Imagine Your Story

Imagine Your Story – Free From Your Library

carolLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I just can’t rationalize paying for all of the streaming TV out there. Instead, I like to get caught up on the popular series by checking them out from the library because it’s free! Sometimes that means I’m a little late to the party, but I don’t mind. The shows (if you are as good as avoiding spoilers as I am) are just as good, and in reality, I don’t always have the time to do the binge-watching necessary to keep current with several series. (There is reading to be done after all!)

My latest free score was checking out the first season of Barry on DVD. This dark comedy airs on HBO and stars Bill Hader as Barry Berkman/Barry Block, a Marine turned hit-man who is lonely and dissatisfied. After traveling from his hometown of Cleveland to Los Angeles to “work” (aka, murder someone), Barry finds himself drawn to a community of aspiring actors. Barry inadvertently steps into an acting class led by Gene Cousineau, who is played by Henry Winkler, and decides to quit the life of crime in order to become a full-time performer, but just can’t seem to keep his bloody past from creeping into his new life. While the content is dark, it is also, often, hilarious, and this viewer couldn’t help but root for the guy who was, at times, literally hurting the people he loves.

Sound like your cup of tea, too? Place your hold on series 1 of Barry in our catalog today. And, then, we can (impatiently) wait together for the DVD release of season 2.

~Carol

Imagine Your Story – Unplugged

carolLeave a comment

Do you feel like if you might scream if you have to read one more email, attend yet another meeting online or answer another group text message? If so, then I feel your pain. I was right there with you a week and a half ago. I managed to complete my workdays without taking anyone’s head off, but then I realized, for me, it was time to unplug.

I’ve heard that unplugging for just 24 hours can be beneficial and can help people feel more centered and grounded in the present moment. But gosh, it seems harder than ever to unplug, right? We are in the middle of a pandemic. We are being forced to attend more virtual meetings than ever, order online more, stream everything, and text everyone that it seems impossible to avoid technology. But maybe this is the perfect time to do it.

A 2011 study from the University of Maryland demonstrated that when students unplugged from technology, they spent more time with friends and family, got more exercise, and cooked and ate healthier foods. That all sounds pretty good.

This past weekend, I left my phone alone, chose a paper book over my e-reader, avoided the video game console, and just let my brain relax. It wasn’t easy. I had to bow out of my weekly family Zoom meeting, miss an installment of a TV show I’ve been watching, and (sigh) put on my reading glasses to read, but think I ultimately benefited from it. I got lots of spouse and cat-time and some daydreaming in, got a bit of extra sleep, and crossed a few chores off my list. It was worth it.

So, how about it? Unplug for a day and see how it makes you feel. I won’t even be mad if you read my blog post a day late.

~Carol

 

Imagine Your Story – Toughen Up

carolLeave a comment

Lately it’s a challenge to feel strong enough to handle what life has been throwing at us. In order to do that for myself, I’m striving to step up my physical and mental fitness games in order to be ready for anything. But, I find that it’s harder and harder to focus on the “love” part of the love/hate thing I’ve got going on with my treadmill and actually get motivated!

In the past couple of weeks, to mix it up, I’ve started adding to my consistently, inconsistent virtual boxing routine and aforementioned treadmill relationship by investigating what the library had to offer me. I was reminded, when searching the catalog, of the vast collection of exercise DVDs our library owns. Additionally, through our digital services, I can find ways to motivate myself even more. For example, using Hoopla I am able to borrow access to some really great yoga classes. My current favorite is “Gaiam: Athletic Yoga, Yoga For Flexibility with Kevin Love.” And, yes, you read that correctly. Our very own Cleveland Cleveland Cavaliers player Kevin Love is available to do yoga with you, in your home…and for that, you are welcome.

When I need strength building of the mental health variety, I usually find myself turning to Lynda Hudson’s guided meditations which I check out through the library’s Overdrive page. Lynda’s calming voice always get me to relax or to fall asleep faster. She’s even got an eBook for exercise motivation. Perfect timing, Lynda!

Are you looking for ways to change up your routine? I bet you’ll find something that will strengthen, entertain or at least surprise you when you check out our Digital Library.

Looks like it is time for me to go “move it” and spend 20 minutes with a certain Cavs player. Don’t worry, my husband is just in the next room.                     ~Carol

Imagine Your Story -with a new recipe?

staceyLeave a comment

From the conversations I’ve been having, I know I’m not the only one suffering from cooking boredom. I’ve got my tried and true meals that I’ve relied on to make things a little easier right now, but I’m ready to try something else now. I’ve been looking at some of the cookbooks and some food science books (oddly intriguing) available as ebooks for inspiration, and then thought…. hmm, maybe it would be helpful to share a list? And so, What’s for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner collection came into being. If you find something you really enjoy (a recipe OR a whole book) please -feel free to share!

take care of yourselves!
—Stacey

Imagine Your Story – Book to TV, done right

carolLeave a comment

I feel like it was a million years ago that I read and loved The Alienist by Caleb Carr. Published in 1994 (so, not a million years, per se), this novel was the first in Carr’s dark historical fiction series featuring Dr. Laszlo Kreizler as an ahead-of-his-time psychologist whose ability to profile criminals helps track down serial killers. Kreizler is assisted by Times reporter and friend of Teddy Roosevelt, John Schuyler Moore, and society woman-turned-trailblazing policewoman Sara Howard. This team is not afraid of gritty scenes and certainly finds them in 1890s New York City when a string of street children are gruesomely murdered. In this novel and its two sequels, Carr’s magic is his character development and slow building suspense.

alieniest

In 2018, I was thrilled when “The Alienist” was was released as a TNT television series, starring Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning. For me, it checked all the boxes for good murder mystery viewing: lush period setting, beautiful fashion, brooding intensity, and fine acting.

I’m even more excited that the second season, “The Alienist: The Angel of Darkness,” debuted last night! After watching the two hour premiere, not only am I a little extra sleepy today, I am already looking forward to next week’s episode to see what will befall my favorite characters.

If you are ready to dive in, just know that both the TV series and books are dark and violent–you can’t have a criminal profiler if there isn’t a criminal, right? Disclaimers aside, find sometime for a book that will stay with you throughout the years and pick up Caleb Carr’s 1995 Anthony Award for Best First Novel, The Alienist, or set your DVR.

-Carol

Imagine Your Story -The Honorable John Lewis

staceyLeave a comment

U.S. Representative from the 5th Congressional District of Georgia, The Honorable John Lewis, passed away Friday, July 17. The positive impact Congressman Lewis had on America, with his words and actions, have helped shape America into a better place to live. His personal story is powerful and his leadership is inspirational. If you’d like to learn more about The Honorable John Lewis, please consider watching John Lewis: Get in the Way on PBS, read his book Across that Bridge, or his story in March: book one, March: book two, March: book three in a graphic novel format, or a simple biography, John Lewis, you want something you can share with a younger reader. Mr. Lewis, we thank you for decades of service on behalf of us all and we miss you already.

Take care everyone
—Stacey

Imagine Your Story – Books

carolLeave a comment

I have a book to recommend, but first I have a few disclaimers: 1) This novel is about a boy who is the only survivor of a plane crash that kills 191 other people. 2) This book made me cry. 3) The plane crash is described and it’s scary–especially to people like me who really don’t love to fly. 4) I was only able to read this book knowing I wouldn’t be getting on a plane any time soon.

Whew, now that we’ve got all of that out of the way, I’m relieved.

And, if you are still reading this blog post, then maybe you will take a chance on Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. Edward Adler is 12-years-old when his brother and parents and 183 other people are killed in a plane crash that he survives–but that is just the beginning of his remarkable story. He’s not magic or anything. He is just a lucky kid, you might think, until he wakes up alone in a hospital, emotionally and physically broken. He moves in with his Aunt Lacey, who has just lost her sister, and her husband John, who is determined to protect Edward from the endless barrage of strangers obsessed with the crash, who might want to exploit him. With the help of a slew of people, including his therapist, Dr. Mike, and his new neighbor and friend Shay, Edward must learn to go on living.

dear edward

So, yes this book will break your heart. Not only is Edward’s story sad, but readers hear some of his fellow passenger’s personal stories as well. If that wasn’t enough, alternating narratives within this novel share glimpses of the grief of their loved ones.

But this book will lift you up too. It will make you see how people can truly care about one another, and give you hope for humanity. At least it did for me.

So, read this novel about loss, love, and friendship to get in touch with your empathetic side. After all, who knows what might be troubling people who cross our paths every day. Just be sure to keep a tissue handy.

-Carol

Imagine Your Story -A Memoir?

staceyLeave a comment

I’m taking some Liberties (future pun intended) and encouraging you to think about what your future memoir will contain… Will you be able to say you made sure you were counted in the 2020 Census? (If you haven’t you still can at: 2020 Census) Will you be able to say you made sure you could vote by requesting a mail-in ballot? (If you haven’t you still can from Cuyahoga Board of Elections or check the United States Government site for your local Board of Elections to request a ballot!)  Oh, you did all of that already? Good! I did too!  And now that we’ve fulfilled our Civic Duty toward the Life and Liberty part of Declaration of Independence, we can enjoy the Pursuit of Happiness by sitting back, relaxing, and listening to the Essential Bill Withers while we upcycle some lightly tattered clothes and look at interesting Summertime recipes (so we can avoid the oven)!

It’s good to plan ahead, isn’t it? Stay cool my friends!
—Stacey

YA Round Up

MeganLeave a comment

I have been reading (and by reading, I mean listening to) a lot of true crime and thrillers lately, but I also read a good amount of YA books. I am the Teen Librarian, after all. Early in the Covid shut down I mostly revisited old favorites, but as I become accustomed to my new normal I am getting back into my old reading habits. So, here’s a quick review of some of my favorite YA reads of the year so far.

These are the first of my 5-Star reads of 2020.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks: I loved this charming graphic novel so much! Two high school seniors, “work” best friends, face the end of their time at the pumpkin patch they both love. The pair decide to brush off work and hunt down a long time crush. Hilarity ensues. This slim volume perfectly captures the excitement, sorrow, and uncertainty of leaving high school and embarking on the next adventure.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer: This is fun Beauty and the Beast retelling. Harper, the story’s Belle, is tough and determined, and constantly underestimated due to her cerebal palsy. Definitely an interesting addition to the fantasy genre and the world of retellings.

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen: Ever Wong’s summer plans are cancelled when her parents inform her she is going to Taiwan to study Mandarin. It’s just the kind of thing they would do in their never-ending quest for the perfect daughter. What they don’t know is that this program is a notorious “meet-market”, nicknamed the Loveboat. Surrounded by teen prodigies and experience freedom for the first time, Ever sets out to break all the rules. You don’t have to be Chinese to relate to this nearly perfect coming of age story.

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed: A teen book about political canvassing?!? Yes, please! Jewish and Muslim representation, political activism, and romance blend into the perfect book for me. I love anything that inspires young people to get involved in politics!

Displacement by Kiku Hughes: Displacement is an exploration of the Japanese-American and Japanese immigrant experience in interment camps during WWII. Teenaged Kiku Hughes calls her brief trips back in time to experience what her grandmother and great-grandparents experienced displacements. Little is known about their time in the camps because they rarely spoke of it, but Kiku was able to live the confusion and fear, the hunger and grief, the impossible choices people made.
This memoir-based book is gorgeous. The art is simple and beautiful and panels are open, sometimes sprawling, like the inhospitable landscapes surrounding the camps. While the main focus is the past, the author pulls no punches when it comes to comparing Japanese internment camps and the political climate that allowed them to occur to our current political environmental. This is a powerful must-read.

Stay tuned for more 5 star YA titles!

~Megan

Imagine Your Story : Historical Fiction That Educates, Too

carolLeave a comment

This week had me occupied with a book recommendation from my husband. While we generally agree on films, food and other critical-to-marriage subjects, books are where he sticks to nonfiction, but where I enjoy more of the make-believe varieties.

So when he reads fiction and then wants to talk about it, I am in. And, spoiler alert, he was right (and now that I’ve blogged about it, has bragging rights). The King at the Edge of the World by Arthur Phillips is that good. In this book, set in 1601, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I is dying without an heir. Her likely successor is James VI of Scotland, who outwardly professes to be Protestant, but raised Catholic and with a Catholic wife, whose religious convictions are difficult to decipher. Those who wish to see England’s crown pass to a Protestant heir, including spy and stage actor Geoffrey Belloc, are desperate to know James’ heart on the matter.

kingatedge

A man without a dog in this fight is Ottoman Muslim Doctor, Mahmoud Ezzedine, who, banished to England because of unfortunate events, has been forced to become an expert on the nuances of Christianity and English politics. If Ezzedine has has any hopes of seeing his family again, he must assist Belloc. Ezzedine is made to be a judge of that which he knows little, in order to save a realm of which he cares little, in the faint hope he can return to the world he came from.

Today, it can be hard for some people to see beyond their perceptions of a person’s culture. This is one of the themes in this historical fiction/mystery hybrid novel. The doctor becomes a good spy, because while he might be distrusted for his foreignness, his foreignness also makes him invisible. Unseen, what will this man do to become free?

Not only is this book entertaining on so many levels, it may also have you reconsidering your own preconceptions of other cultures and people. In my opinion, that’s good fiction that educates.    ~Carol