Genre Feature: Eclipse Reads

The eclipse may have passed, but the books on it are still here! Want to learn more about that amazing afternoon? Here are some non-fiction books we have specifically for this topic:

America’s First Eclipse Chasers:
Stories of Science, Planet Vulcan, Quicksand, and the Railroad Boom
by Thomas Hockey

Our tale follows the chaotic journeys of scientists and amateur astronomers as they trekked across the western United States to view the rare phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. The fascinating story centers on the expeditions of the 1869 total eclipse, which took place during the turbulent age of the chimerical Planet Vulcan and Civil War Reconstruction.  

The protagonists—a motley crew featuring astronomical giants like Simon Newcomb and pioneering female astronomers like Maria Mitchell—were met with unanticipated dangers, mission-threatening accidents, and eccentric characters only the West could produce. Theirs is a story of astronomical proportions. Along theway, we will make several stops across the booming US railroad network, traveling from viewing sites as familiar as Des Moines, Iowa, to ones as distant and strange as newly acquired Alaska.

From equipment failures and botched preparations to quicksand and apocalyptic ‘comets’, welcome to the wild, western world of solar eclipses.

Totality: The Great North American Eclipse of 2024
by Mark Littmann & Fred Espenak

Totality: The Great North American Eclipse of 2024 is the most comprehensive source of information, photographs, and illustrations to help readers understand and safely enjoy all aspects of solar eclipses. It includes information on how best to photograph and video record an eclipse, as well as abundant maps, diagrams, and charts, as well as covering the science, history, mythology, and folklore of eclipses.

This new edition focuses especially on the eclipse of April 8, 2024 that passes across Mexico, the United States, and Canada, including detailed maps, precise locations, and weather prospects.

American Eclipse: a nation’s epic race to catch the shadow of the moon
and win the glory of the world
by David Baron

AMERICAN ECLIPSE tells the story of these pioneering scientists—planet hunter James Craig Watson, astronomer Maria Mitchell, and inventor Thomas Edison—who gathered in the West with an extraordinary cast of supporting characters on a day when the sun hid and far more was revealed. An untold tale of ambition, failure, and eventual triumph, the book brings to life the intellectual and technological flowering of late-nineteenth-century America, a period that laid the foundation for the country’s eventual rise to scientific greatness.

Eclipse: our sky’s most dazzling phenomenon
by Kelsey Oseid

In Eclipse, celebrated artist and author Kelsey Oseid explores the science and mystique of lunar and solar eclipses, from the myths of our ancestors to today. Did you know that in Chinese legends, solar eclipses were caused by dragons eating the sun? Or that the Norse people believed that a sky wolf chased away the moon? Oseid presents these rich historical stories alongside informative, accessible science to enrich your understanding: a solar eclipse only occurs during a new moon; a selenelion is when you can see the lunar eclipse in front of you and the sunset behind you; and the Mars Rovers have even taken photographs of eclipses from Mars.

Genre Feature: Grown Up Graphic Novels

You may have noticed that our graphic novel collection is aimed at young folk. This is mostly because of lack of space in the adult collection. However, that doesn’t mean that we have no graphic novels for grown ups to read. Check out some of these awesome illustrated stories from across the adult sections of the library.

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder and Nora Krug

Timothy Snyder’s New York Times bestseller On Tyranny uses the darkest moments in twentieth-century history, from Nazism to Communism, to teach twenty lessons on resisting modern-day authoritarianism. Among the twenty include a warning to be aware of how symbols used today could affect tomorrow; an urgent reminder to research everything for yourself and to the fullest extent; a point to use personalized and individualized speech rather than cliched phrases for the sake of mass appeal; and more.

In this graphic edition, Nora Krug draws from her highly inventive art style in Belonging–at once a graphic memoir, collage-style scrapbook, historical narrative, and trove of memories–to breathe new life, color, and power into Snyder’s riveting historical references, turning a quick-read pocket guide of lessons into a visually striking rumination. In a time of great uncertainty and instability, this edition of On Tyranny emphasizes the importance of being active, conscious, and deliberate participants in resistance.

Genre Feature: Lesser-Known American History

American history is more than just wars and white dudes. Check out some of these books on major events in US History that just don’t get taught that much in school:

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabelle Wilkerson
Covering : The Great Migration

From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

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Genre Feature: Dragons

Dragons! How can you go wrong with dragons?

Dragon Master Series by Tracey West

8-year-old Drake is snatched up by King Roland’s soldier and taken to the castle. He is to be trained as a Dragon Master. At the castle, he is joined by three other young Dragon Masters-in-training: Ana, Rori, and Bo. The Dragon Masters must learn how to connect with and train their dragons–and they must also uncover their dragons’ special powers. Does Drake have what it takes to be a Dragon Master? What is his dragon’s special power?

We have the first seven books in this series.

Genre Feature: Parenting

Did you know that we have books about parenting? There’s a whole section up above the board books with classic and more modern books on how to handle the little one from birth onward. There are even some books on the birthing process!

Recently, our newest librarian has been picking out new additions to the collection from donations. Here are some of her finds:

The Family Firm
by Emily Oster

In The Family Firm, Brown professor of economics and mom of two Emily Oster offers a classic business school framework for data-driven parents to think more deliberately about the key issues of the elementary years: school, health, extracurricular activities, and more.

Unlike the hourly challenges of infant parenting, the big questions in this age come up less frequently. But we live with the consequences of our decisions for much longer. What’s the right kind of school and at what age should a particular kid start? How do you encourage a healthy diet? Should kids play a sport and how seriously? How do you think smartly about encouraging children’s independence? Along with these bigger questions, Oster investigates how to navigate the complexity of day-to-day family logistics.

hardcopy – ebook

Genre Feature: Short Stories

Want to read something, but to overwhelmed with the end of holidays to commit to a full novel? Consider some of these short story collections instead.

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.

In twelve striking, luminescent stories, author Morgan Talty—with searing humor, abiding compassion, and deep insight—breathes life into tales of family and community bonds as they struggle with a painful past and an uncertain future. A boy unearths a jar that holds an old curse, which sets into motion his family’s unraveling; a man, while trying to swindle some pot from a dealer, discovers a friend passed out in the woods, his hair frozen into the snow; a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s projects the past onto her grandson, and thinks he is her dead brother come back to life; and two friends, inspired by Antiques Roadshow, attempt to rob the tribal museum for valuable root clubs. 

In a collection that examines the consequences and merits of inheritance, Night of the Living Rez is an unforgettable portrayal of a Native community and marks the arrival of a standout talent in contemporary fiction.

Available in hardcopy

Genre Feature: Locked Door Mysteries

Looking to escape the holiday chaos with a cozy whodunnit? Try some of these locked-door mysteries where you have everyone confined in one dramatically isolated locale.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

available in hardcopy – ebook – audiobook

Learn to Make Stuff

The winter vacations are here, so what better time to try a new skill with your family? Here are some of our favorite offbeat hobby books for beginners.

(All summaries courtesy Goodreads)

Making Handmade Books
by Alisa Golden

In the digital world, books may seem like an endangered species, but bookmaking is more popular than ever.

Thanks to the 100 ideas in this volume, the craft is now available to everyone. In as little as an afternoon, beginners will be on their way to folding, gluing, and sewing handmade books in a variety of shapes and styles, from rolled scrolls to Jacobs ladders, folded flexagons to case bindings. Complete with photographs of the authors own master books and statements by more than 40 established book artists, this collection is sure to inspire. Culled from the authors best-selling books Creating Handmade Books, Unique Handmade Books, and Expressive Handmade Books, these projects will fuel bookbinding adventures for years to come.

Genre Feature: I See Dead People and They’re Not So Bad?

Not all ghosts are out to get you. Sometimes they just need help solving a mystery. Or really need you to focus on your lessons?

Ghosts Don’t Eat Potato Chips by Debbie Dadey

Spooky things are happening in Aunt Matilda’s house. Potato chips on the floor are spelling out secret messages and forming trails. And if Aunt Matilda is snoring in her bed, then who is whistling a tune? There must be a ghost in Aunt Matilda’s house.

Available at RML – ebook

Genre Features: Slashers

Are you one of those folks who loves the old slashers? Find it cathartic to watch those final girls destroy the villains? Here are some books for you:

Final Girls by Riley Sager

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls.
 
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. When new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

hardcopy – ebook – audiobook