Ever read a whole book in one sitting?

Must be a good book!

Librarians have SO much more to their job than just working with books (teaching/dealing with technology, customer service, information literacy, plus so much more) however, books tend to be very special to librarians! Most, if not all, librarians are avid readers. So hopefully you will be able to relate to this cute slideshow all about finishing a book in one sitting!

Have you ever been so pulled into a book that you literally could not put it down until you found out what happened? Or, on the flip side, have you ever raced to finish a book because it was terrible but you wanted to just get it done? 🙂

My most recent race-to-finish books:
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (because I needed a break from the intensity of the book, but also really wanted to find out what happened!)
A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee (because I didn’t really care for it)

Discover books about old Yule traditions

What sort of creatures are roaming through the snow in winter?

Interested in reading some winter books that aren’t holiday themed? This article from Book Riot should help you out! The article includes several books that delve into some of the older traditions of the winter season. Daylight is short, and the nights are extra dark and long, so it seems logical that some spooky and mystical traditions exist during the season!

One of the books, The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year even includes cookie recipes and craft ideas alongside it’s description of the enchanted creatures of the season.

 

 

The list also thoughtfully makes a suggestion for your probably stressed-out body with Four Seasons of Mojo: An Herbal Guide to Natural Living that includes techniques to help with winter-related ailments like colds, flu, and depression.

 

Finally, since it’s likely you will be around some kids at some point during the winter season, you can’t go wrong with Tomie dePaola’s The Legend of Old Befana which tells the traditional Italian story of an old woman and her flight to find the baby Jesus.

 

Extra credit: Not included on the list in the article, but also incorporating enchanted creatures and magical forests (although technically, yes, it is about Santa) is L. Frank Baum’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus which I grew up enjoying!

 

 

 

Do you know of any Yule or traditional winter folk books that we should be reading? Tell us in the comments!

30 Book-Related Quizzes to Test Your Memory

Need a break from the day?  Or something to get your brain going again?  Check out Book Riot’s compilation of The Ultimate Book Trivia Challenge.  Students will enjoy these, too – many test the taker’s memory for characters and lines, and they’re timed, too!  From Shakespeare to Harry Potter, there’s something here for everyone!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/q63p7pu, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Booklist: 10 Experimental Novels

As Emily Temple of Flavorwire tells us, September 9th marked “the US publication of Eimear McBride’s A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing.”  Temple describes the book as “a highly experimental, Joycean novel” – experimental meaning that the book emphasizes innovation, especially when it comes to writing technique.  Temple tells us that, while the book is more difficult to read, it is worth the extra effort, and the book has won numerous awards.  Once you’ve wrapped your head around the book, she gives us a list of ten more experimental books to try.  Tell us what you think!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/k463mt6, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Pew Research Center Reports on Young Americans’ Public Library Usage

A Pew Report from September 10th, 2014 brings more insight into how young adults are using (or not using) their local libraries.  The report is based on several years’ research and divides Americans under 30 and those 30 and over.  Within the report you’ll find many graphs and charts, but below you’ll find one that illustrates how often Americans read books:

To read the summary, click here.

 

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/nkza4hu, licensed under CC BY 2.0