“Your baby will arrive at 7 tomorrow morning…” and thus, our first day of being parents was about to begin. Of course, the process started much earlier with the adoption application, home study visits, being cleared through immigration and basically being evaluated by what felt like a gazillion people. Although our process was relatively easy to negotiate, it did involve many steps, lots of preparation and extensive research. Decisions have to be made regarding the type of adoption (domestic, international, private, special needs, etc.) and choosing an adoption agency, as well as financing the adoption.
Additionally, preparing and educating yourself, your friends and family about adoption and how best to navigate the transition for yourself and your child is extremely important. Working with an excellent adoption caseworker and speaking with other adoptive parents is invaluable (and we did), but equally as helpful were the many books that we read. Besides, reading gives you something meaningful to do while you are waiting (patience wasn’t my strong suit), and let’s face it – you won’t have much time to read once your child arrives. Continue reading “November Is National Adoption Month”
It was a dark and stormy night … It was a dark and stormy summer … It was actually a dark and stormy couple of years.
It was 200 years ago that 18-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, soon to be Mary Shelley, wrote her most famous book, “Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus.” Mary was on holiday with two already famous poets — Percy Shelley (who later became Mary’s husband) and their host, Lord Byron. The setting was Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva.
The volcanic eruption of Mt. Tambora in the East Dutch Indies produced major weather anomalies, causing that year to be very stormy and gloomy. In fact, that year was dubbed the Year Without a Summer. It was also known as the Poverty Year, the Summer that Never Was and my personal favorite, Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death. In order to fill the long, dark and stormy days, Byron suggested that they tell ghost stories, which caused Mary to have nightmares. The dark storms over the mountains and flashes of lightning over the lake provided the perfect backdrop for both the story and its conception. From a dream, Frankenstein was born and still haunts us. Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Frankenstein!”
The Cinema Eye Honors are annual awards that recognize outstanding craft and artistry in nonfiction film. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, the Cinema Eye organization recently announced 20 films that have been named as among the top achievements in nonfiction film-making over the last decade. Here’s the assembled list of films in the library collection: Continue reading “Cinema Eye Honors: Top Docs Of The Last Decade”
Need a hot read for your cold November nights? Look no further than this month’s Library Reads list. Suspense, fantasy, historical fiction, biography — there’s something for every reader’s taste or mood, including new titles from Lee Child, Wally Lamb, Zadie Smith, Michael Chabon and more. Here are books publishing next month that librarians across the country recommend.
“Faithful” by Alice Hoffman
“With only a touch of her usual magical realism, Hoffman crafts a tale that still manages to enchant. In ‘Faithful,’ a young girl who survives a car accident that almost kills her best friend spends the next decade doing penance to try and alleviate her guilt. Despite her best efforts to avoid it, love, hope and forgiveness patiently shadow her as she slowly heals. Shelby is a complex character, and through her internal growth, Hoffman reveals that she is a person worthy of love, a bit of sorcery that readers will hold dear. Simply irresistible.”
– Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public Library, Huntington Station, NY Continue reading “Top 10 Books Librarians Love: The November 2016 LibraryReads List”
American presidents come and go, but the White House staunchly stands as a beacon of hope to the free world despite the building’s surprisingly complicated and sometimes difficult history. As we close in on yet another changing of the guard, it’s a good time to take a fresh look at this iconic building. How many times has it been renovated? Is it really haunted? Continue reading “Literary Links: Our White House”
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
Website / Reviews / Trailer
Playing at the True/False Film Fest in 2015, this Academy Award-nominated documentary explores the life of Nina Simone. A classically trained musical genius, chart-topping chanteuse and Black Power icon, she is one of the most influential, beloved, provocative and least understood artists of our time. This film inspired a companion book published earlier this year.
“City of Gold”
Website / Reviews / Trailer
Playing earlier this year at Ragtag Cinema, this film follows restaurant critic Jonathan Gold as he pulls back the curtain on the perceived superficiality of Los Angeles to show viewers a genuine and vibrant world where ethnic cooking is a kaleidoscopic doorway to the mysteries of an unwieldy city and the soul of America. Continue reading “New DVD List: What Happened, Miss Simone? & More”
October 11 marks the birthday of the woman who spent more time in the White House as first lady than any before or since. At her birth, Eleanor Roosevelt seemed destined for a life lived mostly on the periphery of the political dynasty she was born into. A series of childhood tragedies changed her trajectory, and Eleanor went on to not only redefine the role of first lady, but also to become a political force in her own right.
Born in 1884 to socialite parents, Eleanor was orphaned by the age of 9. She attended Marie Souvestres’s all-girl’s finishing school in England. Souvestre’s teaching methods encouraged students to think independently and express themselves. The influence of this education is visible in the social justice work Eleanor pursued as an adult. Blanche Wiesen Cooke’s “Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume One, 1884-1933” documents in depth these influential early years of Eleanor’s life. Continue reading “The Fascinating Life of Eleanor Roosevelt”
If you have even glanced at any newspaper, website, television show or your social media accounts, then you know that it’s election season. With all of the media attention on the presidential election, it can be easy to forget that on November 8, we will also be electing local representatives, from county commissioners to state senators.
Are you registered to vote? You have until October 12 to sign up! Applications must be postmarked or submitted online by that date. Check out the Secretary of State’s website for more information and to register.
Want to know more about the candidates and proposed constitutional amendments? Attend upcoming election forums at the Columbia Public Library, on Tuesday, October 11 and Wednesday, October 19. (Both events start at 6:30 p.m., but come early for coffee and cookies!) These forums are co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County. Continue reading “Election Day Is Coming! Get Registered and Informed”
October 10, 2016 is World Mental Health Day, a day designated to raise awareness of and organize support for mental health issues. Millions of Americans (let alone the rest of the world’s population) are affected by mental illness; it is so prevalent that either we are affected ourselves, or we know family members and/or friends who struggle with mental health issues.
This year’s theme is psychological first aid. What is psychological first aid (PFA), you ask? PFA is an approach used by mental health care providers and emergency/disaster response workers to help people function and cope in the immediate aftermath of natural or man-made disasters (for example, devastation from hurricanes, tornadoes, fires or mass shootings). Interventions are designed to offer support and practical assistance to those who are affected and can come in the form of providing food, water, shelter and counseling, among other things. These interventions help reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events, addressing the physical, psychological, behavioral and spiritual effects suffered. Continue reading “World Mental Health Day”
A few months ago, a shock of red caught my eye as I walked past a display of oversize books at the library. “Cover” by Peter Mendelsund collects in stunning fashion the artwork he has created for book jackets, both new works and reissued classics. If you think you don’t know his work, you actually do. Steig Larsson’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Jo Nesbo’s “The Snowman” and current bestseller “The Girls” by Emma Cline all have covers created by Mendelsund. Reading about his creative process provides a window into a world readers often wonder about. Just how does the artwork for a book get selected? Does the author have a say? Who makes the final call? And also, why are so many book covers similar? Continue reading “Judging a Book by Its Cover”
