Tag: travel

LEARN A LANGUAGE — Part 2 — SPANISH

- Jill Leave a comment

Last month, we introduced you to some of the more general language learning resources that The Library offers. Take a look at those if you’re not sure what language you want to learn. This month, we’ll focus in on the most commonly spoken foreign language in Davenport, the Quad Cities, and the U.S. – SPANISH!  This is also the language that most people around the world indicate they want to learn.

There are over 493 million native Spanish speakers, making it the second most-spoken language in the world. Including everyone who speaks Spanish as a second language (at least decently), Spanish can be used to communicate with 591 million people around the world! This makes Spanish the third most-spoken language in the world, behind Chinese and English, and on par with Hindi. Spanish is also one of the most-used languages on the internet. The Spanish language continues to grow in traditionally non-Spanish speaking countries as well. In the U.S., 60 million people identified as being of Hispanic origin – about 18% of the population (in 2019). The Spanish language has by far the most native speakers, with 12% of the American population using it as their primary language (2021). And, Spanish is the official language in 20 countries and one U.S. Territory (Puerto Rico) and has widespread use in other regions. Besides Mexico and Spain, Spanish is the official language in many Central and South American nations, including: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. It’s even spoken in Equatorial Guinea (in Africa). So, if you are planning on visiting any of these places, learning at least some basic conversational Spanish or common phrases would be helpful.

According to US Census Bureau data in 2022, the Hispanic population of Davenport, Iowa was at just over 9% or 9,200 people. When expanded to include the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL communities, the total number of people identifying as non-white Hispanic rose to 9.31% or 35.6K people. In Iowa, nearly 216K people self-identified as Hispanic or Latino (about 6.8% of Iowa’s total population, according to a 2022 report from the State Data Center of Iowa – a program of The State Library of Iowa.) Currently, 128K Iowa residents age 5 and older speak Spanish at home. Of this number, over 21K are Spanish speaking English Language Learners in Iowa’s public schools (2021- 2022). This represents a 240% increase from the previous year (Iowa Department of Education). Based on growth over the last 20 years, the projected total Latino population of Iowa as of July 1, 2050 will be around 518K (about 14.8% of the total state population). The numbers are even greater for Illinois, where some schools are even offering Dual Language Immersion Programs.

Hispanic businesses are on the rise nationwide, growing 8.2% from 2019-2020 (US Census Bureau). Hispanic-owned businesses yielded about $472.3 billion in annual receipts and employed about 2.9 million workers. According to the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, this is reflected in the Quad Cities as Latino owned business are on the rise, along with Hispanic cultural enterprises such as Mercado on Fifth, an outdoor summer market in Moline, IL which had a record 115 vendors and almost $600K in revenue in 2022. The chamber also indicated that immigrants and refugees are among the biggest drivers of the population and economic gains in the Quad Cities. Newcomers to the region tend to be of working age (between the ages of 25 and 64). Immigrants also are more likely to open and operate their own businesses and employ others than U.S.-born Quad-Citians.

Learning Spanish will undoubtedly give you an edge in the Quad Cities Job Market. Being bilingual in a market where the Spanish language speaking population is growing can be a major asset. Many employers are actively looking to hire people who can communicate effectively with Spanish-speaking customers, colleagues, and community members. Having at least a working knowledge of Spanish in your skill set can open up job opportunities you might not have otherwise. From healthcare, hospitality, and customer service to manufacturing, Spanish proficiency enables workers to engage with the area’s Hispanic community. Increasing the number of Spanish speakers in the workforce will facilitate everything from better patient communication to more targeted marketing and improved workplace collaboration across language barriers. Salaries also tend to be higher for bilingual employees. Studies show the “bilingual bonus” can lead to thousands more in annual pay, providing not just a practical communication benefit, but also a financial one. A growing number of job postings now list Spanish as a requirement or preferred qualification, but even a baseline conversational ability will give you an advantage. As the Hispanic community continues to rapidly expand across the Quad Cities area, mastering the Spanish language will only become more valuable to employers across diverse job sectors. For those entering the workforce, as well as experienced professionals, the ability to communicate and work effectively in both English and Spanish can give you the competitive edge.

Will you consider learning a foreign language?  If you’d like to get started learning Spanish, here are just a sampling of some of the FREE resources offered by The Library. See our online catalog or ask a Librarian for more resources.

FOR A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO THE LANGUAGE:

15-minute Spanish : learn in just 12 weeks by Ana Bremón

Spanish in 3 months : your essential guide to understanding and speaking Spanish by Isabel Cisneros

Spanish in 100 days.

 

FOR A MORE LAID-BACK APPROACH:

    

Spanish for the rest of us by William C. Harvey

Drive time Spanish. Beginner level.

#Language hacking Spanish : a conversation course for beginners by Benny Lewis

Becoming a bilingual family : help your kids learn Spanish (and learn Spanish yourself in the process) by Stephen G. Marks

50 Spanish coffee breaks : short activities to improve your Spanish one cup at a time

Teach your dog Spanish by Anne Cakebread

 

IF YOU ARE A VISUAL LEARNER:

 

Merriam-Webster’s Spanish-English visual dictionary

Spanish English illustrated dictionary by Thomas Booth

Spanish visual dictionary for dummies.

Bilingual visual dictionary. Spanish English.

 

COMPLETE LANGUAGE COURSES:

   

Berlitz Spanish all-in-one

Complete Spanish step-by-step : the fastest way to achieve Spanish mastery by Barbara Bregstein

Spanish complete edition

Basic Spanish by Dorothy Devney Richmond

Instant Immersion Spanish deluxe v3.0

And, a Davenport Public Library cardholder, you have FREE access to the language learning program, Mango Languages.

 

FOR THOSE WHO PLAN TO TRAVEL:

 

Spanish: Rough Guides Phrase Book

Rick Steves’ Spanish phrase book & dictionary  by Rick Steves

Mexican Spanish phrase book & dictionary

Fast talk Latin American Spanish : guaranteed to get you talking.

 

NEXT MONTH…  LEARN A LANGUAGE — Part 3 — FRENCH

LEARN A LANGUAGE — Part 1

- Jill Leave a comment

Happy New Year!
¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!
Alles Gute Zum Neuen Jahr!
Bonne Année!
新年快乐! (xīnniánkuàilè!)

Did you know that there are over 41 different languages spoken by students in Scott County, Iowa?  The top 6 languages are represented above: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, German, French, and Chinese. Across the state, over 177 languages are spoken (according to the 2022 report by the Iowa Department of Human Rights and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach). This is a nearly 60% increase in the foreign language speaking population since the last report in 2010. All languages (other than English) spoken in Scott County account for over 9,200 speakers – which is more than 6%. Spanish speakers account for greater than 3% of that. And combined, Vietnamese, German, French, and Chinese, add up to another 1.68% of speakers, leaving 1.44% to account for another 35 languages. These are roughly the same numbers when you compare Scott County with the State of Iowa as a whole.

While English is the most commonly spoken language in the United States, according to a 2019 U.S. Census Bureau Report about 22 percent of the US population (308.8 million at the time) speaks a language other than English when at home. Roughly 62% of these individuals speaks English “very well” such that they can be identified as fluently bilingual. According to the Journal of Neurolinguistics, 43% of the world’s population is bilingual, using two languages daily. 40% is monolingual, and the remaining 17% are multilingual.

Among U.S. students studying a foreign language, roughly 72% are studying Spanish, 14% French, 4.5% German, 2.5% Latin, and almost 1% Japanese. And, according to a 2021 report from the language learning app, Duolingo, the top 6 most popular languages to learn around the world (after English, which ranks #1) are: Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Korean. The 5 most commonly spoken languages in the world in order are English, Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish and French.

Would you like to learn a foreign language to communicate better with others in our diverse community?  Perhaps you have always wanted to learn a specific language of your family heritage or to prepare for a long-awaited bucket list trip? The Library has an array of language learning resources. From complete courses (including an online program), to phrasebooks for travelers, visual dictionaries, and bilingual short stories, we have what you need to get started on your foreign language learning or ESL path. We even have Sign Language learning resources!

Over the next months, we will highlight resources for each of the top 6 most popular languages to learn: *Spanish, *French, *German, Japanese, Italian, and Korean. And, we will also include the most commonly spoken foreign languages in the Quad Cities Region: *Spanish, Vietnamese, *German, *French, and Chinese. ESL and Sign Language will also be included.
*We’ll only cover Spanish, German, and French once as they appear on both lists.

First, we’d like to point you to resources that will assist you in any language you want to learn. You can browse the online catalog for a specific language:  Davenport Public Library Catalog.  If you don’t see what you’re looking for there, reach out and let us know what language you’d like to learn or what resources you need.

As a Davenport Library card holder, you have FREE access to the language learning program Mango Languages found on our Online Resources page. Mango offers instructional courses for over 70 languages and ESL (English as a Second Language) courses for over 20 languages.

We also have these books that would be helpful no matter which language you choose to learn:

Fluent forever : how to learn any language fast and never forget it by Gabriel Wyner

Fluent in 3 months : how anyone at any age can learn to speak any language from anywhere in the world by Benny Lewis

How to speak any language fluently by Alex Rawlings

Bilingual families : a practical language planning guide by Eowyn Crisfield

 

Finally, you might find these two books useful as you begin planning your language learning adventure:

 

The first 20 hours : how to learn anything … fast by Josh Kaufman

Limitless : upgrade your brain, learn anything faster, and unlock your exceptional life by Jim Kwik

Stay tuned over the next months for language learning resources for specific languages!  First up, next month:  LEARN A LANGUAGE — Part 2 — SPANISH.

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“I love you when you’re at your lowest just as much as at your best.” – In Limbo, Deb JJ Lee

TW for suicide and abuse.

Deb Lee’s powerful new memoir explores coming of age in New Jersey as a Korean-American teenager. Deb examines the Korean-American diaspora and mental illness as she mines her history for answers. Deb left Seoul to come to America with her family when she was only three years old.  Ever since she arrived in the United States, she has been excruciatingly aware of her otherness. Her teachers couldn’t, and still can’t very well, pronounce her Korean name. Her English wasn’t perfect, she spoke Korean, but after some time, she slowly lost her Korean and spoke more and more English. Adjusting to the United States was difficult as her face and her eyes pointed her out as different. She felt wrong.

When Deb started high school, her life became harder. She started to feel increasing pressure at home, while dealing with high school changes. Her classes were more difficult than she expected, plus her friendships changed and ended. Deb struggles with finding a safe place to be herself, but luckily she has orchestra (even though that doesn’t last forever either). Her home life becomes increasingly chaotic as fights with her mom become more frequent, violent, and emotionally abusive. Deb has no idea what to do, feeling like she is stuck in limbo with nowhere to go and no one to turn to for help. Her mental health crashes, which results in a suicide attempt. Her healing process after is slow and methodical, but she is resilient, courageous, and willing to start the process. Art, self-care, and therapy help her start to understand herself and her heritage.

The artwork in this graphic memoir is amazing. Deb has drawn pages of evocative, grayscale artwork that give you the feel of memory. Some of their drawings are sharp while others are hazy, fuzzing out and fading to black. If you’re a fan of Tillie Walden, you will enjoy this art style. Deb worked on this for years before she finally was at a place where it was ready for the world. Their desire to wait makes this memoir feel polished and rewarding. This is a realistic depiction of a teen working through mental health experiences. Add in that this is a memoir and this is sure to be helpful to others.

Road Trip Books

- Stephanie Leave a comment

When I was younger, summer time meant road trips across the country to either visit family or to go to a new place we had never been before. As an adult, longer road trips have gone to the wayside, but I long to start them up again. To help me get my road trip fix, I have gathered a list of road trip and travel themed books. The ones I gathered all mostly deal with American road trips, but they are all fiction titles that haven’t been talked about on the blog before. Descriptions are provided by the publisher or author.

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He Started It by Samantha Downing

Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan haven’t all been together in years. And for very good reasons—we’ll get to those later. But when their wealthy grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his wake, the siblings and their respective partners must come together for a cross-country road trip to fulfill his final wish and—more importantly—secure their inheritance.

But time with your family can be tough. It is for everyone.

It’s even harder when you’re all keeping secrets and trying to forget a memory, a missing person, an act of revenge, the man in the black truck who won’t stop following your car—and especially when at least one of you is a killer and there’s a body in the trunk. Just to name a few reasons.

But money is a powerful motivator. It is for everyone.

This title is also available in large print and as a Libby eBook.

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In the Face of the Sun by Denny S. Bryce

1928, Los Angeles: The newly-built Hotel Somerville is the hotspot for the city’s glittering African-American elite. It embodies prosperity and dreams of equality for all—especially Daisy Washington. An up-and-coming journalist, Daisy anonymously chronicles fierce activism and behind-the-scenes Hollywood scandals in order to save her family from poverty. But power in the City of Angels is also fueled by racism, greed, and betrayal. And even the most determined young woman can play too many secrets too far . . .

1968, Chicago: For Frankie Saunders, fleeing across America is her only escape from an abusive husband. But her rescuer is her reckless, profane Aunt Daisy, still reeling from her own shattered past. Frankie doesn’t want to know what her aunt is up to so long as Daisy can get her to LA—and safety. But Frankie finds there’s no hiding from long-held secrets—or her own surprising strength.

Daisy will do whatever it takes to settle old scores and resolve the past—no matter the damage. And Frankie will come up against hard choices in the face of unexpected passion. Both must come to grips with what they need, what they’ve left behind—and all that lies ahead . . .

This title is also available as a Libby eBook.

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Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler

Millicent Watts-Cohen is on a mission. When she promised her elderly best friend that she’d reunite her with the woman she fell in love with nearly eighty years ago, she never imagined that would mean traveling from D.C. to Key West with three tablespoons of Mrs. Nash’s remains in her backpack. But Millie’s determined to give her friend a symbolic happily-ever-after, before it’s (really) too late—and hopefully reassure herself of love’s lasting power in the process.

She just didn’t expect to have a living travel companion.

After a computer glitch grounds flights, Millie is forced to catch a ride with Hollis Hollenbeck, an also-stranded acquaintance from her ex’s MFA program. Hollis certainly does not believe in happily-ever-afters—symbolic or otherwise—and makes it quite clear that he can’t fathom Millie’s plan ending well for anyone.

But as they contend with peculiar bed-and-breakfasts, unusual small-town festivals, and deer with a death wish, Millie begins to suspect that her reluctant travel partner might enjoy her company more than he lets on. Because for someone who supposedly doesn’t share her views on romance, Hollis sure is becoming invested in the success of their journey. And the closer they get to their destination, the more Millie has to admit that maybe this trip isn’t just about Mrs. Nash’s love story after all—maybe it’s also about her own.

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Nevada by Imogen Binnie

Maria Griffiths is almost thirty and works at a used bookstore in New York City while trying to stay true to her punk values. She’s in love with her bike but not with her girlfriend, Steph. She takes random pills and drinks more than is good for her, but doesn’t inject anything except, when she remembers, estrogen, because she’s trans. Everything is mostly fine until Maria and Steph break up, sending Maria into a tailspin, and then onto a cross-country trek in the car she steals from Steph. She ends up in the backwater town of Star City, Nevada, where she meets James, who is probably but not certainly trans, and who reminds Maria of her younger self. As Maria finds herself in the awkward position of trans role model, she realizes that she could become James’s savior—or his downfall.

One of the most beloved cult novels of our time and a landmark of trans literature, Imogen Binnie’s Nevada is a blistering, heartfelt, and evergreen coming-of-age story, and a punk-smeared excavation of marginalized life under capitalism. Guided by an instantly memorable, terminally self-aware protagonist—and back in print featuring a new afterword by the author—Nevada is the great American road novel flipped on its head for a new generation.

This title is also available as a Libby eAudiobook.

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Off the Map by Trish Doller

Carla Black’s life motto is “here for a good time, not for a long time.” She’s been traveling the world on her own in her vintage Jeep Wrangler for nearly a decade, stopping only long enough to replenish her adventure fund. She doesn’t do love and she doesn’t ever go home.

Eamon Sullivan is a modern-day cartographer who creates digital maps. His work helps people find their way, but he’s the one who’s lost his sense of direction. He’s unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled out—literally.

Fate throws them together when Carla arrives in Dublin for her best friend’s wedding and Eamon is tasked with picking her up from the airport. But what should be a simple drive across Ireland quickly becomes complicated with chemistry-filled detours, unexpected feelings, and a chance at love – if only they choose it.

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A Thousand Miles to Graceland by Kristen Mei Chase

Grace Johnson can’t escape the feeling that her life is on autopilot—until her husband announces he’s done with their marriage. Grace has a choice: wallow in humiliation . . . or reluctantly grant her outlandish mother’s seventieth birthday wish with a road trip Graceland. Buckle up, Elvis. We’re on our way.

Now the two are hightailing it from El Paso to Memphis, leaving a trail of sequins, false eyelashes, and difficult memories in their wake. Between spontaneous roadside stops to psychics, wig mishaps, and familiar passive-aggressive zingers, Grace is starting to better understand her Elvis-obsessed mama and their own fragile connection. She may even have another shot at love. Apparently the King really does work in mysterious ways. But after all these years, will it ever be possible for Grace and her mom to heal the hurts of the past?

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The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley

Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it.

One slip on the rug. That’s all it took for Louise Wilt’s daughter to demand that Louise have a full-time nanny living with her. Never mind that she can still walk fine, finish her daily crossword puzzle, and pour the two fingers of vodka she drinks every afternoon. Bottom line: Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one.

The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things—weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? And why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history who looks eerily like Louise? And why does Louise suddenly appear in her room, with a packed bag at 1 a.m. insisting that they leave town immediately?

Thus begins the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who—if they can outrun the mistakes of their past—might just have the greatest adventure of their lives.

This title is also available as a Libby eBook.

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The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry’s enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven’t spoken since.

Today, Dylan’s and Addie’s lives collide again. It’s the day before Cherry’s wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland—he’ll never get there on time by public transport.

So, along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart—and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.

This title is also available in large print and as a Libby eBook.

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The Trackers by Charles Frazier

Hurtling past the downtrodden communities of Depression-era America, painter Val Welch travels westward to the rural town of Dawes, Wyoming. Through a stroke of luck, he’s landed a New Deal assignment to create a mural representing the region for their new Post Office.

A wealthy art lover named John Long and his wife Eve have agreed to host Val at their sprawling ranch. Rumors and intrigue surround the couple: Eve left behind an itinerant life riding the rails and singing in a western swing band. Long holds shady political aspirations, but was once a WWI sniper—and his right hand is a mysterious elder cowboy, a vestige of the violent old west. Val quickly finds himself entranced by their lives.

One day, Eve flees home with a valuable painting in tow, and Long recruits Val to hit the road with a mission of tracking her down. Journeying from ramshackle Hoovervilles to San Francisco nightclubs to the swamps of Florida, Val’s search for Eve narrows, and he soon turns up secrets that could spark formidable changes for all of them.

This title is also available in large print, as a CD audiobook, and as a Libby eBook.

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West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave….It’s 1938….The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to become Southern California’s first giraffes. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

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Do you have a favorite travel book? Are you planning a road trip? Let us know in the comments!

Porcelain Travels by Matthew Felix

- Callen Leave a comment

I love a good travel story – and I’ve made the LibGuide Armchair Traveler to prove it! Most recently I read Porcelain Travels by Matthew Felix, and I highly recommend it for an entertaining journey and an education on the bathroom traditions in different parts of the world. It’s kind of hard to describe, but here’s the publisher’s version:

Matthew Félix is not a luxury traveler. But traveling on a budget fails to explain why so many of his most unforgettable experiences take place on the toilet, in the tub, or under the shower. From Matthew’s nightmare while relieving himself in Morocco to his unorthodox bathing practices in Paris and Istanbul to the Dead Sea shower incident that led to an arrest, Porcelain Travels is sometimes hilarious, occasionally shocking, and always entertaining.

What I liked was that there were so many levels on which to enjoy it. The toilet and bathing experiences are, for the most part, relatable and humorous (and fascinatingly informative where they’re not relatable); the various locations are a great source of escapism and global knowledge, and the short vignette chapters are engaging and easily readable. Less enjoyable was the author’s somewhat pretentious attitude on some things, but his humility in relating these episodes was a good balance for any sanctimoniousness.

If you’re a devoted travel reader, love cultural comparisons (Europeans’ horror at the existence of the garbage disposal, e.g.), or cannot travel without knowing the bathroom situation, this is a good book for you. Similar vibes include Bill Bryson of A Walk in the Woods fame and David Sedaris, known for Me Talk Pretty One Day.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“Give it time. Nothing you feel is wrong. There will always be a before and an after, and you have to learn to live in the after.” – Rachel Hawkins, Reckless Girls 

Rachel Hawkins is proving she’s a contender among mystery writers with her latest book, Reckless Girls. With this being only her second foray into writing adult fiction (Hawkins had previously written young adult and juvenile fiction), she has crafted a suspenseful psychological mystery that takes place on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Lux McAllister has been drifting for a while. After her mother died, Lux found herself working a job she didn’t particularly like in California. Enter Nico. The minute he walked into the restaurant she was working in, Lux felt he would change her life. Soon enough, the two are living in Hawaii. Nico promised her trips around the world in his boat. Instead the two have been stuck in Hawaii while Nico waits for the money to fix his boat. Nico’s family is rich, so he could ask his dad for the money, but his pride is holding him back. Instead he works at the marina while Lux works as housekeeping at a local resort, hoping to save enough money to fix the boat and sail away.

One day Nico tells Lux that he has met two women who want to hire him to sail them to a remote island in the South Pacific. The best news: they want Lux to come. After they pay to have Nico’s boat, the Susannah, fixed, the four head off to Meroe Island. Their passengers are college best friends Brittany and Amma. They say they want to travel off the beaten path, but something about the two seems off to Lux. After all, why would the chose Meroe Island? The island has a mysterious and deadly history: shipwrecks, cannibalism, and murder have haunted the island for years. It is a gorgeous destination though.

The group descend upon Meroe Island only to discover that there is already another boat anchored just off sandy coast. Living aboard the Azure Sky are Jake and Eliza. They are the golden couple: rich, gorgeous, laidback, and most importantly, their large catamaran has a very well-stocked bar. All six of them immediately click and begin spending their days together exploring the island off grid. Lux finally feels at peace. That peace is shattered when secrets start bubbling to the surface. It appears that people aren’t being as honest as they presented themselves to be. Meroe Island’s exotic locale becomes less and less appealing the longer they stay. When someone turns up dead and another goes missing, emotions run high as they wonder how many will actually leave Meroe alive.

This book is also available in the following formats:

The Best of Me by David Sedaris

- Callen Leave a comment

An anthology of David Sedaris’ work, The Best of Me is a great introduction to his style for the new reader, or a type of “greatest hits” album for his longtime fans. It abridges his former books including Me Talk Pretty One Day, Calypso, Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls, among others. As you read, you move through Sedaris’ whole life up to the present (or just about), laughing all the way.

The effect is interesting because where each of his previous essay collections had individual moods, this book has all of them– just about every conceivable feeling is present. The bittersweet feeling of aging and loss from Calypso is there, alongside the whimsical and sardonic tone of Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. His iconic struggle with learning French, full of self-deprecation and humility, is present, as are plenty of childhood reminiscences and portraits of his activities and fixations as a settled, partnered adult (shopping for taxidermy and terrible clothes, living abroad, collecting trash, etc.). This is probably the closest a book can come to a portrait of a life and a representation of a body of work — and, typical of Sedaris, the result is readable, funny, soothing, thought-provoking, and relatable in different ways.

Besides being funny, and easier to carry around than a collection of 5 to 7 individual books, this book is honest, and for me it served as a comforting reminder that no matter how quirky your tastes may be, it’s always possible to craft a life that works for you. For that matter, it’s also good to be reminded that none of us are quite as saintly as we may like to think we are; Sedaris is an expert at giving voice to the less altruistic feelings and motives we all secretly relate to – while not trying to justify them or rally readers behind these feelings. Also interesting is the thread running through several essays about how different it was for Sedaris to grow up as a gay man than it is to be in the LGBTQ community now.

Basically, this book is full of good humor and helpful reminders about the realities of human nature – including not to take yourself too seriously. Highly recommended for those wanting to revisit, or discover, the unique reading experience that is David Sedaris.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

- Callen Leave a comment

A tea monk and an intelligent robot search for meaning in this brief, optimistic read from the author of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Thoughtful and gently paced, it offers a sweet taste of what’s surely a longer journey to come in future books.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers imagines a world in which the type of life we know today has been relegated to the past, a quaint and quirky way of life now mercifully gone. Instead, humans have strictly confined their towns and cities, leaving half their planet as wilderness for nature to run free. Somewhere in that wilderness, however, are some originally man-made creatures: robots who long ago gained sentience and left humanity in order to live freely in nature. Their fate has been unknown, until now. Sibling Dex, a monk (who uses they/them pronouns) from the Meadow Den monastery in a bustling city, has begun craving wide-open spaces and cricket songs. So they leave the city to become a wandering tea monk. Eventually even small towns and villages become too much civilization, and Dex seeks out wilder places, only to come face to face with the robots’ emissary, Mosscap, sent to answer the question: What do humans need?

This may be the gentlest book I’ve ever read – tea wagons, herbs, lush forests, biking through the countryside, and much more combine to make a beautifully soothing backdrop for the story. The god Sibling Dex serves is even called the God of Small Comforts. Which is not to say that everything is happiness and sunshine: Dex struggles with feelings of dissatisfaction, and their customers at their tea wagon also have their share of hard problems to bear – issues which neither Dex nor new friend Mosscap can solve, only soothe with a carefully brewed cup of tea. But being soothed, by tea, by nature, or other small comforts, still helps even if the problem remains.

It’s part ecological thought experiment, part philosophical parable, and all-around-healing. If you’re in need of relief or retreat, try this beautiful, meditative book for a breath of fresh air. And then, if you’re like me, wait eagerly for the next installment.

Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce

- Callen Leave a comment

To be honest, I’m not a big reader of historical fiction. Reading Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce, which is set in 1950, was a departure for me, but I was open to it after having read her previous – and in my opinion, profound – book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I was pleased to find the story of Miss Benson an entertaining voyage into friendship, scientific inquiry, grief, post-war trauma, and how far we go to follow our dreams.

Our heroine is Margery Benson, who in 1914 at ten years old fell in love with beetles to help her deal with a personal loss, and became particularly fascinated by the golden beetle of New Caledonia, whose existence has never been proven. However, somewhere along the way she lost hold of her dreams, until she finds herself 46 years old, standing in front of a classroom teaching cookery, confiscating a note that turns out to be a less than flattering caricature of herself. Forced to face the difference between the life she wanted and the life she has, Miss Benson takes a leap of faith and embarks on a self-funded expedition to New Caledonia, determined to find the golden beetle once and for all. But she can’t do it alone. She’ll need an assistant. Enter the perky, flashy, enigmatic, blond-dyed, pink-hat-wearing, deeply unsuitable Enid Pretty, a woman with her own dreams to chase, and who will completely upend Margery Benson’s sense of the world, and herself.

I remain in awe of writers like Joyce who can weave together humor with grief and hardship with friendship to give you an engaging and meaningful tapestry of everyday life. I found this book funny and heartfelt, covering tough topics but not so heavily as to be depressing or off-putting. Also, like in her earlier Harold Fry, Joyce does a good job creating a journey for her characters that is both physical and emotional, and which leaves them forever changed.

This book is recommended for those who like books about female friendship, international travel, and the empowerment of women throughout history.

Get Graphic Series: Audubon: On the Wings of the World by Fabien Grolleau

- Mary Perez Leave a comment

Up next in our Get Graphic Series is a non fiction title by Fabien Grolleau. Audubon: On the Wings of the World, takes the reader on a journey through 19th century rural America. John James Audubon was an ornithologist with a goal to create a pictorial record of the all the birds in North America. Traveling with only his drawing materials, an assistant and a gun, Audubon encounters dangerous animals, wild storms, and some not so friendly people.

Audubon: On the Wings of the World highlights not only the beauty of birds in America, but how Audubon’s life revolves around them. As he travels the US, he meets with prominent scientists in the hopes of publishing his book of bird paintings. But, the scientist believe his paintings are more “artistic” than “scientific”- which is something Audubon does not want to hear. This fuels his desire to prove the scientists wrong. He soon becomes obsessed with painting the animals and begins to disregard his family, friends, and even his health. An unlikely stranger meets with Audubon and pulls him from his fascination, changing the course of his career and life forever.

One of the things I love about nonfiction graphic novels is the chance to learn about something or someone I would have glanced over in the biography section. I wouldn’t have picked up a 300 page biography on John James Audubon, but Audubon: On the Wings of the World was just long enough to give me the facts and keep me engaged. Graphic novels are great starting points if you find yourself interested in a nonfiction topic.

Illustrations are key for nonfiction graphic novels. Some might find nonfiction “boring,” but the illustrations create a fun environment for the facts to live. Audubon: On the Wings of the World has wonderful illustrations of not only the story, but of the birds Audubon loved.

If you want to learn more about John James Audubon, give this graphic novel a try!