The Callaway County Public Library temporary location opens April 1 at 1855 N. Bluff Street, Fulton, near Walmart.
Let us find your next great read!
Posted on Monday, December 20, 2021 by Dana
Jólabókaflóðið is coming!
If you don’t happen to be one of the 314,000 people in the entire world who speak Icelandic, we’re talking about the Yule Book Flood.
Maybe you’ve seen the meme on social media about the tradition of Jólabókaflóðið, pronounced YO-la-bok-a-flud. People exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend the night reading and drinking hot chocolate. Sounds magical, right? Continue reading “Jólabókaflóðið Cometh”
Posted on Friday, December 17, 2021 by Decimal Diver
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection. Continue reading “New DVD List: The Bee Gees, Pig, & More”
Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 by Chris
If you’re looking for a way to make the world a better place, and you’re a gifted inventor, I recommend inventing an empathy machine. Imagine if more people cared about other people, and also cared about animals and plants and whether they’re going to leave behind a habitable planet. It sounds pretty cool to me, but short of some device that forces one to feel empathy, such imaginings are clearly the stuff of speculative fiction.
Of course, there is always the original empathy machine: stories. These are incredibly effective at producing empathy and enlightenment, but their drawback is that one has to read them, and reading is something most people don’t do. So, to all the gifted inventors reading this, if you can’t quite crack the empathy machine, I recommend inventing a machine that forces people to read. (Just to be clear, dear inventors, so that my words don’t haunt me: the machine forces them to read in their leisure time: not while they’re operating machinery or performing a medical procedure or precariously balancing knickknacks on the lip of a frothing deep fryer, etc.)
Posted on Monday, December 13, 2021 by Alyssa
There are a lot of reasons to be kind, and I won’t try to enumerate them here. There are plenty of books that can do that. Rather, I am going to suggest a few free or low-cost ways that you can show some kindness. Continue reading “Acts of Kindness”
Posted on Monday, December 13, 2021 by cs
Join us for a virtual discussion of “Convenience Story Woman” by Sayaka Murata on January 6. This book brilliantly captures the atmosphere of the familiar convenience store that is so much part of life in Japan. With some laugh-out-loud moments prompted by the disconnect between the heroin Keiko’s thoughts and those of the people around her, Murata provides a sharp look at Japanese society and the pressure to conform, and the expectations placed on young women. Critics have found “Convenience Store Woman” to be a fresh, charming portrait of an unforgettable heroine. Similar books can be found here.
Please register to receive a Zoom link to attend this online discussion for teens and adults.
Posted on Sunday, December 12, 2021 by Katherine
“December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy…”
— President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
December 7 marks the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, which resulted in the deaths of 4,335 United States military personnel and 68 civilians in 1941. The attack took everyone by surprise, and the devastating loss catapulted the United States into World War II.
Relying heavily on interviews with survivors on both sides of the attack, American and Japanese, Gordon W. Prange set out to write as comprehensive and accurate a representation of events as possible in “At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor.” Prange spent 37 years studying and researching the events surrounding Pearl Harbor. After his death, his work was edited down to this single volume, which examines many of the factors that culminated in this turning point in history.
In “Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness,” Craig Nelson also delves into the circumstances and events in Japan that ultimately contributed to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. From there, he moves on to the events immediately leading up to the attack and firsthand accounts of sailors aboard the ships. Finally, he examines the legacy of the attack and its effects on the relationship between Japan and the United States.
Continue reading “Pearl Harbor: An Event That Continues to Live in Infamy”
Posted on Friday, December 10, 2021 by Ida
2021 has been eventful for me. I palled around with a well-known children’s author, pondered universal truths with a Pulitzer-winning poet, and survived the approach of doomsday as a witch and a technology nerd gave it their all to save the world. I’m talking about my year in reading, of course. I experienced all of these things in the pages of books. Goodreads tells me I’ve finished 36 titles so far this year. I’ve chosen four from arbitrary categories to share here. Continue reading “My Year in Reading”
Posted on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 by Decimal Diver
Dorothy Canote is a Mid-Missouri author whose latest book is “Reflections From A Restless Mind.” The book is a series of illustrated essays sharing her love of science, travel, history and nature. Her essay subjects range the full gamut — reminiscing about her hometown of Avalon, MO, traveling to various places in the country of Mexico, exploring caves in the Ozarks, and more. The book is a followup to her first collection of illustrated essays, “Paintings and Musings From the Heartland.” Canote is a retired science teacher who also sold produce, herbs and flowers for 10 years at the Columbia Farmers Market. She was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Dorothy Canote, Author of “Reflections From a Restless Mind””
Posted on Monday, December 6, 2021 by Liz
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 2021”
Posted on Friday, December 3, 2021 by DBRL_Katie
We’re big proponents of DIY at DBRL, and the holiday gift-giving season offers the perfect outlet. Homemade presents are unique, more personal, skip packaging waste and save money. They resist that potent December consumerism which hounds us to want and shop for more and more stuff. Presents, however, needn’t be flashy, made in a factory or wrapped in plastic. They don’t even have to be tangible things. Holiday gifts can be humble, waste-free labors of love. These gifts are more likely to be used and cherished by the lucky recipients, and they grant the giver an opportunity to explore an interest, hone a skill or let their talents shine. Continue reading “DIY Gifts”
Let us find your next great read!
