2024 marks the 10th year of the Read Harder Challenge put on by the folks over at Book Riot, but this is my first year doing it! I decided there wasn’t enough going on this year, so I’ll read 24 books, and then share my thoughts on them every couple of months! So look forward to that! What is the Read Harder Challenge though? Well, according to the Book Riot website, “the challenge is made up of 24 tasks (an average of two per month) that invite readers to explore formats, genres, and perspectives that might go beyond their reading comfort zones. How you approach Read Harder is up to you: you can read one book per task or count one book for multiple tasks. The point of the challenge isn’t to do the thing one particular way but to push yourself to diversify your TBR.”
This sounds like a lot though, how is anyone meant to find 24 books that meet all these challenges? Luckily your local library is here to help! This is a collection of lists outlining the 2024 challenges along with library books that help meet those challenges! Need support or to check in with others undertaking the same goal? We have monthly check in programs at the library too, just check the events calendar for the next one! For my purposes though, I’ll be reading and discussing four books a month, and my challenges will be all over the place, starting with: Continue reading “Reading Harder in 2024! – Part 1”
There is a phenomenon that is prevalent in a lot of science fiction media: whenever the aliens crash land, visit or invade Earth, they always seem to end up in the United States. From Star Trek’s “First Contact” showing Vulcans landing in Montana to “Independence Day’s” undeniably evocative movie poster of the White House being destroyed by a flying saucer, it seems a disproportionate amount of extra-terrestrial interaction happens Stateside. I’ve seen it called the “White House effect,” “All Aliens Speak English” or just “that’s Hollywood for you.”
The puzzle behind this phenomenon has a simple answer: a majority of the mainstream science fiction that is written, filmed or drawn is done so by American artists for an (ostensibly) American audience. As many of the major producers of film and publishers of books are also American, those are the stories that end up making it big. And, given one of the United States’ biggest exports is our media, it is no surprise that the sci-fi genre is inundated with American cultural touchstones, Stateside scenery, and good ol’ US of A values.
While the oversaturation of American cultural media is a whole conversation for another time, this type of overrepresentation is not limited to just American sci-fi. If you’re a watcher of Doctor Who, you’ll notice the aliens tend to have a preference for landing in London. Jules Verne’s novels, while a bit more international in setting, often feature French scientists, inventors and adventurers as their main cast. Turns out, people will write what (and who) they know!
As with my previous post, I’ve been ever looking to expand my science fiction horizons. This time around, my scope of expansion is an international one. All of the books in this post (and in my most recent booklist) are science fiction originally published in another language. In a similar vein to my previous writing for the blog, here is a short survey of a book I’ve read, a book I’m reading, and an author I’ve yet to read. Continue reading “Ciencia Ficción, Zukunftsfiction & Tieteiskirjallisuus: Science Fiction in Translation”
There are genres of literature, there are genres of music, and today, I will make a case for letting the two play together. What I mean is this: What if we used music genres to describe literature? What might such an experiment reveal about the literature?
Here’s a fun music genre to think about: shoegaze, a dreamy genre from 80s Britain which drew a close following with its hazy, melancholic offerings. “It’s a particularly unusual genre in that its name describes neither a sound nor a connection to music history,” Pitchfork writes. Indeed, “shoegaze” originally described a scene of musicians whose heavy use of effects pedals led them to perform in a still, detached manner, clutching their guitars, eyes fixed to the floor.
The internet has some interesting things to say about shoegaze. Wikipedia notes its “ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume.” One blogger defines the genre by its “dense, shimmering textures of distorted guitars, thundering drums, and dreamy, reverb-heavy vocals,” adding that the performers lacked “the charisma and machismo of big stadium rock acts.” Continue reading “Shoegaze Literature”
Patti Callahan Henry’s charming book about the power of imagination and story, “The Secret Book of Flora Lea,” will be the subject of the “First Thursday Book Discussion” at the Columbia Public Library on Thursday, March 7 at noon.
I know I took refuge in stories as a child and teenager — actually, I still do! In Callahan Henry’s novel, older sister Hazel invents a secret fantasy world shared only between the sisters as a refuge and distraction from the loss and displacement of WWII. When her little sister, Flora, disappears mysteriously, Hazel is shattered. She abandons their fairytale realm.
Twenty years later, Hazel is working in an antique bookshop when she comes across an illustrated book that echoes their shared stories. Hazel is set upon a mission to find the origin of the stories.
“The Secret Book of Flora Lea,” works on many levels. It is a good story of sisters and also a mystery, but also has many themes to explore about growing up, the symbolism of stories, love and guilt.
Join us in March to explore these themes and share your thoughts with other community members.
Of course, we all know about the birds and the bees! We weren’t born yesterday! The birds and the bees talk of love (and, shhhhh… s.e.x.). But in literary terms, birds and bees tell of so much more.
Humans are funny creatures and we like to assign meanings to so many things. Birds, especially, it seems, get to do a lot of talking symbolically. In general, they are often seen as messengers from the gods or from heaven — especially raptors. Birds also evoke “freedom.” And it seems that each species has its own symbolism. The stork brings babies. Canaries can evoke beauty, song or a warning. As for bees, they have been used to symbolize fertility, industry and community among other things.
I have gathered a few birds and bees books for you to fall in love with. Continue reading “The Birds and the Bees”
In May 2023 I was diagnosed with a disorder with no cure and no end — just a few debatable treatment options and a sparse online community. Still, I was relieved to get an answer to a question I’d been asking for about a decade. It’s been over a year since a specialist identified my spasmodic dysphonia (a voice disorder, originating in the brain), and, now, I have new questions to ask: How do I carry my diagnosis with honesty and vulnerability, without letting it flood my identity? How do I stay hopeful through the grueling experiment of treatment? How do I help my loved ones understand?
Books have helped soothe the ache of these questions. Maybe they can do the same for you, whether your diagnosis is one of chronic illness, disorder, neurodivergence or any other ongoing condition. Continue reading “February Literary Links: Making Peace With Diagnosis”
In the 6th Century BCE, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “There is nothing permanent except change,” or something to that effect. Not a lot is known about Heraclitus but all these years later, that quote rings true. Change is something you can count on in life, be it good or bad, fast or incremental, painful or joyous. It is constant. How you handle the changes in your life makes all the difference.
There are different kinds of change, of course. There are changes we make purposely and changes that are thrust upon us. Along the lines of the former, human behavior specialist BJ Fogg, PhD brings us “Tiny Habits: + The Small Changes That Change Everything.” The book recommends tackling habit change through baby steps. According to “Library Journal,” “Throughout are a multitude of practical exercises and more than 300 recipes for tiny transformations categorized by various situations and challenges (e.g., work/life balance, destressing, healthy eating and sleeping well)… Fogg’s method has great potential to promote altered behavior in those who have sought help in other ventures with little success.” Continue reading “Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes”
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in February. 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
“Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out” by Shannon Reed (Feb 6)
We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human. Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (“Gone Girl,” “Their Eyes Were Watching God”) to the ones she didn’t (“Tess of the d’Urbervilles”), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the ways in which literature can transform us for the better. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: February 2024”
Presenting two women after my own heart: Lindsey Jordan (of indie rock solo project Snail Mail) and Maggie Nelson (author of, among many other breathtaking works, the prose-poetry collection “Bluets”). These two artists write about devotion, longing and self-revelation in ways that cut to the core. So, I’ve done the logical thing: Listed all 10 tracks on Snail Mail’s sophomore album “Valentine,” along with lyric highlights and emotional descriptors, and assigned each song a related quote from “Bluets” to guide your reading and/or listening. Happy yearning!
Continue reading “A Book and an Album: Valentine and Bluets”
“You?! You’re reading an Ali Hazelwood book?”
“Um, well, it is set around chess, so… yeah?”
Full disclosure, “Check & Mate” is the first Ali Hazelwood book I have read. I heard she generally writes steamy romance and that’s not exactly my preferred genre. This title is YA, and while there is romance and language, and even mentions of sex (fade to black), it is pretty tame. Whew.
So, why am I writing about this title you may ask? Chess. I love chess and have been playing for more than 25 years. Chess players generally can’t help themselves, we have to critique every mention of our game and we are perpetually frustrated by simple inaccuracies.
Oh, there will be spoilers, you have been warned. Continue reading “Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood”
