Posts

I recently spoke with Gooch, the executive director of Saddle Up and Read, a nonprofit organization that uses equine activities to help children engage with books and reading. Pre-coronavirus, Gooch and her friend, Abriana, would don their cowgirl outfits and visit classrooms in the Wendell area to read to children, answer questions about horses and equestrians, and encourage them to check out books from their school library. If the school or daycare center allowed for it, they would bring along a miniature horse....

The past few years have given us some amazing adaptations, making it less necessary to say “The book was better.” And if you, like me, like to read the book before you watch the adaptation, you are going to be very busy in 2022! There are a lot more great books being brought to life this year. Here are eight of the big book adaptations that have been turned into films coming to theaters and streaming services this year....

I knew, of course, about some of the allegations against prominent yoga teachers, and though it didn’t sit well with me — I mean, how could it? — I also didn’t know how to deal with it. After watching Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator when it was released, I started doing more research. I dug into the histories of the men who developed, exported, and built yoga into the industry it is now — and everywhere I looked, I found pain and suffering....

BUT FIRST, be ye warned that everyone’s least favorite chaos Muppet, Mercury retrograde, is back in town from September 9 through October 2. Yikes! That means confusion and frustration is in store, particularly around communication, travel, and technology. During Mercury retrograde, there’s no such thing as too much clarity or too many reminders. As I always say, the best way to avoid Mercury retrograde headaches is by staying home with a good book!...

(It is strange in this brave new world to imagine Germany attacking other European countries. In the span of a handful of decades and two major wars, Deutschland has become a haven for refugees fleeing the horrors of Syria. Also, horror feels like a correct phrase to use in reference to warfare. So much of horror literature can be viewed as the infliction of elements of warfare upon a peaceful individual, family, or population....

Manga fans can show their love for one of the genre’s creepiest horror series, Uzumaki, in this lightweight hoodie ($34.85 from Redbubble). With its spectacularly disturbing artwork, it’s a great addition to your horror hoodie collection. Coffee lovers will enjoy this hoodie with a little twist on one of the defining novels of the horror genre, Dracula. Grab yourself a cup, crack open Bram Stoker’s finest (seriously, best to avoid The Lair of the White Worm), and snuggle up in this quirky design ($43....

Cambridge put out a worldwide appeal for any information that would lead to the recovery of these historical documents, and on March 9, 2022, they were anonymously returned. The notebooks had been wrapped in saran wrap and left in a pink gift bag outside the Cambridge Librarian’s office with a note reading “Librarian / Happy Easter / X.” The notebooks are in good condition. Find out more about these notebooks and their decades-long disappearance at the Cambridge University website....

SUPERCUT is a feature where we collect interesting snippets from the best author interviews and combine them into a single post. Neil Gaiman is, perhaps, one of the most ridiculously busy authors working today. He writes children’s books, tv episodes and adaptations, radio plays, movies, short stories and comic books; he’s active on Twitter and on his blog; he records audio books; and, at long last, he has written another novel for adults....

The first is based on the world and characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The second is a wholly original take on the Oompa-Loompas, that builds out their world pic.twitter.com/TqIzxTlRSf — Netflix (@netflix) March 5, 2020 Waititi, who is Maōri, is best known as the director of Thor: Ragnarok; he is also the first Indigenous screenwriter to win an Academy Award, for Jojo Rabbit. Buffy St. Marie (Cree) was the very first Indigenous person to win an Oscar, for Best Original Song in 1982’s An Officer and a Gentleman....

Whether you’re traveling around the world or relaxing on your couch this summer, Libby, the one-tap reading app from OverDrive will make sure you always have a good book with you. Instantly access thousands of eBooks and audiobooks for free from your library in just one-tap. Thanks to Libby and your library no matter what time it is or where you are, you’ll always have instant access to your next great reading adventure....

After going through all 850 books on this list, I found that it primarily targeted LGBTQ books as well as antiracism books, books addressing teen pregnancy, and sex education books. LGBTQ books, antiracist books, and sex education books belong in school libraries — but this request isn’t just wrong from an ethical standpoint. It also would require an incredible amount of staff time from every school district in the state....

Fortunately, little things like the laws of time and space are no barrier for DC Comics. In Detective Comics #572, to commemorate the series’ 50th anniversary, we got not only a love letter to the title as a whole, but the team-up of two centuries…ish. And it’s a Christmas story to boot, so it’s seasonal, too! We start not with Batman but with Slam Bradley, a detective character conceived by Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who appeared in early issues of Detective Comics....

I thought that this would be a good time to revisit some classics I had missed, so I set myself up with an audiobook while I planted some strawberries. I can tell you that there is no better way to listen to Charlotte’s Web then on a sunny spring day while you do some gentle gardening. When Charlotte’s Web was released, Eudora Welty called it “just about perfect, and just about magical in the way it is done....

Surprisingly, there aren’t as many books out there about our beloved caffeinated beverage as you might expect. Recently, I was at my local book superstore, and was able to find…zero. There were books about beer, wine, spirits, juices, smoothies, tea, kombucha. But not coffee. Not a single one. I knew that coffee books existed because I’d already read some, and would find more. But I found this lack of mainstream availability perplexing....

The cozy mystery genre began with Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series, which follows a sharp elderly woman as she solves murder cases in her small English village. Here, I have compiled some of the best books that mirror Miss Marple’s use of an amateur detective with no violent or graphic descriptions. These 26 cozy mystery series incorporate the wit, warmth, and ingenuity the genre is known for while also standing out on their own strengths....

Classic Wired Earphones Features These are a classic option for you to begin with. They are functional, easily compatible with most devices and have no need for bulky chargers. A great option in wired headphones are the JVC Gummy Earbuds, which come in different colors and make for great stocking stuffers. A favorite series I remember listening to while using these were the Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante, because I wanted to take zero breaks to charge my earphones....

Keep in mind that some of these are promotional titles. Even if they’re perma-promotional, grab ’em quick before someone decides to jack the price up to $2.99. Then go check out a bunch of other horror novels from the library, because Libby is also a thing. Completely, Totally, Gloriously Free Horror Books 99 Stories of Blood on the Wall: A collection of 99 word horror stories by Kevin Cathy Forget flash fiction....

When it comes to YA romance, second chance is a little difficult, if only because our love interests are teens, and teens don’t exactly have tons of romantic experience, nor do have they always have time to experience a failed romance, break apart, and then find their way back to their person. However, just because its not as common of a trope in YA doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist! While most of these books feature characters who were in a relationship, broke up, and are now facing a second chance at getting back together, I did have to expand my definition to include books where characters had flirtations and maybe a chance at getting together, lost that chance for whatever reason, and now are facing a new opportunity for love....

Chicago’s public schools have labored under budget cuts for several years. Throughout Chicago Public Schools (CPS), there remain only 108 school librarians, down from 454 in 2013. There are 600 schools in CPS total, meaning that not all were staffed with a librarian even before they lost staff. At this point in time, most CPS public schools are without library media specialists. Teachers have picked up the slack, functioning as de facto library aides in districts where there is no librarian....

In December 2017, the Internet was abuzz with discussions of Kristen Roupenian’s short story “Cat Person.” The story details an increasingly uncomfortable dating relationship between Margot, a 20-year-old college student, and Robert, a man in his 30s. Partly due to the viral popularity of “Cat Person,” Roupenian’s debut story collection, You Know You Want This, secured a 7-figure book deal. The writing in “Cat Person” is sparse, leaving much of the characters’ feelings and personalities between the lines....