When you think of “salad”- traditionally it consists of fresh lettuce & greens with assorted garden vegetables, fruits, toppings and a dressing. Salads can be a side dish or a main entrée. During the summer there is an endless supply of fresh greens, veggies and fruits in season available at grocery stores, farm markets and even your home garden! But what about winter?
Absolutely! You can enjoy a variety of great salads all year long. Yes, you can find summer fruits and vegetables at grocery stores during the winter but there can be quality issues (not as appetizing or tasty) and they can be very costly. So for winter salads focus on hearty greens, late harvest vegetables & fruits that have a long storage life and pantry items. Salads are not just lettuce and greens! There are tons of great recipes featuring fresh brussel sprouts, beets, squash, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, onions and more.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and for anyone interested in reading diverse, exciting fiction in the vein of social activism, make these treasured titles in young adult fiction a part of your reading list for the new year!
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely: Rashad is absent again today. That’s the sidewalk graffiti that started it all… Well, no, actually, a lady tripping over Rashad at the store, making him drop a bag of chips, was what started it all.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone: Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can’t escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates.
Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson & Ellen Hagan: Jasmine and Chelsea are sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women’s Rights Club. They post everything online—poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine’s response to the racial macroaggressions she experiences—and soon they go viral.
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson: Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong…
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson: Jade believes she must get out of her neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother says she has to take every opportunity. She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportunities feel more demeaning than helpful…
There are many new voices and fresh perspectives in current young adult fiction that explore social and racial issues with warmth, humor and conscience. These and other authors are just a beginning; ask us at your Lorain Public Library System branch for recommendations and new titles for incredible, diverse reads. Let us honor the work of Dr. King and other advocates of social justice by choosing thoughtful, involved stories that will enlighten as well as entertain.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Celebrate the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this month through books, film and other materials from our e-resource collection!
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Check out BookFlix, our online resource for preschoolers and early readers, for a few books on Martin Luther King, Jr. paired with short videos about Dr. King. Use the “People and Places” option to find these titles.
Our Kanopy service has fifteen films about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s to view for free. Titles to watch out for include the PBS documentary In Remembrance of Martin and King: A Filmed Record. You will need to create an account using your email account at our Kanopy landing page if you are new to the service.
Check out what the Lorain Public Library System staff are currently doing in their free time. Whether it’s books, movies, TV shows, music, and more, we want to share what has caught our attention.
Happy New Year everyone! I know every year in January, I make a big list of all the things I want to read in the new year, and 2021 looks like it’s going to be a great year for science fiction fans! I want to share with you a few titles I am looking forward to reading this year as well as some older titles that are worth your time.
Hailed as a mash up of Cowboy Bebop and The Mandalorian, Persephone Station is sure to be a wild ride! Angel, a down and out ex-marine, leads a ragtag group of assassins, soldiers, and criminals on Persephone Station. She works for bar owner Rosie doing jobs that aren’t fit for daylight and on one of these jobs, Angel and her crew uncover something horrific that they can’t ignore. The group finds themselves pitted against a powerful corporation for the fate of Persephone Station and the secret it holds.
I just started this! And it is as good as the blurbs say it is. If you read only one space opera this year, Persephone Station should be it!
If you haven’t read anything by Nnedi Okorafor, you have to fix that immediately. Award winning author of the Binti trilogy and Who Fears Death (which has been optioned for early production by HBO) Nnedi Okorafor brings us the story of a young girl who is turned into Death’s adopted daughter by an alien artifact. Remote Control sounds amazing.
With a new year comes the opportunity to challenge yourself and what better way to do that then with books! Whether it’s just selecting the amount of books you hope to read in a year or attempting to read books outside your comfort zone, there is a challenge out there for everyone. So take a gander at the compiled list below and pick and choose which are the best for you!
2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge – Goodreads is a social platform for books where you can keep track of what your currently reading, what you want to read, and all the books that you’ve already tackled. Each year you are able to choose the number of books and then its off to the races.
NovelKnight’s Beat the Backlist Challenge – Rule 1. For a book to count towards the challenge it must be published in the previous year or earlier (basically anything before 2021). Rule 2: It must be read from start to finish in 2021. If you want to make things a little more challenging there are prompts and graphics available at the link.
Read Native 2021 – The American Indian Library Association crafted this challenge to celebrate and support Indigenous authors, creators, legislators, scientists, and more all year round.
Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge – Every year Book Riot puts out a new challenge designed to get you out of your reading comfort zone and encourage readers to pick up books off their radar. With just 24 prompts to complete, you can space these books throughout the year.
Booklist Queen’s 2021 Reading Challenge – If you want the ultimate challenge, Booklist Queen offers one that features a book a week! That’s 52 prompts to follow along with! Best thing is you can make it work for you.
Here at Lorain Public Library System, we have a Winter Reading Challenge running through February 15 which can be found in Connections on page 26. Tell us what challenges you are participating in this year and what reading goals you’ve set for yourselves in the comments below!
We’re back with another list highlighting new music releases available to patrons on Hoopla. Check out the below titles that have been released in the last 30 days for some new tunes to stream.
I wish I was better at incorporating nonfiction into my reading habits but in 2020 I did get to listen to Hope Jahren’s two books which tackle science, environment, life and more. Check out book details and my thoughts below!
Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more. Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.
From the bestselling author of Lab Girl comes a slim, urgent missive on the defining issue of our time: here is Hope Jahren on climate change, our timeless pursuit of more, and how the same human ambition that got us here can also be our salvation.
2020 was certainly a year that none of us will ever forget for many reasons. For those of us who are as anxious to turn the calendar page as much as 2021’s arrival, here are some intriguing things you can teach yourself how to do to ring in the new year. Use our collections and eLibrary resources at your friendly neighborhood library to take up that new hobby or explore a topic that you have been wanting to learn about for a long time! Happy New Year!!! 😊
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B.J. Fogg, PhD – If you have a hard time sticking to your new year’s resolutions every year, this might be the perfect guide to help you form lasting new habits by understanding Dr. Fogg’s revolutionary understanding of human behavior.
The Mythology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by DK Publishing – If you have ever been curious about myths and legends around the world, The Mythology Book is a great introduction to who’s who and how these stories of the past still influence our societies today.
The Dietitian Kitchen: Nutrition for a Healthy, Strong, & Happy You by Kerri Major – Kerri Major, a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer, will help you eliminate the confusion around fad diets and get back to the basics of well-balanced nutrition and implement exercises that fit in with your busy lifestyle without adding stress while adding enjoyment to your daily routines.
The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food by Marcus Samuelsson – Add some wow to your kitchen this year by exploring Black cooking today with Marcus Samuelsson (chef, author, and television star) who will take on a journey through culinary delights, culture and history with some of the top chefs across our country.
American Sign Language Demystified by Kristin Mulrooney, Ph.D. – This self-teaching guide includes a DVD that will help you learn American Sign Language to communicate confidently and comfortably.
Complete Language Pack: Spanish by DK Publishing – This complete Spanish language pack comes with three books and free audio apps to help you get started in learning Spanish in 15-minute lessons over 12 weeks.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing the Ukulele by David Hodge – This could be the year for you to take up a fun instrument and learn how to play the ukulele! The updated edition includes the corresponding audio track guides that can be downloaded from their website or you can get the book with the CD.
The Weather Detective: Rediscovering Nature’s Secret Signs by Peter Wohlleben – Discover rich new meanings in the world around you by learning how to read the signs of nature and gain a deeper understanding of weather using everything from the latest discoveries to ancient lore.
How to Fix Anything: Essential Home Repairs Anyone Can Do by Popular Mechanics Press – You will learn how to confidently handle issues in any room in your home, yard or garage with this handy guide that also covers simple lessons in plumbing and electricity.
What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky by Kelsey Oseid – Winter’s longer nights lend for perfect stargazing conditions! This beautifully illustrated guide will help you identify celestial bodies in the heavens and learn the stories behind them. Check out one of our backpacks with high-powered binoculars to view the moon, stars, and planets in greater detail.
Chilton Library gives you the detailed information you need to tackle vehicle maintenance and repairs.
Creativebug has more than 1,000 award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.
Gale Courses offers a wide range of highly interactive, instructor-led courses that you can take entirely online. Courses run for six weeks and new sessions begin every month.
Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center offers detailed “how-to” instructions and creative ideas to meet the interests of virtually every hobby enthusiast. Full text is provided from leading hobby and craft magazines.
Home Improvement Reference Center – Through a collection of comprehensive full-text content, this database provides users with detailed, user-friendly “how-to” information covering a variety of home improvement and repair projects.
KnowledgeCity provides in-demand training for business, computer, safety, compliance, and finance enabling users to update skill sets and advance careers. All courses are crafted by industry experts and college professor s from around the world. Courses can be accessed anywhere, anytime. Each course provides a skills test and certificate of completion. Receive unlimited access to KnowledgeCity using your library card. Follow the link to KnowledgeCity from the library’s web site, log in using your library card, and start learning. KnowledgeCity’s service is available in both English and Spanish.
Lynda.com – Learn business, technology, and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals using these free video courses on the latest software, taught by industry experts. Online videos are available for Developer, IT, Business, Marketing, Photography, 3D + Animation, Video, Web, and more. Both in-library and remote users must enter their library card number and PIN to access Lynda.com.
The Ohio Web Library includes: popular magazines, trade publications, scholarly research journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, dictionaries, speeches, poems, plays, maps, satellite images of Ohio, and more.
Oxford Research Encyclopedias – With today’s overabundance of information, and misinformation, students and researchers alike can be overwhelmed in identifying what’s trustworthy, what’s up-to-date, and what’s accurate. Oxford University Press has invested in the Oxford Research Encyclopedias to meet this challenge. Working with international communities of scholars across all fields of study, we are developing new comprehensive collections of in-depth, peer-reviewed summaries on an ever-growing range of topics.
Small Business Reference Center offers exclusive full text for many top consumer small business reference books, as well as tools to address many small business topics. It includes business videos, a help and advice section and details on how to create business plans.
Transparent Languages helps millions learn over 100 foreign languages. Download free language-learning software and start learning a language now.
Very Short Introductions – Discover a new topic or subject with these intelligent and serious introductions written by authors who are experts in their field. Brilliant. Sharp. Inspiring. Now online.
