Think about a book you read recently that you enjoyed.  As simple as that…reading a book that gives you enjoyment.  Now think about people who know how to read, but do not. Perhaps they got out of the habit, or never developed the habit of reading for pleasure, or don’t have access, or any number [...]

As you may know, November is right around the corner. Yep, you know what that means, National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. For those of you who didn’t know November was National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo is a month dedicated to encouraging novel writing, and creative writing in general, that was started by the non-profit [...]

Some of you who have come to the library needing statistics for your research may have seen me reach for a book called Statistical Abstract of the United States.  The Census Bureau, which has published it annually since 1878, has announced that it will discontinue producing it.  It is, in the Census Bureau’s words, a [...]

Don’t be fooled by the format – e-books are ‘real’ books in every sense that matters, and can make your course assignments easier and better!
Practically everyone who has used the Internet has had some experience with e-books.  You might not own a Kindle or an iPad but likely have read something interesting through GoogleBooks or [...]

A few days ago we were privileged to hear Vickie Weaver speak and read from her book Billie Girl, which won the 2009 Leapfrog Fiction Contest.  Weaver spoke on her journey towards becoming an author, and the challenges of that work.

One thing Ms. Weaver has found is that her writing has naturally gravitated to giving [...]

Sometimes you come across a book that grabs you and holds you from the first page until the last. Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd, winner of the Carnegie Medal in Literature in 2009, is one of these books.  One of the many wonderful books available in the IU East Campus Library’s Young Adult collection, [...]

One type of literature I’ve always been fascinated with is comic art.  In fact, I even considered becoming a comic book artist before I decided to become a librarian.  IU East has a modest collection of graphic novels – some famous, like Persepolis and Barefoot Gen.  Some aren’t, and I’d like to tell you a [...]

Some years ago the library had a book in the Leisure section about Vikings, written by Don Coldsmith.  I had just finished a summer class “Heroes, Monsters and Crusaders” taught by Dr. Eleanor Turk.  One of the topics we talked about was Beowulf, who was a Viking.  This caught my interest and I wanted to [...]

Recently, I’ve been re-reading some of my favorite author, Ira Levin’s, novels.  I just completed “A Kiss Before Dying” and found it every bit as satisfying a thriller as the first read-through.  Which got me thinking about what to read this summer.

Summer is often a time of book lists and beach reading that we don’t [...]

It’s 89 degrees Fahrenheit today and Spring has suddenly become Summer, despite the calendar indicating otherwise. Even though it seems this season isn’t as leisurely as in bygone years, I hope all of you will make time to read for pleasure in the next few weeks.
I’m tempted to catch up on my professional reading, [...]