When patrons are seeking book recommendations, I’m often asked what I like to read. Unfortunately, my science fiction and horror leanings are often at odds with their preferred reading habits, so my recent favorites aren’t always of much use. However, being a contributor to our blog allows me to reach a broader audience that may be more in tune with my reading preferences and gives me the opportunity to share some of my new discoveries. This month I’d like to highlight three excellent adult science fiction novels for your reading pleasure. Hyperion by Dan Simmons I was completely unaware of this sci-fi series by Dan Simmons, being familiar only with his horror themed work like The Terror. The premise caught my attention straight away. On a fringe planet in the Hegemony of Man a terrifying creature called the Shrike guards the mysterious alien artifacts known as the time tombs. On the eve of galactic war, seven pilgrims must travel to the remote planet Hyperion to find answers surrounding their strange experiences with both the planet and the Shrike itself, and hopefully prevent Armageddon. Thrilling and at times hilarious, Hyperion is the beginning of an epic adventure weaved from the very personal and bizarre experiences of the galaxy’s inhabitants. Cold Storage: A Novel by David Koepp The more I read Cold Storage the more I thought to myself, “this should be a movie.” So, it came as no surprise that author David Koepp is most notable for being the screenwriter for such blockbusters as Jurassic Park and Mission Impossible. Robert Diaz hoped that the deadly mutant fungus he and his partner locked away deep beneath a military repository would never again be disturbed. But decades after being locked away, Cordyceps novus has been unleashed into the facility, now turned into a personal storage site. A fast-paced gory adventure that’ll make your skin crawl, Cold Storage is as frightening as it is fun. The Thing in the Snow: A Novel by Sean Adams If I had to choose one word to describe this novel it would be cold. More literary fiction than science fiction, The Thing in the Snow still made this list because it’s just so strange. Part satire and part psychological thriller, the novel takes us deep into the middle of nowhere where Hart and his team of caretakers are entrusted with maintaining the now dormant Northern Institute. With such pressing tasks as sitting in every chair and shifting to a reasonable degree to test their strength, to placing golf balls on tables to ensure their levelness, nothing of note occurs to mark the passage of days until the thing in the snow appears. The best part of working in a library is finding a new book to read. While sorting through the new releases or digging through returns of well-worn gems, I’m always coming across something to add to my reading list. While we spend a lot of our time finding and recommending books to our patrons, the process is often reciprocal. The books people request and return frequently serve as recommendations for us, and more often than not I find my next read waiting for me in the book drop. So, while it may sometimes feel like my reading habits are out of tune with what interests our patrons, I have to remind myself that there’s more overlap than I realize.

When you borrow books for free with your library card, sometimes you have to wait your turn, especially for new and popular titles. Some books have wait lists that are months long. Even if the book is worth the wait, we understand that waiting is far from anyone's favorite thing to do. That's where our Lucky Day Collection comes into play. This collection has popular and best-selling titles that do not have waitlist. How is this possible? Lucky Day books can't be placed on hold, and once they are checked out, they they can't be renewed. You can keep a Lucky Day book for 2 weeks, as opposed to the typical 4-week loan period for regular books. This helps to ensure that as many people as possible can access the books in this collection. To prevent the Lucky Day shelves from being cleared out, patrons are limited to borrowing 3 Lucky Day items at a time. Finding Lucky Day Books The best way to get your hands on a Lucky Day book is to visit the library and browse the collection in person. Lucky Day items are listed in our online catalog, so you can see if a book is currently on the Lucky Day shelf, but you won't be able to place a hold on that copy. You will have to come to the library to claim the Lucky Day copy. If someone beats you to it, you can try your luck next time you are in, or you can opt to join the waitlist for the regular copy of the book. Below is an example of what a Lucky Day book will look like in the online catalog. Because of the Lucky Day collection, you might see a book that is available at the library even though you are currently on the wait list for it. For example, I have been on the wait list for the ebook version of "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" by Gillian McAllister. I started 27th in line, and there are still 17 people ahead of me. The Libby App is estimating that I will have to wait another 8 weeks before it is my turn to borrow the book. However, when I was browsing the Lucky Day Collection at the library, I found the print version of the book on the shelf. That means I can choose to cancel my ebook hold and borrow the Lucky Day print version instead. The benefit is twofold - I don't have to wait to read the book, and the waitlist for the ebook is now shorter for everyone else in line. Lucky Day Ebooks and Audiobooks The Libby App, which allows you to borrow ebooks and e-audiobooks with your library card, has a similar feature to the Lucky Day Collection called "Skip the Line." Like the name suggests, the titles in this collection are available right away. You don't have to join a waitlist to borrow these books. Books in the Skip the Line collection can be checked out for 1 week. Most other books on the Libby App have a 2-week loan period. Skip the Line books can't be renewed or placed on hold. Both Skip the Line books and books that don't currently have a wait list will appear in the "Available Now" filter in Libby. To distinguish between books with an empty waitlist and Skip the Line books, look for the four leaf clover icon next to the borrow button. Books with this icon are Skip the Line books. Lucky Day Movies The library also carries Blu-rays and DVDs in our Lucky Day Collection. You will find popular movies and TV series in the collection. Just like the other Lucky Day items, you can't place a hold or renew movies from this collection. Blue-rays and DVDs can be checked out for one week before they are due. Next time you are at the library, stop by the Lucky Day bookshelf located right inside our main entrance. You might just find a book you have been longing to read and get to take it home without having to wait!

What's love got to do with it? Well, pretty much everything if you are searching through our catalog! Hello and welcome to another love filled post this Valentines Day week! I am sticking to the same format as last year's post and doing a search for "Love" in our catalog. Let's see what there is out on the shelves at our library that would be interesting to check out for this holiday! Adult Fiction Love, by Doyle Roddy. Using the general keyword search "love" and then refining the search to only items available at Caldwell Public library, we land on this book as one of the top options. According to the jacket summary, "As two friends try to reconcile their versions of the past over the course of one night, Love offers a delightfully comic yet moving portrait of the many forms love can take throughout our lives." This book looks really interesting. It is set in a Dublin restaurant and is a conversation style novel recounting the history of a friendship between two men. Adult Non-Fiction It's all love: reflections for your heart & soul by Jenna Ortega. This short read is full of positivity and inspiration from the actress who's fame has exploded since the Netflix series Wednesday became a sensation. Using themes and quotes, Jenna Ortega then expands the words into a summary of how each reflection relates to her every day life. Some libraries have this catalogued as a teen non-fiction. Ours is in the general non-fiction area. Check this one out to gain some inspiration for your day to day life! Movie Love's enduring promise stars January Jones, Logan Bartholomew, Dale Midkiff, and Katherine Heigl and is one of many in a series of films from Janette Oke's Keepsake novel series. I cannot tell you how excited I am to watch this movie since I am a huge fan of January Jones and recently I have began a journey into western media. I may even expand out into watching the other films as well as read the books... Teen Your heart, my sky: love in a time of hunger by Margarita Engle. In the summer of 1991, the people of Cuba are starving. Liana and Amado find each other as they refuse to participate in "volunteer farm labor." Through a back and forth conversation written in the most interesting format of poetry to poetry, the two form a loving bond that gives them endurance to face the constant hunger they are endearing. With bits and pieces of Spanish added in and snippets of a time period in 1991 which the author's relatives have experienced, a story of love and hunger emerges. Music American Love by Jake Owen. This is a country album released in 2016 and features his #1 hit single American Country Love Song. According to an album review article written in 2016 by renownedforsound.com, "The record is furnished with huge country fireworks, intended to touch the soul and harbour a smiling warmth." The album cover art is adorable, Jake sits in a vintage VW van on a beachy landscape, looking like he doesn't have a care in the world. I feel like I need more vibes like these in my life. Kids music Kidz Bop. 37 popped up for our search that was refined to show only items at Caldwell Library, for kids, and as a music CD. It came up because some of the song titles feature the word "love" in it. I have not listened to Kidz Bop in a very long time, but if it seems like your style, we have it in stock! Children's picture book Love, by Matt de la Peña. This beautiful and deep book was really moving. The picture book has wonderful illustrations and shows how love shows up in our lives in various forms, constantly, from different people in our lives. The love of a mother, father, grandmother, community, and others manifest in various forms, creating a tapestry of support for our main character. Check out this book to see for yourself! Children's chapter book Faded love by John R. Erickson. This is the 5th book in the Hank the Cowdog series and I have never heard of it but was instantly amused by the fantastic expression that the dog has. This dog is on the case. He has suspicions and will figure it all out. A coworker of mine says that it was one of her favorite chapter books as a kid. After reading a few chapters, I thought it was really fun and I sort of wanted to finish reading the whole thing. Hank goes in search of Miss Beulah, who is his true love, after a series of annoying situations arise during his daily rounds. Too bad Plato the bird dog is also looking to hang out with Miss Beulah. Check this book out to see how everything turns out! Children's non-fiction I spy: I love you by Jean Marzollo. Who doesn't love a good I Spy book? Scavenger hunt style books and games are great for your young learners, and a lot of fun with sibling and parent participation as well! Being able to find items from the pages challenges their skills and encourages them to also pay attention to the world around them. Are you looking for more ideas to incorporate scavenger hunt style games in your every day learning activities? Check out this article from Scholastic about ways to encourage observation skills for the kiddos! More to explore! Want to try to find your own books based around the keyword search "Love?" Or maybe you want to try to find other topics based on just one or two keywords! Whatever you are curious about finding and learning, the catalog is a fun tool to utilize in your exploration. And don't worry, if you get lost, your librarians at Caldwell Public Library are available to assist you in finding the materials you are on the hunt for. Happy exploring and have a fun filled holiday week!

With the return of February it’s time to roll out a fun new library event seen across the country, a blind date with a book. The idea is simple, on display are a wide range of books wrapped up to hide their covers, with only a few brief tags to hint at what’s inside. Pick out something that sounds interesting to you and unwrap it when you get home! The hope is that you might try something you haven’t read before, or to not judge a book by its cover. Some libraries might have a more detailed description on their books, but I decided to go for simplicity and just put a few common tags as hints. The books on display right now are primarily picked out by our staff. Each one is from our adult fiction and non-fiction sections. You’ll find a decent spread of books, from autobiographies to classics to romance. And not just print books, but there are audiobooks on display as well. Any audiobooks, large print, or Spanish books will have a tag on the front letting you know. Hopefully you take home something you like! If you happen to love the book you took home, you can check out our catalog and search for more books by a particular author or from a certain genre. And who knows, this blind date may just have a book you need to check off a category in our Ultimate Book Nerd Challenge. If you haven’t started, you can start an online log or pick up a paper one at our information desk. I hope you enjoy this little Valentine’s display!

Last November I did a post espousing the brilliance of the classic Avalon Hill wargame Tactics II. In that post I briefly talked about my magnetic build of the game. You see, Tactics II, like many wargames, can take quite a while to finish. With three cats and no free space to leave the game laid out for days on end, I simply hang my new magnetic version on the wall between plays. Tactics II now serves as both a game, and an ever changing piece of art for my wall that I can stare at and plot my next move. This month we’ll look at the materials and process of building a magnetic board game so that you too can create an interactive piece of wall art. These instructions will follow how I put Tactics II together, but the materials and build process will be similar for any sort of game. The idea here is that whatever game you create can be played vertically or be moved and the playing pieces will remain in place. I will also provide examples of the materials I used, but any similar product can produce the same results. Let’s get started! What you’ll need: Metal sheet or magnetic whiteboard. Chipboard, backing board, or thin cardboard. Magnetic sheet. May be self-adhesive or printable. Printable stickers, vinyl sheets, or standard printer paper and a laminator. Poster / Picture frame (optional). Picture frame hooks and cord. Computer and Printer (If you're not adapting existing game parts). Useful Tools: Rotary Cutter and cutting mat, paper trimmer, or heavy-duty scissors. Ruler or straightedge. Screwdriver or hand drill. Tin Snips / Metal Cutter. First and foremost a magnetic surface will be necessary for mounting the game board. The dimensions of your game will be an important factor here because depending on the backing you may need to cut the material to size. I used a thin piece of steel sheet metal that was just a few inches larger than my game board. I simply centered the playing area on the sheet and left the extra as it fit the frame I’d chosen exactly. Sheet metal can prove difficult to cut but a pair of tin snips can make quick work of thinner metal like that used in a whiteboard. Choose the lightest most magnetic material that’s sized closet to your game design. Next, you’ll need to decide how your game board will attach to the backing. Thinner is better because the magnets for the game pieces will be fairly weak in order to reduce their tendency to push and pull each other on the board. For this reason, I would avoid using a standard board game board unless you plan to have very strong magnets. I simply scaled my game board image on the computer to print on multiple standard printer pages. I then laminated, cut to size, and used a healthy amount of double-sided carpet tape to tile them onto my sheet metal. Alternatively, you can use printable sticker sheets to simply print and stick your board design on. However, great care must be taken to avoid bubbles or rolls when applying. Any gap or bubble will be glaringly obvious and may prevent game pieces from sticking properly! With the basics of the game board put together it’s time to move on to the playing pieces. As I stated earlier, the magnetic sheets I used are not very powerful. However, if you’re using heavier or larger pieces you may want to use more powerful individual magnets rather than the sheets I mounted mine on. Keep in mind that more powerful magnets may cause pieces to repeal or attract one another, so piece spacing and magnet placement become much more critical. My playing pieces consisted of three layers. I first printed the design to a standard printer size sticker sheet. I then adhered that to my chipboard which I then stuck to my adhesive magnetic sheet. Once all three layers were combined, I used a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and ruler to separate the individual pieces. The chipboard combined with the magnetic sheet created a study piece with just the right amount of thickness while still being easy to cut. Because I used stickers and self-adhesive magnetic sheets, I didn’t have any issues with inconsistent adhesion caused by poor glue distribution. Obviously, there are some game components that can’t be stuck to your board such as dice or instructions. For piece and dice storage I used some small plastic containers with hinged lids. I stuck a large patch of magnetic sheet to the back so that they could be stored on the board while it was hung but removed for play. For the instructions I used a very basic plastic file holder that I simply tucked into the back of the frame before hanging. The last consideration is how you actually want to hang your game. If the game is simplistic and easy to access, like tic-tac-toe in a children’s play space for instance, you may wish to mount the game so that it may be played directly on the wall and not easily removed. For that type of build you could screw the board directly into the wall or weight permitting, you can use something like double sided mounting foam. I put Tactics II in a large black frame and used the included frame hooks and wire to hang it from a screw and drywall anchor. There’re many different ways to approach this project depending on your materials and goals. The loose directions here merely represent what was most successful for me. In truth, I started over a few times until I landed on the right build. What game do you think would lend itself to this format? If you've tried this project, we'd love to see what you've created!

Caldwell Public Library cards were used more than 253,500 times in 2022. That breaks down to nearly 700 times a day! We serve a diverse community with unique reading habits, so it is difficult to summarize which books, movies, and games define any given year. Unlike your Spotify Wrapped that summarizes what you personally listen to each year, our data represents over 20,000 active cardholders. (P.S Want to stream and download music for free with no ads? Log into Freegal Music with your library card!) Still, it is fun to look back at the year and see which items were checked out the most. Keep reading to find out what the top 5 most circulated titles were for popular genres and categories. Curious about a category that isn't listed? Let us know in the comments! General Fiction The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Teen Fiction Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth Youth Fiction Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End by Jeff Kinney Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney Magic Treehouse: The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne Picture Books Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes by Eric Litwin Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock Froggy Goes to Grandma's by Jonathan London Mystery Storm's Fury by Mary Stone Back of Beyond by CJ Box Badlands by CJ Box Vicious Circle: A Joe Pickett Novel by CJ Box Below Zero by CJ Box Romance Beach Read by Emily Henry The Return by Nicholas Sparks Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Drops of Gold: A Regency Novel by Sarah Eden E-Books Dune by Frank Herbert The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab Atomic Habits by James Clear Audiobooks Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave Better off Dead by Lee Child Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson Nonfiction Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear Missing 411: North America and Beyond by David Paulides Missing 411: Western United States and Canada by David Paulides Goodbye Lupus: How a Medical Doctor Healed Herself Naturally with Supermarket Foods by Brooke Goldner Youth Graphic Novels Dog Man: Grime and Punishment by Dav Pilkey Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey Dog Man: Fetch-22 by Dav Pilkey Dog Man: Mothering Heights by Dav Pilkey InvestiGators: Ants in our P.A.N.T.S. by John Patrick Green Teen Graphic Novels Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Volume 1 by Ukoyo Kodachi The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag Bloom by Kenneth Oppel Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon The Promised Neverland Volume 1 by Kaiu Shirai Adult Graphic Novels Solo Leveling Volume 1 by Chugong Deadpool Samurai Volume 1 by Sanshiro Kasama Lore Olympus Volume 1 by Rachel Smythe Solo Leveling Volume 3 by Chugong Halo: Rise of Atriox by Cullen Bunn Youth Movies The Croods: A New Age How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Wonder Park Luca PAW Patrol: Summer Rescues General Movies & TV Venom: Let there be Carnage Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season Dune Jumanji: The Next Level Spider Man: No Way Home Video Games The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Harvest Moon One World Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team Board Games Candyland Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition Sorry! Hoot Owl Hoot Chess and Checkers Set Adult Kits Origami Ukulele Energy Efficiency Rubber Band Engineer Idaho Botanical Garden Passport Find more kits on our Library of Things! Youth STEM Kits Veterinarian I Want to be a Doctor Colors Dash n Dot Chemistry Youth Story Kits Cars & Trucks Music Wild Animals Ducks Pirates Did any of your favorites make the list? Don't forget to place a hold on any of the titles you want to borrow in 2023! You can click any of the titles above to place a hold on our online catalog, or you can download the Ida app to browse our entire collection. Want to only browse digital ebooks and audiobooks? Try the Libby app!

Over the past couple months, you may have seen some displays popping up again in the library, “cozy stories” was the first. I’ve seen so many charming book displays at libraries around the country and wanted to give it a shot myself. For now I’m just keeping it simple, considering the relatively limited space for displays. I hope to keep something rotating throughout the year in our adult, teen, and kids spaces. When it comes to what I should display, right now my idea is to keep it seasonal. Cozy stories for the winter, and I’m planning on a blind date with a book display around Valentine’s Day. I’ve also been checking out various library blogs and reddit posts to see what others are doing or asking my friends around the country what’s going on in their library. From books with movies to “I think the cover was red,” there are lots of fun ideas to draw from. With the start of a new year, I decided to try a couple of ideas to make for a quick browsing selection. In our Teen Zone you can check out the “New Year, New Series” display on the back wall. Assembled there are the first books in a variety of different YA series. Sometimes finding book one can be a little confusing, so I hope this helps people find a new series to get excited about. For example, you can find Emily A. Duncan's Wicked Saints. Let me know what you think! Over by the windows you can find “New Year, New Skills” showcasing all kinds of how-to books, from cooking, coding, to crocheting. Besides C-based skills, there's also some books on learning to draw, such as Basic Colored Pencil Techniques by Bet Borgeson. If you ever wanted to try something new, like learning a language or fixing up your house, what better time than the beginning of the year. As the year goes on, please keep an eye out for the new displays that will crop up! The contents of them will keep changing, but I hope people can find something that appeals to them, whether it’s a new book, movie, or skill.

The Hidden Resource: You may be familiar with many of the materials that you have access to at our library, such as books, CD's, audio-books, magazines, and DVDs. But are you familiar with the array of resources that are available electronically? Do you know what an electronic resource is? For those of you who are willing to take the journey into the vast world of electronic resources, this blog series is for you. Libby for i-phone Probably our most commonly used e-resource is Libby for Overdrive. With the Libby app, you can use Overdrive to check out e-books and e-audio-books from our library. This app is one of my favorite to use and I use it a lot. It's been a long time since we have done a blog on Libby and I am excited to provide some updates. I use Libby primarily through my i-phone. I listen to books when I drive or I read them on my phone when I am in between chores, meetings, appointments, or before bed. I'll go over some of the features that you can use with i-phone or i-pad, but remember that Libby can be used on other devices as well. Downloading the app is easy and once you have a library card, you just pick us from the LYNX consortium library list and enter in your library card number under Caldwell Public Library. Through LYNX, you can borrow titles from 11 partner libraries. Electronic Audio-books Audiobooks are so great to listen to through Libby. I listen to most of my Thursday Read Book Club books through Libby as well as other fun books on my "to read" list. Currently, you are able to check out 5 materials on your library card and put 6 holds on your card. I listen to books a lot and love getting to hear stories narrated by so many different voice actors and actresses. I definitely read faster than the narrators are read, so I turn my speed to about 1.15x in order for me to make similar progress. I don't recommend turning the speed up too fast, though, otherwise it may sound more like listening to an Alvin & The Chipmunks album! The Libby app shows you some recommended readings and listenings, currently my app is showing me "Over 780 titles chosen by our librarians" as the top "Best Books of 2022" recommendations. Audiobooks show up as a headphone/earbud icon underneath the title, and it also shows you how long the book will take to listen to (on normal speed). It also shows up as more of a square icon rather than a book icon. Currently I am listening to Persuasion by Jane Austen, As You Wish, by Cary Elwes, Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King, and Khabaar, by Madushree Ghosh. Electronic Books I do also like to read text books on my phone sometimes, especially those kind of quick and light reads that you can get through in just a day or two. The e-books look a little different than the e-audiobooks. They don't have the headphone/earbud symbol and they don't show a time duration. When you check out a book, you can choose different text styles, sizes, and viewing formats. For instance, I have a larger text font and I like to use the "dark" lighting for my phone, usually because I read with the lights off before I fall asleep at night or I read when my husband is watching a movie or show and I don't want my bright light to interfere with the movie lighting (he watches a lot of scary or dramatic shows.) You can also add bookmarks and notes and highlight sections. I really like to use the highlight and note feature for when I read books that I am going to review during a book discussion. It also tells you what page you are on, although that can vary depending on your text style preferences. The only thing that is hard for me to do is to read from the Libby app and then transition to reading on my computer. The Libby app does not transfer to my PC so it doesn't keep track of my bookmarks and notes if I want to use another screen. I am not sure if reading on Kindle instead would sync on all my devices differently or if it would give the same syncing issues. Perhaps I will look into this in the future. If you read on Kindle, let me know in the comments if everything works on all your devices, I would love to know! Devices, Helpful Hints, and Tutoring If you use a different device and want helpful hints and tips for yours, you can visit the Libby website and get instructions for each device and type of book that you are checking out. If you would like some assistance in setting up the app on your device, you can schedule a tech tutor appointment with one of our library staff. If you could use some assistance with the app after installation or have more questions or some quick guidance into the downloading process, ask a staff member the next time you are in and we will be happy to assist you!

I’ve looked at many alternative rock subgenres and associated acts for these Freegal album reviews but I’m constantly finding forgotten favorites and hidden gems. If you’ve followed any of my posts I’m sure you’re familiar with my post-hardcore leanings. Today I’d like to present yet another post-hardcore adjacent band for your listening pleasure. For our first foray into the wild world of screamo may I introduce the group, A Static Lullaby. While some post-hardcore enthusiasts and bands may reject the term “screamo”, I’ve found it to be a succinct way to describe various sonic subtleties that warrant a sub categorization. Screamo, just like emo but with an extra helping of screams! As always, if you haven’t heard about our free music streaming service Freegal you can read all about it here. …And Don’t Forget to Breathe was released way back during screamo’s golden age in January of 2003. A Static Lullaby’s first album, the band would go on to release three more albums over the next five years without really breaking into the mainstream. Often overlooked or perhaps overshadowed, A Static Lullaby has not been as fondly remembered as many of their peers from the decade. Which honestly is a shame because they are a genuinely talented group with a heap of catchy songs. For a debut album the production is really quite good. The overall mix is well balanced and each element is easily discernible despite the multitude of layers and heavy guitar distortion. The lead vocals and screams sound huge and cut right through the intensity of the instrumentation. I’m an instant fan of anything with nice crunchy guitars and the pair played here are full bodied and energizing. The drum work across the album is top notch with the variety of beats and fills keeping every song feeling unique and fresh. This is a heavy sounding album all around. Stand out tracks include “Lipgloss and Letdown” and “The Shooting Star that Destroyed Us All”. Both songs feature intense double kick drumming and powerful vocal performances delivering some fantastically catchy melodies. I guarantee the chorus to “Lipgloss and Letdown” will instantly burn itself into your subconscious. The song structures aren’t too predictable and the trajectory of the songs keeps listeners on their toes. If the song titles aren’t enough of a hint, the lyrical themes of the album are pretty typical of this genre. There’s plenty of your usual early emo angst and despair but it’s delivered in earnest. If you can’t take the sentiment of lines like “before you kill your idols, kiss them goodnight” seriously, the theatrics and hyperbole are entertaining nonetheless. … And Don’t Forget to Breathe is not a genre defining release or essential listening for those looking to get into screamo or post-hardcore. However, it is a solid and competent album that holds up really well. It’s almost impossible to listen to without feeling like you’ve been transported back to a simpler, more innocent time. If you’re a fan of this style or heavy rock in general, …And Don’t Forget to Breathe is sure to please.

If you have been in the Kids' Room at the library recently, you might have noticed some colorful new signs along the back wall where the pictures books live. We have reorganized our picture book collection into topic categories rather than organizing them simply by author last name. Young kids often get excited to find books on their favorite subjects, and they don't always recognize or look for specific authors. Every day we get questions like "where are your dinosaur books?" or "where can I find books about outer space?" While people can search these topics in our online catalog, it is not as easy to find picture books on specific topics while you are browsing the shelves in person when the books are organized by author. With our new organization system, if your child wants to find picture books about dinosaurs, they can simply look in the dark green Animals section. Each picture book has a sticker on its spine that matches the color and icon on the sign for its category. Within each category, the books are still organized alphabetically by author's last name. At the beginning of each section, you will find a list of the types of books you will find in that category. Below is a list of the 8 main categories our picture book collection has been organized into, along with a description of the types of books you will find in that section. Keep in mind that some books might fit into multiple categories. If you don't know which category a certain book is under, you can ask a librarian or look on our online catalog. A book's category will be listed in the call number column. Picture Book Categories Things That Go This category contains books about: Bikes Cars Planes Rockets Trains Trucks Nature This category contains books about: Habitats (oceans, forests, etc.) Plants Seasons Outer Space Once Upon a Time This category contains books about: Castles Fairy Tales Fantasy Folk Tales Imagination Monsters Ninjas Pirates Princesses Superheroes Stories This category contains books about: Bedtime Stories Historical Fiction Nursery Rhymes Song Adaptations Animals This category contains books about: Dinosaurs Pets Wild Animals Celebrations This category contains books about: Birthdays Celebrated Months Celebrations Festivals World Holidays Browsing Tip: Books that might also fit into other categories, but contain a celebration in them, will always be in the Celebrations section. For example, while most of the Paw Patrol books are located in the Favorites section (see below), any of the books where the Paw Patrol characters celebrate a holiday, like in "Howl for Holloween," will be located in the Celebrations section. Favorites This category contains books by or about: Award Winners Disney/Star Wars Lego Nickelodeon Popular Authors Popular Series Popular TV Characters Learning & Growing This category contains books about: 123s ABCs Adoption Colors Divorce Feelings Friendships Hard Topics Relatives Religion School Shapes Sports It is our hope that this new organization method makes it easier for kids and parents to browse our picture book collection in person. If you need any assistance locating a specific book or topic, our friendly and knowledgeable staff is always happy to help you find exactly what you're looking for.

Way, way back when I first began writing for the blog, I did a piece on homemade board games and game design titled, “B.Y.O.B. Build your own Board Game” where I briefly recalled a session of a game called Tactics II. Perhaps inspired by my current project of creating a magnetic version of the game, I feel compelled to explore this fascinating little piece of board game history. I’ve acquired a pretty decent selection of old and obscure games over the years, but Tactics II is one I keep coming back to time and time again. Maybe it's the relative simplicity of the game and its design, but something about it speaks to the playful nature in me and conjures feelings of child-like nostalgia. The granddaddy of wargames, the classic struggle of red vs blue, the ultimate conflict simulation, the launchpad for a company that would change the way we think of board games, Tactics and its sequel are foundational games widely considered as the first true commercial wargames. Designed and self-published by Charles S. Roberts, Tactics was the first game released by the Avalon Hill Game Company. With a limited run of around 2000 copies, Roberts sold the game out of his garage by mail order. Tactics II would follow several years later and become a staple of Avalon Hill’s catalog, serving as an introduction to wargaming for generations. What is a wargame? At its core a wargame is a game which seeks to simulate conflict with some degree of realism. The Space Gamer Magazine issue #27 features a great article by Nick Schuessler and Steve Jackson on game design that offers a much more thorough definition and many of the issues are available on the Internet Archive. Nicolas Palmer’s The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, is another fantastic resource for those interested in the game style and history. Palmer does an admiral job of highlighting the importance of Tactics II to game design in general and provides an excellent look at Avalon Hill’s early years. Many of wargaming’s common mechanics can be traced back to Tactics II. Units are allotted a set amount of movement points and attack strength, battles are calculated by odds and resolved on a table, and time and scale are designed to emulate reality. While far from an actual simulation level of gameplay, Tactics II feels more like a board game than many of its more hardcore descendants. Further developments in the genre would focus on historically accurate battle simulations with absurd amounts of charts and statistics necessary to track and calculate things as minute as unit morale or water consumption. However, designers would later adopt wargaming mechanics to incorporate fantasy and sci-fi environments like Steve Jackson’s Ogre. Tactics II may appear dated and quaint to anyone that’s had experience with games in the same genre, but there’s a reason Avalon Hill continued to offer the game for so many years. Tactics II is a great abstract wargame with just the right amount of complexity. Because the game’s theme is so open ended there’s more space for creativity and imagination. The basic premise allows players the freedom to create their own narratives about the red vs. blue battle. The previous owner of my 1958 copy wrote in names for the cities which the game only refers to by map coordinates, and my 1973 edition came with a set of homebrew optional rules and new units. I’d recommend Tactics II to anyone. You don’t need to be a hardcore wargaming expert to enjoy the gameplay and you don’t have to be a board game nerd to appreciate the game design. With a relatively light set of instructions Tactics II is fairly easy to pick up and play, though your first turn may take quite some time. The depth of strategy and tactical reasoning create a very immersive game that’s easy enough for older children to grasp but still challenging for adults. I think the box says it best by describing the game as “military chess.” If you’re looking to get the game these days it’ll have to be used, but there are still plenty of complete copies selling online for a very reasonable price. I wasn’t sure if my magnetic version of the game would be completed before I finished this post, but after essentially starting over three times it’s finally done. It was an interesting and challenging project that I may cover in a future post as the design could be applied to a variety of games.

You might be used to seeing publicity for new and forthcoming books on social media, but there is one social media platform that is showing love to a lot of older, lesser known titles. Book enthusiasts on TikTok are making videos about their favorite books and authors and using the #BookTok hashtag. Books that go viral in these videos often find themselves at the top of bestseller charts and with long waitlists at libraries, sometimes surprising the authors and publishers. TikTok has been available in the United States since 2018, and it became the 6th most-used social media app globally in 2021 with 656 million downloads. TikTok users in the United States use the app 25.6 hours per month on average, according to Hootsuite (figure represents TikTok Android app users). #BookTok is one of many communities that have formed in the app. Some #BookTok videos are as simple as the content creator talking about why they love a certain book. Other creators will take on the role of one of the book’s characters and tease a book’s plot. Others will reenact their reactions to reading a book’s plot twist or pivotal moment. TikTokers also document their participation in various reading challenges, answer other user’s questions about what to read, and more. While authors and publishers are tapping into TikTok to market their books and engage with their readers, #BookTok has become a hub of digital-word-of-mouth recommendations, giving books increased, renewed, or newfound success organically. Below are just a few of the books we have been seeing a lot of on TikTok recently. If you want to get your hands on any of them, you can place a hold using our online catalog, the library’s app, or the Libby app by Overdrive. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (2016) This book was published in 2016, but as of November 2022, it has been on the New York Times Bestsellers List for 73 weeks and counting. It currently has over 250 holds across the 64 copies of the book, ebook, and audiobook in our library system. After becoming a favorite of many #BookTok readers years later, fans of the book started a petition for Hoover to write a sequel - and it worked. Hoover made a TikTok video in July 2021 addressing the petition and asking users questions about what they would want out of a sequel. “It Starts With Us” was published in October 2022. The New York Times reported that Hoover has sold more books than James Petterson and John Grisham combined. She also has 1.1 million TikTok followers. (Psst! Did you know you can access the New York Times for free with your library card? Click Here to learn more.) The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (2020) Olivie Blake is another author whose book took off after going viral on social media. Her first book, “The Atlas Six” was originally self published in 2020, but after all the attention it got online, Tor Books acquired the book and published a revised, edited edition in 2021. The publisher announced that it will also publish two more books in the series (Book 2 “The Atlas Paradox,” came out in 2022). The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) While Buzzfeed called this book “one of the most captivating reads of 2017,” readers are still lining up to get their hands on "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" five years later in 2022. The book has been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 85 weeks in the paperback category. There are currently 133 holds on the 57 copies in our library system, including ebooks and audiobooks. Search the book on TikTok and you will see countless reader reactions, many of them claiming this was a book they couldn’t put down until they reached the end. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (2012) This book has been out for over a decade, but it is still being talked about all over #BookTok. “The Song of Achilles” is a retelling of a well-known myth, but according to the people of #BookTok, the ending is no less impactful just because it is expected. Whether you loved The Iliad, or (like me) could never quite get through the whole thing, you can see for yourself if all the viral buzz about this retelling is worth the hype by placing a hold today. If you are planning on participating in our Ultimate Book Nerd Challenge in 2023, both the adult and teen challenges have "Retelling of a Myth" as one of the categories you can choose from! Keep an eye out for more information on the challenge coming out soon. Next time you aren’t sure what to read next, you might head to TikTok to see what titles are trending on #BookTok. Let us know what books you’ve discovered because of TikTok in the comments, and be sure to follow us on TikTok @caldwellpubliclibrary.