Mother’s Day is a time to reflect on all the ways our moms impact our lives. From joys to sorrows and everything in between, our moms shaped us into the humans we are today. Motherhood can be equal parts blessings and challenges, struggles and triumphs (as any potty training parent has discovered!). This collection celebrates motherhood in all its forms.
With everyone at home, it’s become more necessary than ever to get cooking. Fortunately, the library offers digital magazines, ebooks, and even tv shows for food inspiration. And unlike many online recipes and food blogs, you can skip the annoying pop-up ads!
Read magazines on your computer, tablet, or phone with Flipster. There are several food related choices, and if you don’t find inspiration from a current magazine, you can view back issues as well.
For more information, including how to access back issues, see Flipster FAQ.
You may already be familiar with using Overdrive to get ebooks, but did you know that you can check out magazine issues as well? Check out these popular titles for creative cooking ideas!
Access via the Overdrive website on your computer or the Libby app on your device.
There are thousands of cookbooks available on Overdrive. To avoid wait lists, try browsing the Always Available cooking collection. This includes cookbooks from popular authors, such as Bobby Flay and Ina Garten, and respected institutions like America’s Test Kitchen. Peruse cookbooks for special equipment, like instant pots or air fryers, and special diets, like vegan, keto, and paleo. There are recipe collections for budget eats, quick eats, and more! Although the specific titles pictured may not be available, similar titles will be.
Whether you prefer ebooks or television episodes, Hoopla’s collection is always available. Check out several cookbooks from New York Times best selling author Mark Bittman, including How to Cook Everything Fast. If slow cooking is more your speed, try a cookbook from the popular Fix-It and Forget-It series, like the Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook. If you can’t get enough of celebrity cooking, you may like Daphne Oz’s The Happy Cook or Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Table.
If you prefer to watch cooking shows for inspiration, you may want to try episodes from:
and more!
Sometimes you just want to read something that makes you feel good. Enjoy these heartwarming titles that have likeable characters and plots and leave with you with a fuzzy feeling.
Note: Titles marked with an asterisk (*) are available with no wait through Hoopla!
Feeling cooped up? Longing for the outdoors? Here are six books and one movie that take you on an epic adventure. From hiking some of the world’s tallest mountains, to exploring the depths of the seas, these tales will take you someplace you’ve never been before.
Note: Titles marked with an asterisk (*) are available with no wait through Hoopla!
Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth by James Tabor
“Holds the reader to his seat, containing dangers aplenty with deadly falls, killer microbes, sudden burial, asphyxiation, claustrophobia, anxiety, and hallucinations far underneath the ground in a lightless world. Using a pulse-pounding narrative, this is tense real-life adventure pitting two master cavers mirroring the cold war with very uncommonly high stakes.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Deep : Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves by James Nestor
Deep is a voyage from the ocean’s surface to its darkest trenches, the most mysterious places on Earth. Fascinated by the sport of freediving—in which competitors descend great depths on a single breath—James Nestor embeds with a gang of oceangoing extreme athletes and renegade researchers. He finds whales that communicate with other whales hundreds of miles away, sharks that swim in unerringly straight lines through pitch-black waters, and other strange phenomena.
Most illuminating of all, he learns that these abilities are reflected in our own remarkable, and often hidden, potential—including echolocation, directional sense, and the profound bodily changes humans undergo when underwater.
Denali’s Howl by Andy Hall
In the summer of 1967, twelve young men ascended Alaska’s Mount McKinley—known to the locals as Denali. Engulfed by a once-in-alifetime blizzard, only five made it back down.
Andy Hall, a journalist and son of the park superintendent at the time, was living in the park when the tragedy occurred and spent years tracking down rescuers, survivors, lost documents, and recordings of radio communications.
In Denali’s Howl, Hall reveals the full story of the expedition in a powerful retelling that will mesmerize the climbing community as well as anyone interested in mega-storms and man’s sometimes deadly drive to challenge the forces of nature.
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Ferdako
From one of Outside magazine’s “Literary All-Stars” comes the thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever, down the entire length of the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, during the legendary flood of 1983.
In the spring of 1983, massive flooding along the length of the Colorado River confronted a team of engineers at the Glen Canyon Dam with an unprecedented emergency that may have resulted in the most catastrophic dam failure in history. In the midst of this crisis, the decision to launch a small wooden dory named “The Emerald Mile” at the head of the Grand Canyon, just fifteen miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, seemed not just odd, but downright suicidal.
K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs
Ed Viesturs, one of the world’s premier high-altitude mountaineers, explores the remarkable history of K2 and of those who have attempted to conquer it. At the same time, he probes the mountain’s most memorable sagas in order to illustrate lessons about the fundamental questions mountaineering raises—questions of risk, ambition, loyalty to one’s teammates, self-sacrifice, and the price of glory. Viesturs knows the mountain firsthand. He and renowned alpinist Scott Fischer climbed it in 1992 and got caught in an avalanche that sent them sliding to almost certain death before Ed managed to get into a self-arrest position with his ice ax and stop both his fall and Scott’s.
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson *
The 25th Anniversary ebook, now with more than 50 images. ‘Touching the Void’ is the tale of two mountaineer’s harrowing ordeal in the Peruvian Andes. In the summer of 1985, two young, headstrong mountaineers set off to conquer an unclimbed route. They had triumphantly reached the summit, when a horrific accident mid-descent forced one friend to leave another for dead. Ambition, morality, fear and camaraderie are explored in this electronic edition of the mountaineering classic, with never before seen color photographs taken during the trip itself.
Meru *
Three renowned climbers navigate nature’s harshest elements and their own complicated inner demons to ascend Mount Meru, the most technically complicated and dangerous peak in the Himalayas.
Have you ever needed help finding a good book? MatchBook is here to help with that! The librarians at Sewickley Public Library have created this easy-to-use online form that you can use to get great reading recommendations. Librarians have been the go-to resource for finding reading material for ages. Now you can get help with your book list from the comfort of your own home.
Every time a form is filled out, one of our librarians will receive a notification. They will make 3 to 5 title recommendations based on the information that you entered. Users should expect a response within one week. The service is available for all ages and can be accessed at www.sewickleylibrary.org/matchbook.
Please note that during the COVID-19 closure, librarians are unable to request physical items for patrons. All recommendations will be available in an online format (ebook or eaudiobook).
If you have a soft spot for socially awkward yet loveable misfits, check out these ebooks!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeywell
Contrary to the title claim, Eleanor is definitely not fine! Having survived a traumatic upbringing, her poor social skills tend to keep people at a distance. When she develops a crush on a local musician and a colleague manages to breach her defenses, her life finally begins to change.
How Not to Die Alone
by Richard Roper
Andrew works for the local council cleaning the houses of people who die alone. His colleagues think that he has a family of his own, but in truth Andrew lives alone with few social ties beyond his online train group. Tension ensues when his boss wants each staff member to host a dinner party as a team building exercise, and Andrew develops feelings for a coworker.
The Rosie Project
by Graeme Simsion
Don Tillman is a genetics professor who takes an analytical, organized approach to most things, including finding a mate. Can a meticulously designed questionnaire help Don find love, or will he learn that love, like life, is unpredictable? Bonus reads: If you enjoy The Rosie Project, you may want to check out further adventures with Don in The Rosie Result and The Rosie Effect.
The Cactus
by Sarah Haywood
Susan Green prizes order, efficiency, and predictability, and lives her life accordingly. That is, until a needy upstairs neighbor, an unexpected pregnancy, and the loss of her mother combine to throw her tightly controlled world into disarray. Can Susan learn to embrace the gifts of life’s inherent messiness, or will she become undone?
Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Meet the Spellmans, a family of private investigators that put the “fun” in dysfunctional. All Isabel has ever known is working for the family biz, but when her parents can’t stay out of her business she decides it may be time to look for a new job. First, she has to solve a cold case that leads to a disappearance much closer to home. Bonus reads: Check out the box set of the first four ebooks in the series.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
Nina, the introverted only child of an adventurous, absentee single mom, manages her anxiety by adhering to a schedule and staying close to home. When the father she never knew dies, she inherits something more than a bequest: the chance to be part of a family.
A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
Can a persistent cat, demanding new neighbors, a teenager who needs help, and the plight of an old adversary give meaning to the life of the neighborhood curmudgeon? Ove is about to find out. Bonus reads: Backman specializes in quirky characters; check out the irascible grandmother in My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry and the busybody title character in Britt-Marie Was Here.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Told in a series of interconnected stories set in Crosby, Maine, this Pulitzer prize winning novel illuminates the life of the complex title character. Difficult yet thoughtful, demanding yet unexpectedly kind, Olive takes shape through the diverse perspective of other characters, reminding us that to be human is to be multi-faceted. Bonus read: If you loved this book, don’t miss the sequel Olive, Again.
Canceled travel plans? Nothing is going to replace that trip to the Europe, but some of these titles might tide you over until things change. Check out these books from all over the world, London to Timbuktu.
Lots of time on your hands? Looking for a new series to get into? Start with one of these mystery series available on Hoopla!
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech at the March on Washington calling for civic and economic rights and demanding an end to racism. A minister, activist and civil rights leader, King was a driving force in the Civil Rights Movement and an inspiration to a nation.
On January 20, 2020, we continue to celebrate the life and achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. through his inspiring words, action and ultimate sacrifice.
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From the beginning of time, humans have always seemed to be afraid of the woods. In many ways, dark forests have always represented the unknown, and we have long imagined the various terrifying creatures that may hide there. For some, the beast in the woods is a supernatural terror, while for others the threat of a fellow person in the woods is horror enough. In honor of Halloween, here are fourteen books about the scary things you may find in the woods.