Displaying all posts tagged with:

'biographies'

Apr 03

Book Notes 11/14/2022

Posted to Book Notes on April 3, 2023 at 10:32 AM by Robyn Benda

Blog Book Notes

11/14/2022


Come join us Thursday, November 17 @ 5:30 pm for the Anime Club!  All ages are welcome to join us as we enjoy the genre of animeMore information...


How Do We Know Ourselves? by David G. Myers

Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind // A delightful tour of the wonders of our humanity from David G. Myers, the award-winning professor and author of psychology's bestselling textbook.

150 MYERS


Reconnecting after Isolation by Susan J. Noonan

Coping with Anxiety, Depression, Grief, PTSD, and More // An accessible, concise, and comprehensive guide to understanding and dealing with the impact and consequences of social isolation.

302.545 NOONAN


Seen and Unseen by Elizabeth Partridge & Lauren Tamaki

What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration // This nonfiction picture book for middle grade readers examines the Japanese-American incarceration-and the complexity of documenting it-through the work of these three photographers.

940.53177 PARTRIDGE


Create Your Dream Home on a Budget by Daniel & Noell Jett

Practical Advice, Inspiration, and Projects // Seasoned home-renovation experts and TikTok stars Daniel and Noell Jett (@JettSetFarmhouse) know a thing or two about building gorgeous homes with cost-effective tips and tricks. You'll learn how to add functionality, beauty, and charm to each room of your home--including ideas for outdoor spaces--whether you're renovating or building from the ground up!

643.5 JETT


If you need help accessing any of these titles or using front door pickup, email or call us and we will be happy to assist you!

Jan 12

A Reader’s Guide to Book Pairings: Fiction and Nonfiction by Linnea Benton

Posted to Campbell Unclassified on January 12, 2023 at 2:10 PM by Genesis Gaule

Hello again, and welcome to this edition of Campbell Unclassified! 

It’s a brand new year, full of new horizons to explore, new challenges to overcome, new books to read! Have you made a reading goal for yourself this year? Maybe you want to try revisiting all your old favorites. Or head off on wild adventures with some epic fantasy. You could try some new skills with some how to books and our Library of Things. Read every James Patterson novel? Check out our new travel guides and plan your dream vacation? Try one of those “100 books to read before you die” challenges? 

Whatever your fancy, one of the first decisions many people make is whether or not they are going to read fiction or nonfictionMe? I say, “why not both?!”

Both is Good meme (from the movie The Road to El Dorado)

With that in mind, I would like to share some great book pairings with you; books that go together like Doc and Marty, peanut butter and jelly, Kirk and Spock, like wine and cheese!


Fans of Bridgerton Unite!

Whether you first met Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton family on Netflix or in the novels, you may be interested in The Time Traveler’s Guide to Regency Britain: a handbook for visitors to 1789-1830 (for other novels set in Regency Britain, try authors Mary Balogh or Georgette Heyer).


American Tragedy

I highly recommend The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Then check out The White House Boys by Roger Dean Kiser--on which it was based--and We Carry Their Bones: the search for justice at the Dozier School for Boys, a new book detailing the recent forensic work done on the ground of the old reformatory school.


Journey to the Red Planet

There is a lot of great science fiction out there about space travel. For adventures on our planetary neighbor, try The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury or The Martian by Andy Weir. Then pick up Packing for Mars (comes in a children’s edition, too!) or Dinner on Mars if you’d like to know about the science behind making a visit to Mars possible.


Digging Up Dinosaurs!

Who DOESN’T love dinosaurs?! We have so many books about dinosaurs, you’re sure to find something you like, but have you read about Mary Anning? Check out Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures for a tale of female friendship and fossils, and The Fossil Hunter: dinosaurs, evolution and the woman whose discoveries changed the world by Shelley Emling. Share her story with the kids with these children’s books: Mary Anning’s Curiosity, Dragon Bones, or Fossil Hunter!


Crime on the American Frontier

The infamous Bloody Benders are thought to be responsible for the gruesome murders of over a dozen men and one infant in Kansas between 1872 and 1873. The excellently researched Hell’s Half-Acre by Susan Jonusas is thoroughly engrossing. I can’t wait to check out the novel All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce!


You can check out more fiction/nonfiction pairings online!

Happy reading!

Mar 17

Get to Know Each Other by Charlotte Helgeson

Posted to Campbell Unclassified on March 17, 2022 at 3:16 PM by Genesis Gaule

Curiosity is probably my strongest characteristic. It shows up most strongly when I meet new people. Sometimes, I meet them in person at the library or when I’m traveling. Even more often, I meet new people in books.

There is never the awkward stumbling through an initial conversation. No wondering if I’m saying something offensive or confusing while reading. The author introduces me to someone new and away I go into finding out all about them.

warriorsMy curiosity leads me to ask questions, even when reading. “Why would he do that?,” will send me back through the pages to catch what I must have missed. Fictional characters’ actions are often well explained in a book. Then there are the historical books which sometimes give one view of a moment in our past. I especially enjoy histories of groups of people like Warriors in Uniform: the Legacy of American Indian Heroism by Herman Viola. It had personal stories and the history that put their stories into context. I enjoyed a lot of the pictures also.

Memoirs are a real person’s retelling of an event or life experience through an emotional lens. Will I learn about the person? Absolutely. Some personal stories are told through important messages they want to share as in Every Body Yoga by Jessamyn Stanley.

How many times have you asked a question like “Is Sam your oldest brother or cousin?” That’s done when in the presence of another person. No matter how many times we visit with that individual, we can’t keep those details straight. A good amount of credit needs to go to people who can remember all the details about a person they meet like Sherlock Holmes does or Detective Vale in The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. Yes, that one’s fiction but I’m connected to all the characters. I also ask why about actions or viewpoints and sometimes get answers from living and breathing people though this can be much easier in a book. When searching for an answer in a book, there is no consequence for rereading a page to find the answer like there might be by asking, “What’s your name again?”.

noorAnother way to get to know people who I can’t find in our community is to read their folklore or stories based on them. The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri includes the epics of India as the background. Stories set in a real location in a different time, brings the people of those parts of the world to life. Noor by Nnedi Okorafor is another science fiction novel that uses African culture as a backdrop. In it, I met Fulani herdsman which I knew nothing about before reading this fictional story.

Our Library also has some great children’s biographical picture books. The stories are true but placed in a story format. We even have graphical biographies which are wonderful fun to read.

black leapardWith so many options, you could make new acquaintances every day at the library. It’s OK if you don’t remember the title or the author or the name of the character. Ask one of us and we’ll help you locate it. We love to be asked, “What is the name of the book that has the colorful cover with eyes looking out at me?” We’ll start asking you questions and very likely find your book. “Is it about a tracker?”

“Yes,” you say and we answer with the title or walk you over to find the book. By the way, that is Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James which gives us a look into African history and mythology through a fictional tale.

Curiosity is great. Keep asking questions and discovering who else is out there.