Mercer County Library Blog

March 2024 should bring Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two to theaters. If you’re curious about the film, the book on which it’s based, or just need a little refresher, read on. Our protagonist is Paul Atreides, the 15-year-old son of Duke Leto Atreides and Lady Jessica. He has been taught fighting skills from his father’s veteran warriors, as well as the special ability of “the Voice” (also called “the weirding way”) from his mother. This ability allows one to force another to action simply by speaking in a certain fashion. He has also been having dreams, some of which have come to pass. Lady Jessica is a Sister of the Bene Gesserit, an ancient order of women some refer to as “witches” thanks to their abilities (like the Voice) and greater physical and mental control. They have power and influence across the galaxy, and can detect lies (the Emperor has one as a “Truthsayer”). They also have a hidden agenda: by manipulating bloodlines behind the scenes, they hope to breed a superior ...

Stuff You Should Know , hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. “Chuck” Bryant, is probably my favorite podcast, but on occasion Chuck manages to irk me slightly by tossing out gratuitously dismissive comments about the 1960s rock group The Doors—pronouncements like (and I’m paraphrasing, here), “Most teens go through a Jim Morrison phase—me included—but as you grow up, you recognize his lyrics are just pretentious pseudo-poetry. Getting past that Morrison stage is a rite of passage, a sign of maturity.” He’s said things like this more than once. And he’s not alone in this view. I’ve heard others express similar sentiments about Jim Morrison and The Doors. These critics are dead wrong. I am well past my teen years and I still , to this day, have not outgrown the music of The Doors, and I remain a vocal defender of the poetic vision of Jim Morrison’s lyrics. (Witness this very blog post.) It’s not my contention that everything Morrison wrote was inspired—nobody hits it out of the park ev...

Streaming has become increasingly popular and with increasing popularity comes the need for more content. Do you know what makes good content? A good book. Luckily, at the Mercer County Library System books are kind of our thing. Here are six relatively recent streaming shows that are based on books we happen to offer in our collection. The shows are presented in no particular order. Apple TV+ is currently streaming Silo , a post-apocalyptic story taking place in an underground bunker and starring Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, and Common. Silo is based on the Wool trilogy by Hugh Howey. The books in the Wool trilogy are Wool , Shift , and Dust . Wool is available as a physical copy and as an eBook and eAudiobook through eLibraryNJ and hoopla, Shift is available as a physical copy, and Dust is also available as a physical copy and as an eAudiobook through hoopla. The Wool trilogy is a triumph for self-publishing as it started out as a short story published through Amazon’s Kindle Dir...

Like about a third to a half of the population, I am an introvert, and I have learned to embrace it! Introverts are often shy, but not always; they are more focused on their inner thoughts and feelings than what is going on in the world around them. Large social gatherings and sensory overloads tend to leave introverts feeling drained and needing some personal space. Historically, I think, there was some stigma associated with having traits of an introvert. Being quiet and reserved was sometimes misunderstood. Thankfully, societal perspectives seem to be changing. Introverts themselves and those around them have a growing understanding of their qualities and needs. And not only that, people seem to be appreciating the positive qualities that introverts bring to the table.  Raising children who are introverted can be both a joy and a challenge. I expect that my own experiences echoed that of many introverts. As a child, I was a good student, but ...

When I was in junior high school, I lived in the New Brunswick area. Every day I ran home from school and tuned the radio to WRSU, the Rutgers radio station. One of the alternative rock groups they played regularly were Joy Division, and I became a fan. Since then, I've continued to buy the records of Joy Division and New Order, and go to concerts of New Order and a spin-off band. Although this sounds like two groups, it is really two incarnations of the same group. Joy Division were one of the most influential “post-punk” rock bands to emerge from the late 1970s “Madchester” scene in England. Band members Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook were inspired to form the band after seeing a June 1976 Sex Pistols concert. The band members were: Ian Curtis (vocals & some guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar & keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar), and Stephen Morris (drums). They were discovered by a British television personality named Tony Wilson who ran an independent record label called...

Image by Freepik Thanksgiving is soon upon us once again and you might find yourself traveling to friends’ and relatives’ houses to sit down and have a great big feast! With all of that traveling, you will probably need something to read while you are waiting at the airport, traveling on the train, riding as a passenger on a long car ride, or relaxing after a busy day of cooking and eating.  Luckily, Mercer County Library System has a plethora of books for you to read during this Thanksgiving season. So, as you are traveling over the river and through the woods this fall, don’t forget to bring a book along for the ride. Book Recommendations Thanksgiving Prayer by Debbie Macomber Before Claudia Masters even meets Seth Lessinger, she leaves him a message from the Psalms: "May the Lord give you the desire of your heart." She knows there's something diff...

Dear Tech Guru, I have a question that isn’t really tech related - I was hoping you could help me figure out the status of my hold. I placed a hold on a book and it says it’s been on order forever. Where is my book? Waiting for a Good Book

One of the great pleasures of reading is getting to talk about the books you’ve read. At this point, we all probably know the feeling of finishing a book and immediately going to Google to find the opinions of people who agree with us. Along with that experience, don’t you appreciate it when someone raises a point that you haven’t even considered about a book you’ve read? In this blog post, I’ve included some of the best podcasts about literature for you to enjoy. They all have their strengths and areas of focus, so look around and see what’s right for you. If you want to recommend a literary podcast that didn’t make the list, mention it in the comments or let Andrew at the Lawrence Branch Reference Desk know. Happy listening! Behind the Books https://open.spotify.com/show/3mCzpmXXGwdkUovkICL6mS Mercer County Library System has our own bi-weekly podcast. You can listen to it to meet our staff members, hear interviews with successful authors, and to learn about the literary ecosystem....