I am a lifelong poetry lover. It began with my Shel Silverstein obsession as a child and carried through into my adulthood, as I discovered amazing poets like Lucille Clifton, Sharon Olds and Sandra Cisneros. I love poetry the same way I love short stories; it’s incredible the way a skilled writer can distill complex emotions […]
Des Moines Public Library
Posted inBook Reviews
Fully Booked at DMPL: Food reads to inspire a cooking spree
Books and recipes share a secret: both are meant to be savored. I’ve always loved reading cookbooks, treating them almost like memoirs, full of a chef’s memories, family traditions and tiny windows into their lives. Recipe books and food-forward stories invite you to linger, imagine and taste your way through someone else’s experiences. That love […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“Awe Stuck” by Dianne Alita Rosales Siasoco: Winner of the DMPL + Little Village short story contest
This fall, the Des Moines Public Library and Little Village partnered on a short story competition titled “This Time Next Year.” Writers were invited to submit a story under 2,000 words encompassing predictions about the year ahead. The contest’s judges included LV Art Director Chuy Renteria and fellow authors and editors Sophia Hanson, Carol Hunter and Carol […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Fully Booked at DMPL: Books to read when you need to feel something
Reading is a daily ritual for me. I’m a mood reader, gravitating towards genre fiction when I need an escape from reality, but my favorite books tend to be emotionally devastating literary fiction. I love to be moved to tears. To be left gasping at the beauty and heartbreak that humans create with words, reflecting […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Fully Booked at DMPL: Haunted houses, haunting reads
Halloween is just around the corner, when larger-than-life skeletons adorn front yards and glowing pumpkins sit on every doorstep. These spooky season staples aren’t always indicative of thrills and chills behind the front door — but if you’re a horror reader like me, you can’t help but wonder what terrors may lurk inside. One of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Fully Booked at DMPL: Tantalizing Time-Benders
The prequel to the TV show Outlander, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, premiered recently, so I must talk about time slip novels. In these novels, the characters accidentally stumble through time, without any knowledge of how they got there. Alone and desperate, they must navigate a world unknown. Will they find love? Will they meet […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Fully Booked at DMPL: Pageturners for any mood
I’ve just checked out the latest book by one of my favorite authors that I’ve been anticipating for months. I am excited, ready to dive into what is sure to be a new favorite. After reading a few paragraphs, I lose focus. Even if the writing and plot are brilliant, I just don’t feel like […]
Posted inBook Reviews
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 […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
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 […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
AViD 2023 is bringing authors to Des Moines, including R.F. Kuang and Emily St. John Mandel
The Des Moines Book Festival is over, but even more authors are headed to Iowa in the coming weeks as part of Authors Visiting in Des Moines (AViD). The first of these visitors will be New York Times bestselling author R.F. Kuang, who is scheduled to speak at the Central Library in Des Moines on […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Adults can earn pizza for reading every day of November through the Des Moines Public Library
Even if you’re an enthusiastic reader, reading for prizes is always more fun. And while the Scholastic Book Fair has yet to update itself for the enjoyment of adults, the Des Moines Public Library is bringing back the joy of pizza parties as a reward for independent reading. In collaboration with Gusto Pizza Bar, the […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
DMPL and five other Iowa libraries to offer free digital literacy workshops, funded through national program
Des Moines Public Library (DMPL), along with 159 other American libraries will join the Public Library Association’s (PLA) Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive cohort supported by AT&T. DMPL is one of six Iowa libraries that will join the cohort. The others are Letts Public Library in Letts, Ericson Public Library in Boone, Columbus Junction Public Library […]
