Et Cetera

Upper Iowa University is pleased to announce July and August 2024 graduates and their respective degrees/honors. Local graduates are as follows:July 2024 GraduatesLori Marie HugLa Porte City, IABachelor of ScienceCommunication StudiesMagna Cum LaudeTia Layne HunterVan Horne, IABachelor of SciencePsychologyCum Laude MeritumAugust 2024 GraduatesAmy L

VPL Note: We have a large selection of books by Jan Brett in our Children's Library, including her latest title 'Alice in A Winter Wonderland.' Check them out today!"With over forty-one million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up.

I have finally found a book that showcases the true wretchedness complete and utter heartbreak can cause after the sudden, unexpected ending of love. And the hilarity beneath it all! Dolly Alderton's ‘Good Material’ is a book I wish I had read during my divorce: I might have come out of it a little less injured.Alderton knows her way through the warped landscape of love and loss and writes with such humor that I found myself laughing and crying throughout each chapter to the point of absurdity.

On December 12, Mount Mercy University pinned over 30 nursing graduates at the Nursing Pinning Ceremony. Graduate Tiffany Schnor ’24 was featured as the student speaker at the event.  The following nursing students received their pins at the Nursing Pinning Ceremony.Atkins, Elizabeth UdelhovenKeystone, Tiffany SchnorVinton, Ben NoringCongratulations nursing graduates! Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mount Mercy University is the regional Catholic, Mercy University that promises students of diverse backgrounds, ages and faiths a challenging, practical education that inspires them to discover knowledge, build community and live their values.

I recently finished 'When Christmas Comes' by Andrew Klavan. I appreciated Klavan's writing so much that I read the second and third books in the series as well. Melancholy and atmospheric, this is not your average Christmas 'feel-good' tale. Cameron Winter is a former US intelligence officer coming to terms with his violent past and lavish yet emotionally neglected childhood.

Alexander Wallace of Blairstown, was among the graduating class of 2024 at Palmer College of Chiropractic. Graduating with a General Science, Bachelor of Science degree he graduated from the Main Campus in Davenport, on October 25, 2024.

The following students were named to the 2024 summer trimester Dean’s List at Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Main Campus in Davenport, Iowa.Faith Hagenow of Vinton, IACaleb Halleran of Fairfax, IAKeegan Koppedryer of Center Point, IA

There was a day I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to read 'Intermezzo' by Sally Rooney before work; that's how much I love this book and this author! Rooney explores grief, love, and the family dynamics between two brothers. Peter, a Dublin lawyer, faces relationship challenges and heavily self-medicates after their father's death. His socially awkward brother Ivan, a 22-year-old phenom chess player, connects with Margaret, an older woman separated from her alcoholic husband.

I recently read 'A Home for the Holidays' by Taylor Hahn. It is light and heart-warming, without being too predictable, and I loved it! This novel tells the story of Mel Hart, a singer who is forced to confront her past after losing her mother. She meets Barb, her mother's former best friend, and learns about a side of her mother she never knew.

Over Thanksgiving break, I read 'Society of Lies' by Lauren Ling Brown. This is Brown's debut novel, and I thought it was a success! During Maya's college years at Princeton, she tries to roll with high society and become someone she's not. She goes to extremes to get into a secret club so that she can help provide for her younger sister, Naomi, who is 10 years younger.