Go Ahead, Get Crafty!

Rainy winter days are perfect for cozying up with a good book but, sometimes, a book just doesn’t fill the void and doing something a bit more active is required.   When spending long hours in the garden, riding your bike, or walking the beach are not terribly enticing options, you have to be a bit craftier.  Here are a few items to inspire your crafty side...

What genre do I go to when I want a good read?

For many people, they reach for a mystery, romance or thriller for a "good read".  Since I discovered Andre Norton's books in junior high, it has always been fantasy books for me. It wasn't until years later I found out Andre was actually a woman author named Alice.

It doesn't have to be high fantasy. Urban fantasy will do from authors like Charles de Lint, Tanya Huff and Jim Butcher.  For more traditional fantasy, Mercedes Lackey remains a favorite especially the Vlademar series and Elemental Masters series. For some people, a long series is a problem.  I continue reading most of Andre Norton's books until she died when in her 90s.  I leave the paranormal romances and military fantasy for other to enjoy but that still leaves a wide range of fantasy style to enjoy.

Until recently, there was not one fantasy booklist on our Booklist page.  Now there are three:

Urban Fantasy

Here be Dragons

Tales of the Fey

Is there another kind of fantasy, you really like?

Posted by Becky

New Year's Resolutions and the Library

If you quizzed folks to name their top New Year’s resolutions, the top answers would fall under weight loss and exercise.

For those of you in good health here are a few ideas for the New Year.

The website about.com suggests helping others.

“A popular, non-selfish New Year's resolution, volunteerism can take many forms. Whether you choose to spend time helping out at your local library, mentoring a child, or building a house, there are many nonprofit volunteer organizations that could really use your help”.

Here is a link to the Sno-Isle volunteer program http://www.sno-isle.org/volunteers

One of the top ten resolutions is learn something new.

Have you vowed to make this year the year to learn something new?  Want to learn a new language, how to use Excel, create a resume? Visit http://www.sno-isle.org/research/elearning. Whether you take a course or read a book, you'll find all you need at Sno-Isle libraries.

Concerned about the environment? Try these titles:

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Joanna Yarrow

The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget by Josh Dorfman

Cosmo girl 250 things you can do to green the world 

 

What to consume after you finish the Serial Podcast

I confess that I spent my Christmas preparation with earbuds firmly lodged into my ears, riveted to the final episodes of the podcast Serial. I'm not alone in that. The free podcast has been downloaded over 5 million times. I've eavesdropped on patrons in my library talking about it, one of my Christmas guests was likewise addicted, and I myself have spread the bug to other library staff members. But Serial is only 12 episodes long and the producers aren't planning to release a second season until autumn. That's a long time away.

If you haven't (yet) been pulled into the exploration of true crime, guilt, journalism and the justice system, Serial's first season explored a 15-year-old murder for which someone has been convicted, sentenced, and is currently serving life in prison for. But did he really do it? That's what the journalists set out to prove - or disprove - if they can.

In the meantime, I have some suggestions for books and movies that explore similar topics and themes: