All Eyez On Me: The Movie and the Man
Last month, the Tupac biopic, All Eyez On Me, finally hit theaters. It was released on what would’ve been the rapper’s 46th birthday, June 16th. There has been a lot of hype and curiosity surrounding this movie. Naturally, because Tupac was such a three dimensional person and often regarded as the greatest rapper of all time, so the movie should reflect that.
Every Child Ready to Read: Reading Tips
Last week, a teenager walked into the Library and asked me for books that would teach their three year-old sibling to read. Apparently, the summer project they had been charged … Continued
Two Great YA Novels Released This Year
Within the last couple of years, I’ve shied away from reading young adult novels because that’s all that I used to read. I wanted to expand my horizons, and also I felt that a lot of the young adult novels were the same. Recently, I read one of the best young adult novels that I’ve ever come across, and it’s called The Hate U Give. Another great young adult novel that I read recently was When Dimple Met Rishi.
Who Has the Power?
There’s always that one show that everybody watches, but you don’t. For me that was Power. A lot of people that I know watch the show, including my mother. She was always talking about how good it is. I just never got into it until now. The show centers around James St. Patrick, who is the owner of a New York City nightclub called Truth. This is his legal job. His other job is the distributor for one of the biggest drug cartels in New York City.
5 Questions With… Kathleen Tessaro!
Bestselling author Kathleen Tessaro’s Rare Objects, which has just been released in paperback, is a featured titled on our Summer Reading list, and is among the titles that teams competing in the Battle of the Books will be reading. Kathleen, a native Pittsburgher, will also be visiting some CLP book groups this summer to discuss Rare Objects. The book groups are open to anyone, and Kathleen will be visiting Beechview at 11:30 on July 8th; Woods Run on July 11th at 11:30; and Squirrel Hill on July 19th at 6:30. We virtually sat down with her and asked her five questions to help us get to know her better.
DAMN, it’s Kendrick Lamar
GRAMMY-award winning rap superstar Kendrick Lamar released his third studio album DAMN last month. There was a lot of hype and anticipation for this album. A lot of people including myself were wondering whether the overall sound of the album would mimic his sophomore album, To Pimp a Butterfly. After the release of the first single from the new album, “Humble” the answer was no. Lamar went the route of using hard hitting beats over his vicious flows and it’s a refreshing change of pace.
Throwback Thursday: Solomon Northup: Keeping the Legacy Alive
Last year, a patron named Clayton Adams showed me an amazing story that taught me a lot about injustice, resiliency, and hope. It began with trust, followed by deception and injustice, and ends with justice and reunion. And the fact that this story happened at all and that we can go out and read or watch it (I encourage you to do both) is what ultimately gives me hope that we will progress. This story is called Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.
Dear White People: A Public Service Announcement
Recently, Netflix released all ten episodes of their series Dear White People, which is based on the movie and book with the same name. The series carries over a lot of what happens in the movie and then expands on it. What helps the series is that the creator of the book and movie, Justin Simien, was on board for the series as creator. Another facet that helps is some of the actors from the movie came back to reprise their roles on the TV series.
Here to Help: Books for Life’s Big and Small Moments
Seeing diverse experiences represented in books helps children to explore their own identities and develop empathy for others.
The Troubled Girl Named Marlena
Cat, her mother and her older brother, Jimmy, move to Silver Lake, Michigan, after their parents’ divorce. It’s an extremely small town with basically nothing to do. Based on descriptions in the book it doesn’t sound like a place that anybody would want to move to. At some point in the book, Cat’s mom says that she wanted to move as far away from where they were living because everyone knew why the divorce happened. In the beginning of the book, Cat meets Marlena. She is her next door neighbor. Cat is fascinated with her and wants to be her friend.