Today’s Hallsville bookmobile stop is canceled due to a mechanical issue. All library locations will be closed Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29 for Thanksgiving.
Most of us learned something about haiku in school. It’s the tiny poem that packs a big punch. “Many think haiku is strictly a 5-7-5 syllable pattern ending in a 17-syllable poem, and it can be that, but more important is the image. A haiku is the fewest words, one to three lines, that appeal to the senses and focus on nature.” This explanation of the form comes from Missouri Poet Laureate, Maryfrances Wagner, who in conjunction with the Missouri Arts Council, is spearheading the Missouri Haiku Project. “I’m inviting all Missourians to create haiku poems that reflect nature in Missouri and share them, read them or turn them into art,” Wagner says.
The project runs through May 23, with events occurring throughout the state, including “Tea and Haiku” in the Columbia Public Library Friends Room, Tuesday, April 11 at 7-8 p.m. Haiku enthusiast Christine Boyle will be your guide for a fun and relaxed hour of writing and sharing short poems over tea. A selection of your poetry will be displayed in the library following the event! Tea and writing materials will be provided. This program is a part of the Missouri Poet Laureate Haiku Project and is for adults and teens. No registration is required and all skill levels are welcome.
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in April. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them” by Timothy Egan (Apr 4)
A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan’s rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them. The Roaring Twenties — the Jazz Age — has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson. Stephenson was a magnetic presence whose life story changed with every telling. Within two years of his arrival in Indiana, he’d become the Grand Dragon of the state and the architect of the strategy that brought the group out of the shadows — their message endorsed from the pulpits of local churches, spread at family picnics and town celebrations. Judges, prosecutors, ministers, governors and senators across the country all proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of his influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman — Madge Oberholtzer — who would reveal his secret cruelties, and whose deathbed testimony finally brought the Klan to their knees. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: April 2023”
Posted on Friday, March 31, 2023 by Reading Addict
You know the saying “if you’ve met one…” whoever? Well, if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person. Not to say that autistic people are snowflakes, but every one has a very unique set of lived experiences. While representation is improving, the common or popular image of an autistic person (or a person with autism, depending on where you stand with that debate) is usually defined by misrepresentations, oversimplifications or inaccurate portrayals by the media — often representing autistic adults as childlike or a “savant” which is exceedingly rare, even in the autistic community. Also, much that we know about autistic life comes from those neurotypical people that support or interact with neurodivergent people showing autism through the lens of the hardship that it places on caregivers and family rather than how it feels to actually be autistic. Through that lens, autism is seen as an inconvenience to the world rather than how the world affects the person on the autism spectrum.
It’s so important to have representation from many different people of what the autism experience actually feels like for them. Having a diversity of autistic characters in media means that autism will be better understood in society at large. A better understanding of autism means it is safer for autistic people to acknowledge their autism. And when autistic people can live authentically autistic lives, they can flourish. There is currently a paradigm shift happening in the autism community to center people with the hashtag #ActuallyAutistic. Continue reading “#ActuallyAutistic: April is Autism Acceptance Month”
Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 by patron reviewer
Wow! This is a book that I picked up and absolutely could not put down! Knowing that “Uprising” was a book about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, I initially had the preconceived notion that the text would be quite predictable. Instead, it was a whirlwind of unpredictability as it followed the lives of three very well-developed characters of the time period — with twists all the way to the very end! Unlike other books that have tackled this subject, this author delves deeply into the circumstances leading up to the fire, drawing a very clear line between the previous labor strikes and the tragedy of this event. I also appreciated the author’s note at the end, where she points out the changes that came from this event as well as ways to further research injustices still happening today. By doing so, Haddix brings this text full circle — sharing the history of the event and the relevancy to the work that still needs to be done today!
Three words that describe this book: Tragic, inspiring, relevant
You might want to pick this book up if: You like historical fiction and books written for the perspective of different characters.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2022. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
Vintage clothing is popular right now. There is a growing interest in slow fashion, in well-crafted clothing and in exploring styles that favor a person’s body type. Some people enjoy the fabrics and construction of older clothing. Other people want to reproduce a look made popular by celebrities or social media influencers. What is vintage? Vintage clothing is anything more than 50 years old. So pre-1972. Unfortunately, the fabric is not always in good shape in older clothing or it’s hard to find a look you like in your size. What to do? Sew your own! Continue reading “Sew Your Own Vintage Style”
Have you ever wanted to know a lot more about a specific topic or increase your knowledge of a broad area of study? The Great Courses allows you to do that by listening to lectures, presented by college professors and experts, in a very diverse range of fields. Now, before you stop reading from fear that anything called a lecture must be boring, you should understand that the presentations are given by some of the most recognized scholars in their field who have been chosen because of their ability to relate to their students. What’s even better is that these resources, which can cost hundreds of dollars, are available to library patrons for free! Continue reading “Learn World History from the Experts With The Great Courses”
As you may guess, in this volume author Nigel Slater gives dishes that are generally lighter, fresher and visually brighter.
One of my favorite parts of this collection is that the time commitment seems to be quite short; who wants to spend hours in a hot kitchen during summer? Simple dishes and small ingredient lists make for quick dinners. Eating fresh, plant-based dishes also gives you an excuse to visit the farmer’s market, by the way.
The recipes are mostly vegetarian-friendly and can be made to even vegan standards (with slight modifications), if necessary. Each dish is given a ridiculously brief name, mainly because the recipes are simple. The only issue I can see is some ingredients can be a bit difficult to find, but I like to think that gives me the freedom to make it my own.
Recipes are sectioned by time of day, or an indication of how it is prepared or how it is served. A couple that caught my eye: Mustard Guacamole, Mozzarella, Bagel looks like a great breakfast sandwich. Pasta, Tomatoes (see what I mean about ridiculously brief names) could be scaled up to create a nice dinner with lunch leftovers.
As a companion to “Autumn, Winter” I think this succeeds in finishing the task set by the author. Enjoy!
If you are feeling the need for Spring and could use a creative charge in your life, join us at our next Crafternoon class. Decorative canvas art collages are on the menu — so easy and so colorful! All you need (and we provide) is a piece of canvas, decorative paper, scissors and a little Mod Podge. This Crafternoon class for adults will be held on March 25 from 2-4 p.m. in the Friends Room at the Columbia Public Library. Please register as space is limited. Masks are requested.
You can try these library resources for more decorative ideas and CreativeBug our database of arts and crafts activities. You can view tons of creative ideas, and new instructional videos are added monthly. You will need your library card number and pin (birthdate in the MMDDYYY format) to use this database.
And don’t forget to look for our April class on creating beaded bracelets.
Painting of the Mid-Ocean Ridge with rift axis by Heinrich Berann, based on the scientific profiles of Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen (1977).
My Mom bought us a beautiful globe and world atlas when we were kids. The ocean floors were depicted in blues ranging from a very light, almost white blue to a deep navy. The rifts running through the oceans looked like seams knitting our planet together.
“”
