Mercer County Library Blog

Have you ever sat in a dim theater or on your cozy living room couch, watched the opening credits roll, and instantly felt that electric spark in your chest—that quiet promise that you were about to experience something truly special? Some movies capture a fleeting summer moment and fade away like a warm breeze. But others do something far rarer and infinitely more magical: they either transcend time entirely, weaving themselves into the fabric of our lives, or they quietly gather a passionate band of cinematic rebels along the way. As a movie lover, I’ve always found that cinema bestows two distinct badges of honor: the timeless classic and the beloved cult classic. Personally? I fall head over heels for cult classics every single time. But what is it that actually separates these two legendary cinematic species? A true classic earns its golden crown by standing tall through the generations, speaking to us just as intimately today as it did when the film reels first spun decades ago. ...

Now that the weather is getting cooler, maybe you want to get into baking bread! In December 2020, I wrote a blog post about the sourdough bread craze during the Covid pandemic and included some tips and cookbooks. Do you know how many different types of bread there are? Too many to list!  Bread usually starts with four basic ingredients you may have at home: some kind of flour, water, salt, and a leavening agent. Depending on the recipe, the leavening agent can be yeast or baking powder or baking soda to make the bread rise. Do you have a favorite bread? I love quick and easy bread like banana bread (don’t forget to add chocolate chips, nuts, or both!), pumpkin bread in the fall, or corn bread to go with chili.  It’s fun to take a few different recipes and modify them to your taste. Do you have a favorite baking cookbook? I love good cookbooks and new recipes!  Here are some fun facts about bread: The government banned sliced bread for 2 months during World War II in 194...

It’s October, and that means we’re thinking about witches, goblins, ghosts, and ghouls. Another popular symbol that comes to mind during this time of year is the black cat. Black cats have been surrounded by harmful superstitions for centuries. These beliefs can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when folklore associated black cats with death, misfortune, witches, and other supernatural beings. One of the most common superstitions is that if a black cat crosses your path, it means bad luck. Unfortunately, these tales and misconceptions can affect black cats’ chances of being adopted. Black cats are often reported to spend longer in shelters than cats of other colors, and concerns have also been raised about their risk of euthanasia. Every cat deserves a chance to find a loving home, regardless of the color of its fur. It’s a shame that these beautiful cats have such a horrible reputation. I have had two black cats throughout my life, and I have yet to experience any bad luck with eithe...

If you aren’t already on the eBook and eAudiobook bandwagon, here’s what you should know: In addition to our physical collection in each of our branches, MCLS has a virtual branch where you can find all of the digital materials you have access to with your MCLS card! We’ve got everything from cooking classes to movies and TV , and, of course, eBooks and eAudiobooks . But, if you’ve ever looked into our digital book collections before, you may have been surprised to see that they have waitlists. Sometimes, very long waitlists. This may have leftyou wondering, why in the world is there a waitlist for eBooks and eAudiobooks? Worry not, fellow library lover. I’m here to answer your questions.  Why don’t eBooks and eAudiobooks work like Kanopy, where everyone can watch the same movie at the same time? When the library puts an eBook or eAudiobook in our collection, we don’t actually own it. Rather, we own a (usually temporary) license for our patrons to access the book. The majority of ...

 With Autumn in the air and on my mind, I long to slow down, enjoy the changing leaves, and pick up a mystery classic: to become an armchair detective myself. Maybe it’s the start of the school year that conjures up tweed and smoking pipes? Whatever it is, Fall seems like the perfect time to examine commonly used themes or tropes in the Mystery genre.   Join me as I continue my exploration of genre tropes considered in literature, film, and music, which I began with Romance and Historical Fiction earlier this year.  First, what is a trope?  A trope is a storytelling device that is characteristic of certain genres or types of stories.  Read on to discover five of the many tropes commonly utilized by mystery writers of different kinds of media.  Amateur Detective: This theme casts an everyday person taking on the role of sleuth to solve the mystery.   Book: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: “In a peaceful retirement village, four u...