Library Limelight: Preetha Thalamuthu, Materials Assistant, Headquarters

Library Limelight is intended to be a quick read to help FCPL patrons get to know our librarians, staff, and volunteers. We hope you enjoy learning about the people who make our libraries great!

Preetha Thalamuthu
Materials Assistant
Headquarters

Where is your hometown?

I’m from Theni, a small town in southern India. Cumming has been my home for the past 14 years.

How long have you been at FCPL?

Three years       

What other jobs have you had at FCPL?

I was a volunteer in the Materials department, then I joined the staff as the Materials Processor. I became the Materials Assistant earlier this year.

Why did you choose to work in a library?

My kids and I visited the library as often as we could when they were growing up. When an opportunity opened up to work at this familiar place, I was very excited to apply. The ease of the commute is an added bonus.

Describe your job in five words or less.

Ordering, receiving, processing, repairing materials.

What is unique about your job?

Working to get the new materials processed and into the hands of waiting patrons in a timely manner. Also, extending the life of materials by repairing them to library standards.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Getting a sneak peek at the new books before they hit the shelves. 

What’s the most interesting place you’ve lived or traveled?

Our family loves travelling and we are always looking for new destinations to visit. I really loved Yosemite National Park. I was awestruck by its magnificence. 

What are your hobbies?

Traveling, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.

What are you reading right now?

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

Paper books, eBooks, or audiobooks?

Paper for pleasure and eBooks for convenience. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

As a native speaker of Tamil, I am really thrilled by the growing number of Tamil books in our World Languages collection. 

Kids' Book Spotlight- Chilly Picture Books and Early Readers

Grab a mug of hot cocoa and a warm blanket and snuggle up with these wintery books from our Easy collection! 

Picture Books

Bruni's Big Adventure

by Suzanne Francis

Ever since Elsa introduced Bruni to snow, the Fire Spirit has been fascinated by it. So when Bruni sees everyone's favorite snowman, Olaf, headed on an adventure through the Enchanted Forest, he can't wait to follow him.

A Polar Bear in the Snow

by Mac Barnett

Follow a magnificent polar bear through a fantastic world of snow and shockingly blue sea. Over the ice, through the water, past Arctic animals and even a human...where is he going?

Wintercake

by Lynne Rae Perkins

When Thomas misplaces the basket of dried fruit he needs to make his seasonal wintercake, friends old and new come together to save the day.

When the Snow is Deeper than My Boots are Tall

by Jean Reidy

A child enjoys playing in snow with their family.

The Little Snowplow Wishes for Snow

by Lora Koehler

The little snowplow loves his job on the Mighty Mountain Road Crew, but the work he loves best is plowing snow. Throughout the year, he wishes for snow to come, but winter begins without a single flake in sight. As the weeks pass and the little snowplow's birthday approaches, he starts to wonder whether it will snow at all. Will the little snowplow's birthday dreams come true?

Early Readers

Biscuit's Snow Day Race

by Alyssa Capucilli

On a snow day, Biscuit gets ready for a sledding race.

Little Penguin's New Friend

by Laura Driscoll

A polar bear is coming to visit! Little Penguin has never met a polar bear, but has heard that they're scary. He wonders if he should believe everything he hears.

Woof and Quack in Winter

by Jamie Swenson

Quack, a duck, decides to stay with his friend Woof, a dog, rather than fly south for the winter, with unexpected results.

Snow Wonder

by Charles Ghigna

Two children celebrate a wonderful wintry day by playing in the snow, sledding, building snow people, baking cookies, and ice skating.

It's Snowing! It's Snowing!

by Jack Prelutsky

A collection of short poems about winter.

Stephani Lindsey 

Youth Specialist

Sharon Forks Library

#WeKnowBooks

Staff Picks - Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure like No Other by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish (Adult Nonfiction)

Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure like No Other by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish

Two men. One country. A lot of whiskey. And an unforeseen obsession with kilts.

As someone who recently finished Outlander (the television series), I knew I had to read this book. And I thought it would help satisfy my wanderlust from my canceled trip to Scotland this year. However, after reading Clanlands, my desire to visit Scotland and my love for these two actors has only grown. Never before has a book made me actually laugh out loud; the relationship between Sam and Graham is hilarious, almost sibling-like (despite the 30-year age gap), and you’re immediately drawn in to their chemistry. Diana Gabaldon’s foreword is just as entertaining, especially so when she explains the appeal of a man in a kilt. 

As you read the book, you’re immediately transported to the Highlands as the two Scots tell of their journey through their homeland to discover not only who Scotland is but who they are as well. Each chapter is a mix of memoir, travel guide, history, and documentary. Both men discuss their acting days (on the set of Outlander-spoiler alert!-and before), their obsession with whiskey and tartan kilts, their favorite places in Scotland, their own histories, the histories of the clans they encounter and of the country itself, and their journey through Scotland in an RV . . . and on a tandem bike and a kayak. By the end of the book, you will have fallen for these two Scotsmen, wishing you could be the mini Highland coo (Scottish cow) hanging from their rear-view mirror who got a front-row seat to the entire trip.

Throughout this book, Sam and Graham prove Diana’s words in her forward especially true . . . a man in a kilt is a very powerful and compelling image. And in Clanlands, you have two of them.

Jessica 
Information Specialist
#WeKnowBooks