In “The Sum of Us” Heather McGhee says, “The American landscape was once graced with resplendent public swimming pools, some big enough to hold thousands of swimmers at a time. In the 1920s, towns and cities tried to outdo one another by building the most elaborate pools; in the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration put people to work building hundreds more… Officials envisioned the distinctly American phenomenon of the grand public resort pools as ‘social melting pots.’ Like free public grade schools, public pools were part of an ’Americanizing’ project intended to overcome ethnic divisions and cohere a common identity — and it worked.” It worked, she conceded, until integration arrived. Continue reading “The Sum Of Us and a Reflection on the WPA”
Do you have memories of your parents or grandparents canning and preserving and then serving up that food to you? I do. My maternal grandmother canned just about everything. In my turn, I used to can tomatoes and beans. Opening a jar of tomatoes in January (in Minnesota!) was a joy because the entire kitchen smelled of summer for a brief time. Green beans from my small garden were not as popular with the family, unfortunately, but I still canned them for soups. This work made me feel closer to my canning ancestors, who didn’t waste anything and who had to can if they wanted to enjoy summer harvests in the cold winter months.
Want to give it a try? If you don’t have a garden, farmer’s markets are a great source. I know we are through berries and maybe done with green beans. Apples, beets, peaches and corn are still available as well as all of the pickling vegetables. Meat and soups can be canned any time you find a great sale somewhere. Continue reading “Canning the Summer Harvest to Eat Well in Winter”
Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 to October 15. In recognition of this, I will offer a short booklist of cookbooks in Spanish, English, and bilingual languages.
I looked at a few of the titles in English, but one quickly grabbed my interest: “The Latin American Cookbook” by Virgilio Martinez. I also paged through: “The Cuban Table” by Ana Sofia Peleaz and Ellen Silverman, “The Chilean Kitchen” by Pilar Hernandez and Eileen Smith, “Peru: The Cookbook” by Gaston Acurio, “My Mexico City Kitchen” by Gabriela Camara and “Mexico: The Cookbook” by Margarita Carrilo Arrante. It’s a long list, though nowhere near complete, but I wanted a wider representation of the variety of ingredients and approaches. Though I think the previous titles are all good and will be referenced for future meals, I ended up focusing on “The Latin American Cookbook.” Continue reading “Read The Recipe! Hispanic Heritage Month”
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“The Duke”
Website / Reviews
This fictional comedy drama is based on the true story of Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver who stole the Portrait of the Duke of Wellington painting from the National Gallery in London. He sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Continue reading “New DVD List: The Duke, The Gilded Age, & More”
Not all challenged books are great literature, but many of them are. Not all challenged books are award-winning books, but many of them are. Not all challenged books are the right book for everyone, but they are almost certainly the right book for someone. And even a bad book can make a good point depending on how it’s approached.
Banned Book Week is September 18-24 and this year’s theme is “Books Unite Us – Censorship Divides Us.” The American Library Association (ALA) began Banned Books Week in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in challenges to books in schools, stores and libraries. Continue reading “Books Unite Us – Censorship Divides Us”
Here are a few of the most notable adult fiction debuts for September. These titles have all received positive reviews in library journals. For a longer list, please visit our catalog.
“If I Survive You” by Jonathan Escoffery
In the 1970s, Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But America, as the couple and their two children learn, is far from the promised land. Excluded from society as Black immigrants, the family pushes on through Hurricane Andrew and later the 2008 recession, living in a house so cursed that the pet fish launches itself out of its own tank rather than stay. But even as things fall apart, the family remains motivated, often to its own detriment, by what their younger son, Trelawny, calls “the exquisite, racking compulsion to survive.”
Masterfully constructed with heart and humor, the linked stories in Jonathan Escoffery’s “If I Survive You” center on Trelawny as he struggles to carve out a place for himself amid financial disaster, racism and flat-out bad luck. After a fight with Topper — himself reckoning with his failures as a parent and his longing for Jamaica — Trelawny claws his way out of homelessness through a series of odd, often hilarious jobs. Meanwhile, his brother, Delano, attempts a disastrous cash grab to get his kids back, and his cousin, Cukie, looks for a father who doesn’t want to be found. As each character searches for a foothold, they never forget the profound danger of climbing without a safety net.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: September 2022”
I first got my start with gardening through the generosity of others. Many plant lovers have a propensity for hoarding enthusiastic accrual that knows no end, and the upkeep creates plentitude as well. Between an abundance of seasonal produce, seed saving, dividing perennial bulbs, keeping the sprawling rhizomes in check, rooting eligible cuttings after a good pruning or simply gaining wisdom, plant parents always have something to share. Continue reading “Take a Plant, Leave a Plant”
I received a letter last month from a good friend. We talk frequently on the phone, so I was surprised to find something in my mailbox. Yet, it felt special and I actually re-read it several times. Letter writing and card sending have decreased due to the digital age, but it certainly is fun to receive a letter. And fun to send one. In the spirit of promoting the art of sending letters, we have created a fun activity for this month: pressed flower note cards.
We will supply pressed flowers for you, but pressing them yourself is easy to do. With fall approaching, you will soon have the opportunity to press leaves as well. The library has a collection of books to help you with this and you can easily find instructions on the internet. Along with the flowers, your kit has a notecard and envelope, Mod Podge, paint brush and instructions. If I haven’t convinced you to send a note, try framing it instead.
These kits will be available on September 23 while they last in all of our branches. You may pick them up at the Reference Desk at the Columbia library and near the service desks at our other branches.
There’s nothing better for a relaxed gathering of friends than kicking back and enjoying a game, whether it be with cards, a board or any other kind. In recent history, the ways that we play games have changed in significant and fascinating ways. While some classic games are still enjoyed, contemporary options like video games and role-playing games are increasingly popular. The history of these pastimes and what they mean to us is an under-told story. Several fascinating books are trying to change that, and show the path that brought us to the games of today.
Continue reading “Literary Links: All Work, No Play”
Getting involved with the Missouri Bumble Bee Atlas survey this year has turned me into a pollinator super fan and wanna-be entomologist. It quickly became apparent that identifying local bumble bees would not be enough to satisfy my addiction. There were so many non-bumble bee insects on the plants in my yard, and everywhere else I looked. I needed to know more.
I put in a request for the library to purchase two new books that had been favorably reviewed in the New York Times. Any Daniel Boone Regional Library cardholder can suggest a book for purchase, and our acquisitions team does their best to fulfill it.
“Wasps: a Guide for Eastern North America,” and “Bees: an Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide,” by Heather Holm arrived, and went straight to my holds shelf and then home with me. Both these books provide detailed, in-depth information while still remaining accessible to amateur observers. I highly recommend them! Continue reading “Watch Out for Wasps!”
