether mountain passes, foothills, summits or bluffs. It is illustrated with a pencil sketch drawn from a photo of a native American pictograph and black-and-white photos. The chapters offer a great deal of information on native Americans, and the hikes strive for the immersion in nature that the tribes knew.

The Complete Guide to Lock Picking



Learn how to open all kinds of locks, plus how to thwart tampering with locks to protect your valuables. This book is intended for legal entry only, but you'll gain confidence knowing that you can get in through any door without a key! For Academic Study Only.


Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America


This absorbing history demonstrates that few things capture the sheer danger and desperation of men on the deep sea as dramatically as whaling. Dolin provides rich and often fantastic accounts of the men themselves. 32 pages of illustrations. A Los Angeles Times Best Non-Fiction Book of 2007 A Boston Globe Best Non-Fiction Book of 2007 Amazon.com Editors pick as one of the 10 best history books of 2007 Winner of the 2007 John Lyman Award for U. S. Maritime History, given by the North American Society for Oceanic History "The best history of American whaling to come along in a generation." Nathaniel Philbrick"

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

101 Things You Didn't Know about Irish History


Discover the truth behind the myths of the Emerald Isle

Forget about shamrocks, leprechans, and all that blarney; "101 Things You Didn't Know about Irish History" dispels the myths and tells the true story of the Irish.

Inside, you'll learn about:
Lives of the ancient Celts before the British invasions
Famous Irish including Michael Collins, Charles Parnell--and Bono
The potato famine and emigration (were there really gangs of New York?)
Irish music and dance

Complete with an Irish language primer and pronunciation guide, "101 Things You Didn't Know about Irish History" is an informative reference for anyone who loves the Irish.

Enter the Earth



Elizabeth Angier was happy to be at the end of the school year. She thought her summer on the family farm would be full of work and play with her best friend, Rachel, and her other best friend, her dog, Maizey. However, Elizabeth didn't anticipate the Harmony Farms Corporation moving to her town. Her world starts to crumble as her best friend moves away and her parents whisper of farmers selling their land and the effects this factory farm operation could have on them. When she thinks things can't get much worse, she meets the most unusual creature, Gaia, the living entity of the Earth. Strange things begin to happen to her, around her, and through her Elizabeth discovers that with these new powers comes responsibility. A dire mistake makes Elizabeth wonder if meeting Gaia has been a blessing or a curse. Will Elizabeth have the strength to fight a large corporation? Or will her upstate New York home be spoiled by profit driven pork production that fouls the air, land, and water?