It’s Gingerbread Time

Posted on Friday, December 9, 2022 by Ida

Get ready to flex your baking and crafting muscles, dear readers. December 12 is Gingerbread House Day. According to “The Guardian,” this seasonal tradition started in the early 1800s, inspired by the “Hansel and Gretel” fairy tale. Now, there are multiple festivals every year celebrating the art, including the creations of entire gingerbread villages. I confess I have only ever tried my hand at one single confectionary construction of this type, and a less than photo-worthy effort it was. However, I’ve decided to up my winter coziness game this year and therefore might give gingerbread houses another go. Looking to the library for help, I found a few likely resources. Continue reading “It’s Gingerbread Time”

Q&A With Stephen Paul Sayers, Author of “100 Things To Do in Columbia, MO Before You Die”

Posted on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 by Decimal Diver

Stephen Paul Sayers is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “100 Things to Do in Columbia, MO Before You Die.” The book explores the city’s hidden treasures with seasonal and themed itineraries for music, art, and history lovers, shoppers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Sayers is a professor at the University of Missouri and has also published three best-selling horror/supernatural thriller novels. He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Stephen Paul Sayers, Author of “100 Things To Do in Columbia, MO Before You Die””

Nonfiction Roundup: December 2022

Posted on Monday, December 5, 2022 by Liz

Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in December. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: December 2022”

Debut Author Spotlight: December 2022

Posted on Friday, December 2, 2022 by Katherine

Here are a few of the most notable adult fiction debuts for December to close out the year. These titles have all received positive reviews in library journals. For a longer list, please visit our catalog.

Twice in a lifetime by Melissa Baron book coverTwice in a Lifetime” by Melissa Baron

Isla has fled the city for small-town Missouri in the wake of a painful and exhausting year. With her chronic anxiety at a fever pitch, the last thing she expects is to meet a genuine romantic prospect. And she doesn’t. But she does get a text from a man who seems to think he’s her husband. Obviously, a wrong number — except when she points this out, the mystery texter sends back a picture. Of them — on their wedding day.

Isla cautiously starts up a texting relationship with her maybe-hoax, maybe-husband Ewan, who claims to be reaching out from a few years into the future. Ewan knows Isla incredibly well, and seems to love her exactly as she is, which she can hardly fathom. But he’s also grieving, because in the future, he and Isla are no longer together.

Ewan is texting back through time to save her from a fate he is unwilling to share–and all she can do to prevent that fate is to learn to be happy, now, in the body she has, with the mind she has. The only trouble is the steps she takes in that direction might be steps away from a future with Ewan.

Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: December 2022”

Read the Recipe! Stop: Cookie Time!

Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2022 by Jason Delpire

All About Cookies by Christina Tosi book coverDecember is here, and for many of us that means baking. And baking cookies, specifically. Holiday cookies are a great way to connect generations of family in a task sure to create memories. When we think of holiday cookies, what comes to mind? Sugar cookies, peanut butter blossoms, ginger snaps, snickerdoodles? Sure. Those are all fine and have a place on the table, but maybe you want to show your cousin who the real cookie boss is in the family. Here’s where the mad genius, the rule-breaker, the one marching to the beat of her own Hobart mixer… Christina Tosi, comes in.

Listen, I know you want to recreate the holidays of your youth and create memories for your youngest family members, and that is commendable, but we can do better. “All About Cookies” is the newest book by Christina Tosi, and, as expected, it is amazing. Continue reading “Read the Recipe! Stop: Cookie Time!”

Q&A With Nina Mukerjee Furstenau, Author of “Green Chili & Other Impostors”

Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 by Decimal Diver

Nina Mukerjee Furstenau is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “Green Chili and Other Impostors.” The book focuses on food stories within the Indian subcontinent, but also mixes in memoir, travelogue, and history, with several recipes included throughout. Furstenau is a journalist, author, and editor of the FoodStory book series for the University of Iowa Press. Other published works include “Biting Through the Skin,” “Tasty! Mozambique,” “Savor Missouri” and numerous stories and essays for newspapers and magazines. Nina was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Nina Mukerjee Furstenau, Author of “Green Chili & Other Impostors””

Worried About Holiday Shopping? Try These Craft Projects Instead!

Posted on Monday, November 21, 2022 by MaggieM

Two sets of cloth napkins and a wrapped present sit on a table
Following Creativebug’s tutorials, I made two different types of cloth napkins and repurposed a paper bag and fabric scraps to wrap them. Photo credit Maggie Maginness

You probably don’t need me to point out that Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is coming right up, and Black Friday will be here before you know it. If thinking about shopping for the holiday season has your blood pressure rising, consider making some of your holiday gifts and decorations this year (okay, you’ll likely have to do some shopping for materials, but hopefully it will be less shopping, more making, and more using odds and ends you already have). Continue reading “Worried About Holiday Shopping? Try These Craft Projects Instead!”

New DVD List: Abbott Elementary, Nope, & More

Posted on Friday, November 18, 2022 by Decimal Diver

Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.


Season 1 
Website / Reviews 
This TV show is a workplace comedy featuring a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — who find themselves thrown together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Continue reading “New DVD List: Abbott Elementary, Nope, & More”