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Festive Reads to Help You Enjoy the Holidays!

by Public Service Associate Juliana

Shorter days make me nostalgic for the winter evenings I sat on a low stool, my back warm in front of a fire that my mother built with logs my father stacked all summer. We’d decorate the tree after Thanksgiving with multicolored lights, salt dough angels and crocheted snowflakes. 

The further I move away from childhood, the more I crave holiday rituals, to commemorate the traditions I grew up with while creating new ones to carry forth with the younger generation. Gingerbread houses, cookie baking, plaid pajamas.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed and preemptively exhausted even, trying to be so intentional and thoughtful about the holidays. When I start to feel that way, I turn to my favorite resources. The Little Library Year by Kate Young, Celebrate by Pippa Middleton, and Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year by Beth Kempton. I let the order and grace within the pages remind me to slow down, to savor, enjoy and let it be cozy. I let the words, photos and ideas inspire me.

  • The Little Library Year: Recipes and Reading to Suit Each Season by Kate Young | book
  • Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends by Pippa Middleton | book
  • Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy by Beth Kempton | book

Wouldn’t it be fun to entice reindeer with a mixture of oats and glitter on the garden path? Or to schedule a holiday movie night? Or plan a menu inspired by books? There’s no one way to celebrate. Beth Kempton suggests making a list of what you actually enjoy about the holidays and prioritizing those things.

My favorite tradition of the past few years has been to wake before everyone else, sneak downstairs in my slippers, sip a peppermint mocha and read my way into Christmas morning. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Six Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

by Public Service Associate Juliana

It’s time to celebrate poets! Do you find poetry intimidating? Does your experience extend beyond Shakespeare’s sonnets you read in high school? This April is the perfect time to give poetry another chance. Read on for six ways to infuse your month with an appreciation for verse.

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Celebrate Pi Day with Pizza!

by Public Service Associate Juliana

“Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Pi Day is an annual opportunity for math enthusiasts to recite the infinite digits of Pi, talk to their friends about math, and eat pie.” (PiDay.org)

I’m not really a math person, but I’m definitely a pizza person. This Pi Day I suggest a BYOP party! Yep, you read that right. It’s like BYOB except with pizza. A dear friend of mine once threw a party where she invited everyone to bring their favorite pizza from their favorite pizza place to share with everyone. BYOP. Essentially a pizza potluck, plentiful in both variety and quantity. I can’t get over what a great idea this is. Pizza is often a matter of convenience as well as taste preference. BYOP is a way to get to try some of the best that may be outside your normal range.

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Best of 2022: Video Games

by Public Service Associate Owen

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Best of 2022: Music

by Tech Librarian Josh

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Recommendations staff favorites Youth Services

Best of 2022: Youth

by Youth Services Librarian Amanda

In the youth services spot, we highlighted some of the best new books across a range of ages from this past year.

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Recommendations staff favorites

Best of 2022: Movies

by Public Services Associate Luke

There were plenty of new releases and great films that came to theatres or found their home on the various streaming platforms, but I will be discussing a few of what I think are some of the best this year.

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