Introduction

Welcome, everyone, to Books and Beverages! This week we are discussing Graphic Novels!

We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and we support all types of libraries. This is our book group podcast, where we discuss different genres of books each week, while we all sit in our comfy chairs and drink our beverages. And you are, of course, an important part of this book group. So if you do not already have a nice beverage please go get one, so you can join the experience.

This week our Guest Hosts are Kate Buechler and Dezra Rittmann, both from Great River Library System!

 

Beverages

We have guests, we have our genre. We just need our beverages. Fortunately, we all came prepared with something to sip while we talk about our books. Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages. Each beverage will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!  Obviously, feel free to sip your coffee or any other beverage that puts you in the right frame of mind. Just join us in celebrating books, and discussing books!

 

Layered drink

1. Fill your glass with some ice cubes.
2. Pour the Orange juice or your drink with the highest sugar content in your glass, up to 1/3 of the way. Let it settle down.
3. Pour the Vitamin Water or your second drink very slowly keeping a steady hand till the glass is about 2/3 filled. I have noticed that pouring the drink very slowly over the back of a spoon really helps. Allow it to settle.
4. For the last layer, I added just a little bit of water, but feel free to make as many layers as you like, making sure their sugar contents are not close enough, or else the drink will just blend in.
5. Finally garnish with some mint leaves and enjoy this beautiful treat.

 

Brilliant Blue Punch

Ingredients

• 1 part blue curacao (chilled)
• 1 part white rum (chilled)
• 4 parts Sprite
• Lemon and orange slices
• Ice cubes

 

Little Green Gouls

Ingredients

• 1 50-Ml Cucumber Ice Cube
• 2 Oz St George Botanivore Gin
• 1 Oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
• .5 Oz Fresh Lime Juice
• Tonic Water, To Top
• Rosemary Sprig, For Garnish

 

 

The Cocktail Formerly Known As…

Ingredients

• 1.5 Oz New Amsterdam Gin
• 2 Oz Butterfly Pea Flower Tea
• .75 Oz Lavender Syrup
• 1 Oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• Club Soda, To Top
• Lemon Wheel, For Garnish

 

 

Genre Suggestions

• This is a surprisingly complex genre of books. Most people first became aware of it with  Art Spiegelman‘s Mausin 1986. This can encompass all kinds of different kinds of books, but the main theme is that there are graphics in addition to the text, and they combine to tell a story.
• Manga (漫画 Manga) are comics created in Japan or by creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century.[
• Anime (Japanese: アニメ, [aɲime] (About this sound listen), plural: anime)[a] is a Japanese term for hand-drawn or computer animation. The word is the abbreviated pronunciation of “animation” in Japanese, where this term references all animation.[1] Outside Japan, anime is used to refer specifically to animation from Japan or as a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastical themes.

 

Graphic novels are one of the fastest growing categories in publishing and bookselling. Today’s graphic novels are far more sophisticated and varied in content than the comics that preceded them and enjoy a level of respect previously denied to this form of popular entertainment: they are the subject of reviews, book-length surveys, museum exhibits and academic study, as well as recipients of prestigious literary awards.

Graphic Novels can be an important part of both educational and leisure reading for students of all ages. Graphic novels are astoundingly popular with kids and young adults, and can be as simple or complex as any other literature.

Reading graphic novels:

• Engages reluctant readers & ESL students.
• Increases reading comprehension and vocabulary.
• Can serve as a bridge between low and high levels of reading.
• Provides an approach to reading that embraces the multimedia nature of today’s culture, as 2/3 of a story is conveyed visually.
• Provides scaffolding for struggling readers.
• Can serve as an intermediary step to more difficult disciplines and concepts.
• Presents complex material in readable text.
• Helps students understand global affairs.
• Helps to develop analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Offers another avenue through which students can experience art.

 

 

Conclusion

Thank you so much for joining us for this discussion! We will be back next Tuesday with another genre, more book group hosts, and all kinds of books to share and discuss. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a single episode! And if you want to hear more about the work we do in libraries – which is surprisingly fun! – subscribe to our podcast Linking Our Libraries.

Bring your book ideas, bring your beverages, and join us back here for more book discussion next Tuesday!