Throwback Thursday: Travel Here, Travel There, Travel Everywhere… With Books!
The one thing that I have learned through my travel experiences is that you can have fun anywhere you go; it’s all in how you plan it. Make sure that you are prepared for that plan to fall apart entirely, and then you will be able to explore. Some books that I have found helpful, either because they are awesome reads and take place where I was traveling, or because they provide loads of information.
Throwback Thursday: Like a Brick to the Head?
Scott Brick is a super-prolific audiobook narrator and a favorite among Main library staff. He’s narrated books by just about everyone – people like Steve Berry, Terry Brooks, Harlan Coben, Philip K. Dick, John Grisham, Frank Herbert, Jon Krakauer, Erik Larson, and Brad Meltzer, to name a few (really, that’s the short list).
Throwback Thursday: Does Size Matter?
Get ready for the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s It by reading the source novel.
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.
Accidental Discovery: Lynda Barry
Every library lover has at least one story about a magical moment of serendipity when they stumbled across a book or author, previously unknown to them, who turns out to be a new favorite. We all know that libraries are are great for that type of exploring — you can check out a fat stack of titles and revel in anticipation about what you might find. That’s how I came across Lynda Barry, a prolific comic author and artist who was undiscovered by me until I saw a recommendation for her book, One Hundred Demons, on the library’s website last year.
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.
Coming Soon to a Library Near You
Today we’re featuring a few items that will be hitting Library shelves over the next few weeks. These movies and books are available now to place on hold through our catalog or you can try your luck with the Best Seller collections on their release dates. For even more upcoming and newly released books, movies and music, check out the Books & Media page on our website!
Three Fairy Tales to Read After You Watch Beauty and the Beast
Did you see the Beauty and the Beast live action film yet? I recently did, and it made me think of all the fairy tale retellings that are published and made. Fairy tales were first told to teach children lessons; it wasn’t until Disney’s series of animated films like Snow White and Cinderella that they became more like the stories we see and hear today. That hasn’t stopped people from retelling them in a variety of ways. Here are three recent retellings that you may find interesting if you love Beauty and the Beast.
Inspirational Girls
Marley Dias started 1000 Black Girl Books and has been an inspiration to me (also, her website is an amazing book resource!). She exemplifies how much we—not only as individuals, but as groups—can do to help and support others, starting from a young age. I feel as though so often many of us feel that we have to wait until we grow up to do something extraordinary. I thought that it was important to talk about someone who inspired me and didn’t wait until she grew up to do it.
Ecofeminist Novels by Black Authors
Ecofeminists believe that nature and culture are intrinsically linked, and that the environmental harm we’re doing to our planet parallels the harm oppressive cultures do to marginalized groups like women and people of color. The word “ecofeminist” is itself a compound of “ecology” and “feminist.” In practice, it is an intersectional, multidimensional approach to social justice that recognizes we are linked to the land and our environments. Unsurprisingly, many women of color have written both novels and nonfiction books with strong ecofeminist themes; here are just a few of them.