The ability to manage debt and make good financial decisions can have a lasting impact on our lives, and yet many Americans struggle with financial literacy. Each stage of life, from starting a new career, to beginning life with a new baby or contemplating retirement can take a different financial toll. For that reason, financial literacy is something we have to work on throughout our lives. April is designated as Financial Literacy Month in this country and would be a good time to visit the library for a wide variety of books on the topic that can help no matter what stage you’re at financially.
Author John Bryant acknowledges that building financial stability when you start in an impoverished state can seem impossible. He shares the lessons he learned on his own journey out of poverty in “The Memo: Five Rules for Your Economic Liberation.” Bryant explores how a person’s inner capital works in combination with their life’s outer situation to bring them to financial success or failure. Inner capital includes your own knowledge, personal relationships and drive, and it can ultimately shape how you handle situations. Bryant advises readers on how to build inner capital to work through roadblocks that life and society can place in our way.
Continue reading “Literary Links: Financial Literacy”
I may be a little weird (aren’t we all?), but I tend to read a lot of nonfiction, and I actually love reading essays. I don’t usually make the time to sit down with a magazine to read the articles, but it seems different to me if they are collected in a book format. I also find college essay anthologies to be appealing because I can just skim (or skip) the ones I’m not particularly interested in and linger over the ones I like. And if I need to put it down and walk away for a while, it’s easy to come back to later.
If you are participating in the Read Harder 2018 Challenge, task #22 read an essay anthology, and here are some of my favorites:
“The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin is a classic and is just as relevant today as it was when he wrote it in 1963. I love reading and listening to James Baldwin. I have seen interviews with him that just floored me. It’s a small book of a letters to Baldwin’s nephew and an essay on America’s “racial nightmare.” Continue reading “Read Harder Essay Anthologies”
There are so many exciting debuts that came out in March that it was difficult to decide which ones to highlight. If you’re interested in the longer list please visit our catalog.
“Tangerine” by Christine Mangan
After the death of her first husband, Alice escapes her past by marrying again and accompanying her new husband to Tangier, Morocco in the early 1950s. But her past finds her again when her former best friend and college roommate Lucy shows up in Tangier.
Upon learning that Alice is unhappy in her new marriage, Lucy is determined to reestablish her relationship — and her control — over fragile Alice, who she had obsessively loved in college. As Lucy begins to manipulate Alice, more about their tragic past is revealed and it’s hinted that an equally tragic future may be in store for them.
Movie rights have already been sold with George Clooney set to produce and Scarlett Johansson to star as Alice. Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: March 2018”
March is Women’s History Month, and what better way to celebrate than to read books with awesome female characters?! For those of you participating in Book Riot’s 2018 Read Harder challenge, this could be the perfect time to check off task #23: a book with a female protagonist over the age of 60. I highlight here a few books featuring female characters “of a certain age,” some who have made history, others who have been there to bear witness to it.
Now, the term protagonist is most frequently used to refer to the central character of a fictional text, but can be used more broadly to refer to prominent figures in real contexts. I just had to make use of this latter definition to include “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail.” At age 67, Emma Gatewood told her family that she was going for a walk; surely they assumed she’d be taking a leisurely stroll around the block. Nope! Gatewood’s walk was the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, and she became the first woman to complete this journey solo. Becoming something of a hiking celebrity, she later was the first person to walk the trail twice, and then three times. Talk about determination! Continue reading “Books With Female Protagonists Over Age 60: Read Harder 2018”
March is Women’s History Month, but here at the Know Your Dystopias underground bunker I am always looking to the future — the depressing, bleak future. So I will recognize this occasion with a roundup of (mostly) recent contributions to dystopian lit written by women that specifically envision what the future might hold for women. During these “history months” we are supposed to reflect on the lessons of the past, and the past 
informs the present. Dystopian literature is often inspired or informed by the past, but it is ultimately about the present. As Margaret Atwood said in a recent interview, “Prophecies are really about now. In science fiction it’s always about now.”
Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a story about subjugated women in a patriarchal society. The book was published 33 years ago, but is still an essential read in this genre because of both its lasting influence and continued relevance. A television adaptation premiered last year and won critical praise and awards. The story is about the former United States of America — now the Republic of Gilead — where a religious military dictatorship rules based on judicial laws from the Old Testament. Women’s rights have been removed, and a class of women known as “handmaids” are kept exclusively for reproductive purposes. The book primarily follows a handmaid named Offred, and the reader learns about this world through her experiences. Continue reading “Know Your Dystopias: Women’s History Month Edition”
Everyone has a favorite type of book … it could be the genre, a certain style of writing, a particular setting or book theme. The Read Harder Challenge asks you to step out of your comfort zone (or as I like to call it — my rut) and try a different type of book. One of the challenges is to read the first book in a new-to-you young adult or juvenile series — a collection that I have never been drawn to, except for Harry Potter, of course! (Don’t ask me how many times I have read those books!) I have selected a few for you to try out. You can also look at the list in our catalog for other options.
Whether or not you are a fan of fantasy, Maggie Stiefvater’s first novel in the Raven Cycle series is sure to please. 
One of my struggles with fantasy is often the characters don’t seem believable. However, it was easy for me to connect with Stiefvater’s characters and the plot line in the first book of the series, “The Raven Boys.” Blue, the main character, comes from a family of clairvoyants with her only talent being that she can increase the gifts of others with her special energy. The story takes off when she meets Gansey and his group of friends who attend a private boy’s school in town. She is drawn to Gansey and his quest to find a specific ley line to the resting place of Glendower. It is rumored that if he wakes Glendower one wish will be granted. Also central to the story is Blue’s curse: if she kisses her true love he will die, which makes her attraction for Gansey fraught with tension. Continue reading “YA and Middle Grade Book Series: Read Harder Challenge 2018”
Once you’ve exhausted all the content on dbrl.org/adults, and you’re looking for a nice single-sitting read, consider “The Only Harmless Great Thing” by Brooke Bolander. In the time it takes your butler to press your evening wear and prepare your evening snacks, you can consume the novella, perhaps with time to spare for contemplation over a succession of treats.
The novella combines two real tragedies (“The Radium Girls” and Topsy the Elephant) and adds the story of trying to prevent a third (future generations inadvertently entering radioactive land). Regan, like the real Radium Girls, is dying of cancer because her job is to paint watches with a paint that makes them glow and gives her cancer. Her bosses encourage her to use her mouth to moisten the paint brushes in order to save on time and cleaning materials. Unlike the real Radium Girls, she is trying to train Topsy the elephant to take over her job because her bosses appreciate the fact that it will take longer to give cancer to an elephant. When Topsy murders a cruel man, she is sold to a carnival so that she can be executed for the entertainment of an audience. Unlike the real Topsy, this one has a trick up her trunk.
Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Brooke Bolander”
The fate of displaced children is the central concern of many books published in the past few years. The practice of adoption, as we think of it today, with background checks and safeguards, has not always been the standard. In 1853, distressed by the number of street children he encountered in New York, Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society. From 1854 to 1929, the program put homeless children on “orphan trains” headed west for placement with families across the country. Though the intention was good, there was little investigation of adoptive households. Some children landed with nurturing parents, but others were used only as free labor for farms or sweatshops.
Christina Baker Kline addresses the plight of these children in her novel “Orphan Train.” The narrative interweaves two timelines and character stories. Molly, a teenager in foster care, is working off community service hours by helping the elderly Vivian get her house and attic in order, sorting through a lifetime of possessions. While they discuss the history of the keepsakes, Vivian tells of her childhood experiences as an Irish immigrant and orphan train rider. Continue reading “Literary Links: Orphans and Orphan Trains”
One of my favorite memories from childhood was crawling up on my mom’s lap in our big recliner and listening to her read to us. I can distinctly remember her reading E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web,” and “I Was So Mad,” which was one of the Litter Critter books by Mercer Mayer. The sound of her reading helped pull my young mind into those stories, bringing the pages to life.
A well-read story can be the height of entertainment. It can help listeners more fully connect with and understand a story. A reader can deliver the humor and the pathos in ways that draws readers into the story on a more emotional level. It also can be interesting to hear how another person interprets a character’s voice and compare it with what you might have heard in your head. Sometimes hearing someone else read a story can totally change your perspective.
It’s not surprising that our story times for babies and toddlers are so well attended. They help children discover a love of books and they provide them with entertainment that stimulates their imagination and cognitive skills. But why should the kids have all the fun? Continue reading “Story Time and Discussion for Grown-ups”
There are lots of fantastic titles by debut authors that came to the library in February. If you would like a more comprehensive list, please visit our catalog. Enjoy!
“Only Killers and Thieves” by Paul Howarth
Two brothers, Billy and Tommy McBride, seek revenge for the murder of their parents and younger sister in the Australian outback in the 1880s. Believing their family was murdered by an aboriginal man, the boys set off on a manhunt accompanied by a neighboring rancher and Inspector Noone of the Native Mounted Police.
However, relations are strained between the white settlers and the natives they have brutally oppressed, and the manhunt becomes a massacre. While Billy embraces the violence and sense of vengeance, Tommy is sickened by the cruelty they witness, and his growing conscience jeopardizes the brothers’ relationship.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: February 2018”
