by Juliana, Public Service Associate
It’s going to be a hot one this week folks, and we’re here today to spark up reading and listening inspiration for the season we’ve all been waiting for — summer! If you’re looking for something to make your days dreamy and luminous, you’ve come to the right place.
by Public Service Associate Juliana
Midori’s cooking was far better than I had imagined it would be, an amazing assortment of fried, pickled, boiled, and roasted dishes using eggs, mackerel, fresh greens, eggplant, mushrooms, radishes, and sesame seeds, all done in the delicate Kyoto style.
— from Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
One of the many, many things that I love about the library is that you can develop an interest in something and absolutely take off with it. By which I mean, you can mine the catalog for any and every resource, and you can follow any connection that happens to come your way. I ended up doing this type of deep dive with Japanese breakfast. An interest was born, I followed one lead to the next and the next. From television to cookware, cookbook to novel, memoir to music. It has been such a fun journey; I have to share it.
by Public Service Associate Juliana
I have been in love with Ireland ever since I was little and believed in fairies. Does that explain why I gravitate toward Irish writers? It seemed like a fairy trick last year when I’d start reading a novel and realize, “Another Irish author! How interesting!”
This month, in the spirit of celebrating Irish history and culture, it feels quite appropriate to highlight a few titles within this trend.
by Public Service Associate Juliana
I was fourteen years old and obsessed with Kurt Cobain. His song, “Heart-Shaped Box”, inspired me to dump my Valentine candy into a bag and use the empty heart-shaped box for safekeeping. Shiny red, about the size of a dinner plate, it was perfect for love notes, by which I mean literally notes of “Things I Love.”
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.
by Public Service Associate Juliana
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.
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.
by Public Service Associate Juliana
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.
by Public Service Associate Juliana
Planning a trip to somewhere particularly literary? As we inch closer to summer I’m thinking of how to savor time off. Truth be told, a vacation from the first through the fifth sounds like a five day vacation, right? But factor in flights and time zones, it could be more like an evening and three days. This was my recent experience visiting Los Angeles. Day one we arrived in time for dinner, spent three blissful days in the sun, and day five we left before breakfast.
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.