The Friends of the Library will have a booth at the Herb & Art Fest Saturday at Perks Coffee Bar parking lot. There will be hardcover books for sale as well as herb and art books. The new library bookbags and mousepads also will be on sale, and membership will be available for Friends of the Library. A lifetime membership for Friends of the Library is $100.

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Check out the year-round book sale at the library. Sale tables are constantly restocked with children's and adult books as well as audio books and videos.

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This month's preschool storytimes are this Wednesday, celebrating Dinosaur Month, and Oct. 22 where the topic will be "Autumn Animals" featuring squirrels, bears and geese. Storytimes start at 10 a.m.

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Did you know:

-- 6,169 people visited the library during the month of September.

-- 5,632 items were checked out or renewed. -- over 94 hours were logged in by volunteers. -- 41 new library cards were issued.

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Just a reminder that patrons can access their library account, place reserves and renew materials online. Go to www.cityoflampasas.com/library and navigate to the Online Catalog, and to log in to one's account, enter the library card number and phone number.

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The library extends thanks for the recent donations.

Recent memorials have been given in memory of Billie G. McLean and Lester Rhodes.

An honorarium was given for Jackie Chapman.

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Author read-alikes:

If you like David Baldacci, you might also like James Grippando, Stephen Cannell, John Grisham or Michael Connelly.

If you like Tami Hoag, you might also like Tess Gerritsen, Alex Kava, Lisa Gardner, Iris Johansen or James Patterson.

If you like Johanna Lindsey, you might also like Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux, Julie Garwood, Amanda Quick, Linda Howard or Julia Quinn.

If you like Zane Grey, you might also like Max Brand, Marcia Muller or Louis L'Amour.

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New books at the library:

"Black Belt Patriotism," by Chuck Norris. Norris gives a no-holds-barred assessment of American culture, tackling everything from family values to national security. More than a cultural critique of what's wrong with the nation, "Black Belt Patriotism" provides real solutions for solving problems, moving the country forward, and changing the nation's course for the better.

Chuck Norris -- the hero, icon and legend -- is back, packing a political and cultural punch, as only he can deliver.

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"Supreme Courtship," by Christopher Buckley. President of the U.S. Donald Vanderdamp is having a time getting his nominees appointed to the Supreme Court. After one nominee is rejected for insufficiently appreciating "To Kill A Mockingbird," the president chooses someone so beloved by voters that the Senate won't have the guts to reject her. But even if she can make it to the Supreme Court, how will she get along with her eight highly skeptical colleagues, including a floundering chief justice who, after legalizing gay marriage, learns that his wife has left him for another woman?

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"The Assassin," by Stephen Coonts. Abu Qasim, the ruthless and cunning Al Qaeda leader who nearly succeeded in blowing up a meeting of the G-8 in Paris, has escaped from the grasp of the Americans and is plotting his next move. A small band of powerful men, highly placed leaders of industry and politics in the West, have decided they need to target and destroy the terrorist and his inner circle before he can strike again. However, it's clear that there's a very dangerous leak within the ranks of the Westerners, and that Abu Qasim has turned the tables on his rivals -- it is now he who is pursuing, and his aim is to kill.

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"American Wife," by Curtis Sittenfeld. On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband's presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House. When she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look, but then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie. When Charlie eventually becomes president, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek -- one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility. Along the way, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona?

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"The 19th Wife," by David Ebershoff. It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the U.S. A rich account of a family's polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife. Soon after Ann Eliza's story begins, a second narrative unfolds -- a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah.

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Other new books at the library:
"Foreign Body," by Robin Cook.
"The Beginning," by Catherine Coulter.
"Sunset," by Karen Kingsbury.
"Fast Track," by Fern Michaels.
"Mercedes Coffin," by Faye Kellerman.