Much like clothing styles, book covers change with the seasons. Every fall, the sunny, candy-colored beach reads are replaced by more serious artwork, better matching the darkening days. It’s this time when publishers boost the heavier fare, like high-minded literary works with noted authors - the ones you’ve definitely been meaning to read. Those books…
Small but Mighty
With the announcement late last year that Penguin Random House had made a deal to buy Simon and Schuster, the Big Five publishers will now likely narrow to just four. At this rate, it is entirely plausible that within the next few years we will have one amalgamated behemoth, Penguin-Random-Simon-Macmillan-Hachette-Harper-House, deciding which handful of authors…
Back to the Garden
My mother-in-law says that Easter is the best time to plant a spring garden. Whether or not this is true, I have no idea. I heard it secondhand and wasn’t particularly interested in having that kernel of wisdom take root in my head. But somehow it did, and now I am a person with a…
Sweet, Sweet Fantasy
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…
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