Mercer County Library Blog

A list of books. This is the time of year that everyone produces their annual Best of… book lists. Given that there are at least 500,000 books published in a year (not counting self-published titles), it has to be assumed that these lists are just the tip of the iceberg! I have my own lists. The first is my book club’s list of everything we have read – affectionately called the Big List. I hand it out at the club’s December meeting. It’s fun to see what we have read and gives new (and old) members a chance to see what they have missed. I also have my own personal book log. This started years ago as an attempt to keep track of what was the last book I read by a particular author – very necessary for someone who cannot read a series book out of order. I began with just a list (title, author and series). Finish a book – write it down. Very bare bones. Then I started jotting down a note or two – never very much – since it’s just for me. Sometimes the note is just that I am not readin...

Here we are in the month of December, also known as “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”! Or is it the most exhausting and busiest time of the year? And now I have the nerve to ask you to add one more thing to your to do list. WAIT! Before you reject my suggestion, please hear me out. It is time for the Winter Reading Program which runs December 15th to January 24th. We try to make participating both fun and easy and what better way to spend the cold winter months then curled up with a good book?!  To participate, stop into any Mercer County Library Branch and pick up a Winter Reading Bingo Card or visit our website to print one . Do five activities in a row – up, down, across, or diagonal to complete a bingo card. Then return the bingo card to your local branch where kids and teens will automatically receive a prize and adults will be entered into a raffle for a prize. Each branch may also have additional incentives to keep you reading! As the mom of adult children, I can tell ...

The weather has taken a turn for the worse of late. It’s getting colder. There are plenty of days with some pretty strong wind. And there has even been a hint of snow. So this seems like the perfect time to be thinking about…..baseball. Baseball is generally thought of as a sport for three seasons. We’ve got Spring Training, the Dog Days of Summer, and of course, the Fall Classic. But winter and baseball? I think the closest we get are meetings. And only hard-core fans get into the winter meetings. But here at the Mercer County Library System you can think about baseball all year long - even in the winter. And that’s because we’ve got baseball books and plenty of them. If you type baseball into the search bar of the library’s online catalog, there are over 3,000 choices that pop up. As part of the MCLS collection, there are over 2,500 books available, as well as 262 videos that have a connection to baseball. There are also ebooks and audiobooks. And the material is for all ages, w...

Last year, the Wicked movie took the world by storm. Besides the insane popularity of the movie in theatres, you could not go anywhere without being inundated with Wicked content. From TV commercials to stores, there were Wicked toys, housewares, clothing, even drinks and food items. People could not get enough of Wicked. The thing is, theatre fans have known how amazing Wicked is for decades. As of this October, Wicked has been running on Broadway for 22 years, has had over 8,500 performances, there have been productions in 16 countries internationally, and it has spawned touring productions in both the US and UK. Point being, Wicked had made the rounds on stages across the world long before it hit the big screen. The Wicked movie being positively received on such a large scale has opened the doors for more people to discover the wonderful world of musical theatre. But this is hardly the first time a movie musical has generated interest in stage shows. Grease in 1978, Chicag...

There is something about this time of year, when the air takes on a chill, that makes many people, like myself, look for something to warm our hearts. Whether it's a romance novel, film, or a love song, most of us enjoy exploring the themes of love in some form. The holidays come with an assortment of expressions on these themes, but in this post, let’s look at the romance tropes themselves. What is a trope? Simply put, a trope is a commonly utilized plot device or recurring motif. There are many frequently used tropes in the Romance genre, but today we will discuss some of my favorites: Opposites Attract, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Fake Relationship, Forbidden Love, and Love Triangle. Read on to learn what the trope is and to discover a recommended book, movie, or TV show, and a song title from an album from our collection that all exemplify it! Opposites Attract: Whether it be Grumpy and Sunshine, Shy and Outgoing, City and Country, Messy and Organized, or another exa...