Holiday Hand-Made Gift Giving: New & Notable Non-Fiction

The overwhelming success of online shopping has been a welcome convenience for so many of us—especially those who work all day.  But I doubt I’m the only one who sometimes finds the holiday season lacking in the sentiment and tradition I’ve managed to idealize in my memory but usually can’t reproduce.  This isn’t about trying to live up to magazine-perfect ideals, but rather simply restoring and sharing a semblance of goodwill and comfort.  Sometimes we need to slow down to remember what really matters to us and how we’d like to express our love to family and friends.  I truly believe we don’t need fabulous artistic abilities to find a way to make a gift that will not only be appreciated, but that can be enjoyed for the whole year.  And, the great part is, in the making of gifts to share we re-gain our connection with home-spun, less-hurried moments during the holiday season that might really give us what we all want: peace and joy.  Take a look at some of these titles and see if any inspire you to create a new memory or tradition for your family or friends. 

p.s. – If you’ve already traveled this path and have a “hand-made” book recommendation we might add to our collection, I’d love to hear about it.  

 DIY Aromatherapy Holiday Gifts by Rose Michaels

 Wood Pallet Wonders: DIY Projects for Home, Garden, Holidays and More by Becky Lamb

 Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel

Handmade Gifts From the Kitchen by Alison Walker

 Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

 Bound: Over 20 Artful Handmade Books by Erica Ekrem

 Knitting Without Needles by Anne Weil

 How to Make Resin Jewellery by Sara Naumann

 Sew Many Gifts by Karen M. Burns

 The Art of Stone Painting by F. Sehnaz Bac

 Better Homes & Gardens Holiday Crafts 2018

 Lotta Prints: How to Print With anything From Potatoes to Linoleum by Lotta Jansdotter

 Handmade Living: A Fresh Take on Scandinavian Style by Lotta Jansdotter

Fresh Finds: Newly Published Books

The Stone Crusher by Jeremy Dronefield (publication date: July 1)

Mary's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) One of the better holocaust memoirs I've read. Very detailed descriptions of camps and conditions, but also concentrates on the father-son bond that proved stronger than the machine that sought to break them both.






 
 

The Darkest Legacy by Alexandra Bracken (publication date: July 31)

Kaylee's Review:

(5 out of 5 stars) I loved this book because it explores a character discovering how to use her voice to effect a change in the world around her and come back from realizing she was unintentionally promoting harmful changes, harnessing her special powers along the way. This book is the fourth installment in The Darkest Minds world, and while it is set several years after the third book and explores the world through the view of a different main character, it is still helpful to the reader to be familiar with the overall story before starting The Darkest Legacy. 

 
 

Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon by Charles Casillo (publication date: August 14)

Dawn's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars)This is a new biography of the actress that tries to look at Marilyn as a person of her times. I liked this approach and learned some new things about her. I've read 3 or 4 other bios and this one stood out. 





 

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (publication date: August 21)

Katherine's Review:

(5 out of 5 stars) Amazing world-building, fantastic characters, and a book that is nearly impossible to put down! I really liked this creative and well-written book. Somehow Foundryside is the first book I have read by Robert Jackson Bennett, but after reading this one, I'm adding City of Stairs to my queue immediately. Everyone who loves richly imagined fantasy should read this book.

 

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames (publication date: August 28)

Jason's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) This is a fantasy novel about a young woman named Tam who joins Fable, a band of famous mercenaries, as their new lute-playing bard. Bloody Rose has great fantasy action scenes, but also manages to strike an emotional chord as a family drama. I also found it to be far funnier than expected.
 

 

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker (publication date: August 28)

Kaylee's Review:

For someone who enjoys pirates and female empowerment, Seafire was a fantastic book. Caledonia is the captain of an all-female crew who fight back against Aric Athair, leader of the Bullets, who ruthlessly rules the sea by kidnapping and brainwashing children into serving him. She has to learn how to overcome her blanket distrust of all males in order to rescue her brother from the Bullets and deal with the loss of people she holds dear. This is the first book in the trilogy so it ends on a cliffhanger, and there is a romance thrown in that I felt was a bit rushed, but I would still give it 4.5/5 stars.

 

Resistance by Jennifer Nielsen (publication date: August 28)

Tirzah's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) Writing historical fiction based on the Holocaust has to be difficult. Author Jennifer Nielsen showed her talent to effectively research and write historical fiction in her 2015 A Night Divided. She does the same wonderful job with Resistance. Readers will immediately be swept up in the story of Chaya, a brave Jewish courier for a resistance group. There are horrors, injustices, and grief as can only be expected in books such as these; however, there are great moments of love, loyalty, sacrifice, and the list goes on. Evil will always be in this world, but so will love and love will always win – even if it doesn’t feel or look like it did. This message is clearly told throughout the book. As with other similar books I have read, Resistance will stay with me for some time.
 

The Good Neighbor: the life and work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King (publication date: September 4)

Joyce's Review:

First of all I need to say I didn’t watch Mr. Rogers when I was a child because I had already aged out. As an adult, I saw bits and pieces of the show when children I was taking care of would call me over to watch. I soon found myself drawn into the imaginary world signaled by the trolley and loved watching the visits to neighborhood businesses to see how thing were made. Mr. Rogers’ calm personality, his measured transitions from one activity to another entranced the children. I checked out this biography intending just to look at the pictures and learn a bit about how the show was created and Fred Rogers himself. To my surprise and delight I found myself drawn into his personal story, his educational background and values and how they came together to create the iconic show. Even if you’ve never seen the show this book is well worth reading as the portrait of a man, his values and his vision of what children’s television could be. 

Dark Tide Rising by Anne Perry (publication date: September 18)

 

Joyce's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) This is the latest book in her William Monk series and it meets all the high standards of the earlier books in the series. The characters are well developed and the themes of loyalty and how past actions can affect the present are certainly thoughtful.

 

 

 

 

 

The Mona Lisa Key by Liesl Shurtliff (publication date: September 18)

Tirzah's Review:

(3.5 out of 5 stars) This was a fun, action-filled story with a mix of time travel and clue hunting. There is a theme of strong family bonds and how important it is for family to stick together no matter what. Along the way, readers learn facts from different points in history. This is the first of a planned series and I am looking forward to reading about the next exciting time travel adventure. I recommend especially to middle school and up who enjoy adventure stories. 

 

 

 

Rock Critic Law: 101 Unbreakable Rules for Writing Badly about Music by Michael Azerrad (publication date: October 23)

Mason's Review:

Azzerad is an established music journalist, and in his most recent book he vents about rock journalism. Every page is a "rule;" and every rule is a cliche that will provoke an groan or an eye roll from anybody who reads record reviews "(If two guitars play a melodic line in harmony, you MUST say they are 'twin lead guitars'"). Four stars. I'm deducting one star because, at 224 illustrated pages, you can read the entire book in about forty-five minutes. And that includes the time it takes to read the really funny bits out loud to whoever is in earshot.

Dig Into History with Time Team Documentaries: Available Now

Three Time Team documentaries now available on DVD!  For those Anglophiles out there (like me), you may have already come across the Time Team series while perusing Acorn or BritBox streaming channels.  This long-lived British documentary television series aired from 1994 to 2014.   

Each episode features a team of professional archaeologists carrying out digs over a period of three days, with British actor and presenter Tony Robinson explaining the process in layman’s terms along the way.  The sites excavated ranged in date from the Paleolithic to the Second World War.  What I enjoy about this series is the first-hand detail you get about how professional digs are handled – from the latest radar technology to the excavation of test strips of land to determine if “treasure” might be found.  Everything from the walls, streets, and structures of buried Roman cities beneath British soil, to weapons, pottery, and jewelry – not to mention the occasional “hoard” of gold and silver coins!   A Bonus:  “Time Team America” – The Brits cross the pond to investigate and uncover some of America’s historical locations and treasures! 


Time Team: Unearthing the Roman Invasion  
Time Team: The Team's Favorite Digs
Time Team America 

Sneak Peek DVDs: Take a Look at What We Just Added

A new delivery of DVDs has arrived which are now available.  What a great selection!  Here are a few highlights:  

 FICTION

“The Way Home” -  An Amazon reviewer says, “when your students want to borrow your DVD to show their parents and other family members, you have a winner.”  This award-winning South Korean film tells the story of a spoiled city grandson and his unsophisticated rural, mute grandmother.  Despite being defiant and unappreciative of his grandmother’s humble life, her unconditional love finally touches him before it’s too late. Beautiful and poignant. 

“The Party” is a dark comedy which unfolds during an evening dinner celebration between friends which begins as a “sophisticated soiree” that might just end in gunplay.  A talented British cast dissect “London’s personal and political angst” spot on.

“Freak Show” – Billy Bloom has absolutely no desire to be like anyone else.  In this high school comedy, being provoked by his peers only motivates him to widen the gap further.  When he runs for homecoming queen, we enter into the “transgressive space of pop culture” somewhere in between David Bowie and Lady Gaga. 

“Man in an Orange Shirt” is a PBS Masterpiece series movingly exploring two love stories set sixty years apart.  Vanessa Redgrave stars in this “heart-rending” drama charting the changes and challenges in gay lives in England.  The Los Angeles Times says the series is “refreshingly provocative in [portraying] the ordinariness of gay life.”

“In Search of Fellini” – Young dreamers rejoice in this coming-of-age adventure that unabashedly pays homage to Federico Fellini’s films in a magical trip through Italy.

NON-FICTION

“Frontline: Weinstein” – From PBS, “Frontline investigates how Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed and abused dozens of women over four decades. With allegations going back to Weinstein’s early years, the film examines the elaborate ways he and those around him tried to silence his accusers.”  Timely and revealing.

“Real Story: Braveheart” – From Smithsonian Channel, “Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" won five Oscars and made William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish warrior, an unforgettable Hollywood character. But how historically accurate is the film? Was the real-life William Wallace a heroic freedom fighter or a common criminal turned terrorist? We examine new archeological evidence, reveal recently deciphered ancient manuscripts and conduct forensic experiments to uncover the true story of this legendary warrior.”  The Library also owns Real Story: True Grit.

“Tales of Mexico” – Eight of Mexico’s rising star directors create a colorful dramatic portrait of a century of upheaval and change in this omnibus film.  A room in a turn-of-the-century mansion gives up its ghosts in eight separate episodes unfolding over a hundred years.  Okay, I’m hooked.

 

First-Look Fiction: British Library Crime Classics

We are happy to provide a wonderful series collection to our library patrons – British Library Crime Classics.  For those fans of Agatha Christie, PD James, and other wonderful British mystery writers, these classics are sure to entertain.

In 2015, U.S. Poisoned Penn Press began releasing trade paperback formats of much celebrated British Library Crime Classics featuring historical mysteries “rediscovered” by the British Library. Focusing on the “Golden Age” of British crime writing, the series includes works by both recognized and lesser-known writers. 

The publisher releases each title featuring cover art chosen by the British Library – “smart, old-fashioned designs befitting these golden age crime tales” — as well as introductions by well-known experts.

Per the publisher, “The British Library Crime Classic series is an outstanding collection of books written at a time when there was no such thing as genre fiction. These works laid the groundwork for today’s popular crime fiction . . . the original masters of crime fiction writing.”