Oceans of Possibilities for Adults
Before coming to public libraries, I worked as an academic librarian. Our summers were quiet, and a time to plan for the upcoming academic year. That is NOT the case in the world of public libraries. Summers bring oodles of activity to the branches for everyone. As I write my post, I sit at the reference desk, which has been transformed by staff into a massive pirate ship in line with this year’s Summer Reading Program theme, Oceans of Possibilities. There are really three parts to the MCLS Summer Reading Program: 1) encouraging reading/learning; 2) offering programs and activities; and 3) highlighting our collection – all in line with the Oceans of Possibilities theme.
Many of our younger readers take part in the Summer Reading Program, which involves logging books read throughout the summer to win prizes. However, I cannot emphasize enough that all ages - preschool through adult - are invited to participate in the Summer Reading Program. Registration opened on Tuesday, June 21, but it is not too late to join in the fun to win prizes. Through Saturday, August 6, readers can register in one of two ways: online via our Summer Reading Program sign-up page or by visiting your local branch to register in person if you are more comfortable using a paper log. (Please note: To prevent multiple registrations for one patron, please register through only one of the available methods.)
The programs and activities that have been planned are just as diverse as the marine life you would find in the great oceans. For months, MCLS staff has been actively scheduling special guest presenters, conceptualizing weekly activities, and investigating creative crafts in order to create a calendar of opportunities. No matter your age, take a look at the MCLS Event Calendar or the Summer Reading Program details on our website to find programs about pirates, the coral reef, and yes, sharks, just to name a few.
The materials available in our collection are too many to list in a single blog post. To entice our adult readers out there, I’ve focused on non-fiction books and documentaries, but I encourage you to take a look at our website for suggestions on the Kids Summer Reading webpage and the Teen Summer Reading webpage for more ocean-related materials from our collection. Whether you’re a thalassophile or just getting your sea legs, there is something in our collection for you! Take a look at the following selection of materials to get you started:
The Blue Wonder: Why the Sea Glows, Fish Sing, and Other Astonishing Insights from the Ocean
by Frauke Bagusche
An intimate account of the beauty, mystery, and amazing science of the ocean. In The Blue Wonder, marine biologist and diver Frauke Bagusche brings readers on a fascinating and beautiful deep-sea dive into the ocean. Drawing on scientific discoveries and her own research, she uses photographs and playful prose to reveal: deep-sea reefs that glitter like glass; fish that converse with each other by singing--loudly; an octopus that imitates more than fifteen other animals; the secret behind why the sea glows at night; "weddings" that happen amongst the coral; underwater "drugstores"; and even fish that clean their own teeth! Humans know more about the moon's surface than we do about the ocean. There is so much to be discovered under the sea. With the heart of a poet and the mind of a scientist, Frauke Bagusche re-awakens our love for the sea and ignites a desire to protect this vital habitat.
Life on the Rocks: Building a Future for Coral Reefs
by Juli Berwald
"Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: wondrously diverse, deeply interconnected, and critically imperiled. They sustain entire ecosystems and protect vulnerable coasts. But corals across the planet are in the middle of an unprecedented die-off, beset by warming oceans, pollution, human damage, and their own devastating pandemic. Even under stress, they are out-of-this-world gorgeous, sending out warning flares in fluorescent bursts of yellow, pink, and indigo. Juli Berwald fell in love with coral reefs as a marine biology student, entranced by their beauty and complexity. While she was concerned by bleaching events and coral disease, she didn't fully understand what a dead reef meant until she experienced one on a dive: barren, decaying, and coated in slime. Deeply alarmed, she traveled the world desperate to discover how to prevent their loss. Life on the Rocks is a meditative ode to the reefs and the undaunted scientists working to save them against almost impossible odds. Berwald explores what it means to keep fighting a battle that can't be won, contemplating the inevitable grief of climate change and the beauty of small victories"-- Provided by publisher.
Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship
by Robert Kurson
Finding and identifying a pirate ship is the hardest thing to do under the sea. But two men--John Chatterton and John Mattera--are willing to risk everything to find the Golden Fleece, the ship of the infamous pirate Joseph Bannister. At large during the Golden Age of Piracy in the seventeenth century, Bannister should have been immortalized in the lore of the sea--his exploits more notorious than Blackbeard's, more daring than Kidd's. But his story, and his ship, have been lost to time. If Chatterton and Mattera succeed, they will make history--it will be just the second time ever that a pirate ship has been discovered and positively identified. Soon, however, they realize that cutting-edge technology and a willingness to lose everything aren't enough to track down Bannister's ship. They must travel the globe in search of historic documents and accounts of the great pirate's exploits, face down dangerous rivals, and battle the tides of nations, governments and experts. But it's only when they learn to think and act like pirates--like Bannister--that they become able to go where no pirate hunters have gone before.
Emperors of the Deep: Sharks--The Ocean's Most Mysterious, Most Misunderstood, and Most Important Guardians
by William McKeever
From the Jaws blockbusters to Shark Week, we are conditioned to see sharks as terrifying cold-blooded underwater predators. McKeever shows that sharks are evolutionary marvels essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. We can learn much from sharks, he argues, and our knowledge about them continues to grow. Here he examines four species: Mako, Tiger, Hammerhead, and Great White. He goes back through time to probe the shark's pre-historic secrets, and takes us on a pulse-pounding tour around the world to see sharks up close in their natural habitat. -- adapted from jacket
Underwater Wild: My Octopus Teacher's Extraordinary World
by Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck
"From the creators of the hit documentary My Octopus Teacher, an immersive journey into the underwater world that inspired it--and holds transformative lessons for us all. Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck regularly dive together in the awe-inspiring kelp forests off South Africa, without wetsuits or oxygen tanks. Craig had dived this way for years, including alongside the octopus that inspired My Octopus Teacher. In Ross, he found a kindred spirit, someone who also embraced the ancient methods of acclimating his body to frigid waters, but whose eyes had not yet adjusted to the transcendent wonder Craig saw each time they dove. In the heart-wrenching stories that make up this unforgettable book, we swim alongside Ross as he grows from skeptic to student of the underwater wild. And in the revelatory marine science behind the stunning photos, we learn how to track sea hares, cuttlefish, and limpets, and we witness strange new behaviors never before documented in marine biology. We realize that a whole world of wonder, and an innate wildness within us all, emerge anew when we simply observe. My Octopus Teacher has captivated millions who long to connect with the natural world. Now, with Underwater Wild, the divers behind the film reveal a new vision of the sea, one full of wonder, new insights into marine biology, and life-changing teachings for even the most land-bound of us"-- Provided by publisher.
Startling wildlife photography reveals the sea and its communities at their most fearsome and alluring in this landmark BBC mini-series on the ocean, a world we know less about than the moon.
David Attenborough returns to the world's oceans in this sequel to the acclaimed documentary - filming rare and unusual creatures of the deep, as well as documenting the problems our oceans face.
Pull the plug on the ocean to reveal hidden secrets and lost worlds, using groundbreaking technology, breathtaking photography and insight from top marine archaeologists. Contains penetrating new insights into the epic history of human civilization and the deep history of the Earth itself, exposing sunken cities, shipwrecks and the amazing natural wonders of the deep. [Television series]
A deadly recipe threatens the survival of countless creatures throughout Earth's ocean: carbon dioxide. With carbon emissions sharply rising, the silent killer is entering the seas at a staggering rate, raising the oceans' acidity. As a result, the skeletons and shells of marine creatures that form the foundation of the web of life are dissolving. Can experts crack the code of a rapidly changing ocean before it is too late?
Driven by a passion fed from a life-long fascination with sharks, filmmaker Rob Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas.
- by Anna Van Scoyoc, Hopewell Branch
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