Setting New Goals
Traditionally at the end of the year/beginning of the new year I set new goals. Which means I take a look at what I’ve actually done throughout the previous year and decide on a (hopefully) new set of goals. Therein lies the problem for me: I’m hoping that I’m setting a new set of goals. Did I even accomplish my previous goals? This year, the answer is “Not really.” But does it matter?
Say Farewell to 2016 With These Nonfiction Favorites!
It’s December, and I’m looking back on another year of ups, downs and most importantly—books. Here’s a few nonfiction favorites I’ve enjoyed in good old 2016!
Innovation Week: Now It’s Your Turn
We’re all creative. We’re all innovators. We might be out of practice or out of the habit of thinking outside the box, but we all have that capability. Hopefully some of the projects we featured this week will excite and inspire you to create, learn and share new experiences with family members and friends, both inside and outside the Library.
Life as a First Lady
After this election, I started thinking about what life was like for the women who were married to the presidents—who have to endure the rigors of the election cycle and endless press coverage, but whose contributions are significantly overlooked by history. In First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, Kate Andersen Brower brings their personal stories to light and acknowledges their many and diverse contributions.
E.B. White
E.B. White may be most well-known for his beloved books for children, like Charlotte’s Web (DB46839) and Stuart Little (DB31831), but he was also one of the most significant essayists … Continued
Seven Thousand Miles
As a child of the eighties and nineties I assumed that others like myself were enjoying a similar childhood. Perhaps my neighbors weren’t making trips to see their great-grandparents in Kentucky, perhaps they weren’t playing Skip-It, or rollerblading down hills, but without a doubt they were experiencing a childhood. In the bubble of my mind and the shelter of my childhood, this experience was being had by all. It was not.
Read Harder: Vol. 11
Another entry in my continuing adventures with Book Riot’s 2016 Read Harder Challenge: Feminism is a loaded word. It’s very much a badge of honor for some and something to run away from for others. How I want to take ownership of the word is something that I’ve been grappling with recently. Luckily for us, “read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes” was on the challenge list.
In the Company of Women
Grace Bonney’s new book, In the Company of Women, includes gorgeous portraits and snapshot interviews with more than 100 women who are makers, artists, innovators or entrepreneurs. I was immediately interested in picking this up because I knew that many of my favorites were profiled (including Roxane Gay, Neko Case, Kate Bornstien, Janet Mock and Carson Ellis), and I’m glad I nabbed a copy, because, in addition to being a great read, this book introduced me to so many interesting, inspiring women who are now on my radar (Preeti Mistry, Rebecca Wood, Samin Nosrat, Matika Wilbur, Julia Rothman and the list goes on!)
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.
Read Harder: Vol. 10
I am far from a Dylan scholar. I’ll admit that up front. I certainly know his songs; I can get why people flipped when he went electric and how Blonde on Blonde smoothed things over. But with his Nobel Prize for Literature, my interest in his work has been renewed. That’s why The Old, Weird America by Greil Marcus works out great to help check off the task of “Read a biography (not a memoir or autobiography)” the Read Harder challenge.