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Mike’s Picks - Week of April 6th

Hello again to all our Richfield Library Patrons. We’re back this week with more suggestions to keep you busy while you're stuck at home. All library programs, outreach, and meeting rooms have been canceled until at least May, so hang in there! The books are all available through Hoopla or Overdrive, you can click the title to access it’s listing, or find all our materials at https://akronlibrary.org/browse/digital.  As always, I miss you, and please send me an email to let me know how you're doing, or if there's anything I can do for you.

Mike Daly, Adult Services Librarian 

mdaly@akronlibrary.org

Crafts:

For all you Richfield Crafters out there missing your monthly crafting fix, I have attached a couple of timely links to help you pass the time during the great quarantine.

Do-it-yourself Covid Masks

The first link was posted by the U. S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams. It's very simple and doesn't require sewing. You can find the video at: 

https://www.wwlp.com/news/health/coronavirus-local-impact/surgeon-general-heres-how-you-can-make-a-cloth-mask-today-in-just-a-few-easy-steps/

NPR also explains how they should be worn, and offers some different options for making them (including one where you just cut up an old t-shirt, no sewing or stapling or anything):

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/03/826996154/coronavirus-faqs-is-a-homemade-mask-effective-and-whats-the-best-way-to-wear-one

This one is what my wife used to make our family's masks. It does require a sewing machine, but the results were quite professional and easy to wear. There are hundreds of online tutorials if you do an internet search for “making Covid masks”. This one is from USA Today:

 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2020/04/04/coronavirus-face-mask-tips-how-make-fabric-instructions/2945209001/ 

And finally, Joann Fabric has provided this pattern that does not require elastic or string, but instead has fabric straps:

https://www.joann.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-LibraryJoAnnShared/default/dw4148ae36/static/landingpage/assets/MaskInstructions_V2.pdf

Easter Pom-Pom Craft

Here's a couple of simple craft for all ages. They're really easy and the end products are very cute. All you need are scissors, rubber bands, old fabric, and some yarn. For bunnies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8DYHOSpL50 

and for chicks:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz0o-dBhAKA  

There are many more available on You Tube.

Books:

Non-Fiction

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough

McCullough tells the story of the settling of the Northwest Territory, at the time a wilderness northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. His main focus is on the founding and growth of Marietta, Ohio. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the

prohibition of slavery. McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Manasseh Cutler, Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam, Cutler’s son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. A must read for anyone interested in Ohio history.

Code Name: Lise, the True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Decorated Spy by Larry Loftis

This book was an exciting read. I had never heard of Odette Sansom or the women of the SOE. In 1942 Odette Sansom, a French woman married to and English man, decides to follow in her war hero father’s footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and one plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission. It is here that she meets her commanding officer Captain Peter Churchill. Loftis paints a portrait of true courage, patriotism, and love—of two incredibly heroic people who endured unimaginable horrors. He weaves together the touching romance between Odette and Peter and the thrilling cat and mouse game between them and a wily Gestapo agent.

Fiction:

This week I've been rereading some of my favorite books. The titles listed below are an eclectic mix, so everyone should find something to like. They are also long which will help you kill some time while stuck at home.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

This was my favorite book in high school. Lose yourself in the adventures of Frodo and Gandolf in their epic battle of good versus evil. All three titles, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King are available for down as Ebook or audio on the library website.

The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens 

Although not as well known as Great Expectations or Oliver Twist, this Dickens classic is my favorite. A serial romp through Victorian England, this book is in turns funny, sad, and touching. Don't give up because the 19th Century language is unfamiliar. You will be rewarded if you persevere. 

The Ebook is available through Project Gutenberg: 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/967/967-h/967-h.htm 

and the audio book is available at LibriVox:

 https://librivox.org/the-life-and-adventures-of-nicholas-nickleby-by/ 

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The first and best of Follett's historical novels about the fictional English city of Kingsbridge, it's an Oprah Book Club choice as well. The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known, of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect, and of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena. The book tells of the struggle that will turn church against state and brother against brother. The book, as well as the two sequels, A World Without End and A Column of Fire, are available for download as Ebook or Eaudio on the library website.

And finally.................

Monday April 9th is

Fresh Tomato Day

“A tomato may be a fruit, but it is a singular fruit. A savory fruit. A fruit that has ambitions far beyond the ambitions of other fruits.” E. Lockhart

“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” Miles Kington

“It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” Lewis Grizzard

Tuesday April 7h is

National Beer Day

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Benjamin Franklin

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.” Abraham Lincoln

“Beer's intellectual. What a shame so many idiots drink it.” Ray Bradbury

Wednesday April 8th is

International Feng Shui Day

“You don't have to believe in Feng Shui for it to work. I just know it brings me money.” Donald Trump

“I once drew a picture of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. But I put it away after a Feng Shui expert told me about the bad vibes” David James

“My view on Feng Shui: don’t put your bed in front of the door because you won’t get in.” Jonas Eriksson

Thursday April 9th is

National Gin and Tonic Day

“The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen’s lives, and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire.” Winston Churchill

“Of all the gin joints, in all the world she walks into mine.” Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca

“I don't know what reception I'm at, but for God's sake give me a gin and tonic.” Dennis Thatcher, husband of Margaret Thatcher

Friday April 10th is

Global Work from Home Day (Very Appropriate!)

“All happiness depends on courage and work.” Honore de Balzac

“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” Leo Tolstoy

Saturday April 11th is

National Pet Day

“Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.” Amy Sedaris

“Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life.” James Cromwell

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” John Grogan

More to come next week!

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Mike’s Picks

Hello to all our Richfield Library Patrons. Enjoy our new Adult Services newsletter with some more suggestions to keep you busy while you're stuck at home. The books are all available at akronlibrary.org under the digital media section. All titles are in both the E-book and E-audio formats. The movies below have been released on one of the major streaming services. If you don't have access to Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime, be sure to check out the free movies you can access through the library, with our Hoopla or Kanopy apps.

Adult Services Librarian Mike Daly, mdaly@akronlibrary.org

Books:

Non-Fiction

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

This book, by Shaker Heights native and the author of the Orchid Thief, tells the story of the huge fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. Because it took place during the same week as the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, not many people outside California know the story. The author reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history. The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library--and, if so, who? Part mystery, part love letter to American libraries, Orlean tells a fascinating story.

Say nothing: a true story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

This book which appeared on all the major top ten lists for 2019 is a great true crime story that reads like a novel. In December 1972, Jean McConville, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten, was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders, her children clinging to her legs. They never saw her again. Her abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress.

Fiction

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I found this book to be one the best surprises of the last year. Eleanor Oliphant struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country this fictionalized account was one of my favorite books I read last year. At once both heartbreaking and heart warming, it tells a story you will remember long after turning the last page.

Movies:

This weekend we had a Humphrey Bogart marathon. Watched To Have and Have Not, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and The African Queen. Besides killing a Sunday afternoon it was so much fun hearing all the classic lines and enjoying the wonderful supporting performances.

And finally.................

Monday March 30th is

National Doctor's Day

“Each patient carries his own doctor inside him.” Norman Cousins

“Doctors always think anybody doing something they aren't is a quack; also they think all patients are idiots.” Flannery O'Connor

“Doctors?" said Ron, looking startled. "Those Muggle nutters that cut people up?” J. K. Rowling

Tuesday April 1st is

National Clam Day

“She ate so many clams that her stomach rose and fell with the tide.” Louis Kronenberger

“Do the Clam, do the Clam, grab your barefoot baby by the hand.” Elvis Presley

“Happy as a clam, is what my mother says for happy. I am happy as a clam: hard-shelled, firmly closed.” Margaret Atwood

Wednesday April 1st is

April Fool's Day

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Alexander Pope

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.” Winston Churchill

“When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.” William Shakespeare

Thursday April 2nd is

National Burrito Day

“A burrito is a delicious food item that breaks down all social barriers and leads to temporary

spiritual enlightenment.” Lisi Harrison

“A burrito is a sleeping bag for ground beef.” Mitch Hedberg

“Ever had a flying burrito hit you? Well, it's a deadly projectile, right up there with cannonballs and grenades.” Rick Riordan

Friday April 3rd is

American Circus Day

“Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don't take anything too seriously, it'll all work out in the end.” David Niven

“Life is a circus ring, with some moments more spectacular than others.” Janusz Korczak

“The circus is the only fun you can buy that is good for you.” Ernest Hemingway

Saturday April 4th is

International Carrot Day

“The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.” Paul Cezanne

“You ask me what life is. That's like asking what a carrot is. A carrot is a carrot, and there's nothing more to know.” Anton Chekhov

“I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.” Mae West

More to come next week!

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#tbt to our #2011 #birthdayparty #wherethewildthingsare! #lovemylibrary #librarybirthday (at Richfield, Ohio)

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#Fun with old #endcap #decorations.... #librarians see #harrypotter everywhere 👌 😂 #pottercart (at Richfield Branch Library)

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‘Why did people ask “What is it about?” as if a novel had to be about only one thing.’ ~Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

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#SummerReading #kickoff at Richfield! #photobooth #upriverband #rootbeerfloats #prizes

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#legowall #closeup #lovemylibrary #toofun

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#legowall = #LEGO + #commandstrips . . . #toofun #lovemylibrary #SummerReading #mbs2017

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juxtapose

verb | jux·ta·poseˈ | jəkstəˌpōz/

The state or position of being placed close together or side by side for contrasting effect.

Art History Glossary: A helpful list of art and architecture terms to support curious rookies.

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A little practice with one layer painting

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Live to the point of tears.

Albert Camus (via thequotejournals)

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#iwanttogotothere

TreeHouse Point by Kendall Martin

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We were the wrong age for love and yet it was all we could think about.

Brendan Cowell, How It Feels (via thequotejournals)

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Iconic Literary Locations in the UK

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Solomon’s seal makes a graceful addition to any shade garden, and it has uses in traditional medicine as well. From Eugène Grasset’s La plante et ses applications ornementales,1897-9.

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We're amassing quite the treasure arsenal for this year's #SummerReading #prizes! #mbs2017 #lovemylibrary