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New DVD List: October 2024

Posted on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 by Decimal Diver

new DVD collage

Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.

“Elsbeth” – Season 1 – Website / Reviews 
A spinoff of “The Good Wife” & “The Good Fight,” this series follows unconventional attorney Elsbeth Tascioni who utilizes her unique point of view to corner criminals alongside the NYPD.

“Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” – Website / Reviews 
Shown at the True False Film Fest, this documentary travels through time and space to reveal the enduring influence of poet Nikki Giovanni and the revolutionary periods in which she wrote.

“Late Night With the Devil” – Website / Reviews 
In this supernatural horror film, a live television broadcast of a popular late night talk show in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.

“Love Lies Bleeding” – Website / Reviews 
Set in 1989, this crime drama follows the relationship between a reclusive gym manager, who is part of a crime family, and an ambitious bodybuilder who’s heading to Las Vegas to pursue her dream.

“Longlegs” – Website / Reviews 
This horror/thriller follows an FBI agent’s investigation of a serial killer with clues heavily steeped in the occult. Despite a mounting sense of dread, the agent must face her dark past to catch the killer.

Continue reading “New DVD List: October 2024”

Nonfiction Round-up: October 2024

Posted on Monday, October 7, 2024 by Liz

Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in October. 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

Be Ready When the Luck Happens book cover“Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir” by Ina Garten (Oct 1)
Here, for the first time, Ina Garten presents an intimate, entertaining and inspiring account of her remarkable journey. Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices and exquisite attention to detail. In her unmistakable voice (no one tells a story like Ina), she brings her past and her process to life in a high-spirited and no-holds-barred memoir that chronicles decades of personal challenges, adventures (and misadventures) and unexpected career twists, all delivered with her signature combination of playfulness and purpose. From a difficult childhood to meeting the love of her life, Jeffrey, and marrying him while still in college, from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, from the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain. Now, she invites them to come closer to experience her story in vivid detail and to share the important life lessons she learned along the way: do what you love because if you love it you’ll be really good at it, swing for the fences and always “Be Ready When the Luck Happens.” Continue reading “Nonfiction Round-up: October 2024”

If You Build It, They Will Come: Megastructures and Feats of Macroengineering in Science Fiction

Posted on Friday, October 4, 2024 by David Litherland

photo of particle accelerator

And by “they,” I mean the aliens. Obviously.

Feats of engineering and buildings on a grand scale have long captured the minds and imaginations of futurists. The Eiffel Tower, originally planned to be a somewhat temporary structure for the 1889 World’s Faire, a marvel of being the first man-made structure to surpass both 200 and 300 meters, evoked awe and wonder in attendees and tourists long thereafter as both a symbol of France’s past hundred years as a republic and as a monument to greatness yet to come. The tower held the prestigious record of tallest structure in the world for four decades, before being unseated by the Chrysler Building in the ‘30s. “I ought to be jealous of the Tower,” Gustav Eiffel once bemoaned, “she is far more famous than I.”  Quickly, those whose imaginations drifted forward towards the question of “what if” asked: If our mastery of science and technology had given us this power, what more could we build? How much higher will we go?  Continue reading “If You Build It, They Will Come: Megastructures and Feats of Macroengineering in Science Fiction”

Q&A With Sean Spence, Author of “Breaking Barriers: Disability History in the United States”

Posted on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 by Decimal Diver

Sean Spence is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “Breaking Barriers: Disability History in the United States.” The book covers key individuals, events and concepts that have affected the history of disability rights in the United States. Spence’s interest in disability starts primarily with his personal experience as someone with multiple sclerosis, combined with his love of history (he earned his BA in US history from MU in 1993). He currently works on fundraising, PR & marketing, and volunteer management for the Salvation Army. He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Sean Spence, Author of “Breaking Barriers: Disability History in the United States””

Reading Harder in 2024! – Part 5

Posted on Monday, September 30, 2024 by Michael M

We’re nearing the end of the year, and the end of the Read Harder Challenge, but there’s still time to finish, or even start the challenge if you want! In case you missed the beginning of this series, check out my first blog post where I explain what the Read Harder Challenge is, and how it relates to the following books!

The Unmaking of June Farrow book cover

Task 9 – Read a book recommended by a librarian

Book Read: “The Unmaking of June Farrow” by Adrienne Young

Even before this book was officially published, my co-worker Kat (many of you probably know her from Read Harder and One Read) was gushing about how much she loved it. Given that our reading tastes align pretty frequently, I knew I had to pick this up as my recommendation from a librarian. Unfortunately, this was one of the times where our reading tastes diverged. If you’ve read and enjoyed any of the following books, “June Farrow” might be right for you: “The Ten Thousand Doors of January,” “The Book of Doors,” “The Ministry of Time,” “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.” The majority of which I’ve read, and they just didn’t click for me.

The premise of “The Unmaking of June Farrow” is that the Farrow women are cursed, they eventually lose their minds, and after June’s mother Susanna disappeared, the small town of Jasper is just waiting for the same thing to happen to June. It begins for June when she hears things that aren’t there, sees things out of the corner of her eye, and eventually, a mysterious red door appears which may have the answers to her mother’s disappearance.

Why didn’t it work for me? Honestly, a lot of reasons, but my biggest issue is that for a magical realism book featuring time travel, it does it so poorly. Timelines don’t make sense, character relationships exist primarily because of time travel shenanigans (there’s a romantic relationship after a week??), it just frustrated me. That being said, I’m sure there are aspects to the magical realism and the romance that other readers will enjoy, and have, based on the overall ratings. I will also give props to Young for her descriptions, she does a phenomenal job of making the reader feel like they are in the settings they read about. Personally, I’m going to keep going to the Wayward Children series for adventures about going through mysterious magical doors, and the consequences of doing so. Continue reading “Reading Harder in 2024! – Part 5”

Reader Review: The Only One Left

Posted on Friday, September 27, 2024 by patron reviewer

The Only One Left book coverI adore murder mysteries so “The Only One Left” was right up my alley and also one that hadn’t been on my radar until a friend chose it for our book club. Essentially, it is a book about Kit, a caregiver with her own secrets, who is assigned to Lenora, an elderly invalid woman living on an estate on a cliff’s edge who just also happens to be a supposed murderess.

What follows Kit showing up at the estate to care for Lenora is a delightful box of secrets, murder, and thinking that you have it all finally figured out when nothing could be further from the truth. Just when I figured one piece of the puzzle out, another piece would get lost under the couch or roll off the table and I would have to go searching for it. I figured out big things, but rarely the details that really flushed it all out. It was a very enjoyable read.

Three words that describe this book: Mystery, Secrets, Betrayal

You might want to pick this book up if: You love murder mysteries and lots of good old fashioned family secrets and drama set in another historical time. This is set in the 1980s.

-Angel

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.

Finding Comfort in a Book

Posted on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 by Reading Addict

tea with yellow blosssomsThis has been an exhausting year and it’s not over yet! I’m trying to find small ways to find comfort and restoration. If you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted too, maybe you need a good book — a literary bubble bath or book blanket?

Backyard Bird Chronicles book coverComfort of Crows book coverFor me, one of those books is “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan. She has developed such an intense love and knowledge of the birds that visit her yard. Her wonder and awe at every new bird she encountered was palpable as was the sadness over any loss. And Amy Tan’s artwork is just as incredible as her writing. I happened to get this book at one of those perfect moments when my daughter was home from college and we discovered the free Merlin app for identifying bird songs and calls in our own backyard. We also got the game Wingspan as a gift. Suddenly our whole world was a comforting veil of birds with the rest of life and politics a distant (albeit persistent) murmur. And this was just one of several comforting bird books on my stack with others including “The Comfort of Crows” and the novel, “Crow Talk.”

“If there is anything I have learned these past six years, it is this: Each bird is surprising and thrilling in its own way. But the most special is the bird that pauses when it is eating, looks and acknowledges I am there, then goes back to what it was doing.” ~”The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan

Continue reading “Finding Comfort in a Book”

Reader Review: Animal Dreams

Posted on Monday, September 23, 2024 by patron reviewer

Animal Dreams book coverThe book “Animal Dreams” is set amidst the backdrop of Hispanic and Native American culture, traditions, and way of life. The story involves a woman desperate to move forward and forget who is faced with putting the pieces back together of her puzzled past.

I love author Barbara Kingsolver’s aptitude for capturing the human experience so achingly and accurately whilst setting her characters against something much larger and more powerful than themselves — the sweeping expanse of the natural world. The way she writes of humanity’s vulnerability is somehow magnified when compared to the wisdom of the ancient earth.

Three words that describe this book: Bittersweet, realistic, powerful

You might want to pick this book up if: You have an affinity for beautiful descriptions of nature.

-Anonymous

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.

Steam Power!

Posted on Friday, September 20, 2024 by Jonya

I recently attended the 2024 Missouri River Valley Steam Engine Association (MRVSEA) Reunion in Boonville, where I saw many types of power generators used before electricity was available. Generally, this was from the 1870-1930s in this area. I saw huge steam generators that powered city-sized jobs as well as smaller units that ran a farm’s water pump. There was a mix of gasoline and diesel tractors. Engines that helped thresh wheat, baled straw, cut wood, made ice, kept hospitals running, turned on lights in schools and much more. It was a bit overwhelming.

One of the volunteers told me steam and then gas engines began on the east and west coasts, spreading to the Midwest in the way this happens. Cities and businesses had mostly achieved electricity by the 1920s and the Rural Electrification Act (1936) allowed farmers to upgrade their engine-ran tasks. For the next two to three decades, no one wanted the old machinery. Some of those engines were scrapped for the WWII war effort while others moldered in machine sheds. But in the late 1960-70s, people began to notice them, to restore them and to gather with like-minded people to keep the information alive. MRVSEA held their first show in 1963. Read how that came to be in an article from 2009. Continue reading “Steam Power!”

Reader Review: All Good People Here

Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 by patron reviewer

All Good People Here book cover“All Good People Here” features a woman who returns to her hometown as a young adult to care for her ailing uncle. When she was 6 years old, her best friend was found dead in a ditch. Shortly after returning to the town, another young girl has gone missing. Is it connected? The woman was an investigative reporter before coming back to town, so she starts digging into the new story and tries to connect it to the murder of her childhood friend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I couldn’t put it down. There were several unexpected twists and many interesting characters. I also liked that it was told from the perspective of the woman in present day, and also from the mother of the dead friend at the time that was unraveling. (Although I think the book needed one more chapter and the end to tie up a few more things.)

Three words that describe this book: haunting – secrets – page-turner

You might want to pick this book up if: You like true crime podcasts (this is fiction, but has the same vibes).

-Anonymous

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.