Dungeons and Dragons is having a bit of a moment right now, with many people becoming aware of and interested in it due to shows like Stranger Things, Critical Role, or the newly released Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves film. There’s never been a better time to dip your toes into the world of tabletop role-playing games, but that particular leap can feel like a daunting one. Not only do these games come with rulebooks that make most novels look like light reading in comparison, the density of text in the rulebooks can turn an otherwise approachable game into an impenetrable wall. Well worry not, prospective TTRPG players, as we’ve collected a few resources to highlight to make your first outing into TTRPGs into one of many!
Continue reading “Interested in D&D? Start Here!”
…I had to love myself.
(Beabadoobee is on tour with Taylor Swift, and in 1000 words or less, I will try to explain why this is an epic and historic pairing to me specifically, and possibly, to other East and Southeast Asian girls who grew up searching hopelessly for themselves in the landscapes of pop and rock and singer-songwriting.)
Who is Beabadoobee? Continue reading “Before I Could Love Beabadoobee…”
What’s the story?
“Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me” is one of those books that tells you pretty much everything that it’s about in the title. The main character, Freddy, is infatuated with Laura Dean, but this is not an equal relationship. Laura Dean is with Freddy whenever it’s convenient for her to be and breaks up with Freddy whenever she feels like it, repeatedly. Continue reading “Book Review: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me”
Looking for a book to commemorate this auspicious day in the Star Wars Universe? I definitely have a few recommendations!
Starting with the chronologically oldest book, let’s talk about “Light of the Jedi” by Charles Soule, which is the first book in the High Republic era series of publications. I really enjoy the High Republic books. They take place centuries before the Battle of Yavin and the events of the movies. When the Republic was smaller and the Jedi were less corrupted by politics. Continue reading “May the Fourth Be With You!”
Because I don’t want these posts to just be about the books I reach for first, I tried to stretch myself this month with some different genres! We’ve got a contemporary fiction written by an activist in India, a hard sci-fi survival story and a dystopian graphic novel.
“I Kick and I Fly” by Ruchira Gupta
Heera is fourteen, and well aware of the probable fate awaiting her. Like the vast majority of girls in her community, she expects to be sold into prostitution to help pay off her family’s debt. She attempts to stay in school to avoid this but is expelled for standing up to a bully. Just as Heera’s father is making plans to sell her, the woman owner of a youth hostel approaches with another offer. Not only does she pay their debt, but she also offers to teach Heera kung fu so that she can compete in tournaments for cash prizes. As Heera learns to use her body in martial arts, she’s filled with determination to save others who can only expect their bodies to be used. Written by an activist who founded an organization working to end sex trafficking, this is an eye-opening and insightful debut. Continue reading “The Selector’s Selections: April 2023”
It’s been said that crafting can help with stress, and most of the time I would be inclined to agree. However, I should warn you that this project is one that can send you into a fit of rage, or maybe that was just my reaction when I found out how easy it was and realized I could have been doing it years ago! Continue reading “Upcycle Crafts: T-Shirt Wall Art”
What’s the story?
“Doughnuts and Doom” does not contain quite as much doughnuts or doom as the title might lead you to believe. A more accurate title would probably be something more along the lines of “Potions and Indie Rock,” but that would be a lot less eye-catching and I would have been a lot less likely to pick it up myself. So, what is it all about? Well, Margot is a witch with performance anxiety who is pretty good at potions, but really bad at passing her magic exam license test. After her most recent failure, she has an encounter with Elena, half of an indie rock duo, who works at a doughnut shop. Margot has a severe need for chocolate doughnuts after her most recent failure and as it so happens Elena is the one to give the unfortunate news that they are all out. This leads to Margot losing control of her magic a bit and accidentally cursing Elena. From here on out the characters are intertwined as Margot works to undo her curse and both our heroines learn more about each other. As I said the peril is pretty mild and even the development of the relationship is pretty low stakes. It’s most of all just a cute story about two people meeting by chance and finding out they’re both pretty into each other. But I haven’t told you about the most important part: Stanley! Stanley is a snake and Margot’s familiar and every page he is on is just about the cutest thing possible. Continue reading “Book Review: Doughnuts and Doom”
So you love Dungeons and Dragons and you need something to inspire your next campaign or character. Perhaps you saw Honor Among Thieves and you’re in a questing, stealthing, battling sort of mood. Or maybe you’re just curious about what all the hype is about.
Whatever your reason, we’ve definitely got something that’ll satisfy that need for adventure!
Continue reading “If You Love Dungeons and Dragons…”
At the Daniel Boone Regional Library, since the early winter months, you voted on 16 of our most popular young adult books.
Each week in March, teens voted to narrow down the list of contenders until a single title emerged as the Mid-Missouri teen book champion! Each round of voting entered teens for a chance for cool prizes and we’ll be announcing the winners of the drawing soon!
Thanks to all the teens, teachers, media specialists, and librarians who voted, created brackets, and promoted the tournament!
And now without further ado:
The 2023 March Madness Teen Book Tournament Champion is…
Continue reading “2023 March Madness Champion Announced!”
Let me turn your attention for a moment to an object so ordinarily ubiquitous that it’s become a part of the everyday furniture of scholastic life, so omnipresent, one might argue, that we often forget about its integral presence (in other words: magic ✨). Both sturdy and flexible, solid yet easily disintegrated, often a lovely matte shade of pink, but found in all the colors that exist, perhaps in some that do not or could have been, this overwhelmingly plain object is none other than the humble eraser, that chunky three-dimensional parallelogram or rectangular prism that offers its users the ability to unwrite what has been written, to unmark what has been marked, to change and adapt and shift and correct—to err, as is human, a transformational gift which might be its own kind of divinity (as I said: magic 🔮). Continue reading “Spring Break Boredom Buster: Eraser Stamps”
