The Vow on the Heron; The Case of the Lucky Legs; Free for All; Adult Programs in the Library

"Vow on the Heron" is the ninth book in the Plantagenet series by Jean Plaidy. Edward II is dead and his son, Edward III, is on the throne, with his mother, Isabella, and her lover, Mortimer, acting as regents since Edward is underage. As soon as he reaches his majority, however, he banishes his mother to a little used castle and executes Mortimer for masterminding the murder of his father. Edward marries the girl he fell in love with at the age of fourteen, Phillipa, and they go on to have a long, happy marriage full of children. This book was actually a little boring, because nothing scandalous happened.
"The Case of the Lucky Legs" by Erle Stanley Gardner finds Perry solving the mystery by chasing (literally) down clues. He doesn't even make an appearance in court in this one (it was an early one). There were some unhappy, tense moments where he and Paul Drake disagreed (I didn't like that at all), but there was one hilarious moment where Perry barges in a young woman's room to question her, and she insists she needs to call her attorney first. Not knowing who Perry is, since she's never met him, while he stands there she dials the phone and pretends to talk to Perry Mason. Perry watches her, amused. When she gets off the phone and tells him that Mr. Mason has advised her against speaking to him, Perry wryly remarks: "I tried to get in touch with Mr. Mason earlier, and his office told me he was unavailable today." The girl responds smugly: "Well, Mr. Mason isn't in for just anyone."
"Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library" by Don Borchet was freakin' hilarious. He's worked as a library assistant for a dozen years, and seen and heard it all. Drug dealers operating out of the bathroom, people running up fines of astronomical amounts, very strange things being left in the book return, etc. I just wished it were twice as long. With any luck he'll write another one.
"Adult Programs in the Library" by Brett W. Lear was a really great guide to starting or expanding adult programs in the public library. It was full of helpful hints and was very easy to read. Even if it was for work, I enjoyed it.