Month: November 2024

Cozy Up With Healing Novels 

By Stephanie Wallace, Library Assistant 2, Adult Services

The turkey and pumpkin pie have been consumed, the Black Friday deals stashed away, and the in-laws are returning home. No matter how you spent your Thanksgiving, it’s been a busy week. After swinging between gratitude, greed, and people-pleasing, I know I’ll need a break. And what better way to relax and recuperate than with a cozy book?

“Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree introduced me to the cozy fantasy genre, and its prequel, “Bookshops & Bonedust,” only reaffirmed my adoration. Baldree’s books star a beefy orc mercenary named Viv who’s learning how to take life slow. In her first adventure, Viv arrives in a new city with the dream to open a coffee shop. In the prequel, Viv’s between jobs and healing from an injury while she helps restore a local seaside bookshop. Both novels blend the vibes of Dungeons & Dragons with comfy, cute fixer-uppers.

If you prefer leaf juice over bean juice and want a little more intrigue, try Rebecca Thorne’s “Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea.” It’s the first in a trilogy starring a sapphic couple. Reyna, a queensguard who’s abandoned her post, wants nothing more than to open a tea shop in a remote mountain town and leave her bloody past behind. Her girlfriend, Kianthe is the voice and hands of the world’s magic, a heavy responsibility that only Reyna has helped lighten. But the Queen wants her wayward guard to answer for her betrayal, and the magic leaders of the world are clamoring for Kianthe’s attention. It’s a lot for two women to handle, but thankfully they have allies in their new home and each other to get through it.

Love bookshops but want more magic and the found family feeling of a Hallmark movie? Checkout “The Spellshop” by Sarah Durst. Librarian-on-the-run Kiela barely escapes the burning of her city with a boat full of magical library books and her best friend, a talking spider plant named Caz. While they bunker down in Kiela’s childhood home on a beautiful island with flying cats and mermaids, Kiela is confounded again and again by the unexpected troubles of surviving on her own and the kindness of her neighbors. It takes Kiela a while to learn to trust her new friends, but each step is as sweet as her homemade jam.

Much of cozy fantasy revolves around settling down and building up a new home, but if you’re hankering for a road trip, take “The Teller of Small Fortunes” by Julie Leong out for a spin. The eponymous fortune teller, Tao, is an immigrant traveler who goes town to town with her loyal mule, Laohu. Though Tao tries her hardest to avoid trouble, it finds her all the same when a pair of adventurers need her help to find a missing child. Before she knows it, Tao finds herself part of an amazing found family, and she needs to muster every ounce of courage she has to keep them safe.

Want cozy but don’t necessarily want fantasy? Allow me to introduce iyashikei, a Japanese subgenre related to slice-of-life. It loosely translates to “healing,” and they’re about contemplative stories that instill readers with a sense of peace or prompt them to reflect on their lives. If you’re a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” (which also has a manga adaptation), you’ve already experienced how iyashikei can be a wonderfully quiet and quaint experience.

Miyazaki’s latest movie, “The Boy and the Heron,” includes a reference to “How Do You Live?” by Genzaburo Yoshino. Both the movie and the book star young teen boys who are figuring out how they want to live their lives. Junichi “Copper” Honda, the protagonist of “How Do You Live?” earned his nickname because of his similarity to Copernicus. Like the astronomer who disproved the sun revolved around the Earth, Copper’s acknowledgement at the start of the story that the world does not revolve around himself is a watershed moment the narrative comes back to again and again. The book switches back and forth between Copper’s experiences at school and entries from his uncle’s journal, which he is writing for his nephew in hopes that he’ll remember all of the important life lessons he’s learning. Taken together, it feels like a love letter to my younger self and a message that teens today will appreciate.

Finally, to round off my recommendations for the cold weather ahead of us, take a vacation in the mountains with Afro’s “Laid Back Camp,” a delightful iyashikei manga. Join Rin Shima and Nadeshiko Kagamihara, two high schoolers who love camping, and their friends as they travel around Japan’s beautiful, wild retreats. Each volume focuses on a different real-life campground. As the girls explore and unwind, their friendships blossom and warm my heart like their nightly campfires.

As you settle in with your favorite warm beverage and a fluffy blanket or furry friend draped over your lap, I hope one of these titles will complete your perfect, cozy day.

Manhattan Public Library is a cornerstone of free and equal access to a world of ideas and information for the Manhattan, Kansas, community. Learn more at mhklibrary.org.

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Stephanie Wallace, Library Assistant 2, Adult Services

Teaching Literary Terms and Devices with Children’s Picture Books

By Hannah Atchison, Youth Services Librarian

English was always one of my favorite subjects. But when it came to learning literary terms, I lost interest quickly. College entry tests included them, so unfortunately, they were a necessity. I dragged my feet through it. The way we teach things plays a huge impact in whether the information taught will be absorbed. Using picture books to teach presents the material in both a fun and accessible way. Picture books can teach literary devices and terms in a way that makes learning them both quick and enjoyable. Here are a few fun reads from the children’s section at our library.

“The Mitten: a Ukrainian Folktale” adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett has magical, cozy illustrations. A mitten is dropped in the snow. Animals looking for warmth on a cold day climb into the mitten and stretch it until even a bear can fit inside. On each preceding page, there is a small picture on the far panel of the next approaching animal. These illustrations can be used to teach foreshadowing and prediction.

“Amelia Bedelia” by Peggy Parish is a beginning reader with pictures about a young woman working as a maid named Amelia Bedelia who takes everything she hears literally. Her misinterpretations of the tasks she is given have hilarious results that make readers of all ages laugh. Idioms can be a tricky concept to teach, but this book makes the experience fun and memorable.

“The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt uses personification of crayons, giving them human characteristics, to present a fun story from their perspectives. The crayons all have opinions about what they would rather be coloring instead of what they are usually used for. Personification is used in a ton of picture books. This is just one popular example.

“They All Saw a Cat” by Brendan Wenzel is about how perspective shapes what people, or animals in this case, see and understand. Each creature name is listed in all caps and the cat’s description is a short summary of the parts that make up a cat, but each illustration of the cat is a little bit different because of the way each creature sees the world and the cat as it relates to them.

“The Whole Hole Story” by Vivian McInerny is a picture book told using the literary method of stream of consciousness. The main character goes on an adventure as she explores the many imaginary uses of a hole. Each thought and experience slip into the next in a whimsical storytelling experience.

“Snappsy the Alligator: ‘Did Not Ask to Be in This Book!’” by Julie Falatko is one of many picture books we have using metalepsis. If you are not familiar with the term, it may help to understand what a frame story is. A frame story is a story within a story, like a folktale, that provides context for the literary piece. Metalepsis works similarly. The story recognizes that there are multiple levels within it: a “self-aware” book. In this story, the way metalepsis is used is by having a continuous conversation between the narrator and the main character, Snappsy, who is correcting them, ending with the narrator joining the story as a character.

“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin and John Archambault is a classic from my childhood that uses an abundance of alliteration, words that touch that use the same beginning sound or letter. It is also an excellent example for teaching young children how to hear syllables in words by using the rhythm of the text.

“Poopsie Gets Lost” by Hannah E. Harrison is one of my current favorites. Poopsie is a house cat who is being convinced by “the narrator” to leave her home and explore the jungle outside. During the course of the story, both the reader and Poopsie slowly realize that maybe they shouldn’t be listening to “the narrator” after all. It’s a silly and dangerous adventure that also teaches the concept of an unreliable narrator. Don’t worry. It still has a happy ending.

Everything is better with picture books. Why not make the learning experience more fun? Picture books can be used to teach many things. Maybe there are other tricky concepts they can assist you and your students with. If you need help gathering more suggestions, you know where to find us.

Manhattan Public Library is a cornerstone of free and equal access to a world of ideas and information for the Manhattan, Kansas, community. Manhattan Public Library serves more than 75,000 people in the Riley County area through curated book and other media collections, knowledgeable staff, relevant programming for all ages, and meeting space. Learn more at mhklibrary.org.

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Hannah Atchison, Youth Services Librarian

To Read If You’re Being Stalked

By Audrey Swartz, Adult Services and Readers’ Advisory Librarian

I fully intended to give y’all a read list full of great books as it’s getting into cozy season. Unfortunately, Kansas doesn’t seem to have gotten the cool down memo, and a soon-to-be not personal matter has been weighing on me heavily. There is never an easy way to start this conversation, so here I go: I have a stalker. Yes, it is being handled through the legal channels, and yes, I am safe. However, in dealing with all the emotions and behavior, I became really curious about what sort of materials our library has on hand. Not just works of fiction, but if we had anything in non-fiction that would be useful. I should know by now that the answer is always “yes, we do.” Below is a list of books that deal with either true stories of stalking or give well balanced advice on how to spot behaviors and avoid a situation developing. There are books that address the complexity of cyberstalking vs. in person. And there is one book that is just for fun because sometimes you need levity in hard situations.

Before I dive in, I want to thank the wonderful officers at the RCPD, who have been very nice, responsive, and understanding; our district court for giving one the ability to file for certain orders completely online; and the crisis center for following up with me. The hugest of gratitude to my library family and their ability to be flexible. Finally, much love goes out to my friends and family, who have been supporting me. Okay, now books!

 

“The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence” by Gavin de Becker

“De Becker has made a career of protecting people and predicting violent behavior. Covering all the dangerous situations people typically face–street crime, domestic abuse, violence in the workplace–de Becker provides real-life examples and offers specific advice on restraining orders, self-defense, and more. The key to self-protection, he demonstrates, is learning how to trust our own intuitions.”

 

“In His Sights: A True Story of Love and Obsession” by Kate Brennan

“Kate Brennan’s visceral memoir lays bare the mind of a stalker and shows how a smart, successful woman can fall prey to a warped and powerful man who has the money and connections to keep her under his watchful eye. Both frightening and insightful, ‘In His Sights’ is a gripping tale of one woman’s descent into the dark side of love and how she has fought–and still struggles–to free herself.”

 

“Stalking Mary: One Man’s Fifteen-Year Obsession with His High-School Teacher” by Eileen Bridgeman Biernat 

“‘Stalking Mary’ is the true account of the kidnapping of Mary and Beth Stauffer, the thoughtless murder of a six-year-old boy named Jason Wilkman, and the psychosexual ploys of a dangerously deranged Shiue. Using court documents, video and audio transcriptions, personal interviews, and thousands of pages from Shiue’s own scripts, Eileen Bridgeman Biernat paints a harrowing picture of two families caught in the grip of a nightmare.”

 

“A Tangled Web: A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice” by Leslie Rule

“It appeared that Cari had dumped her new boyfriend, quit her job, and relinquished custody of her son to her mother–all by text. Her mother was alarmed and reported Cari missing. Police were skeptical of her claims. While her mother was afraid for Cari, Dave Kroupa was growing afraid of her, for he believed Cari was stalking him.”

 

“Unrequited: Women and Romantic Obsession” by Lisa A. Phillips

“The summer Lisa A. Phillips turned thirty, she fell in love with someone who didn’t return her feelings. She soon became obsessed. She followed him around, called him compulsively, and talked about him endlessly. One desperate morning, after she snuck into his apartment building, he picked up a baseball bat to protect himself and began to dial 911. Her unrequited love had changed her from a sane, conscientious college teacher and radio reporter into someone she barely recognized.”

 

“Nobody’s Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls” by Carrie Goldberg with Jeannine Amber 

“We are all a moment away from having our life overtaken by somebody hell-bent on our destruction. ‘Nobody’s Victim’ invites readers to join Carrie on the front lines of the war against sexual violence and privacy violations as she fights for revenge porn and sextortion laws, uncovers major Title IX violations, and sues tech companies, schools, and powerful sexual predators.”

 

“How to Drag a Body and Other Safety Tips You Hope to Never Need: Survival Tricks for Hacking, Hurricanes, and Hazards Life Might Throw at You” by Judith Matloff

“‘Be Prepared’ is a great motto– but what does it mean in today’s constantly changing world? In an age of mass shootings, devastating natural disasters, and digital attacks, we yearn for some control. As a seasoned war correspondent, Matloff shares her tried-and-true methods to help you confidently handle whatever challenges come your way.”

 

If you or anybody you know is the victim of domestic violence, in any of its forms, I encourage you to reach out to The Crisis Center here in Manhattan at (785) 539-2785. If it is an emergency, please dial 911. If you feel you are in imminent danger or fear a threat of harm, please dial 911.

 

Manhattan Public Library is a cornerstone of free and equal access to a world of ideas and information for the Manhattan, Kansas, community. Manhattan Public Library serves more than 75,000 people in the Riley County area through curated book and other media collections, knowledgeable staff, relevant programming for all ages, and meeting space. Learn more at mhklibrary.org.

 

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Audrey Swartz, Adult Services and Readers’ Advisory Librarian