GPL Blog

From the Director’s Desk — How Green Is Your Library?

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

We are about a year away from moving into our new facility and are taking steps to ensure the library is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable in our new space. Some of the sustainable initiatives we’ve taken include planning for an electronic vehicle charging station in our future parking lot, building a skills lab with tools for patrons to use and share, and adding solar panels to our roof through the Solar for All program. In the meantime, there are several ways we are practicing environmental responsibility for our library and our community.

Libraries, by the very nature of our existence, reduce waste by sharing materials with our communities. We own over 134,000 items that can be accessed by and shared among our community members, including items that can be borrowed, like books, movies, music, magazines, toys, games, hot spots, etc., and items that are shared within the library like public computers, newspapers in print and on microfilm, and a public meeting room. Lending and sharing reduce consumption and waste, save our community members money, and create more equitable opportunities for all Galesburg residents.

Some of the items we lend encourage and allow library users to reduce their environmental impact, including bike locks to support cyclists and Kill-A-Watt electricity usage monitors. Our seed library provides fruit, vegetable, and flower seeds available to the public at no cost, and we provide many paths for patrons to recycle, share, and rehome their own materials, including our blessing box, our annual Halloween costume drive, and, new this spring, a puzzle and board game swap.

Outdoors, our Monarch Waystation supports butterfly migration and survival, and we plan to include another at the new library location. The windows of our new building will have bird-safe glazing to reduce bird strikes and lessen our impact on migration patterns.

If you are interested in discussing the environment and sustainability with other community members, please consider joining the Food for Thought Book Club which meets monthly at Cornucopia and discusses books about food, climate, and the environment. The current read is Wastelands by Corban Addison, which is available for check out at the library, and the next meeting is Thursday, March 30, at 11:30.

New DVDs — February 2023 (Oscar Edition!)

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

It’s Oscar season! Have you caught up on all the Best Picture nominees before the ceremony on March 12? Check out the nominees below, and put one on hold today!

One of the frontrunners this year is Everything Everywhere All at Once, directed by the Daniels. In this sci-fi/adventure flick, Evelyn Wang, played by Michelle Yeoh, is a flustered immigrant mother who gets contacted from a parallel universe and told that only she can save the world. The unlikely hero must learn to channel her newfound powers and fight through the splintering timelines of the multiverse to save her home, her family, and herself in this big-hearted and irreverent adventure.

If action movies are more your thing, check out Top Gun: Maverick, directed by Joseph Kosinski. After more than 30 years of service as one of the navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise, reprising his role from the original film) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

Biopics generally do good at the Academy Awards, and Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann, is sure to continue the streak. The movie chronicles Elvis Presley’s (played by Austin Butler) life from his early years to his untimely death, and his complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).

Drama is having a good year this year, with Women Talking, directed by Sarah Polley, making the Best Picture cut. In this film, the women of an isolated religious colony reveal a shocking secret about the colony’s men. For years, the men have occasionally drugged the women and then raped them. The truth comes out and the women talk about their new situation. 

Another drama that got nominated for an Oscar this year is All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Edward Berger. Adapted from the book of the same name, the movie tells the story of Paul Bäumer and his classmates, who quickly enlist in the army to serve their fatherland when war breaks out in Germany in 1914. No sooner are they drafted than the first images from the battlefield show them the reality of war.

Beloved director Steven Spielberg returned in 2022 with The Fabelmans, a love story to cinema. Young Sammy Fabelman falls in love with movies after his parents take him to see The Greatest Show on Earth. Armed with a camera, Sammy starts to make his own films at home, much to the delight of his supportive mother.

If you’d prefer a comedy, try Triangle of Sadness, directed by Ruben Östlund. Carl and Yaya, influencers, are invited to a luxury cruise ship alongside a group of out of touch wealthy people. The situation takes an unexpected turn when a brutal storm hits the ship. Great for fans of satire!

In case you haven’t heard, the sequel to the beloved Avatar came out last year. Avatar: The Way of Water, directed by James Cameron, has already made more than two billion dollars at the box office. Jake Sully and Ney’tiri, from the first films, have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans. 

Heartthrob Colin Farrell starred in several films last year, but The Banshees of Inisherin, directed by Martin McDonagh, is the one that got nominated this year. It tells the story of Pádraic, who is devastated when his buddy Colm suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship. With the help from his sister and a troubled young islander, Pádraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship by any means necessary. However, as Colm’s resolve only strengthens, he soon delivers an ultimatum that leads to shocking consequences.

Last but not least is Tár, directed by Todd Field. Well loved among cinephiles, this movie shows renowned musician Lydia Tár who is days away from recording to the symphony that will elevate her career. When all elements seem to conspire against her, Lydia’s adopted daughter Petra becomes an integral emotional support for her struggling mother. 

Which one is your favorite? Make sure to watch them all before the festivities! Call the Reference Desk at (309) 343-6118 #6 to pick them up today.

Book Review | The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

From the publisher: It’s 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England. But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn’t quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis’s widowed mother. As Margaret’s history threatens to catch up with her, it isn’t long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.

I love a good Gothic novel, and this is one of the best I’ve read recently. It opens with a one-page prologue that teases events that are to come. It’s hard to build suspense and mystery in a novel, but the author does a good job here.

Narrator Margaret is a bit annoying as she allows herself to be bullied by another servant, but as we find out as the book goes along, she has Been Through Things, so her fear and timidity are not out of character. She lost hearing in one ear as a young woman, and in Victorian England, for a woman with no family and no money, that physical imperfection is a concern.

The house is beautifully described – I could imagine it quite well inside and out – and overall the atmosphere is a great combination of haunting and ordinary. Of course there is a distrustful village. Of course there is a handsome gardener. Of course there is a closed off wing to the mansion. But I thought the author deployed the stereotypical elements of a Gothic novel very effectively. All in all, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is just a lot of fun. (And although it is definitely in the tradition of the Victorian Gothic novel, this book believably imparts messages about female strength and empowerment.)

I look forward to future works from author Lumsden. I read an advance reader copy of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall from Netgalley.

The book is scheduled to be published on February 28, and the Galesburg Public Library will own it in multiple formats.

New Adult Non-Fiction — February 2023

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

The weather is (weirdly) getting warmer already, and before you know it we’ll be sweltering in summer. Take some time to enjoy the sunshine with a good book! These nonfiction titles are now available at the library. Put one on hold today!

Have you heard of the Waverly Train Disaster of 1978? It’s a rarely acknowledged event that led to the creation of FEMA. Check out Walk Through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America by Yasmine Ali. The book’s release coincides with the 45th anniversary of the event, and is a tribute to the first responders, as well as an examination of the strengths and vulnerabilities in rural America.

If you’re looking to learn more about climate change and its coming effects, maybe The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration by Jake Bittle. This new release is the untold story of climate migration in the United States, and features the personal stories of those experiencing displacement, the portraits of communities being torn apart by disaster, and the implications for all of us as we confront a changing future.

If you want something completely different, you might like The Curse of the Marquis de Sade: A Notorious Scoundrel, a Mythical Manuscript, and the Biggest Scandal in Literary History by Joel Warner. This work weaves together the sweeping odyssey of Marquis de Sade’s original manuscript of 120 Days of Sodom, and the spectacular rise and fall of Lhéritier, once the “king of manuscripts,” and now known to many as the Bernie Madoff of France. At its center is an urgent question for all those who cherish the written word: As the age of handwriting comes to an end, what do we owe the original texts left behind?

Now it’s time for something a little more lighthearted. Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman chronicles the remarkable, sprawling history of the Academy Awards and the personal dramas — some iconic, others never-before-revealed — that have played out on stage and off camera. Unlike other books on the subject, each chapters takes a deep dive into a particular year, conflict or even category that tells a larger story of cultural change, from Louis B. Mayer to Moonlight.

If memoirs are your thing, give Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H. a shot. This searingly intimate memoir in essays, spanning Lamya’s childhood to her arrival in the United States for college through early-adult life in New York City, tells a universal story of courage, trust, and love, celebrating what it means to be a seeker and an architect of one’s own life.

Who doesn’t love Nick Offerman? The actor and writer has written multiple books, and his latest is another great one. Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside is full of witty, heartwarming stories, and a keen insight into the problems we all confront; it’s both a ramble through and a celebration of the land we love.

Still not seeing something for you? We can help! Contact our reference desk at reference@galesburglibrary.org to get a recommendation.

All descriptions are courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review | I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

From the publisher: Rebecca Makkai has crafted her most irresistible novel yet: a stirring investigation into collective memory and a deeply felt examination of one woman’s reckoning with her past, with a transfixing mystery at its heart. Timely, hypnotic, and populated with a cast of unforgettable characters, this is at once a compulsive page-turner and a literary triumph.

Is this a great book? No. If you ask me about it a month from now will I be able to tell you many details? Also no. But did I scarf it down like a bag of Nacho Doritos after a hard workout in the summer? You bet. Makkai is a good writer, which kept me going despite what I see as some flaws in the story.

Our unreliable narrator Bodie was a poor kid from Indiana who got a charity case ride to a high school boarding school in New Hampshire. Her junior year, her roommate was Thalia Keith, an It girl who had rich kid friends (which decidedly did not include Bodie). Bodie’s senior year, Thalia was murdered. Head athletic trainer Omar Evans, a 25-year-old black man, quickly became the official and only suspect in the case. He confessed under pressure and was put in prison.

Years have passed, and Bodie returns to Granby to teach a mini course on podcasting. She’s a true crime podcaster who naturally has an interest in the murder of her former roommate, and in whether justice was served. She has been obsessed with the case for years. Eventually she sounds positively unhinged.

Part I of the book is good. Bodie convinces herself that justice was not served – that Omar is innocent, and that someone else got away with murder. She has a clear suspect in mind, and that’s the person for whom she Has Questions. With a little nudge, the students in her podcasting course decide to investigate Thalia’s murder.

Makkai really hammers home the violence that women face. Her narrator reminds us of cases, so many cases that we can’t remember them all or the names of the women involved. But I found her message confused and ambiguous. I was frankly puzzled by whatever message Makkai was sending on sexual inappropriateness and violence toward women. There’s also a suggestion that Mean Girls have it just as hard as every other girl, which I don’t buy. Just because you aren’t as privileged as you’d like to be, it doesn’t excuse being awful to others who are even less privileged than you are. There’s a lot of unremarkable commentary on social media and how awful it is, and on how awful so many boys/men are.

While teaching, the narrator refers to a lot of movies and directors and specific scenes and techniques. I’m not a film buff so most of them meant nothing to me and didn’t advance the story. A reader who is a big movie fan may love all the movie references and find some meaning in them. Some of the plot twists, when it came to trying to prove that the wrong man was convicted, were difficult to believe, and the racism in how he was railroaded into confessing almost seems like an afterthought. And Part II is a letdown. The book is too long – I was ready for it to end about 50 pages before it did – and Part II really drags. The ending is not surprising and not especially satisfying.

Still, this book is thought provoking and will no doubt find its readers. I read an advance reader copy of I Have Some Questions for You from Netgalley.

The book is scheduled to be published on February 21, and the Galesburg Public Library will own it in multiple formats.

Calling All Librarians — Stateville Calling Program

Published on by admingale

Here at Galesburg Public Library, we host hundreds of programs every year. Some are huge success stories — Summer Reading, Ghosts of Galesburg, Gingerbread House Decorating — while others are… less so. We’re here to share our wins and our losses and help inspire other librarians along the way.

On February 4, the library, along with the Illinois Prison Project, screened the documentary Stateville Calling for Black History Month. After the movie, ambassadors from IPP answered questions.

The film, described as “an Emmy-nominated documentary exploring parole reform and the struggle of aging inmates in Illinois,” was presented virtually. Because the program was virtual, there was no cost to the library.

Twenty-four people attended the event, which we consider very successful.

Assistant Director and Head of Adult Services Jane Easterly had this to say about the program:

“The event was very powerful… All of the ambassadors have been in Illinois prisons. I was encouraged to find people with prison experience to attend, which I did, but it was not actually necessary. Just hearing from the people connected to the Illinois Prison Project was powerful in itself. (And I had people who’d worked at [the local correctional center] and who’d been imprisoned show up on their own.) I literally had to shoo people out of the room as the library prepared to close. The event really got people talking.”

If you have any questions, you can contact us at reference@galesburglibrary.org. If you would like to host the program at your library, contact Kaitlyn@illinoisprisonproject.org.

If you have questions about GPL’s programming, or would like to suggest a program,  contact us at reference@galesburglibrary.org or call 309-343-6118 #6 to get more information. 

New Adult Fiction — February 2023

Published on by admingale

Valentine’s Day is upon us, and whether you’re a starstruck lover looking for a cozy romance to snuggle up with or wanting to escape the chocolate and roses explosion, we’ve got the perfect recommendations for you. All of these Adult Fiction titles hit the shelves in the last month, so make sure to stop in and grab them before someone else does! If you see something you like, call the Reference Desk at 309-343-6118 #6 or visit the catalog to put it on hold.

If you need something new to warm your heart from an author you know and love, give Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes a try. In the latest from the Me Before You and The Giver of Stars author, Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope — she doesn’t have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in. 

That’s because Sam Kemp — in the bleakest point of her life — has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag — she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence makes her realize something must change — and that thing is herself.

Take a break from all the holiday celebrations by venturing into the world of fantasy and witches with VenCo by Cherie Dimaline. In VenCo, we meet Lucky St. James, a Métis millennial living with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella, who is barely hanging on when she discovers she will be evicted from their tiny Toronto apartment. Then, one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. Burrowing through a wall, she finds a silver spoon etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM, humming with otherworldly energy.

Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money. Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon links her to VenCo’s network of witches throughout North America. Generations of witches have been waiting for centuries for the seven spoons to come together, igniting a new era, and restoring women to their rightful power. But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He’s Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.

Want something a little more realistic? Why not try Western Lane by Chetna Maroo? This debut novel features eleven-year-old Gopi, who has been playing squash since she was old enough to hold a racket. When her mother dies, her father enlists her in a quietly brutal training regimen, and the game becomes her world. Slowly, she grows apart from her sisters. Her life is reduced to the sport, guided by its rhythms: the serve, the volley, the drive, the shot, and its echo.

But on the court, she is not alone. She is with her pa. She is with Ged, a thirteen-year-old booy with his own formidable talent. She is with the players who have come before her. She is in awe. 

If a rom-com is more up your alley, give Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey a shot. In New York Times bestselling author’s latest, Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless — and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian.

Last but not least, get cozy with a mystery this month, grab Three Can Keep a Secret by M. E. Hilliard. In this latest entry to the Greer Hogan Mystery series, our protagonist is a librarian turned sleuth, an avid reader of crime fiction who possesses an uncanny knack for deduction — and now, she’s drawn into another murder case as late autumn slowly turns to winter in the idyllic village of Raven Hill. When Anita Hunzeker, chair of the library board of trustees, is run off the road and killed, no one seems all that sorry. Anita was widely disliked, and the townsfolk would just as soon be rid of her. But when a local professor turns up dead as well, his connection to Anita and to other local residents leaves the suspect pool covering the entire county.

Greer starts poking around, and the more she digs, the more it seems like everyone she knows is trying to hide something. When she unearths a clue in the old manor cemetery, she finally discovers the shocking truth — a cache of dark secrets stretching back decades that could rock the town to its core. Everyone who’s come close to the truth has ended up dead — and if Greer doesn’t tread lightly, she could be the next librarian to get archived for good.

Still not seeing something for you? We can help! Contact our Reference Desk at reference@galesburglibrary.org to get a recommendation.

Good Soup!

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

Five library staff members crafted homemade soups for a staff taste test in November. The menu ranged from vegetarian curried squash to chicken and bean – and all were delicious! The overwhelming winner, as voted by her peers, was Children’s Librarian Hillary! Enjoy the recipes below.

*WINNER*
Instant Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Soup with Potatoes (Hillary Dillon)
https://www.thisisnotdietfood.com/instant-pot-bacon-cheeseburger-soup-with-potatoes
Curried Butternut Squash Soup (Anne Giffey)
4 T butter
2 cups finely chopped sweet yellow onion
1 tsp curry powder
1 med butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped (I usually microwave until soft – easier to cut)
2 tart green apples, peeled, seeded, chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
hot sauce to taste
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup apple juiceMelt butter in stock pot. Add onions and curry powder. Cover and cook low heat until onion tender (20 min). Add squash, apples, broth, hot sauce, salt, marjoram, rosemary. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until squash tender (25 min). Puree with hand blender or in batches in regular blender. Return puree to pot and add apple juice. Heat through and serve.Vegetable Beef Soup (Ali Jones)
1 bag frozen corn
1 bag frozen green beans
½ bag frozen lima beans
1 can diced tomatoes
½ bag cut carrots
¾ bottle V8
½ carton beef broth
2 lbs stew meat, cooked
¼ head diced cabbage
Salt + pepper to taste
Add water as needed

Chicken and Bean Soup (Jane Easterly)
3 cans of Bush’s Black Beans
2 cans of Rotel’s Tomatoes and Green Chilies (any kind)
1 can of whole corn (you choose the size)
1 can of chicken (you choose the size, or none if you want vegetarian)
1 jar of salsa (Black Bean and Corn is perfect, but any salsa will do)

Break up the chicken in the can, then dump everything in a crock pot by layering beans, tomatoes, half the corn, half the chicken, half the salsa, repeat, etc. Heat until it’s time to eat. (It tastes better if it has been in the crock pot a few hours.)
Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and scoopable tortilla chips.

This freezes well and gets even better after a day or two. Be sure to stir it before every bowl or the last bowls can be very hot. You can easily substitute if needed (like a can of tomatoes and a can of chilies for a can containing both etc.).

Book Review | Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

From the publisher: Before Rosalind weds, she wants to experience ten things. Meeting Charlie wasn’t on her list.

Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker is a clean romance set in the Regency period from Shadow Mountain Publishing’s Proper Romance line. A happily ever after is assured, and behavior will be more or less appropriate to the times.

The story is narrated by Rosalind, who has agreed to marry a duke in order to bring a title to her family. He is marrying her to recover a plot of land sold to her family years ago. They have literally no feelings for one another – good or bad.

Years ago, inspired by her aunt’s wedding, Rosalind made a list of ten things to do before she marries. Although the wedding is fast approaching, she has done none of them. So she enlists her best friend Liza and Liza’s ne’er-do-well cousin to help her to truly enjoy her final days before becoming a duchess. But participating in a set of adventures with an attractive man is not necessarily the safest way to arrive successfully at one’s wedding day to a groom one does not love.

Previously I read Walker’s book Lakeshire Park, and the author’s writing has matured since that book. There is humor (like her best friend’s footman refusing to allow Rosalind into their home) and genuine feeling between characters. It is neither a series of misunderstandings nor refusal to have frank conversations that keeps the lovers apart, but the genuine obstacle of being already engaged. I do still think Walker’s stories could benefit from being written in third person instead of first.

This book has an absolutely gorgeous cover. There is a whole host of side characters, including the disappointed duke, who could receive books of their own if the author decides to make this the first in a series. I definitely consider Megan Walker a Regency romance author to watch.

I read an advance reader copy of Miss Newbury’s List from Netgalley. The book is scheduled to be published on February 7, and the Galesburg Public Library will own it. We also own Walker’s book Lakeshire Park.

Book Review | Waco Rising by Kevin Cook

Published on by Emily DuGranrut

From the publisher: A news-making account of the war between David Koresh’s Branch Davidians and the FBI, and how their standoff launched today’s militias.

I don’t know why two books are being published in January 2023 on the standoff that took place in Waco, Texas in 1993, but they are and I read them both.

I found Waco Rising by Kevin Cook to be the more engaging, and the more frightening, of the two. Waco by Jeff Guinn is good but not great. Waco seems exhaustively researched; it is very detailed and at times repetitive. Waco Rising, on the other hand, included information I’d never heard or read before. For example, Guinn talks about the Branch Davidian dogs that were shot by agents, but Cook talks about the eleven tiny puppies that were inside, not outside in a pen, the chickens, and the “hunger-mad goose” penned up with the dead dogs. Details like these really brought the setting to life.

Cook’s retelling of what happened in at the Branch Davidian compound in the spring of 1993 moves at a much brisker pace, and without as much repetition (although there is still repetition – a good editor could have tightened up both of these books). Cook’s book is much more critical of the decisions made by the ATF and especially the FBI. Cook draws a direct line between Waco to Oklahoma City to Alex Jones to January 6th. FBI negotiator Gary Noesner calls Waco “a self-inflicted wound for the FBI. It contributed to a broad antigovernment sentiment that’s out there today.” (p. 157 of the advance reader copy)

If you want to know more about the standoff between government agents and the Branch Davidians, and how the event is affecting the United States today, you may find either or both of these books worth reading.

I read advance reader copies of Waco and Waco Rising from Netgalley.

Waco and Waco Rising are available for checkout from the Galesburg Public Library.

chat loading...
chat loading...