Today’s post, beloved patrons, comes to you from Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State University, and birthplace of Sara Parestsky, author of the V.I. Warshawski mysteries, and U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser (and also where a historical conference is being held, which is why I am here, but anyways….). Ames is a major college town situated … Continue reading Five Book Friday!
As we discussed last time, H.P. Lovecraft was a pretty reprehensible human being, but his writing forms the roots of modern weird fiction, a genre that is near and dear to many hearts, including my own. Thankfully, we read in an enlightened age, and there are a number of authors at work today whose work … Continue reading Moving Past Lovecraft
Occasionally when someone comes into the South Branch looking for something different to read, I have to catch myself from evangelizing some of my favorite books, remembering that not everyone has the same taste in books as I do and that offering advice to readers means focusing on their preferences instead of my own. All … Continue reading Saturdays @ the South: On Fantasy, or Don’t let magic scare you away from a good story
As we mentioned on Monday, the books here at the Library are quietly assembling for All-Hallows Read, a celebration of all things literary, eerie, chilling, and delightful. Our staff is getting involved, too, selecting some of their favorite spooky reads for your All Hallows Read list. From the classics to new releases and back again, … Continue reading An All-Hallows Read If/Then Post
Book Hangover: (Buk Hang-ov-ur) a) the inability to start a new book because you are still living in the last book’s world. b) When you’ve finished a book and you suddenly return to the real world, but the real world feels incomplete or surreal because you’re still living in the world of the book. (sources: … Continue reading Saturdays @ the South: Book Hangovers
Today is the 114th birthday of one of the most remarkable, surprising, and under-appreciated writers you haven’t (yet) read. Though named in a public poll as one of the “best British writers since 1945”, Mervyn Peake hasn’t got the same credit in the US–and perhaps that’s because it’s so difficult to categorize both the man and … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Mervyn Peake!