Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“Thelma” – Website / Reviews
In this action comedy, a 93-year-old grandmother who loses money to a con artist embarks on a treacherous journey across Los Angeles to reclaim what was taken from her.
“A Quiet Place, Day One” – Website / Reviews
When New York City comes under attack from an alien invasion, survivors try to find a way to safety in this sci-fi/horror prequel to “A Quiet Place.”
“Oddity” – Website / Reviews
A horror/thriller focusing on a blind psychic who attempts to uncover the dark truth behind her twin sister’s murder using supernatural means.
“The Night Agent” – Season 1 – Website / Reviews
This mystery/thriller series follows a low-level FBI agent who is thrown into a vast conspiracy about a mole at the highest levels of the United States government.
“Twisters” – Website / Reviews
The blockbuster disaster epic returns with whirlwind thrills as Kate and Tyler, rival storm chasers with distinct styles, race to survive a tornado season like no other. Continue reading “New DVD List: November 2024”
There are many basic truths that aren’t always treated as such, but here’s a huge one: people are people no matter where they were born. Another large truth: in the United States, studies show that not only do refugees and immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born citizens, but they indeed strengthen the economy and the communities in which they live.
As of May 2024, there were 43.4 million refugees worldwide. The United States allowed 100,034 to enter during the 2024 fiscal year. Given the escalating impacts of climate change and war, the number of refugees will continue to grow dramatically. Our capacity for love and empathy ought to do the same.
Here are some recent titles that explore the immigrant and refugee experience and help demonstrate their place within this nation that is itself built on immigrants. Continue reading “Literary Links: Exploring the Immigrant and Refugee Experience”
In the book “The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System,” the main character Shen Yuan dies and is reborn into the same trashy web-novel that he cursed right before he died. Transmigrating into the body of the main villain of the novel, he has to balance changing the story in order to avoid a tragic ending for the villain while still being in character and unraveling the mysteries that were left unwritten.
I liked the book as it was easy to read; being in Shen Yuan’s point of view and inner dialogue made the story funnier than it should have been. Considering the original story he transmigrated into, I love how this book makes fun of the clichés, stereotypes, and tropes that surrounds fantasy harem novels.
Certain parts of the story might lean more into telling instead of showing, but remembering that Shen Yuan has an outsider/reader’s perspective, it makes sense and I didn’t dislike that part as much as I thought. Plenty of likeable characters, and an exciting start for a four-book series.
Three words that describe this book: Funny, rebirth, parody
You might want to pick this book up if: You’re interested in a story set in a fantasy Chinese landscape, with magic and cultivation, and is guided through by the funniest modern-age character as they escape death.
-Daisy
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
I really appreciate reading poetry anthologies as they are a good way to be exposed to many poets’ work at one time. I can then follow up on reading more poetry by the poets I liked in the anthology.
Spending time in nature and learning more and more about how to be a good steward with the natural world is near and dear to my heart so finding “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World” at the library felt a little like discovering a pot of gold. The poems about the natural world in this book were written specifically for this collection and the breadth of insights offered by a very diverse group of poets makes for a wonderful immersion in poetry.
Three words that describe this book: diversity, authenticity, beauty
You might want to pick this book up if: You enjoy poetry and are a nature lover.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in November. 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 the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird” by Sy Montgomery (Nov 5)
For more than two decades, Sy Montgomery — whose “The Soul of an Octopus” was a National Book Award finalist — has kept a flock of chickens in her backyard. Each chicken has an individual personality (outgoing or shy, loud or quiet, reckless or cautious) and connects with Sy in her own way. In this short, delightful book, Sy takes us inside the flock and reveals all the things that make chickens such remarkable creatures: only hours after leaving the egg, they are able to walk, run, and peck; relationships are important to them and the average chicken can recognize more than one hundred other chickens; they remember the past and anticipate the future; and they communicate specific information through at least 24 distinct calls. Visitors to her home are astonished by all this, but for Sy what’s more astonishing is how little most people know about chickens, especially considering there are about 20% more chickens on earth than people. Continue reading “Nonfiction Round-up: November 2024”
Once a year, local volunteers involved in the international Human Library organization come to Columbia Public Library and become “books.” On Oct. 12, titles included “Muslim American,” “young caregiver,” “postpartum psychosis,” “morbidly obese,” “witch,” and more.
What does it mean to be a book? It means during thirty-minute conversations around small tables in the Friends Room, these volunteers open up their lived experiences (some titled crudely to reflect society’s normative labels) for reading. And what does it mean to attend as a reader? It means I take a seat across from someone labeled “convicted felon” and ask them everything I want to know.
First we all agree on some guidelines, because such vulnerability can be dangerous without a collective intention to prioritize curiosity and respect. So I sit with my fellow readers and try to imagine how the next hour is going to feel while a library manager reminds us that this is a brave space for conversation, that all “books” are in mint condition and should be returned the same, that your “book” is a resource for information and should be questioned carefully and freely, that these rules serve to create a safe framework for sharing. Then the books walk in to a soft rush of applause, and it is time to read. Continue reading “I Went to the Human Library”
The book “Little Rot” follows a couple’s relationship at the start of the book, but quickly separates as they break-up and start to act on their own desires outside of a monogamous relationship. I thought I wouldn’t like it at first because it seemed to jump to other characters and their desires, but it met back to our main people again within a few chapters. The descriptions were wonderfully written. It had a lot of exploration on the darker sides of our desires, too, and is not something I would recommend to everyone. I loved this book and think it was a strong piece of literature, but it is a more mature book with some difficult imagery.
Three words that describe this book: desires, relationships, humanity
You might want to pick this book up if: If you like work from this author already. If you are interested in drama. If you want something akin to thriller but focusing more on human connections and ethics.
-Sam
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
The graphic novel “The Girl from the Sea” retells the legend of the selkie with a gay young adult protagonist. Written and drawn by Molly Knox Ostertag, this book’s beachside setting and secret summer romance make it a perfect summertime read.
If graphic novels aren’t for you or if you just enjoy listening to your books, Hoopla has an audiobook adaptation. It’s only one and a half hours long and features music and sound effects. It is read by a full cast, who’s voices are overlaid on one track, like an old timey radio play.
In whichever format you choose to pick it up, “The Girl from the Sea” is a cute, fun, and quick read.
Three words that describe this book: Cute, light-hearted, & hopeful
You might want to pick this book up if: You enjoy Queer retellings of classic myths.
-Joe
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
“American Diva: Extraordinary, Unruly, Fabulous” is a collection of essays on divas, past and present. Author Deborah Paredez teaches a university course on the subject matter and I wish I could join to be in the class discussion.
I was introduced to divas I knew little about, i.e. Jomama Jones, and engaged with divas I’ve long worshiped, i.e. Tina Turner. Some chapters were too ethereal for me to connect with, but I enjoyed the author including personal elements in the book and introducing us to the divas in her life.
Three words that describe this book: Reflection. Celebration. Feminine.
You might want to pick this book up if: You admire divas!
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
Author Bill Bryson’s witty signature style is prevalent throughout his Australian travelogue, “In a Sunburned Country.” Although the publication date was 20 years ago, so much of his story traveling throughout the country remains a compelling read. In fact, part of the draw is the almost forgotten pre-technology travel means he uses — a somewhat sentimental throwback experience before the convenience of cell phones, internet and google maps that was standard operating procedure for traveling in that day. Even his note-taking and journaling of the trip is done with a pen and spiral notebook… imagine!
His entertaining reporting and meticulous research easily fulfill an inquisitive traveler’s desire to learn. He records in detail historical cases of lost explorers and discoveries of plants and animals unique only to Australia. All this detail is told within his descriptive narrative chronicling the vastness, beauty and danger of the many regions. He poignantly does NOT forget the Aboriginal Australians, in his writings; a people that have been forgotten, even made invisible, by so many. Every time I picked up the book to read further, I felt as though I was joining a friend, not to mention a highly engaging and educated guide, on an arm chair down under adventure.
Three words that describe this book: Fascinating, Educational; Humorous
You might want to pick this book up if: Your interested in the intriguingly singular Australian Down Under — it’s history, politics, peoples, culture, plant and animal life forms, land and water characteristics and a multitude of sometimes ironic almost unbelievable anecdotes shared in typical Bill Bryson style, this book offers an adventure you won’t quickly forget.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
