Welcome to Aurora Public Library’s blog. A place where our library staff share their thoughts, insider knowledge and overall love of all things book and community.
Feel free to comment on posts, re-blog and enjoy. To ensure a civil and focused discussion, comments will be held for a brief period before being published.
Review of "Ink and Bone" by Rachel Caine
by Nicole S.
Hello! I was very excited to share this book club pick with you because I enjoyed it so much I had to get my hands on the rest of the series! I had suggested the book “Ink and Bone” by Rachel Caine to my friends for the virtual book club because it was one I had been wanting to read and had many fellow librarians highly recommend the book.
The premise for this book was incredibly interesting to me because it revolved around the idea that the Great Library of Alexandria never burned down and now the Great Library holds all the power in society. What a concept! The Great Library is found in every city and they govern the knowledge and power. Through alchemy, the library shares knowledge and great works of history to the public however the personal ownership of books is considered forbidden. The story follows Jess Brightwell, who still believes in the value of the library despite his family’s business in the black market selling illegal books. Jess has been accepted to train at the library, which excites him, but his father wants to use it as an advantage to spy on the Great Library. Jess will have to decide where his loyalties lie – and even more so when its discovered that his friend has invented something that could change the world and the Great Library’s hold on knowledge.
I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. Having understood the library’s value at a young age, it was such an interesting idea to have the Great Library be the one to hold all of the knowledge of the world and the power as well. What was a little hard to grasp was the setting and description of the world in this story. We start out in London in the year 2030 however the technology and buildings are described as it is still only the start of 19th century. That sparked a long discussion in our book club about why they had a hard time picturing this book as in the future. Since knowledge isn’t equally distributed to the masses that means even the earliest inventions we were accustomed to learning about didn’t exist. Instead of these inventions there is the discovery of alchemy, which is used throughout the Great Libraries as a way to transmit messages, items and even people back and forth.
I also could find myself relating to the main protagonist, Jess Brightwell. He views books not as commodity or black market value but for the content and knowledge held within the books. He highly respects the values of the Great Library, or at least the values the Great Library used to hold, in high regards. As time progresses we learn that the Great Library isn’t what we initially view it to be and how it has evolved into something. Better or worse? I will let you decide if you end up reading this book! If you end up enjoying this book as much as I did you are in luck because it is the start of a series! There are 5 books in total to “The Great Library” series.
If you like having the library as a big setting in the story check out other books like “The Invisible Library” series by Genevieve Cogman and “Sorcery of Thorns” by Margaret Rogerson.
Look for my next post as I review our next book club pick “Nothing to See Here” by Kevin Wilson.
Grab a pencil and paper - it's time to Draw It! 📝 Our librarian Kristin shows how to draw a sea turtle!
Show us your sea turtle in the comments below and tell us what you'd like to draw next!
Family Book Club
with Tess
August's Book: "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Chapters 9 - 17: "Inseperable - Big Red S"
1. Have you owned anything that was very precious to you, like Fern's doll?
2. Who are the Black Panthers? What do you think their goal is?
3. Do you think Cecile was right to change her name to be a new person? Or do you agree with Delphine about the importance of a name?
4. Would you be offended if you were named after an animal? For me, it would depend on the animal! I think dolphins are beautiful and amazing and Delphine is a cool name.
5. Do you have brothers and/or sisters? Do you fight or do you stand up for each other? Are you the oldest? Do you look out for your younger siblings?
Share your thoughts on the book so far in the comments below!
Join us in discussing "One Crazy Summer" live on Zoom! We'll be meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31. Sign up for the Zoom program here.
Make It Monday: Sea Shore Centerpiece
with Karen
It's another #MakeItMonday! Summer may be fading to fall, but you can keep summer vibes going year around with this sea shore centerpiece! Karen shares this easy DIY that brings a bit of the beach to Colorado!
Game reviews by Brandon, Elizabeth, Kristin, Stacy, Justine, and Sue.
Hello everyone! We hope you’ll enjoy these reviews for free games to entertain you! These are a mix of browser and smartphone games, and none of them will cost you anything to play.
Tired of slime and bubble wrap? Check out these oddly satisfying games!
Little Alchemy
A free game available on your app store (Apple/Android) and web browsers
Nothing exists except the four elements- air, earth, fire, and water. By mixing two of these rudimentary ingredients at a time, you can create new objects from scratch. (For example: “water” + “earth” = mud.) You can discover over 500 different items! This game isn’t just about the finish line, but it’s about the journey, too! I didn’t expect to chuckle as many times as I did playing this game. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how simple yet elusive the combinations can be. You might have to think outside the box at times, but if you get stuck, Little Alchemy offers hints to help. You can play this charming, clever game at your own pace. Try making one of my favorite combinations: “bread” + “fire” makes... “toast”! - Sue
Blendoku
A free game available on your app store (Apple/Android)
Blendoku isn’t your average puzzle game: there are no numbers or letters. Instead, you get to play with colors! The level gives you a couple tiles to start with, and you’ve got to drag the remaining tiles onto the playboard. The colors must blend seamlessly to adjacent tiles. The result is an aesthetically pleasing color palette. I find the bright hues and mellow sound effects soothing. I prefer taking my time, but if you’re feeling competitive, you can solve the puzzles as fast you can and see if you can beat your own personal record. - Sue
Soap Cutting
A free game available on your app store (Apple/Android)
If you’re like me, I can watch soap cutting video clips non-stop. While those videos can be uber gratifying, they result in lots of waste. Now, we can enjoy all the satisfaction of cutting soap without the waste or the mess! In this game, you get to slice colorful bars of soap into perfect, tiny cubes. The combination of crisp sound effects, smooth graphics, and just the right amount of haptic feedback brings this app to life. You might even discover some hidden prizes as you’re slicing away!
What game is your favorite? Tell us some of your other favorite games in the comments!
|