Staff Reviews: Books, Films, Music, and More

Information Systems Manager, Will Duke, recommends Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman.

I have never read a book of poetry before. Oh, I’ve read poems. Lots of poems. I’ve read poems from collections, from the Norton Anthology. I’ve read poems from the Internet. I’ve read poems from student poets.  I’ve read poems on splotchy xeroxed copies of copies. 

I have always thought of poems as standalone, self-contained things. In fact, I don’t know that I can “read” a poetry book.  I never get a poem in one pass. I study poems. I don’t start to “get it” until I’m 3 or 4 reads in, at least. The words fly by too quickly, and I start to think about rainbows and unicorns, or something else shiny, and the poem is finished and I’m reading the next one.   

Isn’t poetry the perfect literary medium for the modern age?  They can be read quickly, 15 seconds of attention, tik tok the time has passed and so has the poem. But maybe that’s nothing new. Led Zepplin famously didn’t release singles; the album was the work. Listen to the album, they said.   

It is at this moment I realize the secret truth of poetry: It must be read aloud. 

When I started to read Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman, I flipped through the pages, one poem after another. The poet was in a pandemic and struggling with all that meant. “It is easy to harp / harder to hope. … The glorious was not made to be piecemeal,” rises from the page and demands my attention. A quick read wasn’t going to work. I had to go back and read the whole poem again. Then I wanted to hear it. At this moment I realize the secret truth of poetry: It must be read aloud. 

I start again, supporting each poem with my voice. It slows me down. The sound of my voice resonates for me, and I start to feel the rhythm—not just of the individual words, or even the poem, but the ebb and flow of the book itself.

I turn the book sideways to read a poem shaped like a fish.  I read about people, demons’ gifts, and nature in a vase where we can “lay it down”. I find hope in the poems: “But there’s something different on this golden morning / Something magical in the sunlight, wide and warming.”   

Gorman uses any tool to make a poem work: form, meter, rhyme, figurative language, sound devices. She speaks to our conscience, our heart, our sadness, our hopes and our dreams. Her poetry is creative and huge and wonderful. 

I recommend Gorman without reservation. She deserves her title as the first National Youth Poet Laureate. Try reading this book out loud, or not, as you deem fit, but read it. And then talk about poetry. Share what you love with those you love. 

Which reminds me: Every Thursday I lead “Brown Bag Poetry” in the Library’s Learning Commons. How and why the Library IS Manager leads the poetry discussion is a collection of stories for another day.  Today, I wanted to invite you to come hang out with us on Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. right here at the library. You’re welcome to bring lunch, if you’d like. On January 19, 2023, we’ll be talking about Amanda Gorman. 

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

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Brown Bag Poetry

Bring your own lunch and nestle in for some great conversation, led by the Library’s information systems manager (who has the heart of a poet): Will Duke.

Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. in the Learning Commons.

In the words of C.S. Lewis: “Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.”

We couldn’t have said it better!

A Bold New Economy at the Gold Mine 

By Craig Barry, Managing Director, Gold Mine Stores

Roughly 15,000 vehicles roll through the alley behind the The Gold Mine thrift store each year donating roughly 225,000 items— from vintage ski pants to flat screen TVs to Waterford crystal goblets. We triage the donations, sort, cull, price, and put the best-of-the-best of them on the floor for sale. Purchases from the Gold Mine help support the programs, classes, and collections at The Community Library, as well as employing 17 people, and supporting an icon of the local community (est. 1955).  

When you donate something to The Gold Mine, you’re doing much more than clearing out space in your closet or garage. When you purchase something from the Gold Mine, much more than a “screaming good deal” is happening.  

You’re helping change the world, one ski hat, one coffee maker, one cashmere sweater at a time.  

Recycling is a concept or practice with which we all feel pretty comfortable. Recycling, however, is often misunderstood, and over the past several decades has increasingly shown its age. 

A new era in thinking has emerged in how we should better address consumption … Enter the circular economy.

The ubiquitous chasing arrows represented how we, as consumers, were supposed to approach the material objects in our lives. These arrows depict how we should first and foremost: 

• “reduce” the amount of materials needed; 
• “reuse” those items that find their way into our lives;  
• and finally once we’re finished with something, “recycle” what’s left. 

Yet reduction is often overlooked, reuse is often conflated with recycling and true recycling works for a limited set of items. What kicked off in the 1980s as means to interrupt a linear progression of materials – extraction, manufacturing, consumption to ultimately disposal or landfilling – is now a firmly rooted, if not somewhat weathered, vestige of a decades old perception of how to save the planet. 

That was then; this is now. A lot has changed. 

We’ve realized that recycling is actually pretty challenging—and even more so in rural areas like ours.  We’ve realized that recycling does a great job with certain materials (aluminum, cardboard, office paper) but not for all (mixed paper, plastics). Most importantly, we’ve realized that this approach to the complicated way that our society uses materials is oversimplistic and ultimately inadequate in addressing increasingly more serious climate concerns. 

Far from the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” paradigm that kicked off in the 1980s, a new era in thinking has emerged in how we should better address consumption. Instead of trying to moderate a linear system, it wants to entirely shift this paradigm to a circular system.  

Enter the circular economy. 

This shift seeks to meld the world of finite material resources with the world of renewables such as energy and biodegradable items including compost and food waste. 

Conceptually, the circular economy looks to repudiate longstanding linear models. These linear models all relied on an assumption that there was always somewhere else materials could go (just throw it away) and that there would always be an amount of finite materials to feed our economy. Neither of those assumptions are true and, as the years advance, seem more and more absurd. Whether it’s water, oil, clean air, or lithium, it’s clear that we have been increasingly taxing our resources and that this trend shows no sign of abating. 

The circular economy seeks to change all that by introducing a new way of thinking for renewables and materials. It is based upon three basic principles that are rooted in “smart design”:  

1. Elimination of waste and pollution by breaking the “take-make-waste” system 

2. Preserve products and materials at their highest value by fostering greater circulation 

3. Regenerate nature by designing products to return to a natural or biodegradable state 

It’s much more than “keeping items out of the landfill.” It’s about acknowledging that these items possess intrinsic value that are worth much more than they would have been if they were disassembled and recycled or landfilled.

So what might all this have to do with our community? Thrifts, such as the Gold Mine, the Attic, Barkin, and the Building Thrift, are all squarely aimed at principle #2 – preserving products at their highest value. It’s much more than “keeping items out of the landfill.” It’s about acknowledging that these items possess intrinsic value that are worth much more than they would have been if they were disassembled and recycled or landfilled. Moreover, our secondhand stores are not only reusing items but they are reusing items that come from the community itself. It is not unusual for items to circulate through the Gold Mine several times, renewing its value at each cycle. Ideally, these items would also be manufactured here (think Jytte hat) but by recirculating items locally we help bolster this circular economy.  

Could we do more? Sure. In addition to promoting more reuse, we can also look towards prolonging the usefulness of items by properly maintaining and repairing them. Why buy a new vacuum when you could repair this one? We could also look at strengthening our sharing economy. Why own a drill that sits idle 95% of the time when you can borrow one? These are all areas in which we could expand our services and areas that would help strengthen our circular economy.  

So next time you’re looking to “recycle” clothes, gear, housewares, etc. at the Gold Mine, remember that you are doing so much more than “recycling.” You are recognizing that your items possess more value in their present form than they could ever have being recycled or landfilled. Just as our donors help stock our store, our customers help complete that circle with their purchases. They not only provide much needed funds to support worthy causes, but they are also helping to shift our economy in more sustainable and circular directions. 

Children’s and Young Adult Library Director, Deann Campbell, recommends Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman.

Before reading Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman, I had enjoyed poetry—loved it even. But I had mostly read poetry. This is not a collection to be read, it is a collection to be performed… with someone else. After all, these are poems for two voices.  

The first poem of the collection may have given me goosebumps. Mostly, I remember how clever it was: Grasshoppers hopping, hatching out, into spring, hopping, leapfrogging, longjumping grasshoppers. Plus, there was the back and forth of the readers voices and rhythm and cadence that I’d never heard with poetry. These poems have a sing-songy element melded with the characteristics of insects and the rhythm of words, and hopping, striding, flying insects. The poems all focus on insects: Moths, Mayflies, Cicadas, Water Striders, Fireflies, Bumblebees.  

There is a click clackety and a back and forth-ness to the poems. A joy in reading and reciting. Together, these poems for two voices make a joyful noise.  

The poems are clever, funny, spry, and sometimes somber. The illustrations, too, are wonderful. In them Eric Beddows gives life, whimsey and accuracy to the starring characters. On the cover is a beautiful and accurately drawn butterfly who, upon closer inspection, taps a tambourine.  

The true joy, however, is in reading the poem with a partner or friend. While not difficult, it may take a little practice before the poems are performance worthy. There is a knack to time the lines that you say alone and the lines that are spoken in chorus. There is a click clackety and a back and forth-ness to the poems. A joy in reading and reciting. Together, these poems for two voices make a joyful noise.  

Note: This book was the recipient of the 1989 Newbery Medal. The Newbery Medal recognizes “The most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” The Newbery Award and Caldecott, the two most prestigious awards in Children’s Literature each year, will be announced in January.  

Circulation Manager Pam Parker recommends Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Dinner and a Movie? Or, Noodles and a Book? 

When she’s not fronting her indie-pop band, “Japanese Breakfast,” Michelle Zauner has a side gig. She’s an author—and Crying in H Mart (2021) is Zauner’s best-selling debut about finding solace in an unusual place, the Asian market known as H Mart.

“It’s a beautiful, holy place,” she wrote about H Mart in The New Yorker essay by the same title that spurred a book deal with Knopf publishing. The book has also been optioned as a major motion picture, and Michelle is writing the screenplay. Meanwhile, her musical career has blossomed into a third album, Jubilee (2022), which has been Grammy nominated.

The story explores the unexpected death of her mother shortly before the younger Zauner is jettisoned into pop-star status in 2014. The circumstances forced the budding musician to deal with both grief and rising fame simultaneously. 

In a reversal of heart, Michelle fully embraces her duality as Korean and American after her mother’s death. In H Mart, she reminisces about certain brands and ingredients that carry meaning and memory.

Comfort foods–specifically myriad Korean dishes–take front row during this process. Cold Radish Soup (dongchimi), spicy fried chicken (yangnyeom), kimchi (samgyupsal), and her mother’s favorite noodle soup (jjamppong) are some of the dishes that flavor her recollection of her childhood growing up in Eugene, Oregon, and visits to stay with her Korean grandmother in Seoul.

Michelle studied creative writing at Bryn Mawr, a liberal arts college for women on the East Coast. Her mother was not supportive of the choice nor of her ambitions to be a musician, and their relationship was admittedly strained. “My mother was always trying to shape me into the most perfect version of myself.” Even though her mother, Chongmi, was often critical of her daughter, Michelle recognizes that they were very close even when they disagreed.

When leaving the hometown of Eugene for college on the East Coast, Chongmi’s parting words for Michelle had been, “So you want to be a starving musician…then go live like one.” And, she did. But when Chongmi falls ill, Michelle races back to Eugene to help with her care, putting her fledgling music career on the backburner. Ironically, it is not until Chongmi’s death that her break comes as her band “Japanese Breakfast” starts to take off in popularity and commercial success.

Throughout the process that is Chongmi’s illness, Michelle fears losing her Koreaness if her mom dies. As a typical American teenager, she had aimed to fit in with the cool crowd—yet, after being bullied by a popular girl about her race, she doubled down on how not to stand out. She confesses to pretending not to have a middle name, which is Chongmi (after her mother), to play down her heritage. 

In a reversal of heart, Michelle fully embraces her duality as Korean and American after her mother’s death. In H Mart, she reminisces about certain brands and ingredients that carry meaning and memory. And, after the funeral, Michelle returns to Korea with her husband Peter for their honeymoon, a decision that seems to seal it as a place of ongoing significance to her as her mom was so hopeful for.

Crying in H Mart is a dutifully painful recounting of a young adult’s struggle to define herself in the shadow of a loved one’s terminal illness. Michelle delves into her difficult family dynamic with rare candor—at times, we wonder how she manages to overcome the challenges. A healthy serving of Chongmi’s determination plays a role. But it’s the daughter’s growing wisdom and self-confidence that carry her through and give her the boost to a happiness on her own terms.

Buffy McDonald, Reference Librarian, recommends You Need a Budget by Jesse Mecham.

As the holiday season draws near, it is a good time to take stock and think of the things you are grateful for: relationships you have, goals you’ve accomplished, etc. Maybe a personal financial plan or savings goals aren’t at the top of your list, but they could be. Developing a financial plan that helps you to live the life you want could be one of the most wonderful things you do for yourself and something you will be grateful for all year long. If I have piqued your interest, consider reading You Need a Budget by Jesse Mecham.

Are your money decisions in line with the life you want to be living? What do you want your money to do for you? Thinking of budgeting in this way is a lot different than how we normally think about it. A budget is actually a way to help you plan for the things you really want – a way of letting your priorities drive your financial choices. Start now funding the life you really want by reading this book and applying its four rules.

Are your money decisions in line with the life you want to be living? 

The magic in the four rules this book describes: The first rule is to give every dollar a job.  Meaning, as soon as any money comes into your life, whether it is a paycheck or a gift, you decide where you want it to go. It could be to help pay for your mortgage or rent, food, emergency savings, or something else. So, for every dollar that you have right now, “give it a job”. Earmark it for whatever it is you want to spend it on or save it for later. 

The second rule is to embrace your true expenses. Prepare a little bit at a time. This rule includes acknowledging that the holiday season comes every year. And, if you save in monthly installments for the amount you want to spend on gifts, the money will be there when you need it. This is also true for auto maintenance and repairs, post office box rentals, clothes, athletic gear, home improvements, etc. The trick is to save money every month to cover all of your expenses – your “true expenses”.

Next comes “roll with the punches”. This is a reminder that life does not always go as planned. Maybe inflation has increased how much you spend on food and gas. Having a budget will help you see clearly how much money you have and how much you need. If you need to spend more on food and gas, then take money from lower-priority categories in your budget or consider other alternatives. This rule gives you flexibility in your spending. As long as you keep moving toward your goals, you are succeeding.

…this is also the moment you have stopped living paycheck to paycheck

Finally, the fourth rule is to age your money. (The first three rules help you to accomplish this fourth one.)  This fourth rule is the essence of saving for the unknown. Aging your money simply means that when you have money coming in, you are not spending it as quickly as maybe you once did. You are “aging it”. You are increasing the time that passes between receiving your money and spending it. And by doing so, you are increasing your financial security and flexibility. An example: you are halfway through the current month, and you have already saved all the money you will need (including true expenses) to pay next month’s bills by the first of the month. In this case, you have aged your money at least 30 days. And happily, this is also the moment you have stopped living paycheck to paycheck. Congratulations!

I hope this book will help ease some of your financial stress.  I know it has for me.

Happy reading!

Find You Need a Budget in eBook Here.

Regional History Museum Librarian, Olivia Terry, recommends The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker.

The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker tells the fictional story of Sylvia Wren, one of America’s most iconic artists of the twentieth century. Her vast talent has made her a household name, but Sylvia herself is an extremely private person, careful not to reveal any details from her past. But when a reporter starts aggressively digging into her life, Sylvia quickly unravels, unable to suppress the secrets of who she once was.

Sylvia isn’t actually Sylvia. She is Iris Chapel, the second youngest of the six Chapel sisters and the only surviving sibling. Growing up in the 1950s, Aster, Rosalind, Calla, Daphne, Iris, and Hazel, are essentially trapped in their giant Victorian family home, living with their uninvolved father and eccentric mother. The six Chapel sisters are heiresses to the Chapel rifle fortune, but this seems to cause more harm than good. Shortly into the book, it becomes clear that a few members of the family are haunted by the past in more ways than one.

When Astor, the oldest sister, becomes engaged, it seems that the way out of their monotonous lives has finally been found. But when she dies unexpectedly the very next day, and the same fate falls on the next sister to get married, it seems like something much more tragic faces the sisters than their confined lives. As Iris’s mother forebodes, something terrible is about to happen.

…it straddles the fine line between exploring the value of an independent life, and the pivotal question of the whole tale: What is a life without love?

If you are looking for a coming of age story mixed with a ghost story, complemented with  dreamy flashbacks, this book is for you. The Cherry Robbers is an absolute page-turner and offers an interesting perspective on the power dynamics in male and female relationships. It prompts readers to think deeply, while it straddles the fine line between exploring the value of an independent life, and the pivotal question of the whole tale: What is a life without love? This is a book that I couldn’t put down.

Find in in FICTION Walker here.