Publisher catalogues, Goodreads.com, blog blogs…there are so many great options for finding reading inspiration. Like most people, however, I find the best source is other readers. The following are some books that were suggested to me by others. While I was initially reluctant to read them, I was glad I did. Click any of the titles below to place a hold in our catalogue.
Often as I am reading a novel, I want to learn about the “real bits” I find embedded in the fiction. When I read Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, I immediately wanted to look at the art work of Johannes Vermeer. It is like the connection you make to a particular city you wish to visit after reading a novel – like New Orleans and Anne Rice’s the Vampire Chronicles.
Ramadan started on April 24th this year and although fasting, prayer, spiritual reflection and doing good deeds will continue to occur, it will surely be challenging not to be able to visit with family during this time of social isolation.
To learn more about the holiday, try some of these children's titles from our digital catalogue:
We are close to five months in from January's New Year's resolutions – how are you doing? I have to admit, I have not achieved my reading goals for 2020, however, there is still time. If a reading resolution did not work out for you, why not revive with a reading challenge?
If you need some inspiration on how to achieve this, try these resources to reboot your resolution:
Emotions are running high these days and children are certainly not immune. Picture books are a great way to explain big concepts to very young children, and give them a way to understand the feelings they can’t quite fully articulate. With continuing recognition of worry, grief and mood disorders in early childhood, parents may choose to turn to literature to help explain these concepts along with coping mechanisms.
Did you know that April 22nd, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day? Let’s celebrate our beautiful planet together. Whether you recycle, repurpose, start plogging, plant a garden, or eat a meat-free meal, it all helps to lesson our impact on the planet.
As David Suzuki, a legendary Canadian environmentalist, once said:
Did the Easter bunny bring you a bicycle last weekend, or maybe you recently rediscovered your bicycle in the back corner of your garage? Now is a great time to do maintenance, adjust seats and handlebars, and hit the road for your daily iso-exercise routine.
To be safe, first check out a few tips in some of our books on bikes available on online via Hoopla and Overdrive:
If you are looking for an upbeat story, but aren’t really into the usual rom-coms, give our NoveList service a try. This database allows you to search through 100,000s of titles by appeal factor, genre, and subject matter, so you can discover books that you’ll find interesting and feel-good. The following are ten examples of “upbeat” non-fiction books that I discovered using NoveList. They all can be borrowed on-demand with your library card via Hoopla.
Although the first day of Spring was “officially” March 19th this year, it is never too late to start your spring cleaning. Self-isolation and working from home, can make that nest of dust bunnies in the corner more annoying than ever. Sometimes we need some motivation (myself included) to start this project – my windows are calling!
If you are a reader caught up in all of the hot topics and big social issues of the day, why not delve a little bit deeper than a news article? There are so many timely non-fiction titles available for you to dig into in order to gain a better grasp of a particular subject or perspective. The following are a few examples of non-fic books that I recently read and you may find interesting too.