Do you have a friend or family member struggling with memory loss, dementia or a neurodegenerative disease? Daniel Boone Regional Library offers a Memory Care collection of books selected to help you learn more while supporting your loved one.
This collection holds not only instructive titles on how to care for someone with dementia, it also includes colorful photographic books with simple text ideal to prompt memories and happy emotions in those dealing with memory loss. Brighten your loved one’s day with fun photographic books of babies, dogs, cats, farm animals, quilts, barns and other relatable topics for older adults.
Though these books are dispersed throughout the DBRL collection, it’s easy to find them. Give our catalog a simple subject search using the phrase “memory care” and you will get a full list of all we have added to the collection so far. This collection will continue to grow, so check back from time to time for new items. Explore our Memory Care collection.
I’m excited to share some of the new nonfiction titles that will be released in December. All of the titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive service on the day of publication. For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs” by Andrew Cotter (Dec 1)
When sporting events were put on hold in March 2020, commentator Andrew Cotter shifted to working from home. The one-on-one competitors? His two Labrador retrievers, Olive and Mabel. In the hilarious videos that ensued, the dogs engage in various contests, from bone-snatching and breakfast-eating to crushing it on the dog walk, while Cotter narrates to hilarious effect. The scene of Mabel, simply standing still in a fetid pond was one of the most popular. Why? Because this is how dogs live, and Cotter captured it with humor and joy. It’s why the series has been viewed more than 50 million times, entertaining dog owners, sports fans and celebrities around the world. Olive and Mabel are more than online celebrities, however, as revealed in this charming narrative. Filled with stories about how Cotter fell in love with his dogs, his passion for hiking with them through the glens and over the peaks of his native Scotland, and the ongoing relationship between Olive and Mabel (particularly the “competitive fire” lit during these days of quarantine), the memoir is by turns side-splittingly funny and thoughtfully tender. It’s sure to resonate with all dog lovers. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: December 2020”
As the weather turns cold now is the perfect time to cozy up with a good book, a hot beverage and your pet of choice. If you’re looking for some promising new authors to sample, here are some ideas. For a longer list of titles by debut authors, please visit our catalog.
“The Chicken Sisters” by K.J. Dell’Antonia
In tiny Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi’s and Chicken Frannie’s have spent a century vying to serve up the best fried chicken in the state — and the legendary feud between their respective owners, the Moores and the Pogociellos, has lasted just as long. No one feels the impact more than thirty-five-year-old widow Amanda Moore, who grew up working for her mom at Mimi’s before scandalously marrying Frank Pogociello and changing sides to work at Frannie’s. Tired of being caught in the middle, Amanda sends an SOS to Food Wars, the reality TV restaurant competition that promises $100,000 to the winner. But in doing so, she launches both families out of the frying pan and directly into the fire… Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: December 2020”
I will spare you the “with the new normal … ” spiel. Holidays feeling lonely, while new to some, has long been a familiar feeling to many. Pre-pandemic, many people were too far away from family to travel, had toxic families who were damaging to their mental health or simply did not have any family with whom they could gather. You may be spending the holidays alone this year, or with significantly fewer people than you are used to. I can’t promise you merry and bright, but it doesn’t have to be bad. Continue reading “Making Holidays Less Lonely”
During the winter months I love to heat up some hot cocoa and get creative. Even though this year is different than any other year, I’m still busting out my mug and my paints. You can paint along with me at www.dbrl.org/yeti-painting and create a winter wonderland painting that features an adorable tiny yeti. Continue reading “Winter Guided Painting: Mini Yeti”
The time just changed and ,although it did make that one Sunday feel so much longer, the skies are dark now when I leave work. If you are like me and get the “darkness doldrums” finding something to keep busy with helps. I usually do this by thinking of the holidays and gifts or decorations to make. Continue reading “Crafternoon to Go: Bubble Print Gift Tags”
We are so excited to have begun our First Thursday book discussions for adults again through Zoom. We had a wonderful discussion of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum in November, and on December 3 from 12-1 p.m., we will be talking about “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and several stories about this detective and his sleuthing companion, Dr. Watson. If you haven’t read any of this series, “The Hound of the Baskervilles” is considered by many to be the classic Sherlock Holmes novel. In 1999, it was listed as the top Holmes novel with a perfect rating from the Sherlockian Scholars poll by The Baker Street Journal. Continue reading “First Thursday Book Discussion: The Hound of the Baskervilles”
This is the third and final blog post in the homeschooling and distance learning series I’ve been doing over the last couple of months. This post will focus on community resources for people looking for more information and help with homeschooling and distance learning. I’ll also be including some odds and ends that I have come across since starting this series of blog posts. Continue reading “Homeschooling and Distance Learning Resources: Community Resources and More!”
“I am thankful that I am an oak, and that though I may be wind-broken or uprooted, hewn or sawn, at least I cannot, under any circumstances, be squashed.”
– from the short story “The Direction of the Road” by Ursula K. Le Guin
A month ago, despite political polarization and an isolating global pandemic, our community united in well-wishes for the McBaine Burr Oak, colloquially known as “Big Tree.” It was struck by lightning during a formidable morning thunderstorm and damaged to lengths only next springtime can reveal. Now seems an especially good time to meditate on its resilience and let ourselves feel awe in its presence. Continue reading “Resilient Trees”
Kerri Linder is a Columbia, MO author who recently came out with her debut book, “Iconic Restaurants of Columbia Missouri.” The book explores Columbia’s culinary history, which is chock-full of restaurants that not only satisfied appetites but also provided gathering places to build community. Born and raised in Columbia, Linder combined her passion for food, local history and meeting new people and started Columbia Culinary Tours in 2014. I recently emailed some interview questions to her, and she was kind enough to take time out of her schedule to write back some answers. Continue reading “Author Interview: Kerri Linder”
