Tag Archives: just for fun

Music Book Mash-Up: June


In this series, we are going to share a fun variety of books about music! Even if you don’t play an instrument you can still absolutely be a music lover. So check back each month for a different collection of books all relating in some way to music! We’ll share fiction and nonfiction titles and try to cover many different genres and time frames. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments! Happy reading (and listening, and playing!) 

Hooray for summer! We’ve got some music reads (mostly set in summer) to keep you entertained and to distract you from the mosquitos.

Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Tim Bowers
“When a jazz-loving rooster sets his sights on winning a barnyard talent show, he realizes he can’t do it as a solo act. He’s up against the talents of Mules Davis’s cool duo and Ella Finchgerald’s singing group.
Colorful artwork from artist Tim Bowers ensures this story doesn’t miss a beat. A glossary of musical terms and intruments rounds out this perfect introduction to jazz for young readers.”

All Summer Long by Hope Larson
“A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel about summer and friendships, written and illustrated by the Eisner Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling Hope Larson.
Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he’s off to soccer camp for a month, and he’s been acting kind of weird lately anyway. So it’s up to Bina to see how much fun she can have on her own. At first it’s a lot of guitar playing, boredom, and bad TV, but things look up when she finds an unlikely companion in Austin’s older sister, who enjoys music just as much as Bina. But then Austin comes home from camp, and he’s acting even weirder than when he left. How Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences makes for a touching and funny coming-of-age story.”

Summer of ’69 by Todd Strasser
“Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and the remarkable summer that led up to it. Featuring Sir Lucas of the Round Table(t). Astonishingly autobiographical. Remarkably personal. Profoundly irresponsible.
Drawing from his teenage years, Todd Strasser’s novel revisits a tumultuous era and takes readers on a psychedelically tinged trip of a lifetime.”

Beautiful Music by Michael Zadoorian
“Set in early 1970s Detroit, a racially divided city still reeling from its violent riot of 1967, Beautiful Music is the story of one young man’s transformation through music. Danny Yzemski is a husky, pop radio–loving loner balancing a dysfunctional home life with the sudden harsh realities of freshman year at a high school marked by racial turbulence.”

Time Won’t Me by Bill Scheft
“In Bill Scheft’s hilarious second novel, a finalist for the 2006 Thurber Prize for American Humor, five former members of a rock band, fast approaching age fifty, try to overcome their petty feuds and failed (and failing) marriages to recapture the fading yet distinct tone of their music and friendships.
In 1967, while students at Chase Academy, the prep-school garage band known as the Truants recorded a vanity album, Out of Site. Thirty years later, they discover that a record collector has paid $10,000 for a rare copy of the disk, and an avid fan-turned-promoter convinces them to reunite and cash in. But miles from the horizon of youth, weighted down by shortsighted choices and mortgaged ambitions, they find that’s not so simple.”

I’m One, are You?

Montserrat Museum Togores Reading in bed

Of course I’m talking about being a Librocubicularist!

Sure, I’ve never heard of this word either – but it’s a great description for me and the lifestyle to which I aspire.

Check out this material from the Merriam Webster dictionary’s article on the word, and maybe consider working this into your own weekly schedule!

“The sesquipedalian librocubicularist is the name for a person who reads books in bed. The first syllable of the word is based on Latin liber, which originally denoted the inner bark of a tree, and later came to be used for a sheet of papyrus used for writing before acquiring the additional senses of “book, volume, long document” and “a division of a long literary work” (and, yes, it is the source of library and librarian). ….

The word is considered a coinage by American writer Christopher Morley. In his novel The Haunted Bookshop, published in 1919, a bookseller suggests to a Miss Chapman that she take a book up to her room and read it in bed (if she wants), and then questions, “Are you a librocubicularist?” Miss Chapman is taken aback by the word, but another character, Helen, chimes in: “He only means you are fond of reading in bed. I’ve been waiting to hear him work that word in the conversation. He made it up, and he’s immensely proud of it.”

Reading books, whether consisting of sheets of paper or virtual pages, under the sheets is a relaxing activity, and a good way to decompress after a busy day. We don’t think librocubicularists themselves will become extinct, but we’re crossing our fingers that the cognomen librocubicularist survives. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it is a serendipitous find in one’s reading.

Music Book Mash-Up: May


In this series, we are going to share a fun variety of books about music! Even if you don’t play an instrument you can still absolutely be a music lover. So check back each month for a different collection of books all relating in some way to music! We’ll share fiction and nonfiction titles and try to cover many different genres and time frames. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments! Happy reading (and listening, and playing!)

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We’re sharing some books that investigate the ways music can impact your brain and mental well-being.

This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by David Levitin
“Whether you load your iPod with Bach or Bono, music has a significant role in your life—even if you never realized it. Why does music evoke such powerful moods? The answers are at last be- coming clear, thanks to revolutionary neuroscience and the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Both a cutting-edge study and a tribute to the beauty of music itself, This Is Your Brain on Music unravels a host of mysteries that affect everything from pop culture to our understanding of human nature.”

Music Medicine: The Science and Spirit of Healing Yourself With Sound by Christine Stevens
“With Music Medicine, music therapist Christine Stevens presents an information-packed resource, filled with scientifically-based practices for accessing and attuning to the natural healing properties of music.”

Tune In: A Music Therapy Approach to Life: Use Music Intentionally to Curb Stress, Boost Morale, and Restore Health by Jennifer Buchanan
Tune In is a mix of personal stories, real-life examples, interactive exercises, tips, and checklists all designed for the person who is looking for inspiration and a boost to feeling better. When we experience the right music, in the right way, transformation can happen – improved wellness, a boost in motivation, overall feelings of happiness, and stronger communities.”

The Tao of Music: Sound Psychology by John Ortiz
“Just about everyone likes to listen to music to put them “in the mood,” and these techniques get you “out” of a mood! The “Tao” part is about accepting what you’re feeling, and dealing with it, by using Dr. Ortiz’s methods. Includes musical menus that you can use to create your own program for dealing with issues, koans for meditation, and various other fun exercises to make music a part of your holistic health program.”

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
“Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music.”

So many songs about libraries!

Last week was National Library Week, a fantastic time to share library love and encourage library support! But why limit that to only one week? We’re really into library advocacy at CMLE – we even have this whole series dedicated to it! In case you’re looking for another way to keep celebrating libraries, why not crank up some library-themed tunes? And you have plenty of choices:

We Heart MN: Coffee Table Books!

In this series, we’ll pick some of our favorite things about Minnesota and share some related book suggestions. (We’re open to your suggestions! Comment below or email us and tell us some of your favorite MN things!)

As we recover from some terrifyingly cold days and many layers of snow, stay cozy and peruse some lovely coffee table books full of Minnesota pictures and information!

Amazing MN: State Rankings and Unusual Information by Lee Lynch
“This is a book about Minnesota without all the usual tourism hype. It’s about the fabric of the state–its investment in the arts, its dedication to the environment, its balanced economy, its educational attainment, and its abundance of fresh water. Color illustrations, maps, and infographics tell the Minnesota story.”

 

Minnesota Simply Beautiful by Greg Ryan
“A four-season collection of brilliant color photography by Greg Ryan and Sally Beyer from all around The North Star State.”

 

 

 

The Big Water: Lake Minnetonka and Its Place in Minnesota History by Frederick L. Johnson with Thomas U. Tuttle
“An interesting book that includes geography, politics and changing social mores.”

 

 

 

The Art of the Fishing Fly by Tony Lolli
Includes a profile of a fishing fly created by Minnesotan Andrew Seagren!
“For the millions of fly fishers who are passionate about their sport, this gorgeous book is both a visual feast and the perfect reference. The Art of the Fishing Fly includes a history of fly fishing focusing on the evolution of fishing flies; a guide to essential equipment; a how-to section on tying three key flies by three top fly tyers; and essays by noted experts. The book’s core includes 75 profiles of flies—the soul of the sport—with absolutely stunning color photographs of each fly and fascinating stories behind the flies, inspirational photographs of fly fishers in action, and profiles of the top 19 fly fishing locations around the world.”