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Q&A With Brian Smith, Author of “Tiger Style”

Posted on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 by Decimal Diver

photo of the author Brian Smith

Brian Smith is a Columbia, MO author whose debut book is “Tiger Style: Eight Steps to Create a Winning Culture.” The book details the Tiger Style philosophy which is designed to instill a sense of purpose, resilience, and a winning mindset in businesses, schools and teams. Smith has developed Tiger Style as the head coach of Mizzou’s wrestling team for 27 years. As the winningest coach in Mizzou wrestling history, he has been twice named as the top wrestling coach in the NCAA, and his athletes have won ten NCAA Championships, and some have gone on to become UFC champions and Olympic competitors. He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Brian Smith, Author of “Tiger Style””

Strange Weather (Atonal Wonder)

Posted on Friday, March 28, 2025 by Karena

A medley of rainy and sunny stories and songs, inspired by the strange weather of Makoto Shinkai’s “Weathering With You.”

🌧️☀️🌧️

In 2020 I went and saw the seriously gorgeous film “Weathering With You” and sort of figured I wouldn’t catch it in theaters again. And then Ragtag Cinema brought the movie back to Columbia this month for a showing presented by Science on Screen, featuring a lecture by Dr. Zack Leasor about Missouri’s fickle hydroclimate. So I got to rewatch the movie, this time with intensified attention towards the wildness of its weather. As the rain beat down on 16-year-old Hodaka I sunk into my hoodie. And when the sun broke out on screen I could almost feel it on my face.

Weathering with You DVD cover

I’m writing this on a Thursday in March, a flat blue afternoon with the kind of sunshine the residents of “Weathering With You”’s Tokyo would have prayed for. The city is under a months-long spell of rain when Hodaka arrives, the showers broken up every so often by Hina the Sunshine Girl. Hina performs her miracles of sunshine at a great cost, which she hides to make everyone happy, including Hodaka — she doesn’t realize Hodaka loves her more than any blue sky; that he would gladly weather storm after storm in her company. Continue reading “Strange Weather (Atonal Wonder)”

Online Resource: Bluebird Languages

Posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 by Beth

map of the country of Georgia

I’m excited to start planning a trip to Tibilisi, Georgia this summer, and I’m wanting to learn a bit of the country’s language before I travel. To study more popular languages, such as Spanish or French, Daniel Boone Regional Library provides materials in various formats to learn, such as books, eBooks and audiobooks. For Georgian, a less common language, I’ve decided to take a look at one of DBRL’s online resources — Bluebird Languages — to get started.

Bluebird Languages offers lessons in over 160 languages (yes, 160!) with a large selection of native language settings so that people can learn in their native tongues. Continue reading “Online Resource: Bluebird Languages”

How Baking Sourdough Changed My Life for the Better

Posted on Monday, March 24, 2025 by Jonya

Sourdough bread is a slightly sour type of bread risen by a fermentation process of yeast, water and flour. It is a very versatile process that produces quite a range of breads and cakes. What I bring to you in this article is a mixture of bread cookbooks, and a lot of them contain recipes and instructions about how to get started baking and enjoying your own sourdough.

A Ball canning jar with the bubbly sourdough starter, sitting on a towel on a kitchen counter
My current “mother.” I had baked a loaf of bread and transferred my starter to a clean jar. The liquid to the right is my kombucha carboy.

If you want to read about a baker who fell in love with a 125-year-old starter, read the introduction to “Sourdough Culture: A History of Bread Making From Ancient to Modern Bakers” by Eric Pallent. This is a well-written history following the cultivation of grains, particularly wheat. The Egyptians may have been the first bakers to use sourdough, but archeological evidence doesn’t indicate if there was an established starter or if mixed ground grain and water was allowed to ferment for a time before being kneaded and baked. As of 2021, no Egyptian or earlier bread recipe has been found.

I have always wanted to bake with a generational sourdough but have been too shy to ask my friends if anyone has one to share. So earlier in the year I started my own by mixing 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of un-chlorinated  water and 1 teaspoon of commercial dry yeast into a pint jar, and then set it out to pick up wild yeast that might be floating around in my kitchen. Yes, I cheated. Traditionally there is no commercial dry yeast. But I keep feeding it, dividing it and making bread and maybe it has gone wild. It’s certainly doing its own thing over there in the corner of my kitchen.

Continue reading “How Baking Sourdough Changed My Life for the Better”

Reader Review: Just For The Summer

Posted on Friday, March 21, 2025 by patron reviewer

Just for the Summer book cover“Just For The Summer” is about a traveling nurse named Emma who feels that she has a curse: every man that she dates ends up finding “the one” once they break up with her. Through Reddit, she meets a man named Justin, who has gone viral for having the same problem. They make a deal to date one another to break the “curses.”

As expected, they find themselves falling deeply for one another as the relationship blossoms. However, there are many obstacles in the way for Emma and Justin. Complex family issues ravage the latter half of the book. You’ll have to read on to find out more! I liked this book because the romance was great (think kittens and post-date surveys!) and because the author framed mental health issues and healing in a thoughtful way.

Three words that describe this book: Mushy, Complex, Heart-Wrenching

You might want to pick this book up if: You like reading about family dynamics and are a sucker for a wholesome love story.

-Ashley

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year. 

Reader Review: Touch the Dark

Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 by patron reviewer

Touch the dark book coverIn “Touch the Dark,” Cassie Palmer is a clairvoyant being hunted by pretty much everyone in the supernatural world. Everyone wants something from her; some want her dead, others want her powers under their control. Cassie has to control her powers to keep free of the clutches of Black and Silver Circle and to escape the vampires holding her captive.

I love this book. Cassie seems like a real person — her character is well rounded and her actions feel like something a real person would do in her situations. The book rarely has a slow point and every chapter has a shocking revelation in it. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.

Three words that describe this book: Engaging, Action, Suspense

You might want to pick this book up if: You want a kick-ass heroine, enthralling vampires, devious mages, and ghosts who have gambling problems.

-Anonymous

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year. 

Early Spring Cleaning

Posted on Monday, March 17, 2025 by The Biblio-Buckaroo

During a recent day of gorgeous spring-like weather, I had a surge of cleaning energy unlike any I experienced during the winter season. I don’t often have such impulses, truthfully, so it was a welcome change. The warmer weather made it possible to open the windows and let in some fresh air. I was inspired to tidy up my back deck, put in a load of laundry, shake out the rugs and do some vacuuming. Once at my library job, my mind was still occupied with the project(s) on my list, so I naturally decided to do my next blog post on the topic of spring cleaning. Surely, I am not the only person in town stricken with this urge. So I headed to the book collection!

Modern Organic Home

Spring cleaning books fall under different categories. There are books that are strictly about cleaning(disinfecting, stain removal, etc.), books about organizing or downsizing, books about giving your home décor a mini-makeover and books with general life hacks (like putting a lazy Susan in your refrigerator!). I have arranged a sampling for you.

As a fan of the environmental aspect and low cost of sustainable living, I was drawn to the book, “The Modern Organic Home: 100+ DIY Cleaning Products, Organization Tips, and Household Hacks,” by Natalie Wise. It has tips like doing your own dry cleaning using homemade products with a king-size pillowcase and a dryer. It also has hacks like how to remove dents from your hardwood floor and how to clean a mattress. If you like to get your home clean and not just mask odors, this is the book for you. The author does, however, frequently turn to lemons, lavender or peppermint essential oils for natural scent, among other oils. Continue reading “Early Spring Cleaning”

Roadtripper’s Resource Roundup

Posted on Friday, March 14, 2025 by Skyler Froese

Last year, a roughly a third of Americans took a road trip for their vacation. Of these, I peril to imagine how few had the foresight to stop by their public libraries on the way out of town. What a loss! Adventurous souls can find scores of resources and treats for their upcoming journeys. Find out how the Daniel Boone Regional Library can improve a car trip.

Cover of Magic for LiarsCover of Sorrowland

Streaming Audio Books

With a library card, readers can access thousands of books through apps like Libby and Hoopla. Personally, I love to use a road trip for an audio book marathon. When else do I have eight hours of free time? In particular, heart pounding mysteries and thrillers cures any fatigue that sets in on a long stretch of highway. I recommend “Sorrowland” by Rivers Solomon or “Magic for Liars” by Sarah Gailey for some audiobook thrills. Continue reading “Roadtripper’s Resource Roundup”

First Thursday Book Discussion – Yellowface: A Novel

Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 by Beth

Book cover: American DirtIn 2020 the novel “American Dirt” was released to great fanfare, after a bidding war had resulted in a seven-figure advance for the author. The accolades rolled in: “American Dirt” remained on the New York Times Bestseller List for 36 weeks, and emerged as one of the best-selling books of the year. It has been published in 37 languages and has sold over three million copies worldwide. 

Then the controversy hit. In USA Today Barbara VanDenburgh commented, “These character, story and style missteps would be problematic no matter the source. But it matters in this case that the source is a European-born woman in the U.S. without ties to the Mexican migrant experience.”

Suddenly the book world was abuzz:  Who exactly was allowed to write about which experiences? And what precisely constituted cultural appropriation in publishinBook cover: Yellowfaceg?

In a riff on this real-life situation, R. F. Kuang addresses these questions and more in “Yellowface: A Novel,” the Columbia Public Library’s First Thursday Book Discussion selection for April.  Continue reading “First Thursday Book Discussion – Yellowface: A Novel”

March 2025 LibraryReads

Posted on Monday, March 10, 2025 by Kat

LibraryReads logoCheck out these new books that library staff around the country love! March brings at least one seasonally punny book, a new novel by last year’s One Read author and a wide variety of other fiction. Read on to pick out a new book to welcome Spring with, and find a way to use all this light in the evenings (thanks Daylight Saving Time, I guess).

Murder by Memory book cover“Murder by Memory” by Olivia Waite

Dorothy Gentleman, ship’s detective on the Fairweather, is trying to solve a mystery in which the victim has been erased completely. There is a very real possibility that she herself is inhabiting the body of the killer, due to an emergency action by the ship’s mind. Waite has come up with something insanely clever and truly original.
~Jill Minor, Washington County Public Library, VA

 

Wild Dark Shore book cover“Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy

A gripping novel of a father and his children residing on a remote island, frantic to protect the last remaining seeds for future generations. Their lives are disrupted when an injured woman washes ashore. Mutual interest in the natural world enhances their passionate connection, despite a tense urgency for the truth. An immersive novel of family, nature and the ties that bind.
~KC Davis, LibraryReads Ambassador, CT

 

Go Luck Yourself book cover“Go Luck Yourself” by Sara Raasch

This delightful follow-up to The Nightmare Before Kissmas follows Kris, the other Christmas Prince, and Loch, the Prince of St. Patrick’s Day. There’s a bit of mystery and political intrigue, as well as passionate banter. Great for readers looking for fun holiday rom-coms with a bit of spice that can be read outside of the winter holidays.
~Katelyn Tjarks, Anne Arundel County Public Library, MD

 

The River Has Roots book cover“The River Has Roots” by Amal El-Mohtar

Sisters Esther and Ysabel are among the lucky few to have found their way home after getting lost in the land of Faerie. When Esther falls in love with a stranger, a darkness threatens to separate the sisters forever. An enchanting story of the bonds of sisterhood and the magic of Faerie for readers who love a good riddle song or murder ballad.
~Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign Public Library, IL

 

More new books coming out in March: