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.
Val Germann, Party With the Stars founder, with a telescope during an eclipse viewing event on May 25th 1994. See the full set of photos on our Community Archives page.
One of the library’s longest-running programs will celebrate its 40th anniversary this autumn: Party with the Stars. Through the decades, with a two-year pause due to Covid in 2020 and 2021, Val Germann and the Central Missouri Astronomical Association (CMAA) have been the driving force behind this collaboration. Party with the Stars has seen a seasonal program (March through October) through nearly every phase of the modern library’s growth.
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in September. 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.
Top Picks
“What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” by Randall Munroe (Sep 13)
The millions of people around the world who read and loved “What If?” still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist. Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Randall consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airplane-catapult design to clearly and concisely answer his readers’ questions. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances. Filled with bonkers science, boundless curiosity, and Randall’s signature stick-figure comics, “What If? 2” is sure to be another instant classic adored by inquisitive readers of all ages. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: September 2022”
Fall is right around the corner, and with it comes lots of spooky books. Murder, witches, a curse and at least one ghost? Yes, please! These books are those that library staff from all over the country have read and loved enough to share with us. Read on to discover September’s LibraryReads:
In 16th-century Italy, teen Lucrezia de Medici passes from her father’s control to her husband’s, with neither considering her a person with a right to her own life. O’Farrell’s poetic writing pulls you into this taled on the likely subject of Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess.” For fans of Geraldine Brooks, Isabel Allende, and Hilary Mantel. ~Diana Armstrong, Multnomah County Library, Portland, ORContinue reading “LibraryReads: September 2022”
Do you remember history classes in school? How you studied big things, governmental things, and wars and civics of the countries? I’m more interested in the daily life of people who were dealing with the wars and changes brought on by the big things of the world. For example, in 1947, when French fashion designer Christian Dior held his first show and introduced The New Look, how long did it take the American woman to adopt that look? I find that in the 1950 Spring/Summer Sears catalog, dresses still had the military shoulders and slim skirts, but only one year later, skirts are fuller, waists smaller and the shoulders more rounded. Sears, J.C. Penney’s & Montgomery Wards’ catalogs give you a wonderful snapshot into changes in ready-to-wear fashions which is what most of us wear.
My Featherweight sewing machine was “born” in 1947 and that’s the tie-in to this post about history, in case you were wondering. There are many fine years and perhaps in the future I’ll address another one, but today, let’s dig into what you can learn at the library about everyday life in 1947. Continue reading “Life in 1947”
Posted on Monday, August 29, 2022 by patron reviewer
“The Thirteenth Tale” introduces readers to Margaret, a young woman working in her father’s rare book shop and an occasional writer of biographical essays about long-dead authors. She is summoned by Britain’s most famous writer, Vida Winter, to document the author’s story before she dies. Both harbor secrets and the tale Winter spins involves twins, a falling-down estate, a governess, violence, a fire, orphans, gardens and gates — all of the makings of a fairy tale.
This book has echoes of “Jane Eyre,” “Wuthering Heights,” and other gothic classics. It’s a twisty literary mystery with just the right amount of darkness. I listened to the audiobook and was absorbed. It would be a great vacation read.
Three words that describe this book: Gothic, spellbinding, twisty
You might want to pick this book up if: You are a fan of the Bronte sisters, fairy tales, and love books about other people who love books.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2022. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
For people who like reading and books, books about books are a boon. Not only are you reading a book (an activity that you like), but you’re reading a book about books (things that you like). While I’d like to explain this further, due to space constraints, I’ll move on to typing about the particular book I’d like to recommend.
You can tell William Brewer is a poet in part because he has written an award-winning book of poetry called “I Know Your Kind,” and in part, because the language in his novel “The Red Arrow” is clearly crafted with care, or, if crafted haphazardly, then with a poet’s gifts and instincts. You’ll savor these sentences.
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 by Jason Delpire
Vegan cooking. I know, if you’re not familiar with it, you may expect bark and berries. I have found vegetarian/vegan cooking to be very freeing. (I use both terms because I have not been able to give up cheese. Well, okay, I haven’t really tried.) When I was consuming animal protein, each meal planning was kind of the same: Take a protein, add a starch and a veg, maybe a sauce, blah, blah, blah. Veganarian cooking has forced me to be more creative and more seasonal, which has resulted in also more flavorful dishes. Continue reading “Read The Recipe! Veganarian”
Posted on Monday, August 22, 2022 by patron reviewer
There are many good examples of hard science fiction, books that follow the scientific rules of space, but their accuracy is often bereft of compelling human interaction. “Leviathan Wakes” nails both! The complex characters face the possible end of humanity as humans would, with pain, anger, righteousness, and love — the author demonstrates these human struggles with skill. The basis for the television show “The Expanse,” this is the first of several books about what happens when a molecule from another galaxy is introduced into a politically fraught solar system.
In the book, Earth, Mars, and the peoples who live on resource-strapped asteroids in “the Belt” are at each other’s throats as they battle for preeminence and access to resources. When an ice-hauling freighter is blown up by an unknown stealth ship, leaving five survivors, it launches a war between Mars and the Belt. But who is responsible? And why did they want to start a war? What are they covering up?
Three words that describe this book: What is humanity?
You might want to pick this book up if: You enjoy very well-written characters struggling to define humanity in the face of the unknown.
If you have a friend or loved one facing dementia or memory loss, the library offers a tool to help you help them. Memory Care Kits are designed to help people with dementia engage with friends and family, exercise their brains and spend some pleasurable hours remembering experiences from their past. These kits were designed by DBRL staff. Our staff chose themes for these kits that explore common experiences like living on a farm, homemaking, gardening, using tools, and going to a baseball game or to the movies.
That list of themes grows as we release even more new kits through the rest of 2022, so be sure to visit our catalog regularly for more engaging kits. These kits contain music, movies, puzzles, books, tactile items and activities selected especially for a person living with dementia and their family. Continue reading “Memory Care Kits”
