Month: September 2020

Reese Witherspoon September pick – ‘The Last Story of Mina Lee’

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Every month Reese Witherspoon releases a new pick for the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine book club. She has announced her September pick: The Last Story of Mina Lee  by Nancy Jooyoun Kim.

If you want to make sure that you don’t miss any celebrity book club picks, join our Best Sellers Club and have those automatically put on hold for you.

Curious what The Last Story of Mina Lee  is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher:

Margot Lee’s mother isn’t returning her calls. It’s a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown and finds her mother dead under suspicious circumstances. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the facts of Mina’s life as a Korean War orphan and undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.

Online Reading Challenge – Mid-Month Check

- Ann Leave a comment

Hello!

How is your reading going this month? Have you been able to squeeze in some reading time? Reading is a great way to escape for a bit, but in this especially crazy time sometimes there just isn’t room for long, leisurely afternoons spent with a book. If you’re finding this to be the case, why not try a movie? A couple hours of relaxing can do you a world of good and won’t absorb all of your time. Here are a few that fit into our “You’ve Got Mail” rom-com theme this month.

Ghostbusters. Bill Murray. Ghosts. New York Public Library. Who you gonna call?

When Harry Met Sally. Nora Ephron. Meg Ryan. Billy Crystal. That iconic scene at Katz’s Deli.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Finding yourself. Falling in love. A crazy family.

13 Going on 30. Jennifer Garner dances to Thriller.

Coming to America. Eddie Murphy. African prince finds his match in Queens, New York.

Say Anything. John Cusack. That’s a boom box kids. That’s how we used to listen to music.

Mamma Mia! Amanda Seyfried. Meryl Streep. Way too much ABBA music.

The Proposal. Sandra Bullock. Ryan Reynolds. Fake wedding. Alaska. Betty White being raunchy.

Notting Hill. Hugh Grant. Julia Roberts. Just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.

Princess Bride. Robin Wright. Cary Elwes. Inconceivable! Prepare to die! As you wish.

Groundhog Day. Bill Murray. Andie MacDowell. Don’t drive angry!

Four Weddings and a Funeral. Hugh Grant. Andie MacDowell. Gorgeous flowers and charming churches.

And of course, You’ve Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Sweet, funny and Bentley the dog! It doesn’t get any better than this.

Virtual Book Club – ‘The Institute’ on September 16

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Have you joined the Virtual Book Club yet? On Wednesday, September 16th at 2pm, Virtual Book Club will be discussing The Institute by Stephen King. This program meets virtually every week to discuss a book using GoTo Meeting. Information about how to join is listed at the end of this post.

Curious what The Institute is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents, telekinesis and telepathy, who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, like the roach motel, Kalisha says. ‘You check in, but you don’t check out.’ In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don|t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute. As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is Stephen King’s gut-wrenchingly dramatic story of good vs. evil in a world where the good guys don’t always win.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Virtual Book Club – The Institute by Stephen King
Wed, Sep 16, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (CDT)

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/792093261

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (224) 501-3412

Access Code: 792-093-261

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/792093261

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

- Michelle Leave a comment

Maggie Holt was too young to remember the terrifying time she spent at Baneberry Hall, the expansive Victorian mansion her parents purchased in rural Vermont nearly 25 years earlier.  Maggie, along with her parents Ewan and Jess, lived at Baneberry Hall for only three weeks before sheer terror drove them to flee in the middle of the night.  Now nearly 30, Maggie has to face the reality of not only the recent death of her father, but yet again she has to face the skepticism and criticism regarding his best selling book, House of Horrors.  Her father’s book detailed the paranormal activity and deep secrets of the home’s history.  Author Riley Sager merges the past and present as well as the suspenseful and supernatural in Home Before Dark.

On her father’s deathbed she learns that she is the new owner of Baneberry Hall.  As a restorer of old homes, Maggie’s goal is to make the needed updates and sell the home as quickly as possible.  Upon moving into the house temporarily, Maggie begins to  doubt that her father invented many of the stories detailed in House of Horrors.  She begins to meet many of the townspeople portrayed in his book.  They have long memories and still harbor mixed emotions toward her family and the book.  As odd occurrences begin to spook Maggie, she begins to question everything that she has doubted her entire life – are there sinister evil spirits in Baneberry Hall or did her father invent the phenomenons that he claimed were true?

Home Before Dark is the second Riley Sager book that I have read and have thoroughly enjoyed both titles.  I would highly recommend his books if you enjoy the psychological suspense genre peppered with a little horror and supernatural elements.  In addition to the print book, Home Before Dark is also available as an eBook through Overdrive.

 

Jenna Bush Hager September pick – ‘Transcendent Kingdom’

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Jenna Bush Hager has selected a new book for the September #ReadWithJenna book club. Her September pick is Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.

Curious what Transcendent Kingdom is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

A novel about faith, science, religion, and family that tells the deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanaian immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief, narrated by a fifth year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford school of medicine studying the neural circuits of reward seeking behavior in mice.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Want to make sure that Jenna’s picks are automatically put on hold for you? Be sure to join our Best Sellers Club.

Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar

- Stephanie Leave a comment

The lives of famous artists has always fascinated me. You get a tiny glimpse of their lives when you visit museums, but that’s hardly the full story. Sara Sligar’s debut book, Take Me Apart, lets readers look into the background of a photographer as people try to figure out what really happened to her.

Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar talks about the history of a famous photographer through the eyes of an ex-journalist hired by her son. Miranda Brand is a famous photographer who died mysteriously when she was at the peak of her career. Miranda left behind a grieving husband and a young son who had to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. The whole community of Callinas, California was shocked and wondered what really happened to Miranda. Her artwork became even more priceless and her agent was able to sell what he had left of hers for very high prices.

Decades later, Miranda’s son Theo heads back to the house where he grew up. His father has recently died and Theo has decided to clean up the house. He hires ex-journalist Kate Aitken to archive Miranda’s work and personal effects. She begins the arduous process of organizing her materials and finds herself at the center of the rumor mill surrounding the Brand family and their house. The community is still telling stories full of rumors and somewhat shocking details about Miranda’s life, while Kate is finding out bits and pieces of her true life. Miranda seemed to be crumbling under the pressures of family, marriage, and trying to balance her artistic ambition with being a new mother. While she works to catalog all of Miranda’s papers, Kate is continuously haunted by secrets from her own past. When a surprising discovery related to Miranda falls into her lap, Kate’s curiosity begins to tip out of her control, leading her down a spiral that concerns all those around her.

Virtual Book Club – ‘Ask Again, Yes’ by Mary Beth Keane on September 9th

- Stephanie Leave a comment

On Wednesday, September 9th, at 2pm, Virtual Book Club will be discussing Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. Join in and talk about a popular book with one of our librarians. We are using GoTo Meeting which will allow patrons to video chat with the librarian about the book! Information about how to join is below.

Curious what Ask Again, Yes is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

A family saga about two Irish American families in a New York suburb, the love between two of their children, and the tragedies that threaten to tear them apart and destroy their futures.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Virtual Book Club
Wed, Sep 9, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (CDT)

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/547372997

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (646) 749-3122

Access Code: 547-372-997

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/547372997

Homework Help With Tutor.com

- Valerie Leave a comment

 

It’s back to school time!

Have a homework question?  Look no further for assistance.  The library is please to announce the availability of Tutor.com.

The live tutoring service is available from 1:00 – 9:00 p.m. daily.  (Some holidays excluded.)    Tutor.com’s mission is to help all learners realize their full potential through personalized, one-to-one instruction and guidance.  They have 3,000+ qualified tutors who help students learn the material, not just provide the answer.

The SkillsCenter Resource Library is available 24/7.  Students can watch videos on specific subjects.  Just select your Topic, Subject, and Subtopic.  For example, Math / Middle Grades / Fractions.

Students can also submit papers for review before turning them in to their teacher for grades.  Response time is guaranteed to be within 12 hours.

Ninety-five percent (95%) of their survey respondents report that Tutor.com helps them improve their grades, complete their homework assignments, and raise their confidence!

¿Hablas español?  After entering the Tutor.com site students can switch the platform’s language to Spanish by a selection on the landing page.  This allows access to Spanish language content and ensures that you’ll be connected with a Spanish speaking tutor.

A service of The Princeton Review, Tutor.com provides study resources and practice tests for the PSAT, SAT, and ACT college entrance examinations.

Tutor.com is available to Davenport Public Library and Scott Community College cardholders.  Students just need to enter their library card number to gain access to the wealth of homework resources.

www.tutor.com/davenportpl

 

 

 

Book Club @ Night – ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ on September 9th

- Stephanie Leave a comment

It’s time for a new book club! On the second Wednesday of the month through December 2020, Book Club @ Night is meeting at 6:30pm to talk about young adult books!

On Wednesday, September 9th, at 6:30pm central, Book Club @ Night will be discussing The Way You Make Me Feel by Maureen Goo. Information about how to join is below.

Using GoTo Meeting, patrons will be able to meet to talk about a new book with one of our librarians. Book club books available at the Eastern Avenue Library.

Curious what The Way You Make Me Feel  is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher:

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?

This book is also available in the following formats:

The November meeting will not take place on November 11 as the library is closed on that day in observance of Veterans Day. The November program will meet instead on November 18.

Book Club @ Night
Wed, Sep 9, 2020 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM (CDT)

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/433493381

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (872) 240-3212

Access Code: 433-493-381

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/433493381

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds

- Anna Leave a comment

“This book, this not history history book, this present book, is meant to take you on a race journey from then to now, to show why we feel how we feel, why we live how we live, and why this poison, whether recognizable or unrecognizable, whether it’s a scream or a whisper, just won’t go away.”

Described as a book containing history and rooted in the here and now, rather than as a traditional history book students read in school, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds is an adaptation or remix of a longer work by Ibram X. Kendi (Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America). Written to be more accessible to younger audiences, this work presents a history of racism in America, drawing parallels to how racist notions and theories that have been perpetuated in centuries past still strongly pervade America today with deep, toxic roots in the very infrastructure, policies, and foundations of the country.

Divided into five sections highlighting different periods of history, spanning from 1415 to the present day, this title explores a multitude of historically significant people, events, movements, and ideas that have actively disseminated or combated racist theories and practices in America. Within this exploration, there are three types of people who are specifically defined and deemed crucial to understanding when considering racism: (1) segregationists, which Reynolds colloquially terms “the haters;” (2) assimilationists, or those who are accepting of Black people when they are more like White people; and (3) antiracists, or those who love Black people for who they are.

Overall, this title is eye-opening, enlightening, and extremely educational, in addition to being very accessible to read. It is also a very timely and important read in light of the growing racial and social justice movements occurring in our own time, as well as in response to the many conversations that are starting to explicate and explore the racial dynamics in existence today within the United States. I definitely plan to read Kendi’s longer work, which was a National Book Award Winner in 2016, but would highly recommend this adaptation for everyone and anyone, especially teenagers and young adults, as Reynolds is an absolute delight to read. This book is available in the following formats:

Book on CD

Overdrive eAudiobook

Overdrive eBook

Academic Overdrive eBook

Playaway