OSCAR GRADY PUBLIC LIBRARY
THE LIBRARIANS’
BEDSIDE TABLE What your friendly librarians have been listening, reading, watching & MUCH MORE!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Oscar Grady Public Library Mission Statement:
The mission of the Oscar Grady Public Library is to provide high interest, high demand materials and make them readily available from the Library’s collection or through interlibrary loan. The Library supports lifelong learning, information and recreational needs for people of all ages and abilities. Special emphasis is placed on stimulating children’s interests and appreciation for reading and learning. The integration of new technology with traditional library resources is used to expand service beyond the Library’s physical walls.
On this new issue of our “Librarians’ Bedside Table”, we compiled a list of really good titles recommended by your library friends. Each title can be accessed in electronic format for your convenience. Click or tap in the hyperlinks attached to each title that will take you right to them in the Monarch Catalog. We hope you enjoy this selection of books from your
librarians at the Oscar Grady Public Library!
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Jen Gerber, our Library Director, would like to recommend the following titles:
The Secret History by Donna Tartt Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.
Donna Tartt won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her most recent Novel. The Goldfinch Her novelsl The Secret History and The Little Friend were also international bestsellers. She was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and is a graduate of Bennington College. Description from publisher.
Debra Jo, Library Assistant and ILL Specialist would like to recommend the following titles:
The Art of Fermentation'
is the most comprehensive guide to do-it-yourself home fermentation ever published. Sandor Katz presents the concepts and processes behind fermentation in ways that are simple enough to guide a reader through their first experience making sauerkraut or yogurt, and in-depth enough to provide greater understanding and insight for experienced practitioners. With full-color illustrations and extended resources, this book provides essential wisdom for cooks, homesteaders, farmers, gleaners, foragers, and food lovers of any kind who want to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for arguably the oldest form of food preservation, and part of the roots of culture itself. Readers will find detailed information on fermenting vegetables; sugars into alcohol (meads, wines, and ciders); sour tonic beverages; milk; grains and starchy tubers; beers (and other grain-based alcoholic beverages); beans; seeds; nuts; fish; meat; and eggs, as well as growing mold cultures, using fermentation in agriculture, art, and energy production, and considerations for commercial enterprises. -- Provided by publisher.
Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan In Cooked, Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements--fire, water, air, and earth--to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. In the course of his journey, he discovers that the cook occupies a special place in the world, standing squarely between nature and culture. Both realms are transformed by cooking, and so, in the process, is the cook"--Provided by publisher.
Hope, our Collection Developer would like to recommend these titles:
A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life.” —People Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time? Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations. Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review). Description from Publisher
Some of the titles listed
in these pages are available in electronic format through the Libby app. Check it out!
Miss Julie would like to recommend this title:
Too Much Stuff by Emily Gravett Magpies Meg and Ash want to build the perfect nest for their eggs. They use the usual mud, sticks, and grass, but are soon convinced that it’s not enough! Meg and Ash collect all kinds of things—cuckoo clocks, mops, socks, and more—and put them in an ever-growing pile of what they might need to make a home for their chicks. But as the tower of things grows more and more wobbly, the birds might just find out they have too much stuff! Emily Gravett is the two-time winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal with Wolves and Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears. Her internationally award-winning picture books include Meerkat Mail, Tidy and Old Hat. She has illustrated bestselling fiction, including Matt Haig's Evie and the Animals and and a recent full-colour edition of Quidditch Through the Ages. Description from publisher.
Lynn, our Cataloging and Circulation Services Specialist, would like to recommend this title:
Noel by Josh Groban (Music CD) International singing sensation Josh Groban performs a mix of holiday favorites on his first Christmas CD from 2007. This new Deluxe Edition features six additional songs (including four brand new, never before released Josh recordings.) Description from publisher.
Hope would like to recommend this title:
Martin, our Collection Developing and Adult Services Coordinator would like to recommend these titles:
“Preparations to Be Together for An Unknow Period of Time. DVD, 2020 (Hungary). Directed by Lili Horvat. “I have not seen a movie this elegant, beautifully poetic and as the publisher’s description states, haunting, in a long... long time, coming to mind some of my favorite movies from Polish director Kristoff Kieslowski back in the 1990s as I watched it. While the long title may scare people away, it’s worth to recommend it to anyone who still like their love stories not being so sugar coated “a la Hallmark”, with a good, no, a really generous dose of artistry in its cinematography, writing and acting.”
A hauntingly provocative psychological thriller that is Hungary's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Marta, a 40-year-old neurosurgeon, falls in love. She leaves her shining American career behind and returns to Budapest to start a new life with the man she loves. But she waits for him at the Liberty Bridge in vain, he does not appear at their rendezvous. Marta starts to search for him desperately, but when she finally finds him, the love of her life claims that they have never met before. Description from publisher.
Rita would like to recommend these titles:
The Ultimate Stay-at-Home Dad: Your Essential Manual for Being an Awesome Full-Time Father (2021) by Shannon Carpenter might be better titled, The Ultimate Stay-at-Home Parent, as much of Carpenter’s advice applies to anyone who stays at home to raise their children. There is also advice for the parent who works outside the home. In addition to Carpenter’s recommendations, comments and suggestions are provided by members of his stay-athome dads’ group. With chapters on “Surviving the Grind,” “Your Mental Health, the Moms, and other Relationships,” “Budgets, Side Hustles, and Going Back to Work,” this book is comprehensive and will benefit readers/listeners who are just beginning the stay-at-home transition, as well as those with some experience. Carpenter also recognizes that stay-at-home mothers deserve respect and struggle with many of the same problems as stay-at-home fathers.
The book’s content is solid, but be aware that many of Carpenter’s adjectives and exclamations are more commonly found in locker rooms, not in parenting manuals. The audiobook is narrated by Jon Orsini and runs just over seven hours.
Make Your Own Sunshine (2021) by Janice Dean is the book for those who have had enough depressing news and need the boost of uplifting stories. The stories are of everyday people who do their part to make the world a kinder, gentler place. It was written during this pandemic, so feels relevant. The stories in Make Your Own Sunshine are all uplifting and chosen to make readers/listeners feel more optimistic. That said, sometimes the book is so sweet that readers/listeners might want to take a break between chapters. Otherwise, reading/listening to the chapters all at once feels like eating an entire chocolate cake in one sitting. The audiobook runs about 6 hours and 20 minutes and is read by the author. Her voice is bright and a bit staccato. Make Your Own Sunshine can be found in audio and book formats on Libby and in the Monarch system.
Sharyn would like to recommend this title:
The Lost Spells by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris "This is a book of spells to be spoken aloud...Loss is the tune of our age, hard to miss and hard to bear. Creatures, places and words disappear, day after day and year on year...let the wild world into your eyes, your voice, your heart." Recommended to me by a coworker, who was charmed by the spirit revealed in the carefully chosen words and gorgeous detail of this enchanting tale, I was excited to check out "The Lost Spells". Having previously read "The Lost Words", its sister story, which is a captivating effort to celebrate and bring attention to the beauty and importance of nature in our world, I was expecting a comparable effort. Amazingly, although 'The Lost Spells' delivers a thematically similar message, it definitely takes that vision to the next level in a glorious call to action that encourages the reader to not only recognize the loss for what it is, but to step up and prevent it from becoming our reality. An enthralling and inspiring read - totally five stars!
Some of the titles listed in these pages are available in electronic format
through the
Now around town! Books for everyone. The Oscar Grady Library with the support of The Friends of the Oscar Grady Library has purchased three Little Free Libraries, which have been installed at three convenient locations: Quade Park, The Oscar Grady Library, and Village Hall. Check them out! Love them, enjoy them, treasure them.
www.oscargradylibrary.org