Categories
Booklists Recommendations

Hibernation

by Public Service Associate Autumn

All living things adapt to the onset of winter.1 Birds tend to migrate.2 Foxes, hares, bison and plenty of other animals grow thicker, denser coats, often in cooler, more winter-camouflaged colors. Humans bundle up in thick winter coats and gloves and complain about having to preheat their cars in the morning. Some creatures like bears, however, hibernate. 

Categories
Recommendations

Further Reading: Leonora Carrington

by Public Service Associate Juliana

Photo: Leonora Carrington by Katie Horna

Earlier this month the library hosted award-winning poet Rikki Santer for a reading from her new poetry collection, Resurrection Letter: Leonora, Her Tarot, and Me. Her new work is a rich homage to the vision and joy of surrealist painter, Leonora Carrington.

Categories
Online Resources Programs

Discover and Preserve Your Past at the Library!

by Local History Librarian David

With holidays and family gatherings right around the corner, let Bexley Public Library be your place to discover family history and preserve your memories – for free! We have special genealogy programming this October in honor of Family History Month, and we invite you to explore the tools in our Memory Lab. 

Categories
Booklists Recommendations

Don’t Panic!

by Public Service Associate Hannah

September is National Preparedness Month — a time to prepare for natural and man-made disasters and emergencies. As a library user*, this PSA gets me thinking of all the thrilling apocalypse-type plot lines and thought-provoking stories on our shelves. But Hannah, you say, very real water, fire, and wind cause devastation every day. Where’s the entertainment in that?! Well, without making light of very real situations, think of these books and movies like you would visiting a haunted house or riding a roller coaster. A part of you is scared, and in my case screaming regret, while another part of you knows this is a manageable way to experience hardship and fear in a safe environment. Studies have even shown natural disaster films might teach us to take climate emergencies more seriously while providing tips for how to act in similar circumstances. Plus, it’s cathartic and rewarding to root for a protagonist as they seek shelter and find hope. 

Now set your solar flashlight out to charge as we dive into my disaster book and movie recommendations.

Categories
Recommendations staff favorites

Tolkien’s 50th Death-iversary and Hobbit Day Celebration

by Public Service Associate Luke

September is an important month for Tolkien fans. On the 2nd, his loyal readers celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famed author’s death, both mourning the loss of the greatest fantasy writer to ever live and taking the opportunity to honor the greatest fantasy world to ever exist. Twenty days later, on the 22nd, Tolkien lovers observe the fictional birthdays of two of Tolkien’s central characters: Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins, a day known as Hobbit Day.

Categories
Book Spotlight Recommendations staff favorites

Book Spotlight: Aug 9–Fog

by Public Service Associate Juliana

Aug 9–Fog by Kathryn Scanlan (2019) | print

Spare • Experimental fiction • Literary realism

Welcome to another Book Spotlight! Today’s feature, Aug 9–Fog, will appeal to those who gravitate toward literary realism.

Literary realism: a literary movement that represents reality by portraying mundane, everyday experiences as they are in real life. (Master Class)

All the books currently checked out on my library card contain the subject “everyday life”, books by Tove Jansson, Virginia Woolf, Kathryn Scanlan. These books highlight the beauty of the day-to-day, the minutiae of real life. This results in leisurely paced narratives that focus on character rather than plot; nothing much happens; characters talk about the weather, daily routines and what they’ll watch later on TV.

Categories
Bexley History Programs

Celebrate Bexley’s 115th Birthday at the Library!

By Local History Librarian David

August 10 is Bexley Day, the day Bexley was established as an incorporated village with its first charter in 1908. For the second year, the Bexley Public Library, in partnership with the Bexley Historical Society, are celebrating Bexley’s birthday with an honorary program and cake. This year, Historical Society Trustee, Larry Helman, will present on how the community developed over time. Join us for the event at 7 PM on Thursday, August 10 in the library auditorium. It will also be an opportunity to learn about a new effort to mark and recognize those houses of 100+ years in age. 

Categories
Recommendations

International Cat Day

by Public Service Associate Autumn

In late 2015, several news outlets, including USA Today, announced scientists had determined that if housecats were larger, they would kill and eat their human companions. A nice, snappy headline, but strictly speaking not true. The actual study1 does not say that our beloved kitties are just waiting for their moment to strike. It just says that personality-wise, a cat is a cat, whether they’re hunting the laser you point for them or stalking prey across the African Savannah. This was probably obvious to anyone who has seen photos of jaguars, tigers or pumas sitting in cardboard boxes. Or this lion sitting in a wheelbarrow.  I should acknowledge here that I am not an ailurophile (a lover of cats). I have dogs. However, August 8th is International Cat Day, and we here at the library do not want to make our individual cat overlords unhappy by not acknowledging it. 

Categories
Recommendations

Host a Spectacular Movie Night with Help from Your Library

by Public Service Associate Juliana

Image from Walt Disney Studios

Are you looking for a fun way to get together with family and friends? A movie night might be the ticket. Keep it simple with pizza, popcorn and candy, or create a menu based on your movie choice. You and your guests might enjoy it so much that you plan to do it on a regular basis.

Categories
Recommendations staff favorites

Gonzo Journalism: Dark, Funny, Strange, and Mostly True

by Public Service Associate Luke

One of the core tenets of journalism is to remove yourself from the story and keep that sense of detachment in order to avoid any kind of bias or personal involvement. This rule is what allows journalists to maintain an air of neutrality in their reporting. “Gonzo Journalism” is the direct breaking of and sometimes flippant disregard for that rule. These stories often become more about the writing itself, rather than just the objective of the article or book. The term “Gonzo” has several disputed origins, from the semi-translation of a French term to a 1960s jazz song (no, none of them relate to the blue-beaked Muppet).

Gonzo Journalism was first mentioned by the editor of Scanlan’s Monthly when describing the seminal piece “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” by the creator of the movement, Hunter S. Thompson. This journalistic style is known for its writers being directly involved in the act they are meant to be observing. Think of embedded journalism, if the journalist also fired the rifle, smoked the drugs, or engaged in otherwise frowned-upon activities. The ethics of such a style are questionable, but they certainly bring about excellent and extremely detailed product. Hunter S. Thompson would begin and continue to add to the movement, while many other journalists and authors took influence from him and began getting involved in their own subject material. I first found Thompson in junior high, and I now own a copy (or two) of each of his works. I love this type of writing, and so I’ve collected a list of some of my favorites.