January preschool storytimes are this Wednesday with "Sip, Slurp, Soup," and Jan. 21 with "Squirrel Friends" storytime. Both events start at 10 a.m.

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Want to give, but don't know how or what? The Lampasas Public Library has created a "wish list" posted at www.amazon.com to make giving a little easier. To see the list, click on "Gifts & Wish Lists" above the search box on the Amazon homepage. In the "Find Someone's Wish List" search box on the right side of the screen, search for Lampasas Public Library.

We appreciate those who have already given.

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The library is constantly restocking its book sale tables. Stop by to check out the great selection of children's and adult books and audio books.

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Recent donations have been received in memory of Dorothy Easters and Mack Gonzales. The library appreciates those who remember us with their gifts.

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Read-alikes:

If you like Judith Krantz, you might also like Olivia Goldsmith, Jackie Collins, Eileen Goudge, Danielle Steel or Barbara Delinsky.

If you like John Saul, you might also like Dean Koontz, Robin Cook, Stephen King, V.C. Andrews, James Patterson, Frank Peretti or Anne Rice.

If you like P.D. James, you might also like Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, Deborah Crombie, Dorothy L. Sayers or Minette Walters.

If you like Debbie Macomber, you might also like Jude Deveraux, Fern Michaels, Luanne Rice, Anne Rivers Siddons or Kaye Gibbons.

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New books:

"Against Medical Advice," by James Patterson. Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was 5 years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. And it kept getting worse.

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"Cruel Intent," by J.A. Jance. Ex-television journalist Ali Reynolds just wants a break from excitement. In the midst of a remodel, the last thing she expects is a murder investigation that will stop the construction on her home. But when the savagely murdered body of stay-at-home mom Morgan Forester is found, Ali's contractor Bryan is the prime suspect. Bryan swears he has nothing to do with his wife's murder -- but as the investigation progresses Ali seems to be the only resident of Sedona who believes him. Determined to prove Bryan's innocence, Ali unknowingly lands herself directly in the path of a calculating killer.

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"Beyond Belief," by Josh Hamilton. Josh Hamilton was the first player chosen in the first round of the 1999 baseball draft. He was destined to be one of those rare "high-character" superstars. But in 2001, working his way from the minors to the majors, all of the plans for Josh went off the rails in a moment of weakness. What followed was a fouryear nightmare of drugs and alcohol, estrangement from friends and family, and his eventual suspension from baseball. Josh explains how a young man destined for fame and wealth could allow his life to be taken over by drugs and alcohol. But this is also the memoir of a spiritual journey that breaks through pain and heartbreak and leads to the rebirth of his major-league career.

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"The Wettest County in the World," by Matt Bondurant. Based on the true story of Matt Bondurant's grandfather and two grand-uncles, this is a gripping tale of brotherhood, greed and murder. The Bondurant Boys were a notorious gang of roughnecks and moonshiners who ran liquor through Franklin County, Va., during Prohibition and in the years after. These men forge a business, fall in love, and struggle to stay afloat as they watch their family die, their father's business fail, and the world they know crumble beneath the Depression and drought.

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"The Treasure," by Iris Johansen. Lady Selene Ware had been nothing more than a harem slave when Kadar Ben Arnaud -- a man once trained in the black arts of death and seduction -- helped her escape to the safety of her native Scotland. But even a world away she still wasn't safe from the sheikh who claimed her as his stolen property and who now forced both her and Kadar to return with a chance to win their freedom. There is, of course, a catch. First they must find the legendary religious relic that men of power have searched for from King Arthur's time to the present. But the truth is far more explosive, the stakes far more deadly, and the closer they come to discovering the secret, the closer they will come to losing each other -- and their lives.

* * * Also new:

"Salvation Boulevard," by Larry Beinhart.

"The Chocolate Snowman Murders," by JoAnna Carl.

"8 Sandpiper Way," by Debbie Macomber. "Naughty Neighbor," by Janet Evanovich. "Ghost at Work," by Carolyn Hart.