Recently in a meeting, we were looking at the circulation statistics (don't be jealous) and a colleague noted how well the fantasy genre was doing. This is perennially true, fantasy always does well, but these stats showed fantasy doing markedly better than the other genres. Maybe it was just a fluke of publishing schedules, but…
Debut Novels That Didn’t Get Their Due
You know the old cliche, “If a book drops during a pandemic, does it make a sound?” Well the answer is yes, unfortunately the sound is more of a thud, rather than the bang an author would have hoped for. There’s been a lot of behavioral adjustments since COVID, and the ability to discover new…
Political Flare-Up
While campaign season in America never really goes away, the upcoming Iowa caucuses do mark an end to the off-year latent period. What we’ve got now is a bad ca
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?
Of all the genres we collect at the library, it often feels like the Western is most in danger of fading away. In terms of cultural relevance, I’d venture to guess the genre peaked sometime mid-century, back when John Wayne and Clint Eastwood were simultaneously in the saddle (different saddles), and Gunsmoke was still wafting…
Library Clearance Rack
When ordering books for the library, we do our best to stay ahead of media buzz so patrons can start queuing up for hot titles. Reasonably enough, folks get - we’ll say... anxious - if they aren’t able to place a hold on an exciting title when they first hear of it. This means we try…
Thousand Mile Journeys Start with Many Steps
Maybe it’s fitting that our collection of travel guidebooks are so far from the entrance. If you hope to explore the world, then navigating the stacks is a fair place to start. All you have to do to get there is head north from the Welcome Desk, pass everything else in the building, and just…
What’s Cooking, 2019?
You look absolutely stunning, obviously. Still, this time of year, many folks are inclined to reevaluate their eating habits. Maybe you want to drop a few pounds or would like to feel healthier. Maybe your friends have all gone paleo, and you don't want to be voted out of the tribe. Maybe eating broccoli just…
It’s Always Almost the Holidays
Lots of people grumble about how the holidays seem to encroach ever earlier into the preceding season. We hardly have time to stow our patriotic bunting before that one aisle in the grocery store starts insisting it’s time for bats and jack o'lanterns—which are then quickly muscled off the shelf by Christmas baubles. Unfortunately…
Large Print: A Sight for Sore Eyes
Between staring at a computer monitor all day, Netflix at night, and then presidential tweets first thing in the morning, our eyes experience a great deal of strain throughout the day. This is one likely reason that print book sales have stayed strong in the digital era, as a respite from screen time. Any analog…
Spring Self-Help
Traditionally, New Year’s Eve is the high season for setting self-improvement goals. That timing, however, is problematic because we still need those extra cookie calories (and maybe an extra tipple here and there) just to keep warm. Spring, on the other hand, with its warmer weather and conspicuous optimism, is really the better time to…
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