Your Neighborhood Librarian Recommends

  I feel kind of silly to say that the reason I read this book was that John Irving said it was good. I picked it up out of a box of  Advance Readers and remembered when it had first come out in the early 2010s. It won the E.B. White Read Aloud award in 2011 and it definitely would make a great read aloud for a seasoned teacher who can tackle some of the big issues mentioned in the book ( prejudice, death of a sibling, students being differently abled, bullying and more).  The author also name drops a lot of fabulous books for kids so the Book Whisperer in me knows students would pick up on that and wonder about and maybe even read things like A Wrinkle in Time and Bridge to Terrebithia. I am glad I read it. And glad I found out the author knew John Irving because he's coached John Irving's s son in wrestling. https://www.google.com/amp/s/thebooknut.com/2011/02/13/10-questions-for-rob-buyea/amp/

  No one is surprised that a librarian reads a lot of books, but it might surprise you that I have read quite a few "self-help" books. Most educators and parents today are familiar with the concept of "growth mindset" (rather than a "fixed mindset") that we can embrace our mistakes and learn from them and in doing so open ourselves up to greater learning. So I have embraced the hardships in teaching, marriage, motherhood, and just generally being a human. I have read books about anxiety (my favorite is "The Anxiety Toolkit"), books about marriage (a big fan of "The Five Love Languages"), and on and on. Oftentimes I find secular books extremely lacking. The faith component for me, in processing life's challenges, is a big one.  I have appreciated the many books offered by Ancient Faith Publishing on topics such as parenting, marriage, and even ecology. The church is a hospital for sinners. How we deal with our own mistakes, shortcomi...

Death, the character, would be played by David Tennant. Daisy would be played by Reese Witherspoon.  Why am I not working in a casting agency? Read this if you like chick lit but a little darker and very funny.

First of all, follow Emma Block on Instagram, she is amazing. This was such a positive book. There is no right or wrong when you are learning to paint. Here are two of my exercises.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. I knew it was autobiographical and memoire together about a Russian immigrant experience but I didn't know much more. Immigrant experience and memoire is another one of the genres I will always read. My grandmother was Ukrainian and Orthodox Christian then Catholic, so I was curious about this book with the Russian dolls on the cover. Bess' grandmother is an Russian Jewish woman, lol-- my grandmother worked in a Jewish deli. If you have a strong ethnic maternal figure in your life you will belly laugh with this book. It is sweet, it is bittersweet, and it is sad. I loved it.

This was superbly funny and I couldn't put it down. It is primo chick lit-- when done well is one of my favorite things. Amnesia, billionaires, a few other chick lit boxes but I can't tell you which because #spoilers. Plan on adding this to your beach bag.

This was the best book I have read in the past six months! I am a total nerd for anything Jane Austen and Jane Austen themed fiction is one of my favorite sub-genres. Each month I preview about a hundred advance reader copies. I usually pick one or two to read and review. The only topic I ALWAYS will review are Jane Austen inspired. Usually they are at least diverting (word chosen intentionally). This was all around great. I liked the characters. I was amused by their banter about all things Jane. I found the story believable and interesting and just plain fun.

A review of Modern Watercolor Botanicals by Sarah Simon: It has been about 6 months since I started to paint with watercolor. I have always loved art and have made pysanky eggs for over 15 years, plus knitting and other crafts but painting in 2d seemed daunting to me. Plus people say watercolor is a tough medium. But watercolors are so beautiful! I had to try, even if I totally stunk at it. We encourage our kids to have a growth mindset and keep going. I occasionally paint things I think are really good. I paint for the joy of creating, because I love to see individual perspectives, and because when you do something new you never know how it will turn out-- yes that is vulnerability but also possibility. This author totally gets that. She is a talented artist and gives step by step advice about the basics and beyond of watercolor. I perfer more classic botanical compositions ( listen to me, ha)-- but her modern style will appeal to many. Her tutorials are spot on. Happy painting! ...

Guest post by Jason Gagnon The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff There is a lot to this book, and it's difficult to unpack, but it is important, so let me give it a whirl: First- the twin streams of internet connected data collecting devices and the rise of Artificial Intelligence has dark implications for the economy, for democracy, and for autonomy and privacy. Second- the idea that "If something is free, you are the product" is close to true, but is not how the surveillance capitalist firms actually work.  What you are, are the churn in the system.  These companies - primarily Facebook, Google, and Microsoft - digest your "behavioral surplus" to predict our future behaviors and needs, and then bundle and sell these predictions.  Ever get an advert for something you had just been thinking about, but never searched for or talked about?  That's how good these predictions are getting it.  Facebook and Google promise that they ...

One of our Sunday school teachers read this with a group this week. We talked about how many people have no faith these days, and about how accessible this book makes God. I hope more people read it and are inspired.

I love the idea of this book and I look forward to reading it with my kids and with our Sunday school class. I wanted to make sure to mention it so people can get a copy of it before International Drawing God Day, November 7th. What a remarkable idea! I can't wait to see what my kids come up with when they participate. Our main character is endearing, she reminds me a little of Ladybug Girl! After being inspired by a museum visit she decides to try to draw God. This book is realistic, charming, and inspirational. I hope everyone gets a chance to read it. I will report back with our drawings and observations.

I knew I would be interested in this book for many reasons. When my family was chrismated we attended an Antiochian church. I am a history nerd so it is always cool to read about the immigration and settling of the American west. My paternal great grandparents immigrated to America during the early 1900s. And this amazing man baptized 1,000 people over his life. World War I, the Spanish Flu, golly I would not go back in time for any reason, but it is cool to read about the era in which Orthodoxy came to America. History buffs, Orthodoxy nerds, I think you would like this book.

This is a great book. I wish I had it when I was pregnant with my babies. I like that it is meant to be read week by week. I like that the author is a childbirth educator as well as a mother and Orthodox Christian. I would recommend it to any expecting Orthodox Christian mom. I have read a lot of pregnancy/babycare/breastfeeding books. I have read a lot of Orthodox Christian prayer/lives of the saints/ history books. This book is a great blend of both genres. It is easy to get into but has a serious tone. I am not a fan of other books with more conversational tones!  I received an advance readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I listened to this as an audio book and it was read by the author. I really enjoyed it! If you are a Gilmore Girls fan, this book is a must. Before reading it I had seen that Lauren Graham wrote a fiction book and I was a little curious but not enough to read it. But after I finished this one I read " Someday Someday Maybe" also read by the author and liked that too. Both audiobooks are light, funny, and great for a car ride.

I learned a lot from the 751.2 section of our libraries and about a dozen inter library loans. Through my experiments I have found The Flower Painter's Essential Handbook by Jill Bays to be the most helpful, straight forward, and step-by-step. I look forward to painting more. I also figured out why watercolor is so appealing to me. It is a little like pysanky, which I have been making for over 15 years in that you work from light to dark and you have to have a picture in mind before you start. I also like that there are so many happy accidents when you work wet on wet, go with bold strokes, and work quickly-- all things I have found I need to do to create the best look. Also, no eraser, make it work or try again!

This week I started to paint with watercolor. My kiddos have Crayola paints and Melissa and Doug Paint Pads. I have tubes of "Crafts 4 All" inexpensive paint from Amazon. If we are successful at this endeavor we will upgrade. First, I went to the 751.2 nonfiction section of our local public library. I found a lot of books to peruse. I recommend the DK book for young people and beginners. I also bought 2 books after a lot of research. One is for more simple paintings and one is for more realistic botanical paiting. I am only interested in flowers at this point but I am intrigued by landscapes. Here are pictures of my experiments and book recommendations. My pansy painting got 106 likes on Facebook! I don't think I have ever recieved that many for any other thing, maybe a new baby. Happy Painting!

I have some go-to types of books for reading for fun: Billy Bryson style humorous nonfiction, cooking/travel fiction or nonfiction (anything about Julia Child), Jane Austen inspired fiction, lighter murder mysteries with some historical component, and smart romantic comedies. Other types have floated in and out of rotation. Man, I  really lucked out with this last romantic comedy. It makes me wonder what is next in my to read pile because if it is another rom com I might have to skip it for a while and branch out. Evvie Drake Starts Over was fun and believable. I liked looking in on the characters lives and I rooted for them to succeed. I highly recommend it. Serve with a Campari and soda.

This is your summer beach read. You're welcome. Do you love Shakespeare? Do you have a problem copy editing random things people might not appreciate you editing? Our protagonist does. She also starts this story as a doubter of astrology. I dig and dig for books like this. I start about 30 ARCs a month and abandon them with sadness.  I am  tickled that the author is also a Gemini Librarian.

First of all, don't ever tell me a picture book is "cute". A friend, (who had been on the Caldecott and Newbery Committees) who was the nicest librarian who ever lived, would get so angry when anyone dismissed a picture book as "cute"-- really people there are so many other words. There is so much depth and complexity in children's literature, at least their should be. Even Captain Underpants has a few different layers. Pictures books are a beautiful medium for authors and illustrators to share stories. They build visual literacy, have depth, and connect children to the world around them. Most teacher and parents use picture books as teaching tools with young people. For a book to be successful to me, it has to have a gel between the story and illustrations. It should have a flow between pages and as a whole work. Some of the best have a great theme and they should never patronize young people. That's Children's Literature 101 lesson A. Moving on...

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.