At Library Mix, I hope to serve up a tasty, useful, and unique blend of essays about books for all ages as well as news about public libraries and literacy. Library Mix is a member of Blogcritics, an online publisher of critical reviews concerning books, film, and culture.

A line of sad-looking people lingers in the driveway of an author’s house at all hours. “There are so many of them, they are hard to count,” she reflects while preparing for bed. After midnight, the stairs creak. One of the strangers has entered her bedroom and her life uninvited. Click here to read more.

Cameryn Mahoney, the star of Alane Ferguson's teen forensic mysteries, is a modern day Nancy Drew who knows more about body bags and toe tags than she does about shoulder bags and toe rings. She is pretty, but also pretty strange in the eyes of her small town high school classmates in the southwestern Colorado hamlet of Silverton. That’s because she spends a significant amount of time with dead bodies. Click here to read more.

Bunny the bunny and Jack the raccoon are private gumshoes in Cynthia Rylant's High-Rise Private Eyes easy reader series. They like to frequent the Grill Next Door when they aren’t cracking cases or jokes. An argument about the edibility of Brussels sprouts versus potted-plant leaves is resolved by agreeing to go out for pancakes instead. But before they can dig in to a short stack of hotcakes with syrup and butter, they are hot on a case. Click here to read more.

Here is a mystery in itself: Why do so many of us read so many mysteries? Googling the topic, I discovered that a high school student had asked a similarly phrased question — perhaps in search of information for an essay assignment — at the eNotes.com website. It drew lots of thoughtful responses, including a link to the scholarly paper “Why Use Detective Fiction in the AP Classroom” by Eric J. Pollock and Hye Won Chun. Click here to read more.

MIX AND SHAKE MYSTERY RECIPE:
"P" is for Kinsey Milhone's Peanut Butter & Pickle Sandwiches
This issue’s  blue-plate special recreates the peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches that are a staple of private investigator Kinsey Milhone in Sue Grafton’s bestselling alphabetically titled mystery series that currently stretches from A is for Alibi to V is for Vengeance. Click here to read more.

Quick Mix is a space for bits and pieces. To see old Quick Mix entries,  including the previous post — "Mysterious appeal of getting rid of clutter" — visit Library Mix's Mixed-Up Archives.

Reluctant readers are the target of World Book Night to be held April 23, 2012. Begun in the United Kingdom last year, this annual distribution of free books is expanding to the United States and hopes eventually to be a worldwide event. Publishers, bookstores, the American Library Association and other organizations will supply volunteers with books to distribute to  non- and light readers. The 30 titles selected for the event include The Hunger Games, Because of Winn Dixie and Friday Night Lights. The deadline to apply to be a volunteer is February 1. Visit the World Book Night website for more information.