Tag: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast September Recap

- Brittany Leave a comment

In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our September episode!

Sci-Fi Reads

In honor of Star Trek Day on September 8th, Stephanie shared a list of new and old Science Fiction reads. Below are the titles that were discussed in our episode!

New Sci-Fi Reads
   –The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville
   –The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
   –Dragons of Eternity by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
   –The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey
   –To Turn the Tide by S.M. Stirling
   –Storm Furies by Wen Spencer
   –Rebel by David Weber and Richard Fox
   –Overcaptain by L.E. Modesitt 

Old Sci-Fi Reads
   –Dune by Frank Herbert
   –1984 by George Orwell
   –The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
   –Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
   -Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
   –Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
   –The Time Machine by HG Wells
   –The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

Check Out Video Games from Davenport Public Library!

This month, Beth, Brittany, and Stephanie interviewed one of our newest Librarians, Elena! Elena is in charge of purchasing our video game collection! Did you know that you can check out video games from The Library for free?! We have video games for PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox1, Xbox 360, Xbox X games, Switch, Wii, DS, and 3DS! To learn more about our HUGE collection, we have a helpful Libguide for you! You can also place holds and check availability by visiting our online catalog!

Self-Improvement Month

September is self-improvement month and The Library is here to help with some of our newer resources! 

The Library now has LinkedIn Learning: Login with your library card number and password for your account to access 16,000+ expert-led courses presented in seven languages. Course subjects include: small business and entrepreneurship, web development, Microsoft Office, Google docs, photography, video editing, public speaking, sales, marketing, and many more. 

Have you been meaning to learn a new language or polish those sophomore year Spanish skills? Mango language has you covered! This language-learning resource offers instructional courses for over 70 languages. Begin to develop or build upon your listening and speaking skills in one or more foreign languages. Includes ESL (English as a Second Language) for over 20 languages. 

Self Help Books Helped or Tanked?

Beth, Brittany, and Stephanie ran through some Self-Help books that both helped their lives and some that completely tanked. Below are their favorites and least favorites in this category!

Beth
Helped:
   –The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō
   –How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis
   –The Lazy Genius Podcast 
Tanked:
   –The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
   –The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusso

Stephanie
Helped:
   –Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth H. Blanchard
   –By the Book Podcast hosted by Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer (Renamed: How To Be Fine Podcast)
Tanked:
   –Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out by Phil McGraw

Brittany
Helped:
   –Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Stephen R. Covey, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan,  & Al Switzler
   –Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth H. Blanchard
   –The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
Tanked:
   –Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Celebrate Banned Books Week!

Every year, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The lists are based on information from reports filed by library professionals and community members, as well as news stories published throughout the United States. Below are last year’s 10 Most Challenged Books:

  1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
  2. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson 
  3. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson 
  4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 
  5. Flamer by Mike Curato 
  6. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 
  7. TIE – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews 
  8. TIE – Tricks by Ellen Hopkins 
  9. Let’s Talk About it: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan 
  10. Sold by Patricia McCormick 

To read more about Banned Books Week visit the ALA Banned Books Page!

New Merch!

Exciting news! We now have an online Threadless Store featuring custom designs by our marketing coordinator Tessa! Order apparel to show off your love of our library! A portion of all sales goes to our FRIENDS who support our programming and other special projects! Take a look at a wide array of options from kids t-shirts, adult apparel, notebooks, and more! Visit our Threadless Store today to make a purchase!

What Our Hosts Read In August

Stephanie’s Reads:
The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Peking Duck and Cover by Vivien Chien (book 10 in Noodle House Mystery series)
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (book 1 in the Assistant to the Villain series)
The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (book 1 in The Grandest Game series)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson 

Brittany’s Reads:
The Flight Attendant by Chris Bojalian Narrated by Erin Spencer, Grace Experience, and Mark Deakins
Flying Solo by Linda Holmes
The Wedding People by Alison Espach Narrated by Helen Laser
The Break-up Pact by Emma Lord Narrated by Natalie Naudus
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney Illustrated by Anita Jeram
Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino Narrated by Helen Laser

Beth’s Reads:
Where the Children Take Us: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable by Zain Asher
At Least You Have Your Health by Madi Sinha

If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

- Bianca Leave a comment

You may have noticed advertisements for the new Hunger Games movie and wondered when, why, and how is there another movie in the beloved Hunger Games series? Suzanne Collins released The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel to The Hunger Games series we all know and love, quietly in May of 2020. That’s right. Collins’ book released in the early days of the pandemic and most people didn’t even notice, including yours truly, a number 1 Hunger Games fan. Embarrassingly, I didn’t pick up the book until 2022 and that was only after hearing buzz that a movie was in the works.

So, what is this book about? This story is about Coriolanus Snow, known better as President Snow, as he embarks on his final year at a prestigious academy in the Capital. Snow is at the top of his class and destined for great things, but he has a secret. Though once one of the wealthiest and well-respected families in Panem, the war with the districts, which ended ten years previously, has taken everything from them, including both of Snow’s parents. He lives with his grandmother and cousin Tigris in near poverty, barely able to maintain their apartment which is the last remnant of their previous life. As the 10th Hunger Games approaches and Coriolanus is named mentor in the games, he must secure a win to ensure his future in the Capital.

Enter Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. The original Hunger Games series alluded to District 12’s first Hunger Games winner but they are never named. In fact, all records of the 10th Annual Hunger Games were removed. As you may have deduced, Lucy Gray is assigned Snow for a mentor and the two must work together if Lucy is to survive and Snow is to once again be on top. What follows will become one of the Capital’s and Snow’s biggest secrets.

The story unfolds much the same way as the original Hunger Games, but with a much different arena, plenty of unexpected twists, and the last third of the book is like nothing we have seen from Collins before. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games, I highly recommend reading the book and watching the movie, which premieres November 17, 2023, or you can wait until it comes out on DVD and check it out from the library! Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage star in the movie along with Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow.