Featured Post
Throughout November, discover the rich history, ceremonies, and storytelling traditions of the Indigenous peoples of North America as part of Native American Heritage Month. Explore Library reading recommendations, films, resources, and more.
More News
This month we’re taking it back, way back to the Classical age, and shining a spotlight on our main man Gaius Julius Caesar (100BC-44BC) Dictator of Rome, Pro-Consul before that.
Caesar is a man who is as much legend as genuine historical figure. As evidenced by the varying and unending works in which he has appeared since that fateful day at the Senate House over two thousand years ago, we are highlighting March 15th. Also known as ‘The Ides of March’, there are many great features on this subject to see. If you’ve got the time, we’ve probably got the features on the subject.
Rome (HBO Series, 2005-2007)
This British drama portrays the turbulent transition from Roman republic to autocratic empire, which changed world history through civil war and wars of conquest. It is sketched both from the aristocratic viewpoint of Julius Caesar, his family, his adopted successor Octavian Augustus, and their political allies and adversaries, as well as from the politically naive viewpoint of a few ordinary Romans, notably the soldiers Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo and their families. Rated: TV-MA (not for children)
Americans love food (well, doesn’t everyone?). If you like to read about food, check out these food writing anthologies or books about Clementine Paddleford, a food writer raised in Kansas who achieved international renown.
Clementine Paddleford
Hometown Appetites: The Story of Clementine Paddleford, the Forgotten Food Writer Who Chronicled How America Ate
Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris
In Hometown Appetites, an award-winning food writer and a leading university archivist come together to revive the legacy of the most important food writer you have never heard of. Clementine Paddleford was a Kansas farm girl who grew up to chronicle America’s culinary habits.
Read all about the art of writing poetry from those who do it. This book list includes selections in which poets discuss their craft, handbooks on how to write poetry, as well as some poetry by C.D. Wright.
Poets discuss their craft | How to write poetry | Poetry by C.D. Wright
Dig into the life of the great artist, Leonardo da Vinci, with these books or enjoy a few novels with da Vinci at the center.
Life & Art | Science | In fiction
Life & Art
Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind
By Charles Nicholl
In this acclaimed biography, Charles Nicholl uncovers the man behind the myth of the "Renaissance master," tracing the journey from an illegitimate child in Tuscany to his service with some of the most powerful families of Renaissance Europe.
Leonardo
By Martin Kemp
A leading authority on Leonardo da Vinci offers a stunning account of the life and thought of this unique artist. It includes 60 illustrations, including a thumbnail gallery in full color.
With “Fat Tuesday” on the calendar this week, Mardi Gras and mysteries partner up in these books.
Two novels in Laura Childs’ Scrapbooking Mystery series fit the Mardi Gras mystery bill. Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, these books include lots of scrapbooking tips and feature Carmela Bertrand, owner of a scrapbook shop and amateur sleuth. In Keepsake Crimes, the first in the series, someone dies during Mardi Gras and Carmela’s estranged husband is the top suspect. When he asks Carmela for help, she agrees and finds an unexpected clue.
Death Swatch, the sixth book in the Scrapbooking Mystery series by Laura Childs, also takes place during Mardi Gras. A float designer ends up dead at a party attended by Carmela and her friend Ava and the two investigate.