Sean Moeller’s debut poetry collection Plain Clothes Hamburglar (Rejection Letters Press) is a tightly compressed collection of vignettes that are laden with beat, location and nostalgia to create an anthemic volume of poems that, despite their playful dressing, ask to be taken seriously. Divided into sections by ingredients in a hamburger (bun, pickles and onions, […]
Book reviews
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Fully Booked at ICPL: Books to keep kids reading over break
School’s out! To keep kids reading over the summer — especially reluctant readers — grab these high-interest, page-turning titles for your middle-graders (3rd-6th) to encourage recreational reading and bust boredom all summer long. Graphic novels are a great place to start. Those who love the format but are ready to move on to meatier stories […]
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Fully Booked at DMPL: Read to resist LGBTQ+ erasureÂ
Legislators in the state of Iowa are actively trying to erase the stories of LGBTQ+ people by removing books from public schools and denying access to important, life-saving stories for youth. People that try to ban books know that books are powerful and are a danger to their hegemonic systems and strict societal norms, which […]
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Fully Booked at ICPL: Books that answer ‘what can I do?’
As a librarian who works with teens, I know the job isn’t just about recommending books. It’s about making information digestible to help them formulate their own solutions. Young people are apex community members, and they have many questions right now. They’re passionate, dedicated and hungry for ways to be impactful while trying to understand […]
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Fully Booked at DMPL: Great manga romances
There are few things I dislike more than finishing a manga volume and reaching over to pick up the next installment, only to realize I forgot to check it out. You needn’t fear a dangling cliffhanger when it comes to my first recommendation. DMPL has added ComicsPlus to our list of databases, making manga and […]
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Book Review: ‘Optional Saint’ by Kelsi Vanada
Kelsi Vanada’s Optional Saint (Bench Editions) is a delicate collage of poetic styles that maintain a signature sparseness of language — the poems ask the reader to connect the dots. What’s interesting and exciting about Vanada’s poetry is that she trusts the reader and invites the reader to become part of the narrative. With brevity, […]
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Book Review: ‘Mojave Ghost’ by Forrest Gander
I read about one book of poetry a year. I enjoy poetry now, despite an adolescence spent being intimidated by it. I am thrilled that Mojave Ghost by Forrest Gander (New Directions) became my poetry book of the year. Structured with page breaks and asterisks but no formal titles, he creates something that flows effortlessly […]
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Book Review: ‘Green for Luck’ by Margaret Yapp
Margaret Yapp’s Green For Luck (Eastover Press) is a refreshing shock to the senses. Every page asks the reader to unlearn their expectations. I hear all the time that readers want to be surprised — I even tell my own students that — but it’s been a long time since I experienced it. In Green […]
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Book Review: ‘Blue Light Hours’ by Bruna Dantas Lobato
I was a daughter who left her mother. This is a fairly common experience, from my understanding of the world, many children leave their parents, either to move down the street or across the country. My act of leaving was comparatively short in distance but long in duration, as I packed my suitcase once and […]
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Fully Booked at DMPL: Nonfiction for nature lovers
I have always loved learning about the natural world. As a kid, l adored Sylvia Earle and kept my backpack full of Ranger Rick magazines. Even now, when I see a good natural sciences book come through the library, I get just as excited as I used to when I was a kid. Environmental themes […]
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Fully Booked at ICPL: Children’s books to inspire spring adventures
We have some fabulous new children’s titles for you to check out at ICPL, including Your Island by Jon Klassen. The board book rounds out a beautiful trilogy by the Caldecott winner. Your Farm and Your Forest, published simultaneously, are equally lovely and follow a similar trajectory. Each opens with a sunrise and finishes after […]
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Author Rachel Kushner describes writing ‘an ideas novel that’s not boring’ in conversation with Kim Gordon
The American woman watches people standing in line and waiting to pay at the cash register. It’s a highway travel center in France and the woman observes customers walk in and out. She’s at the same time bored and fascinated. People buy dried truffles or lavender oil or glass jars of something resembling cat food. […]
