Backyard Birding

With spring’s arrival comes many of my favorite things: gardening, barbecuing, my birthday (!), and bird-watching. Each year I look forward to the increased activity my feathered friends bring to my yard. Merle and Juanita, my resident Anna’s Hummingbirds, begin to make more frequent appearances at my feeder. The family of American Robins, who have turned my giant laurel into their personal apartment building, start throwing raucous parties each twilight…Wish I was invited! I even look forward to hearing from the Northern Flicker. Every morning as I enjoy my coffee and he pounds away at my chimney cap in an attempt to attract his soul mate, I delight in the knowledge that spring has finally arrived. Need help identifying your backyard friends? Below are some books to get you started. Looking for online help? Check out our link to the Birds of North America website found here: http://www.sno-isle.org/?ID=5347#jB. It is library approved so you know it is good!

Travels by the Book

Spring Break is just around the corner (or just happened for some) and many people have wonderful, fun and exciting trips planned. For myself I tend to use my imagination and library card and take a tour through books. Here are a few of my favorite destinations, both fiction and non-fiction.

The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau has a fantastic setting in Ecuador and seeing it through the eyes of main character Zeeta makes it so vivid and a place I never before thought I might want to visit (but now maybe I do). (The other two books in the series, Jade Notebook and Ruby Notebook, are set in different locations and just as intriguing through Zeeta's eyes.)

Bill Bryson's books on travel (among his other topics) are at the very top of my favorites list and In A Sunburned Country is no exception. He is so adept at mixing historical facts with humorous first person anecdotes. And who wouldn't want to learn that the reason that Australia is overrun with rabbits is all because some rich muckity-muck wanted to shoot them from his back balcony. Or, the fact that all of the top ten deadliest snakes reside in Australia. Kinda makes you not want to go there.(Also, don't hesitate to check out A Walk in the Woods and Notes from a Small Island.)

I was never one for wanting to backpack through any place. But Bria's evolving sense of adventure in Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard sure made it seem a teeny, tiny bit more enticing. When what she thought would be a one-of-a-kind experience with like-minded recent high school graduates turned out to be a guided tour with middle-aged fanny pack wearers, Bria takes matters into her own hands and ditches the group and goes down the pass less traveled with brother and sister backpackers, Rowan and Starling.

Again, this would never be my choice of vacation. Nor the mode of transportation for the entirety of my vacation. But reading about riding a bicycle to the lowest point on six different continents in Into Thick Air by Jim Malusa was utterly fascinating. The ability the author had to connect with locals while riding a bike made the trip seem more intimate and inclusive.

A daring vacation this would make! The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin involves chasing tornadoes across parts of the Midwest and collecting scientific data for further research. Wanting to get away from a negative situation at home Jane joins her brother and his team as a photographer of the storms to get some much needed perspective. I have to admit, I don't know if I would have the guts to actually take on a vacation like this but the idea is pretty intriguing.


Do you have any literary vacations you would recommend?

Take A Hike!

March 30th is Take a Walk in the Park Day. With the many city and county parks, walking trails and national parks we have in our surrounding area it shouldn't be too hard to find the right location for you to celebrate this day.

If you are having trouble here are some books that might help you narrow down where to go.

I wanted to specifically highlight this book because it is oftentimes my companion when I'm out and about with my dogs. There are on- and off-leash parks with descriptions and driving directions. Pet friendly lodging and restaurants are also listed. My dogs' absolute favorite park is the off-leash one in Edmonds because they really enjoy the water. But a really close second is Lake Padden in Bellingham--where there are fantastic off-leash trails and a small area of the lake open for off-leash swimming. Proof is in the photo below that tired dogs are happy dogs.

Rest break during a romp on Lake Padden's off-leash trails

UPDATE: April 4th is one of the days designated for free entrance to a WA State Park. No Discover Pass needed. Roll your walk over to the weekend and take advantage of the generosity.

Let’s Talk about Vegetables…

We are finally well into the month of March, which means I have started planting my vegetable garden with the hope of large harvests and tasty meals built around fresh, ripe vegetables all summer long and lots of enjoyment from pickled, jarred and frozen edibles to keep my family healthy and well fed in the cold months of winter.  Of course, part of the enjoyment of gardening comes from the planning; selecting the seeds, laying out the garden, and thinking about tasty recipes that will make the best use of what is being grown.  To that end, I start with my cookbooks in order to decide what to grow.  Here are a few of my favorite sources for planning this year’s home-grown feasts...

 

 

What are some of your favorite cookbooks and garden planning resources?

Overdrive Big Library Read

Shakespeare saved my life by Laura Bates is the new Big Library Read on Overdrive.  Between now and March 31st, there is no waiting.  Just go the Overdrive page and select Borrow for the Big Library Read at the top of the page.  The checkout is for the normal time so don't worry about finishing by the 31st.

Shakespeare saved my life.

Just as Larry Newton, one of the most notorious inmates at Indiana Federal Prison, was trying to break out of jail, Dr. Laura Bates was trying to break in. Now, a decade later, her Shakespeare in Shackles program has been lauded by academics and prison communities alike. In this profound illustration of the enduring lessons of Shakespeare through the ten-year relationship of Bates and Newton, an amazing testament to the power of literature emerges. But it's not just the prisoners who are transformed. It is a starkly engaging tale, one that will be embraced by anyone who has ever been changed by a book.

Posted by Becky

 

 

A sampling of films and books set in the 1960's civil rights movement

Selma
The three Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 were part of the Voting Rights Movement. The first march took place on March 7, 1965. Although until the recent release of the film, Selma there were no movies made about Martin Luther King. Sno-Isle has several movies in our collection either set in the 60’s or containing scenes in this era.

The Help

is set in 1960’s Mississippi and tells the story of a young woman who decides to tell the stories of several black women who work and care for white families in this southern town. 

The Butler

was inspired by the true story of a black butler who served during eight presidential administrations including the LBJ years. The movie is based on the book The Butler: a witness to history by Wil Haygood.

Scrolling below are some book titles set in the 1960's south I hope you will enjoy.

When You Can't Sit and Read

I find that with a toddler in the house, my reading habits have changed drastically. Since sitting down with a good book in the comfy chair is largely impossible as long as The Fruit Bat is awake, I'm just not reading as much as I used to. At least not traditionally. My audiobook consumption has gone through the roof - and yes - that is still reading! I now regularly have an audiobook going both in my car and on my phone. I listen while I exercise and clean, in addition to when I drive. It's even become a motivator for exercise, which is mind-boggling to me. Unlike others you've heard from recently, I'm not a gardener, but if I was, I'd definitely be plugged into an audiobook while planting.

I learned many years ago that with audio it's all about the narrator. A good narrator can make a mediocre book shine, and a bad narrator can completely ruin a great book. On audio, you may find that you gravitate toward books that you might never pick up in print. I find that I consume far more narrative non-fiction in audio than in print - and I enjoy it more with that touch of drama a good narrator can impart. It becomes a performance piece complete with a director and the interpretation of the work can make a sizable difference in reader enjoyment.

Which of course, brings me to the fun part! What to read! Who to listen to! I'll just start with the fact that my all-time favorite narrator is Katherine Kellgren. I have listened to books I never, ever, would have picked up for the sole reason that she was the reader. She's won every major audio award other than the Grammy for Spoken Word (a travesty, I tell you. Those seem to go almost exclusively to Hollywood actors and comedians. I call bias!). She is a marvel at accents, pacing, singing, and really everything else. She sets the standard. Start with the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer for swashbuckling adventure, or  Connie Willis' Blackout & All Clear for gripping WWII-set time travel conundrums.

Some audio that I've enjoyed recently, in no particular order:

The Rosie Project by Graem Simsion, read by Dan O'Grady
Don Tillman is brilliant, but he's never been on a second date. He doesn't pick up on social norms, and his impulse is always to tell the whole and unfiltered truth. He... doesn't have many friends. In fact, he has only two. Most of that will change as he initiates The Wife Project. This is a comedic romance that I found myself smiling all the way through. I'm looking forward to listening to the sequel, The Rosie Effect, also read by O'Grady. FYI: Australian accent alert.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown, read by Edward Herrmann.
You've probably heard of this one about the rowing crew UW put forth for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Herrmann reads this with such warmth; he's friendly and welcoming. I don't know whether it was the text or the narrator, but not only was this compelling, it was utterly moving as well. I'm not one for sports, and when it came to rowing, about the only thing I knew was that oars had something to do with it. I can't say that anymore. I'll never forget this read; especially since I listened to it TWICE. Oh, and I hear that Herrmann's versions of Hank the Cowdog are pretty great too! Don't forget that this is the Whidbey Reads title for 2015.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, read by MacLeod Andrews.
The Calamity was ten years ago, and whatever it was and whatever caused it is still unknown, but doubtless, the world will never be the same. Ever since then, Epics have controlled it all. These supervillans rule on a whim, but the remaining populace is literally powerless to resist. The Epic named Steelheart controls Chicago, and on the day he staked his claim, he killed David's father. Now a normal, but resourceful teen, David, will begin to mount his revenge and attempt to take down all the Epics. It's a fool's errand. But maybe that's exactly what is needed. This is one of those books were the shear intensity breaks into humor unexpectedly. Andrews handles all of the battles, mood shifts, and accents deftly, and I found my commute to be far more enjoyable.

Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris, read by Neil Patrick Harris.
Non-screw-up child actor, adult actor, and consummate awards show host (despite the sorta boring recent Oscar outing), Harris is just as charming and funny as you expect him to be in this unusual approach to autobiographies. As a reader who couldn't handle the pressure of Choose Your Own Adventures as a child (I needed all the options! I usually died.) the audio version of this is perfect for me, as it does not require any "Turn to page 56" instructions. It turns out Harris leads a pretty normal life. Except for being Elton John's pal. That's when things get... opulent.

The Martian by Andy Weir, read by R.C. Bray.
On the surface of Mars, Mark Watney and his team were caught in a dust storm. Watney got knocked out, and his suit was damaged, ruining the sensors that connected him to their ship. There are no readings of his vitals, so his teammates, thinking he’s dead, leave without him. Stranding him on Mars, alone. When he wakes up, he’s only got the supplies he had on him, which wasn’t much, his own ingenuity, and the disco music the captain left behind. At first I thought the reader sounded a little to... masculine for a nerd like Watney, but I got over it, since the book is SO GOOD. Easily my favorite adult read of 2014. And it's possible I might have a crush on Mark Watney. That will probably work out well, since Matt Damon will be playing him in the movie version.

 As a Sno-Isle Libraries user, you have three options to enjoy audiobooks: CDs, Overdrive digital, and Hoopla digital. I'm unable to link to a master record for all formats, so I tried to link to the audio version with the most copies or least number of holds. All of these are worth waiting for.

Who is your favorite audiobook narrator? What's your favorite audiobook?

Pro Tip: Unlike Overdrive, at the moment, Hoopla titles are not integrated into our catalog. There is never a waiting list for items borrowed through Hoopla. In addition to audiobooks, you can also stream and download movies, television shows, and music. None of the titles mentioned are available through Hoopla (although a handful of Kellgren's sizable oeuvre is), but many other audiobooks are.