Your Neighborhood Librarian Recommends

This is a nice cookbook for a new cook, young or old. There are many great tips such as cracking the freshly hardboiled eggs and letting them sit in cold water to make them easier to peel ( I also add baking soda to the water while boiling). The recipes looked pretty solid and there are a lot of them. They include verything from breakfast smoothies to baked, grilled, slow cooked meals. I could see a young person who is honing their skills in the kitchen really liking this. The style is mature enough that any age beginner would like it.

    This is my personal experience and opinion. Please pardon my conversational tone and know that this is not all I have to say on the subject. It is about one percent of what could be said in defense of libraries and in defense of equitable access to information.         With that said... I don't bite. Pardon the fishing metaphor but when someone says something that is wrong or ignorant on the internet, in the comments, in passing, 99% of the time I don't bite. I mentally remind myself just to let it go. But in person, especially with people I am close to, I sometimes bite. I have had to explain to people more often lately why libraries are important. In the most recent instance a relative casually said libraries will be  "obsolete" and are "replaced by the internet".       So I said something like this: I teach 21 classes, 375 students every 6 day cycle. Our library checks out 18,000 PRINT BOOKS A YEAR. That is one school. Yes we have computers and kids h

The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia Jason A. Gagnon Bringing it back to Earth January 16, 2019 Format: Paperback The Philokalia is a tricky set of books. It is a collection of writings from spiritual Fathers of the Eastern Christian tradition who lived and wrote between the fourth and fifth centuries. It often comes with a warning - "Don't read these without the guidance of a spiritual father!" They were written largely by monks for monks- but still, for a set of books called "Love of the Beautiful" that is strange advice. If these writings are to help the devout on the path to salvation, why do they so often come with a warning? To be fair, flipping through a volume of the Philokalia can sometimes read like the Eastern Christian equivalent of Zen Koans. What is the sound of one hand clapping? Beats me. But what about when St Isaiah the Solitary writes "He who receives no help when. at war should feel no confidence when at peace"? Be

One of Julian's favorite people is our friend Bob. When Jules asked me what I was watching on TV and I told him " Bob Ross" he was distraught, " NOT BOB!" he said ( because it wasn't his friend Bob). Anyway, I have a terrible cold and this book is easy for me to read (and super funny) .

This little book is a gem! It is inspiring and sweet and authentic.  From the mention of the mystery of Spyridon's shoes I could kind of guess where the story was going but it was done with great storytelling. This would be a great read for during Lent, when we all should be tending to our prayer life. I would recommend it for 2nd to 5th grade. A younger person could have it read to them and a middle schooler would breeze through it but still take away the inspiring message. Christine Rogers, I will be watching and waiting for your next book!

There’s a poem by Walt Whitman, When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer, that tells a little story about sitting in a hall listening to a lecture about the facts and figures and proofs about the stars- but he was disquieted.  He left, went out and looked up in wonder at the stars.  This is a poem that has always stuck with me- that we don’t want to get bogged down in the details of a thing, and lose the thing itself.  But is he right?  When I look at a flower, my appreciation is pretty superficial.  When a botanist looks at a flower, with their expert knowledge, they can appreciate the flower on a much deeper level.  They understand the various parts of the plant and how they all work together, and what role the plant has in the wider environment.  They know the plant as it lives through the seasons.  If they can take that knowledge and still keep the sense of wonder and joy of experiencing a flower, then I envy the extra depth of their experience. What does this have to do with Or