Here I am again, with another installment of “Is it Worth the Hype” to let you know if you should spend the time on that book that everyone is talking about or if BookTok is delulu and you should move on to something else on your to-read list. Every book has its readers, but it can be disappointing when a popular book doesn’t hit you the same way it does for everyone else. You can share your hot takes and ALL your feels with us by filling out our Teen Book Reviews form. Who knows, we may feature your review in an upcoming blog! Continue reading “Is It Worth the Hype? Volume Two”
Start the new year off with some crafts! One of my favorite resources you can access with your library card is CreativeBug*. Really, I can’t recommend CreativeBug enough – they have everything! You can learn to sew, cook and more. If you want to start a new habit I highly recommend seeking out anything by Lisa Congdon. You can find her books at the library too! She has a great month-long series about making your mark. And on January 31 she’ll be doing a FREE online class about mark making! You can sign up here.
Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 by Nigel Church
You knew it was a pretty good blog post because it told you so in the title. It was right there at the top. Still, the title of a blog post would usually be something more along the lines of Top Fifteen Dog Breed and Drink Pairings! (number 1 is, of course, Keeshond and Masala Chai) Or is it More Environmentally Friendly to Zorb to Work? (important scientists are still searching for the answer to this one). How then could a blog post be so self-assured that it was “pretty good” if it didn’t even follow commonly accepted practices of blog posting? For that matter how could a blog post be self-assured? It doesn’t even have a self, it’s just ones and zeroes on a server somewhere.
Well, blog posts are like any form of writing, they have a narrative and therefore a narrator and sometimes a Narrator! A Narrator here means an active and eccentric or otherwise unusual voice that is often humorous in its absurdity. Most books and writing tell you what happens with possibly some nice simile or metaphor thrown in here and there. But more unusual forms of narration will happily insert their own voice, use mixed media, or might even outright lie to you. xopoɥʇɹoun ʎllɐǝɹ ʇǝƃ uɐɔ ʎǝɥʇ sǝɯᴉʇǝɯoS. By now it should be apparent that I love finding stories told in unique ways but here’s the thing, it’s hard to categorize them because they can be any genre. So, outside of lists people make, it can be hard to find them. You’ve peaked ahead, haven’t you? You can see there’s going to be a list of books with unusual narration. Well, let’s get to it then shall we? Continue reading “This Was a Pretty Good Blog Post”
Tomorrow is a precious day for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere: tomorrow we mark the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year that, if you’re tuning in from mid-Missouri, will give us roughly 9 hours and 26 minutes of sunlight. Maybe it’s my Leo Sun 🦁 and Capricorn Rising 🐐 tendencies that have made the Winter Solstice into one of my favorite days of the year, one that I anticipate and celebrate with both the majestic calm of a vulture sunning its wings and the mischievous relish of a (non-murderous, just mischievous) Gremlin fed after midnight.
They would have very diverse tastes. I can’t be the only one who is still obsessed with Baldur’s Gate 3. Since its release in August, there hasn’t been a week that’s gone by that I haven’t at least thought about the Dungeons and Dragons-inspired RPG. The companions are by far my favorite part of the incredibly detailed game. Larian Studios did a fantastic job creating characters who seem truly alive. Each of them has their own complex background, emotions, thoughts, and opinions. Getting to know them throughout the adventure is truly a pleasure. Given who I am, it wasn’t long into my second playthrough that I began considering what types of books they would all enjoy. Before I share my thoughts, a quick disclaimer. I’m going to try and avoid any major spoilers in these recommendations. However, I did consider some of their backstories in my thoughts. I would say there’s nothing past what you would get in ten hours of playtime. For this reason, we’re only going to discuss the first 4 companions you get at the very beginning of the game. If you are incredibly averse to any spoilers whatsoever, you may want to avoid reading my reasoning. If not, let’s begin with…
When the nights are long and cold, there are few things better than cozying up with a good book, and with the holiday season upon us, I have some festive (or not) recommendations to while away the dark winter days.
If you want that adventure vibe, give Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore a try. Orphaned Sylvi has chipped out a niche for herself on Layce, an island cursed by eternal winter. She takes comfort in the solitude of the roads and the favor of Winter, a spirit who has protected her since she was a child. When her best friend, Lenore, runs off with the rebels, Sylvi must make a haul too late in the season for a smuggler she wouldn’t normally work with. To save her friend, Sylvi will have to choose: safety, anonymity, and the favor of Winter or the future of the island that she calls home.
Garrett Lee dancing the Pinegrove Shuffle on TikTok. Photo credit: “The New York Times,” Aug. 2, 2023
Among the more unexpected social media trends of summer 2023, to me, was the “Pinegrove shuffle,” a viral dance described by the New York Times as floppy, hypnotic, sad, and cathartic. We have 19-year-old Garrett Lee to thank for the dance trend, set to the aching, quietly frantic “Need 2,” first released nearly a decade ago as the seventh track on Pinegrove’s 2014 album “Everything So Far.”
The “shuffle” rose to fame just as Pinegrove was dipping out of it. On May 12, @pinegroveband made an Instagram post explaining their upcoming transition: “to anyone who may have missed the memo, pinegrove, while not over, is moving into a different phase which will not involve touring as a band, at least for a few years.” A month later, Lee posted his video. Soon, new and old Pinegrove listeners alike were flopping and shuffling across the world. Continue reading “Pinegrove’s Best Album”
Why did you like or dislike this book? It was very educational and I loved learning about Ojibwe culture and traditions. I loved the community aspect and how everyone took care of each other, especially the women and elders. However, I was expecting a mystery book, and I was a little disappointed in that aspect and felt like there were many unanswered questions. But, if you go into it looking for a story about a girl’s relationship with her heritage, community, and grief, it will exceed your expectations. Overall, an incredible and heartwarming book.Continue reading “More 5 Star Reads ★★★★★”
Posted on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 by Nigel Church
Because at this point there is the new Netflix anime series, the live-action movie, the video game, and the original graphic novel/manga. All of which vary a bit in their details. Whatever your Scott flavor I’ve got you covered for Pilgrim-like content. Continue reading “If You Enjoyed Scott Pilgrim(s)”
When everyone is reading, talking and BookToking about the same book you might find yourself asking. Is it worth the hype? Every book has its readers, but it can be lonely when a popular book doesn’t hit you the same way it does for everyone else. Don’t worry we’re here for you! You can share your hot takes and ALL your feels with us by filling out our Teen Book Reviews form. Who knows we may feature your review in an upcoming blog.
What It’s About: Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, but the commanding general (her mother) has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become dragon riders. But when your body is weak, if the training doesn’t kill you, the dragons will. And the other candidates would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise.
Worth the Hype: Ugh, no. The promise of a military academy is poorly executed. Yarros just methodically checked off a list of tropes in a very predictable manner: Love Triangle, Enemies to Lovers (for five minutes and then it’s Instalove), Spicy, Dark-haired and Tattooed Bad Boy, Overly Powered Heroine, Probably Corrupt Organization, Big Secret, etc. It’s tedious and rather than being a fantasy novel with a romantic subplot, this is a young adult romance with jarring modern language that happens to have dragons.
Be Aware: This has teen characters, but is definitely an adult book with adult themes. The second book, Iron Flame, came out November 7th.
