Recipe and Review: Birthday Shortbread for Bilbo & Frodo Baggins from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien Fantasy: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien September 22 is the shared birthday of Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggings, two of the most beloved book characters of all […]
Book Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes, Jamie Ford
Book Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes, Jamie Ford Book Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes, Jamie Ford I went into this novel with no previous information, only knowing that the author Jamie Ford would be visiting my hometown next month (Schlow Library, State College, PA, September 21, 2019). I came away with the […]
Book Review: Songs of Willow Frost, Jamie Ford
Book Review: Songs of Willow Frost, Jamie Ford Historical Fiction: Songs of Willow Frost, Jamie Ford Jamie Ford has become one of my favorite writers, and his novel Songs of Willow Frost has only cemented his place in my heart. It is the story of William Eng, a Chinese-American boy being raised in an orphanage […]
Reader Roadtrip: 2019 National Book Festival
Book Review: The Lost Words, Robert MacFarlane & Jackie Morris
Book Review: The Lost Words, Robert MacFarlane (author) and Jackie Morris (illustrator) Poetry: The Lost Words, Robert MacFarlane & Jackie Morris A hank of rope in the late hot sun; a curl of bark; a six, an eight: For adder is as adder basks. When a recent edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary was released, […]
Book Review: Night and Silence, Seanan McGuire
Book Review: Night and Silence, October Daye Book 12, Seanan McGuire Book Review: Night and Silence, October Daye Series Book 12, Seanan McGuire October Daye is a knight of the realm, a fae/human changeling, a hero, a private investigator, betrothed to a king of cats, niece to the sea witch, and daughter of one of the […]
Book Review: The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders
Book Review: The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders Science Fiction: The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders Sophie has worked hard and overcome a lot to get into the university. Her roommate, Bianca, is a child of privilege and aristocracy. Sophie cannot help but be swept […]
Book Review: The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, Joshua Hammer
Book Review: The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, Joshua Hammer Nonfiction: The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, Joshua Hammer Admit it: the title caught your attention. It caught mine, too. Fortunately, the contents of the book live up to the boldness of the title. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the story of Abdel Kader Haidara and […]
Author Spotlight: Joy Harjo
Author Spotlight: Joy Harjo, 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States Poetry: The Woman Who Fell from the Sky, Joy Harjo Poetry: Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, Joy Harjo This autumn, Joy Harjo will begin her term as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. She is the first Native American to […]