Your Library Staff at Home

A Fashionably, Old-Fashioned Feeling Film

carolLeave a comment

If you are looking for a movie to warm your heart this new year, watch Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, starring Lesley Manville.

Mrs. Ada Harris has lived alone in London since her husband went missing in WWII. Working tirelessly as a house-cleaner to make her living, Mrs. Harris hasn’t allowed herself to want much. But in 1957, when her husband is finally declared deceased and she stumbles into some unexpected money, she decides to treat herself –to a couture Christian Dior dress after spotting one in an apartment she cleans.

Mrs. Harris jets off to Paris and is almost laughed out of the designer’s storefront for being far too ordinary for such a fancy dress. It is only the cash in her hand that gets her dress ordered from the famous design house, which is coincidentally having a hard time making financial ends meet.

As Mrs. Harris patiently waits for her dress to be fitted and sewn, her generosity, honesty, wholesomeness and hopeful outlook can’t help but change all who she encounters and will unwittingly make a lasting mark on the future of the House of Dior’s business plan.

This charming film, which is based on the 1958 novel Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico, is like a breath of fresh air that will transport you to 1950s England and Paris with impeccable acting, lush sets, and gorgeous period costuming. Watch this old-fashioned story about self-love, hope and not letting life pass you by. In the end, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris will leave you feeling that everything will be just fine.

-Carol

Carol’s Top Ten of 2022

carolLeave a comment

Here are my favorite books from this past year, listed alphabetically by author. Click on the titles to place holds on the ones you’d like to read, and maybe they’ll become your favorites, too.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Lark Ascending by Silas House

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

The Matchmaker’s Gift by Linda Cohen Loigman

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters

Wishing you a happy holiday season and a happy new year filled with many great books!

-Carol

Your Library Staff at Home – Need a little laugh?

BethLeave a comment

Is the news continually bringing you down? I know that I’ve had to take some news breaks myself. Another way I try to counter balance all of the brutal reality of today is to distract myself with laughter. I’ve always appreciated stand-up comedy, and since I can’t necessary go to a comedy club right now to see live comedy, Hoopla is coming in very handy.

Hoopla has hundred, and maybe thousand of stand-up comedy albums available for you to borrow right now. Here are some of my favorite comedian stand-up albums available through Hoopla:

-Beth

Your Library Staff at Home- RiverCon! 2020 Excitement

NicoleLeave a comment

As much as I have enjoyed spending time at home with my cats, husband, and favorite yoga pants, I am so stoked about spending some time back in the library beginning next week! Library staff is slowly returning to the library to bring our amazing community some great programming, materials, and more to enjoy this summer! In particular, I am brimming with excitement for RiverCon! That is why there are so many exclamation points already in this post.

If you are into pop culture, comics books, graphic novels, and manga you don’t want to miss this celebration of nerdom. You can take a look at the goodness coming your way on our RiverCon webpage!

We’ve got something for everyone and it all kicks off Saturday, June 6th. What might that day look like for you if you were to participate in this at home mini-con? Let me paint the picture for you!

  • 9 am- 1 pm: Patrons who pre-registered for a RiverCon@Home activity kit (if you didn’t claim your kit yet click here!) can pick-up their kits by stopping at the front entrance of the library to grab your kit from one of the librarians. You can also sign-up early for one of our super fun summer reading programs! Pre-registration for kits will end June 5th, but fear not- we will have unclaimed RiverCon@Home kits on hand to pass out to anyone who stops by on a while supplies last basis!
  • What will my RiverCon@Home kit include? A RiverCon magnet, materials to make your own upcycled comic book bookmark, blank panel pages to draw your own comics, a librarian curated graphic novel reading list with discussion questions to explore at home, superhero stickers, and more!
  • 2-3 pm: Teens and adults can learn all about the interesting history of comics and graphic novels in Cleveland from CSU literature professor Jeff Karem at our Graphic Novelists in Cleveland webinar.
  • 2-3:30 pm: Kids ages 8-12 can sign up to participate in our online Nintendo Gaming Tournament.

The fun continues all month with our first ever Community Cosplay Contest running from June 6th- June 29th! Find all the necessary information for participation here. We want to see your creativity! All ages are invited to bring to life your favorite characters for a chance to win a sweet prize bag. Two lucky winners will win a selection of graphic novels and gift cards to Carol & John’s Comic Shop, Immortals Inc., and Mitchell’s Ice Cream!

Keep checking back here every Thursday, June 11- July 2 to read interviews with talented local comic artists and writers! We will be talking to Karly West, creator of The Scholarly Banana, comics designer and artist Clare Kolat, and Tony Isabella, creator of Black Lightning, to name a few.

I’ll be posting some sneak peeks of our RiverCon@Home kits next Thursday, highlighting some more of the great comic book content we have curated for you, and reminding you all of the awesomeness ahead one more time before the big kick-off day! It’s so nice to have something to look forward to these days, don’t you think?

Stay safe and well until next time!

Your Library Staff at Home — Thanks, Universe?

carolLeave a comment

It has been nice to be able to continue with exercise classes online during the quarantine, but it was not so nice when I overdid it a couple days ago during such a class and felt an ouch. Bummer! Nothing serious but my routine is thrown and now my body is insisting that I need a few days off. I’ve been icing the swelling, elevating and resting and feeling a bit better, but it’s hard not to be discouraged– I had a schedule and a plan and life instead told me to slow down.

Pretty sure many of us had to swallow a truth sandwich as a result of the pandemic and the need for sheltering in place. Vacations were cancelled and postponed; graduations are being held remotely; and some of our really big events have turned into intimate ones. None of this is by choice.

But as I was recouping over the weekend with a Downton Abbey marathon, I’m determined to focus for a silver lining. Perhaps though fictionalized, Downton Abbey provides an excellent example of how humans are capable of growth and change. Along with all the scandal and drama that make compelling television, the Crawley family of Downton face the real-life challenges of surviving first World War, the Spanish Flu, and changes to their Aristocratic way of life. Generations before us have learned to play by new rules. It’s not easy but humans are resilient. We rest, evaluate and then, adapt. We’ll get through this–it’s human nature.

And meanwhile, let’s look at the silver lining. For me, today, the windows are open, the birds are singing, Downton is on and a copy of Denise Mina’s latest mystery Conviction is available for me on Overdrive. It’s going to be a fine day. Thanks, Universe!

Virtual Book Club – Week 4 – Book Woman

ShannonLeave a comment

This Memorial Day weekend, we’re talking about another holiday celebration: one that takes place in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.

If you’d like to read along with us, click the link above to go to Hoopla, one of our e-media services. All you need is your card number and PIN to check out a copy of the book – no holds, no waiting! And what better to do over a long weekend stuck at home than to read? Now, let’s get to the discussion…

  • How do you think Cussy feels when she is ostracized at the Independence Day celebration, despite her change of skin color? Can you relate to her feelings of isolation? 
  • If Cussy was alive today, do you think she would still face the same kind of prejudices against her skin color that she did during the Great Depression?
  • Cussy has to deal with the loss of many loved ones in a very short amount of time. How do you think she handles her grief? Which loss was the most difficult for you to read?  

Some questions from the author’s website, some additions by me.

Check back next Sunday for our final week of discussing Book Woman! We’ll post the last batch of discussion questions and close out our virtual book club for May. Whether you comment or just read, we’re happy you’re here!

Your Library Staff at Home- Arts and Culture Online

GregLeave a comment

This week we are providing links to resources might find helpful in your hunt when looking up the history of your home. These resources were assembled for a program that the library partnered in Virtual 4th Annual Living in the Digital World Senior Expo.

Cleveland Memory Project- Rocky River

In partnership with the Cleveland Memory Project, a digital history collection at Cleveland State University, we are digitizing our photograph collection. We are also adding photographs of Rocky River from the Cleveland Press Collection at CSU.– rrpl.org
http://www.clevelandmemory.org/rockyriver/index.html


Cleveland State Research Guides

This is the Library Guide for information on the history of greater Cleveland and NE Ohio.  Notice the tabs across the top of this page, detailing specific types of resources and other information topics designed to help you. Note too that many of these pages give you room to comment and rate this information for usefulness.  -csuohio.edu
http://researchguides.csuohio.edu/localhistory


Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer- Real Property

The Real Property department maintains a complete historical record of all property transactions, maintains records of property ownership, valuation, and taxation, and collects special assessments for public improvements. In addition, the Real Property department prepares the first and second half property tax duplicate, computes tax refunds, gives credits based on decisions by the Board of Revision, Board of Tax Appeals, the Appraisal department and the Courts.-fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us
https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/real-property.aspx


Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer- The Cuyahoga Recording Division

This site is provided to allow the citizens of Cuyahoga County, and the world, access to information housed at our office. Here you will find data on all the documents filed at the Recorder’s office from 1810 until present day. -fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/RecordedDocumentsServices.aspx


Sanborn Fire Maps

Fire insurance maps of Ohio from 1867 to 1970 for history and genealogy research. Library Card Required. -rrpl.org
http://www.oplin.org/sanborn

Your Library Staff at Home -How about a Philip Seymour Hoffman Binge?

BethLeave a comment

I’m going to generalize here and say that you’ve probably watched a fair amount of TV/movies lately. We all have. If you’re looking to expand your viewing beyond private tiger owners, may I suggest you join me on a Philip Seymour Hoffman binge?

Why Philip Seymour Hoffman?

Why not?

PSH, as I shall refer to him from here, generally plays an addled, yet intriguing character. Not necessarily the protagonist of a fairy tale, but always committed to breathing life into his roles.

Lucky for you, Hoopla has 8 titles featuring PSH you can stream for free with your RRPL library card, including one of my favorites Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. I’ll link them below.

What’s your favorite PSH role?