Forget all the rules of fight club because we want to talk about this! Who even knew that ukulele fight club was a real thing? A lot of people, evidently! It’s not just here in Columbia, or Missouri, or even just the USA. No, this is a global thing. And why not? Ukuleles are the perfect instrument: small and portable, not too expensive or complicated, and you can sing and play at the same time. Ukuleles have shown up all over the place in popular music from Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/It’s A Wonderful World” to anything by NeverShoutNever.
The library is a great place to learn this new skill. Check out some of these great books to help you get started: Continue reading “Ukulele Fight Club!”
Whether you are just beginning a job search or in the middle of one, DBRL has a multitude of resources to assist you.
Here are a few basic tips for job hunting:
- Cologne, scented hand lotion and aftershave can be a major distraction in an interview situation. The prospective employer might be turned off by the scent and your chance of leaving a good impression is greatly diminished.
- Taking the time to practice responding to possible questions can really help during the actual interview, particularly if you get nervous during these types of situations. There are a multitude of published resources in the library and online that can give you common interview questions and good responses. Practicing out loud — even writing down questions and responses — will help you if you suddenly get the deer-in-the-headlights feeling.
- Most interviews involve some type of question about your strengths and weaknesses as an employee. Make sure your responses are specific to that particular job and you have examples of experiences that highlight your strengths. When talking about a weakness, be sure to also include what steps you have taken to improve that particular skill set.
- Many companies (even smaller ones) use digital databases to search for candidates. This means that a human resource department will run search queries based on specific keywords. If those words are not found, your resume will be tossed without being seen by anyone.
- If an employer states that they want a team player, make sure your resume and cover letter highlight specific experiences that show this characteristic.Anything you claim in a cover letter or resume should be backed up by actual experience.
Continue reading “Need a Job? We Can Help!”
“The Best We Could Do” is a memoir written as a graphic novel. I read this to fulfill a requirement in the Read Harder Challenge and loved it. Graphic novels don’t do much for me, but it really worked for her memoir. I loved so much about this book. The story of her family and coming to terms with her relationship with her parents.
Three words that describe this book: Enlightening, heartfelt, and memorable.
You might want to pick this book up if: You like to read about other cultures.
-Stacy
I’m excited to share these LibraryReads with you! There are a lot of thrillers to check out this month, but if that’s not your cup of tea, fear not, there’s something for everyone. Check out these newly-published librarian favorites:
“Spinning Silver”
by Naomi Novik
“A wonderful reimagining of the Rumpelstiltskin story. A tale of love, family, magic and destiny, told from the perspective of three strong female characters.”
~Melanie Liechty, Logan Library, Logan, UT
Continue reading “July 2018 LibraryReads”
Before I donned the gentleman’s cloak, back when I was still a wayward scamp who held doors open for people with nary a bow or doffing of a top hat, I recommended the work of Nicole Krauss. “The History of Love” and “Great House” are recommended enthusiastically, but those recommendations have disappeared into the unending chasm of the internet, and while a government agency undoubtedly has copies on a floppy disk, I am unable to link you to those recommendations, and rather than use words to elaborate on those previous recommendations (when said words are clearly better spent doing whatever it is I’m doing now), I merely urge any reader with a taste for what folk call “literary fiction” to read those novels.
I also recommend Krauss’s most recent novel, “
Forest Dark.” But I concede it may require a more
voracious appetite for fanciness than her previous novels. “
Forest Dark” alternates chapters between Epstein, a retired lawyer, freshly divorced, whose parents recently died and who has developed a condition his lawyer refers to as “radical charity,” and Nicole, an author wrestling writer’s block and a dying marriage. Epstein gives away expensive paintings and timepieces. Nicole fancies she has a double. They go, separately, to Israel. Epstein loses his coat and a cherished book in a coatroom switcheroo. Nicole is informed that Kafka faked his death and is asked to finish some of his unfinished work.
Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Nicole Krauss”
How is the Read Harder challenge going for you? I was flying along until I hit some of the tasks that are truly reading HARDER for me. Now I feel like I have slowed down a little. On some of the challenges I may even be a little stuck.
If you are still trying to find a book to fulfill the Read Harder task #5 for a book set in one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China or South Africa) here are a few more suggestions for you — one nonfiction and one fiction for each country. Continue reading “BRICS: Reader Harder Challenge”
I re-read “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole as part of my Adult Summer Reading Program checklist (re-read a book you loved). It was a favorite among my friends in college, and re-reading confirmed why we loved it. It’s absolutely brilliant — laugh out loud hilarious, magnificent in its detail, timeless in its character portrayals and so good that you just don’t want to put it down. Not a word in the book is wasted. Ignatius Reilly is one of the all-time great characters in fiction. The tragedy, of course, is that John Kennedy Toole committed suicide never knowing that his manuscript — and now classic work of fiction — would be published.
Three words that describe this book: Hilarious, Brilliant, Timeless
You might want to pick this book up if: You want to laugh, and you appreciate clever writing.
-Jeff
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“Unrest”
Website / Reviews
Journalist Jennifer Brea documents her struggle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. After spiking a 105 degree fever shortly after being accepted to a PhD program at Harvard, Brea manifested a mysterious cluster of symptoms, including extreme weakness, fatigue, full-body pain and mental confusion. After being dismissed by doctors, she discovered a community of patients similarly struggling with the mysterious disorder.
“Black Panther”
Website / Reviews
Based on the Marvel Comics series, this film follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk.
“Little Women”
Website / Reviews
Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, this three-part adaptation was originally shown on PBS. Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, the story follows sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother, Marmee, and while their father is away at war, the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from sibling rivalry and first love, to loss and marriage.
Other notable releases:
“Annihilation” – Website / Reviews
“Call Me By Your Name” – Website / Reviews
“Channel Zero” – Season 3 – Website / Reviews
“Dark Matter” – Season 3 – Website / Reviews
“Detectorists” – Season 3 – Website / Reviews
“Do Not Resist” – Website / Reviews
“Girlfriends” – Season 1 – Website / Reviews
“I, Tonya” – Website / Reviews
“In the Dark” – Season 1 – Website / Reviews
“LA 92” – Website / Reviews
“Phantom Thread” – Website / Reviews
“The Post” – Website / Reviews
“The Shannara Chronicles” – Season 2 – Website / Reviews
“The State” – Website / Reviews
“Suits” – Season 7 – Website / Reviews
“Wait for your Laugh” – Website / Reviews
Summer is a great time to discover new authors. Here are some of the titles by debut authors that hit the shelves in June. For more, please visit our catalog.
“The Optickal Illusion” by Rachel Halliburton
Based on a true story of scandal and betrayal in the art world of 1797s London.
Ann Jemima Provis and her father offer American artist Benjamin West a long coveted secret—the formula for master painter Titian’s famous coloring—which they claim to have uncovered in an ancient manuscript. A beautiful young woman and herself a talented painter, Ann demonstrates the technique for Benjamin, drawing him and the Royal Academy of Arts, of which he is president, deep into scandal and fraud.
“A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising” by Raymond A. Villareal
A disease that solidifies the blood has sparked an epidemic of vampirism that begins in the United States and then sweeps across the world. Those who survive the virus are left with an increased lifespan in exchange for a diet of fresh blood. They are called “Gloamings,” and soon people begin to clamor for rebirth as one of the elite, despite the risk of death if their bodies can’t handle the disease.
What follows is a drastic shift in society and the emergence of a Gloaming Crimes Unit, an anti-Gloaming sect, and the first Gloaming candidate for senator all of which are building up to a bloody vampire revolt.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: June 2018”
Summer is the season of travel and adventure. The kids are out of school, adults have vacation time to use and the great wide world is calling. Would-be adventurers imagine exotic trips with fascinating companions, but in reality the joy of travel is usually tempered by a host of unpleasant logistics. This is why the best travel experiences are often those found in books about other peoples.
For hardy souls who believe the only true adventure includes a physical challenge, start with “Shark Drunk: The Art of Catching a Large Shark From a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean,” by Morten Strøksnes. Norwegian journalist Strøksnes makes a pact with a friend to try to catch the elusive Greenland shark, a creature that can grow to 24 feet long and may live to be 500 years old. Their quest brings a myriad of challenges, including procuring a rotting bull corpse for bait and rigging a rubber boat for an oversize catch — all while they ponder life and death and the nature of myth. Continue reading “Literary Links: The Armchair Adventure”
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