The Witches’ New Year
Samhain is a holiday that recognizes shorter, colder days and the dominance of night and invites self-reflection and quiet meditation. As the final harvest before the long winter, it is a time to take stock of what’s grown (literally and metaphorically) over the past year and contemplate the coming year. Practitioners decide what, if anything, they want to leave behind or stop doing (such as a bad habit or negative energy), and what they want to actively cultivate moving forward.
Calling All Little Ghosts and Ghouls!
Halloween is here! We had a blast celebrating at CLP – Squirrel Hill. You can celebrate too, with these fun-filled and inexpensive activities for the whole family!
History, Mystery and Witchery
Hopefully you are enjoying the spectacular colors of autumn as much as I am, even if you have to go through the “joy” of raking all those leaves. When your body’s sore from all that work, treat yo’self with some hot apple cider and some almost-as-fantastic-as-apple-pie-books. Here are some of my favorite selections for these colder and windier days.
Poets’ Lives in Letters
Writer’s letters are compiled to give readers a glimpse into the personal lives of their favorite authors. The letters can range from outlines of day-to-day minutia to personal confessions to … Continued
Meeting Author Jason Reynolds at the National Book Festival
Having my books signed by Jason Reynolds at the 2016 National Book Festival was exciting for a number of reasons. It allowed for me to physically meet an author I admire. It also allowed for me to see that, as an author, I can have success as well. Lastly, the inspirational words that he wrote in my books will help me to keep going in an industry that can be daunting. Be brave! Don’t give up!
Homegoing Might Be the Best Book of 2016 (According to Me)
Yaa Gyasi’s groundbreaking debut novel, Homegoing, begins in 18th century Ghana with two half-sisters who will never meet. Effia, of the Fante tribe, marries a British slaver and lives her life in relative luxury in the Cape Coast castle. Beneath her, captured tribes wait to be shipped to the Americas as slaves. Among them is Esi of the Asante, Effia’s half-sister.
Buzzworthy Books
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I stopped by Soergel Orchards to check out the fall festivities. While picking our way through the mostly trampled sunflowers, he noticed a … Continued
Watery Graves: Two Not-So-Scary Books
Every year I struggle to find books this time of year. I love Halloween, but I don’t care to be scared. I was always the kid who cried at the haunted house (and by kid I mean just last year). I try to look for books with the right ambiance for Halloween: dark, mysterious, possibly supernatural but not too frightening. This year I lucked out and found two books that have kept me entertained in the spirit of the holiday without actually causing me sleepless nights.
Super Science: marshmallow bridges, gooey chemistry, fizzing rockets and more!
Wiggly worms and bugs, crazy chemistry, gooey polymers and fizzing Alka-Seltzer™ rockets—this is a mere sampling of the amazing science activities kids can explore free of charge during Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Super Science programs, which receives generous support from PPG Foundation and other funders.
Three Creepy Ghost Stories for Halloween
This is the week leading up to Halloween. So of course I felt obligated to make a post about books that would be great to read over the holiday. And by obligated, I mean I’m super excited about this list because I’ve been super into horror lately. So here are some books that you should pick up to get in the right holiday spirit.