Let us find your next great read!
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 by Beth
I’m excited to be joining DBRL’s Book Bike Team!
Recently a colleague gave me a thorough and informative lesson on how to ride this ebike (pictured below) with its attached trailer. Although I’d never tried an ebike before, I discovered that the ease and speed that it offered were magical. Additionally, this ebike and trailer look simply delightful; festive colorful, tiny lights even frame the tire rims!
Posted on Friday, April 25, 2025 by Karena
One day. Two novellas. One reader. Too much free time. What happens next? A hit and a miss. The hit: the exquisite and absurd “Ultramarine” by Mariette Navarro. The miss: the perhaps noble yet ultimately nauseating “Magma” by Thóra Hjörleifsdóttir. These two fiction debuts have a few things in common. Both came out in the past few years, both are translated works (“Ultramarine” from French and “Magma” from Icelandic), and both take us into the fracturing minds of women. I spent an equal amount of time with them (about an hour each). I picked up “Ultramarine” first.
Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 by The Biblio-Buckaroo
“The world is chockablock with untold wonders, there for the taking, ready to be uncovered at any moment, if only we keep our eyes open.” So writes A. Kendra Greene in her book, “The Museum of Whales You Will Never See: And Other Excursions to Iceland’s Most Unusual Museums.” The name of the book, alone, is enough to capture someone’s imagination. Having grown up in a big city, I always had access to a number of wonderful museums. There were museums that held art from all different periods, cultures, and countries, as well as museums with dioramas depicting animals I had never seen so closely, or the skeletons of animals from long before humans walked the Earth. Museums can bring history to life by preserving and displaying everyday objects our ancestors used, or priceless historical documents carefully written by the hand of legendary people. At the Smithsonian, I once saw a pair of Dorothy’s ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.” I was star-struck. It was like I was actually looking at magic shoes. Museums are magical places.
Here is a collection of books about museums, for your perusal:
“The Museum Of Whales You Will Never See: And Other Excursions to Iceland’s Most Unusual Museums,” is a funny book. The author’s museum descriptions tell you as much about the people of Iceland as they do about the museums themselves. With a notably high number of museums for the size of the population, there is a wide variety from which to choose. The museums mentioned in the book include the Icelandic Phallological Museum, The Herring Era Museum, The Icelandic Sea Monster Museum and The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft, among others. Reading about some of these museums made me long to see them in person (despite their location in a country that begins with the word “Ice” — brrr). Continue reading “The Museum of Whales You Will Never See”
Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 by Jonya
Where you go camping isn’t always as important as how you go camping. While everyone needs to follow the same rules within our shared natural resources, your personal experiences should feed your soul and make you happy. Think outside the box a bit as you review a few of our books about backpacking, tent camping and glamping. And while all of these contain information, some are also good reads, sharing personal experiences of people who put their own spin on their visit to nature.
Such as “Every Dog Deserves an Adventure” by Camping With Dogs and L.J. Tracosas. This is an amazing book by an organization that believes “every dog has a story, and our community helps share those stories.” Enjoy stories about dogs going camping with their owners, with many images of those adventures together. It is broken up by seasons and are from all over the country — enjoy the stories! This is a nonfiction cozy read and may entice you to take your pup along on a camping trip. I am not a dog person but can appreciate the enjoyment people get from having their pets with them. Continue reading “Put a Personal Spin on Your Camping Adventure”
Posted on Friday, April 18, 2025 by Josh
Hey, there, comic fans! We’re back with another installment of Quintessential Comics! For this edition, we’re focusing on graphic novels that feature poetry alongside illustration as a celebration of Poetry Month! I hope you all can find something in this list that will spark your interest. Let’s give voice to the poets and just jump right in!
“Embodied”
Let’s start by setting the bar high. “Embodied” is described as “intersectional feminist poetry-in-comics” and is the result of a collaboration between cis female, trans, and non-binary poets and artists. The collection is bound to speak to you in some way as it covers a wide range of topics from the wave of emotions felt during childbirth, to the alienation felt as a result of immigration, to the harassment one can experience in the workplace due to their gender, race or religion. What really shines through in this work is its refusal to avoid the hard conversations and its ability to unite many of us through shared and very human experiences. Continue reading “Quintessential Comics: Poetry Edition”
Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 by Skyler Froese
The key to being lazy is being very, very prepared. My luxurious weeknight loaf on the couch can only come if my clothes are picked out, my face washed, and my lunch box packed for the next day. Rather than suffering the endless plight of constructing a sandwich every evening, I have been prepping my meals at the start of the week. When I run low on inspiration, cookbooks offer novelty in a way my Pinterest algorithm never seems to replicate.
Using the library, I want some solid meals for me and the occasional hungry roommate. They need to be tasty, economical and keep well. I am excluding the several dozen meal prep recipes that focus on diet and weight loss, as these are not my goals. Additionally, whole week plans for large families, like Prep and Rally, were just impractical for one little Skyler. With this in mind, I tried three meal prep cookbooks to find some inspiration.
“Time to Eat” by Nadiya Hussain
“Time to Eat,” Nadiya Hussain’s fourth cook book, focuses on recipes and strategies for meal prepping. Hussain fills her freezer for the future, storing meals weeks in advance to relieve the demand of feeding herself and her family. Each recipe breaks for the serving sizes, freezing, and reheating instructions. The food itself is a stodgy tour of British mainstays, Bengali flavors, and Hussain’s pension for pastry. She didn’t win the Great British Baking Show for no reason!
I made her recipe for Tzatziki Quesadillas. Luckily, the ingredients were easy to find and most of them were already in my freezer and pantry. A note on ingredients: the measurements are a bit puzzling. Some ingredients needed weighing, and others had non-standard amounts like a 7.5 ounce jar of Jalapenos. I will just chalk it up to British to American growing pains. The filling was easy to make and yielded two quesadillas, a sandwich, and some left over to eat manically with crackers while sitting on the floor. They were extremely tasty, most things with cheddar and jalapenos are. Unfortunately, the filling was not… well… filling. I expected a tortilla of Greek yogurt and chicken to sate me a little longer, but there I was, frantically snacking after work.
Take Aways: A great read for a little whimsy in your freezer. Tasty recipes, but prepare to use your food scale and maybe pack a snack. Four of five spoons.
“The Batch Lady: Cooking on a Budget” by Suzanne Mulholland
Suzanne Mulholland’s, the Batch Lady, cooks to save money, time and energy. Her recipes are simple, classic dinners like pot roasts and burgers. The change is the batch. Quite astutely, Mullholland points out the cost of energy an oven generates, so opts to cook multiple recipes, and multiple batches of recipes at one.
I tried the recipe for butternut squash risotto while also making chicken breasts and a week’s worth of breakfasts. The risotto itself left me wanting more — I ended up supplementing it with mushrooms, proteins, and generous sauces and seasonings when I would defrost it. While the flavors were wanting, I found myself using Mulholland’s batch logic. If the oven is on, why NOT make some bagels. If I am already frying up fajitas, why NOT make a second portion for later.
Take Aways: I like her style and I will be incorporating more batch cooking into my week. However, the recipes were a little too bland to eat two batches by myself. Three out of Five Spoons.
“Damn Delicious Meal Prep:115 Easy Recipes for Low Calorie, High Energy Living” By Chugah Rhee
Winner Winner Meal Prepped Dinner!
This is what I have been looking for. This cookbook is customizable and diverse — featuring a wide range of recipes as classic and comforting as a broccoli, cheese and rice casserole, to more veggie forward and creative options like a Chicago dog inspired salad. Rhee, a foodie with a popular blog, wanted to get into control of her eating habits. She gives the same tips as everyone and separates the recipes into meals, but this cookbook features a template for meal planning in the back of the book.
I made her Korean beef bowls and really enjoyed them! They were very easy to make and store. I really appreciated that I had most of the ingredients on hand already. Cooking it was very easy and straightforward. Even so, the meal came together as greater than the sum of its parts. My beef bowls were satisfying and delicious. While reading, I bookmarked over a dozen recipes that seemed delicious. I am excited to keep revisiting this cookbook!
Take Aways: This was a fantastic cookbook that infused a lot of exciting flavor into my meal prep. I am tempted to buy a copy for my own shelf. Five out of five spoons.
Posted on Monday, April 14, 2025 by David Litherland
Technology is about doing more; every bit of tech that we have developed across the eons has been something that makes what we do either easier or allows us to accomplish more. Flint knives and axes make hunting and building easier, writing speeds up the transfer of knowledge, the plow lets a farmer work faster, the computer lets us do calculations at inhuman speeds and look up sci fi novels at our local library. Every iterative stage has been about doing everything more.
But, as we develop our technologies further and faster than before, and they become more and more integral to human function, the question becomes less “How can this technology help us do more?” rather “How can this technology help us be more?” When a robotic arm can lift many times the weight of one made of flesh and muscle, when an electronic eye can see beyond the spectrum of visible light, and when a computer chip can emulate a sentient mind just as well as (or better than) the chunk of salty fat that rests in our skull, what will being “human” mean? Or, in the extreme cases, will it even be fair to call what we are human? Trans- and post-humanism is, unsurprisingly, a well discussed topic in the science fiction world. From utopian views of freedom and strength, to nihilistic perspectives of technology only enforcing hierarchies, the debate and conversation of the role technology will play in our future as humans is vivid, energetic, and broad. Let’s examine a few of my favorite standouts in the conversation! Continue reading “Circuitry and Flesh: Cybernetics, Genetics, & Transhumanism”
Posted on Monday, April 14, 2025 by MaggieM
Some people make New Year’s resolutions, but maybe spring is a better time to plant the seeds of hope for the coming year.
“Just as you sow seeds that you hope to tend into strong, healthy plants, you can also set personal intentions … A season of birth and renewal, spring is an especially potent time to state your hopes and dreams, calling them forth,” Fiona Cook and Jessica Roux profess in their book “The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Rhythms.” While Cook and Roux’s book is written for a juvenile audience, anyone can enjoy the beautiful illustrations and the message about noticing and celebrating the Earth’s seasons.
In recognition of Earth Day, consider tapping into the energy of spring to find hope and inspiration for what the future could hold. Continue reading “Literary Links: Spring Is the Season for Hope — Tips for Finding Some”
Posted on Friday, April 11, 2025 by Decimal Diver
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“Every Little Thing” – Website / Reviews
This documentary follows Los Angeles author and educator Terry Masear who cares for injured hummingbirds, experiencing personal growth as she witnesses their fragility and resilience.
“The Penguin” – Season 1 – Website / Reviews
In this crime drama series following the events of the 2022 film “The Batman,” Oz Cobb, a.k.a. the Penguin, (Colin Farrell) makes a play to seize the reins of the crime world in Gotham.
“In the Summers” – Website / Reviews
Siblings Violeta and Eva live with their mother, but spend every summer in New Mexico with their loving but unpredictable father in this moving drama that follows them from adolescence to adulthood.
“The Room Next Door” – Website / Reviews
Based on a book by Sigrid Nunez, filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s first English-language feature offers a philosophical view of euthanasia with its gentle story two old friends navigating the realities of death.
Posted on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 by Karena
My dad has always been a fan of the writer Kazuo Ishiguro, and it happens that the two bear a passing resemblance: black graying hair, brows furrowed over thick glasses, a permanent look of concern around the eyes and mouth. Maybe that’s why reading Ishiguro sometimes feels, uncannily, like listening to my dad tell a story. Funnily enough, Ishiguro’s 2021 novel “Klara and the Sun” was based on a tale he made up for his daughter Naomi when she was small. And when he told a grown-up Naomi about his plans to use the premise for a children’s book, she said: “You can’t possibly give young children a story like that. They will be traumatized.”
Continue reading “May First Thursday Book Discussion: “Klara and the Sun””
Let us find your next great read!
