Reflections on the Path through Dyslexia By DeAnn Campbell, Children’s and Young Adult Library Director My father grew up on a dairy farm and loved animals. He had a gentle way with all of them, but especially large beasts like cows and horses. Apparently, he had wanted to become a veterinarian. After high school he attended a single semester of college where he decided that this path of study would be impossible. He dropped out. My mother once told me that it was likely my dad … [Read more...] about Scrutiny and Wonder
Library Blog
Book Review: “Ordinary Grace”
Carter Hedberg, Director of Philanthropy, recommends Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. Summers were pretty quiet for me growing up in the village of Waldorf in rural south-central Minnesota, population 283. Every Sunday my family went to church, and a trip to the town’s tiny grocery store meant riding my bike two blocks. I have fond memories of navigating the railroad tracks on the edge of town with my cousin Debbie as we looked for the perfect agate, or going down to Little … [Read more...] about Book Review: “Ordinary Grace”
Book Review: Woman Without Shame
Martha Williams, Director of Programs and Education, recommends Woman Without Shame by Sandra Cisneros. In her new collection of poems—her first published in 28 years—Sandra Cisneros breathes fearless words into everyday life. The poems in this book are ripe with self-discovery and self-appreciation, but also desire and aging and death. Acknowledging where she may find shame as she ages, Cisneros instead finds joy and humor and a deep understanding of how she wants to move in … [Read more...] about Book Review: Woman Without Shame
Mining Days of Old
By Kent Friel, Regional History Summer Intern As autumn arrives in the Wood River Valley, the trees begin to take on shades of gold, while the valley’s silver, or what remains of it, will be hidden from view far below ground. One could note more than a hint of irony in this arrangement, for although golden aspens draw sightseers today, it was precious silver ore that brought year-round settlement to the Wood River Valley over a century ago. During the 1880s, between 20 and 30 mines … [Read more...] about Mining Days of Old
Book Review: “Tess of the Road”
Sara Zagorski, Gold Mine Thrift Store Retail Manager, recommends Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman. Do you like intense character development, rebellion against the system, humanoid, sentient reptilian creatures and mystical adventures? Well, have I got the book for you. Tess is a twin sister in an affluent family who’s resigned herself to the official title of black sheep. After spending her youth seeking out all the things women of her rank have no business being … [Read more...] about Book Review: “Tess of the Road”
Book Review: The Library Book
Andrea Nelson, Library Assistant, recommends The Library Book by Susan Orlean. Ahh, Los Angeles in the eighties! Such a study in contrasts. At once glittering, decaying, innovative, desperate, brilliant and dark. Shining stars, black holes, and all manner of people. In the twentieth century, dreamers from every corner of the planet flocked to L.A. By the mid-eighties, the City of Angels was both a cultural mecca and its own stylized cliché, but at its heart stood one true thing, steadfast … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Library Book
