The Rich Diversity of Country Music

- Callen Leave a comment

Oftentimes music genres can get painted as monoliths, when in fact there’s more going on if you know where to look for it. Country music, for example, often seems like it’s mostly “bro country” like Florida Georgia Line (“Cruise”) or “boyfriend country” like Dan + Shay (famous recently for “10,000 Hours” feat. Justin Bieber) or love letters to small-town life and the USA (Brad Paisley covers all three on album Time Well Wasted). But country music has a long history of activism and messages about social equality and the need for change, in addition to all of the above. Here are some artists you can check out from our music CD collection today, and the issues they care about.

Johnny Cash was known for many things, among which were his “politics of empathy“, manifesting in advocacy for Native Americans and for prison reform. For a sample, try Johnny Cash at San Quentin.

Kacey Musgraves’ songs are all for inclusion and deviating from the norm, including songs about gay love, weed, and casual hookups. Listen to Same Trailer Different Park for her hit “Follow Your Arrow”.

Tim McGraw’s Machine Hits 2013-2019 are a good overview of his democrat country vibe, though it may not capture his work for an anti-gun violence initiative supporting Sandy Hook.

Loretta Lynn was not just an icon of country music, she also shocked audiences with a song about the pill. Her album Still Woman Enough may not openly advocate for birth control but it is pro-women all the way.

Willie Nelson, of course, is a beloved and complicated character who hasn’t been shy about advocating for marijuana legalization. Try his latest, A Beautiful Time, or Band of Brothers.

LeAnn Rimes has long been an advocate for equality and LGBTQ rights, speaking out for the It Gets Better video movement. From our collection, try 2017’s Remnants.

And finally, we can’t forget Garth Brooks’ longstanding message of understanding and compassion, best seen in country anthem “We Shall Be Free,” featured on The Chase.

Of course there’s still more fascinating music lurking under the country umbrella, not least of all is the “Southern Gothic” subgenre, inspired by authors like Flannery O’Connor and V.C. Andrews, and full of death, ghosts, betrayal, religion, violence, and much more… but that’s a story for another post.

What’s YOUR favorite lesser-known music subgenre?

I Need Therapy: Part 2

- Callen Leave a comment

Welcome back to exploring different therapeutic approaches to figure out the best way to support YOUR mental health. (See our first post on this topic here.) Short version: taking care of your mind is vital, but there are so many ways to do it, it’s hard to know where to start. This time our titles delve into lesser-known styles including my favorite: nature therapy. Try any combination of the titles below to support your mental health and improve your thinking patterns.

Behavior Modification Therapy (read an overview here)

—Just a Thought by Amy Johnson

“Our minds are hardwired to expect the worst, and these negative thinking habits can keep us feeling trapped and unable to experience true joy. In this friendly guide, life coach Amy Johnson outlines a no-willpower approach informed by ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience to help readers break the cycle of negative thinking, make peace with their inner critic, and experience more self-confidence and freedom.”

Problem-solving Therapy (described here)

—F*ck Feelings by Michael Bennett

“The only self-help book you’ll ever need, from a psychiatrist who will help you put aside your unrealistic wishes, stop trying to change things you can’t change, and do the best with what you can control–the first steps to solving all of life’s impossible problems.”

Movement / Nature therapy (movement therapy description here, nature therapy description here)

—The Well-Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith

“The garden has always been a place of peace and perseverance, of nurture and reward. Using contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and compelling real-life stories, The Well–Gardened Mind investigates the remarkable effects of nature on our health and well-being.”

—The Nature Fix by Florence Williams

“An investigation into the restorative benefits of nature draws on cutting-edge research and the author’s explorations with international nature therapy programs to examine the relationship between nature and human cognition, mood, and creativity.”

—Forest Bathing by Qing Li

“As a society, we suffer from nature deficit disorder, but studies have shown that spending mindful, intentional time around trees–what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing–can promote health and happiness. In this beautiful book–featuring more than 100 color photographs from forests around the world, including the forest therapy trails that criss-cross Japan–Dr. Qing Li, the world’s foremost expert in forest medicine, shows how forest bathing can reduce your stress levels and blood pressure, strengthen your immune and cardiovascular systems, boost your energy, mood, creativity, and concentration, and even help you lose weight and live longer. ”

See also our Mental Health Guide for more information and local resources – and never hesitate to ask for help!

Celebrating Black History Month with Books

- Ann Leave a comment
Black History Month. African American History. Celebrated annual. In February in United States and Canada.

While I’m a strong believer in reading authors of multiple ethnic/religious/lifestyle backgrounds at any time, Black History Month is a great motivator to discover and read authors of African descent. Here are some recommendations from our Reference Librarians for great books

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.  After witnessing her friend’s death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter’s life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.  As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn’s fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.

My Sister is a Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York’s Black literati. 

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.  Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, are born into different tribal villages in 18th century Ghana. Effia will be married off to an English colonial, and will live in comfort. Her sister will be imprisoned and sent to America where she will be sold into slavery. Their lives and the lives of their descendants create a snapshot of the complicated history of our nation.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama recounts his experiences as a lawyer working to assist those desperately in need, reflecting on his pursuit of the ideal of compassion in American justice.

Also, be sure to check out the displays at Main and Fairmount that highlight romances with African American characters and authors.

 

And, don’t forget to sign up for the Black History Month Reading Challenge on Beanstack! Running February 1 through March 4, you’ll learn more about Black history, celebrate Black authors and illustrators, and explore events in your community honoring the Black experience. Log your reading and activities throughout the month to earn badges and chances for prizes. Download the Beanstack app for free from your app store.

Online Reading Challenge – February

- Ann Leave a comment

Hello Challenge Readers! Welcome to our February challenge!

This month we’re going to take a few steps back in time and visit Ancient Greece. Our main title this month is: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful— irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, who has been exiled from his homeland of Phthia after an act of shocking violence to be raised in the shadow of King Peleus. Brought together by chance, Achilles and Patroclus forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath and become steadfast companions.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice. (from the publisher)

We will have a variety of books to choose from on display at each library location, or you can pick any other title. The books range from retellings of tales of Greek gods (I highly recommend Circe also by Madeline Miller), and novels of Ancient Greek history.

Online Reading Challenge – January Wrap Up

- Ann 2 Comments

Welcome Challenge Readers!

How did your Challenge reading go this month? Were you able to transport yourself to Paris and immerse yourself in some of it’s history and atmosphere? There are certainly no shortage of books set in Paris! Let us know in the comments what you read.

Our main title this month was Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Moving between Paris of the 1790s and modern day, this book brings us a unique perspective of the horrors of the French Revolution, and brings greater understanding and compassion to our modern protagonist.

Andi and her family have suffered a traumatic event that has torn them apart. Her mother has withdrawn into obsessive painting and her father has left and started a new family. Andi, grieving and guilt-ridden is angry and acting out, her grades falling, with only her musical talent keeping her moving forward.

When her Father discovers that Andi is about to be expelled from school, he insists that she come with him on a business trip to Paris where she can do research on her thesis away from the distractions at home. Andi is furious, of course, but has no choice. In Paris their hosts gift Andi with a very old, beautiful guitar (Andi’s instrument of choice) While poking around in the guitar’s case she discovers a very old diary and the tiny portrait of a child.

In reading the diary, Andi is plunged into the world of the French Revolution, its horrors and cruelty and uncertainty. The diary writer, Alexandrine, is also an angry young woman, also grieving and fighting back the only way she can. Andi finds herself empathizing with her counterpart and becoming invested in her story.

Revolution plunges the reader into a huge range of experiences – the catacombs beneath the city, both as they are now with paths and in the past when the bodies were still new. We visit the lights and chaos of an illegal underground nightclub, the hushed reverence of a historical library, explore the intricacies of musical creativity and it’s continuing influence and a traditional bar with live music.

While I very much enjoyed the historical parts of this book, I had a little trouble with Andi and her teenage angst. The fact that she matures and grows into a responsible young adult, finding her own worth and talents greatly makes up for this. Paris is truly the star here though, especially the Paris of the Revolution.

Nonfiction for the Reluctant, Stressed, and Skeptical

- Callen Leave a comment

I was recently reminded that there’s a lot of fascinating reading in non-fiction if you only know how to find it. Non-fiction offers a different reading experience than fiction does. Where fiction affects your emotions and takes you on a journey (often tense, angsty, or deeply emotionally wrenching), non-fiction engages your mind with more intellectual fascination. Here are some non-fiction books I’ve read that offer various entry points into the genre.

My top category is always science – I love Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, and What If (1 & 2) by Randall Munroe. I’ve also started on the works of Mary Roach, renowned for her approachable and entertaining forays into topics like death, sex, space, and most recently animal offenders in Fuzz. I’d say my love for scientific non-fiction (and fiction; my favorite author is Andy Weir after all) is because of my natural curiosity, since these books explore different realms of knowledge and the limits of what’s possible.

My second-favorite nonfiction category is books by humorists like David Sedaris; I’ve read most of his work (for the title alone I particularly love Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls) as well as other hilarious and relatable personalities. I remember loving Wow No Thank You by Samantha Irby.

Another very common entry point into nonfiction is true crime books – I’m still working my way into this area but I have read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (a classic and definitely fascinating) as well as The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary and the convicted murderer who was an invaluable part of it.

Many people also love memoirs like Crying in H Mart (I’ll read it when I need to cry and not before, thank you) or poetry by breathtaking wordsmiths like Rupi Kaur (I tried Milk and Honey, and it made me feel raw, vulnerable and exposed so I decided to try again later), or powerful, expose-type social science reads. The power of the latter is in making you feel seen, or as if your eyes have been opened. For that reason I loved Ace by Angela Chen and highly recommend it.

The key in my experience is identifying what it is you value in a reading experience and seeking them out. For me, this includes infectious enthusiasm, a dry sense of humor, a sense of hope, and engrossing storytelling. Do you have something that immediately hooks you, or a favorite nonfiction read? Let us know below!

 

Fuzz by Mary Roach

- Callen Leave a comment

At long last I read a work by eminent non-fiction author Mary Roach! She’s been on my to-read list for a long time because of her reputation for entertaining and accessible explanations of various topics, and I finally took the plunge with her most recent, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law.

In this wide-ranging volume Roach explores the field of “wildlife-human conflict” – the zone in which the natural world infringes on human activity and the various methods used to control, combat, or understand that invasion. This includes the predators you’d expect: bears, elephants, leopards, and the like, but also invasive non-native species, dangerous trees, destructive birds, and the cute creatures with unexpected impacts on the ecosystem. Also covered are a wide variety of anti-wildlife strategies including frightening devices (most notably a screaming tube dude), lasers, monkey birth control, poisoned beans, and many more. The book ultimately coalesces around a meditation on humanity and its various approaches to nature – those who coexist, those who condemn, and those who struggle to know determine the right decision.

I enjoyed Roach’s humor, and that the book challenges the idea of human supremacy while still sympathizing with those whose livelihoods (or just their lives) are endangered by wildlife behaviors. I also appreciated the global scope of Roach’s survey and how vividly she renders the people she works with along the way.

If you’re a non-fiction reader, science lover, animal lover, or looking for an entertaining learning experience, give this book a try.

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

- Ann 1 Comment

What if you could take a vacation to your past, without the filter of memory? What would you give to go back in time and relive your youth, in person, with the people who shared it? These are the questions Alice faces in This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But something is missing. Her father, the single parent who raised her, is ailing and out of reach. How did they get here so fast? Did she take too much for granted along the way?

When Alice wakes up the next morning somehow back in 1996, it isn’t her 16-year-old body that is the biggest shock, or the possibility of romance with her adolescent crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 49-year-old version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, is there anything that she should do differently this time around? What would she change, given the chance? (from the publisher)

I’ve always loved time-travel/live-your-life-differently/second-chance stories. It’s so intriguing – if impossible – to try a different choice and speculate if the outcome would have been better, or worse. Sadly, this title fell a little flat for me although the ending was satisfying. I found it difficult to connect with the main character, especially when she was in the past as a teenager. However, the writing is skillful and, as expected, returning to the past as an adult with greater understanding of the world, was endlessly intriguing.

The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews

- Ann Leave a comment

A London heiress rides out to the wilds of the English countryside to honor a marriage of convenience with a mysterious and reclusive stranger in The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews.

Tall, dark, and dour, the notorious Captain Jasper Blunt was once hailed a military hero, but tales abound of his bastard children and his haunted estate in Yorkshire. What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his isolated ruin, and he has his sights set on the enchanting Julia Wychwood.

For Julia, an incurable romantic cursed with a crippling social anxiety, navigating a London ballroom is absolute torture. The only time Julia feels any degree of confidence is when she’s on her horse. Unfortunately, a young lady can’t spend the whole of her life in the saddle, so Julia makes an impetuous decision to take her future by the reins—she proposes to Captain Blunt.

In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. To ride—and to read—as much as she likes without masculine interference. He readily agrees to her conditions, with one provision of his own: Julia is forbidden from going into the tower rooms of his estate and snooping around his affairs. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes… (from the publisher)

This fun romance is the second in Matthew’s series “Belles of London” (the first is The Siren of Sussex with more promised). A quick read with a charming, book-loving heroine!

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

- Ann Leave a comment

Are you a Louise Penny fan? There are a lot of us, but in case you haven’t read any books by this amazing mystery writer, here is a push to get you started!  Set in Canada, her Three Pines mysteries are complex, intelligent and thoughtful with appealing characters (especially the main character Chief Inspector Gamache) and tense scenarios. You can start with any in the series, but the characters and relationships develop over the course of the novels. I would recommend starting with any in the series and then, when you realize you must read them all, start from the first one (Still Life)

The newest, A World of Curiosities is the 18th in the series and, like the previous ones, is highly recommended. From the publisher:

It’s spring and Three Pines is reemerging after the harsh winter. But not everything buried should come alive again. Not everything lying dormant should reemerge.

As the villagers prepare for a special celebration, Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves increasingly worried. A young man and woman have reappeared in the Sûreté du Québec investigators’ lives after many years. The two were young children when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged, shattered. Now they’ve arrived in the village of Three Pines.

Gamache and Beauvoir’s memories of that tragic case, the one that first brought them together, come rushing back. Did their mother’s murder hurt them beyond repair? Have those terrible wounds, buried for decades, festered and are now about to erupt?

As Chief Inspector Gamache works to uncover answers, his alarm grows when a letter written by a long dead stone mason is discovered. In it the man describes his terror when bricking up an attic room somewhere in the village. Every word of the 160-year-old letter is filled with dread. When the room is found, the villagers decide to open it up.

As the bricks are removed, Gamache, Beauvoir and the villagers discover a world of curiosities. But the head of homicide soon realizes there’s more in that room than meets the eye. There are puzzles within puzzles, and hidden messages warning of mayhem and revenge.

In unsealing that room, an old enemy is released into their world. Into their lives. And into the very heart of Armand Gamache’s home.

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