Yuletide!
This time of year brings with it the winter holidays. No matter what you and your family celebrate, we wish you a warm, happy, healthy, and peaceful one. Below are … Continued
Is X-Men: Apocalypse Really That Bad?
Normally when critics eviscerate a movie as universally and thoroughly as they did X-Men: Apocalypse I wouldn’t bother seeing it. However, I love the X-Men universe and only one movie has left a sour taste in my mouth (X-Men: The Last Stand—can we please pretend this movie never happened?), so I sat down with an open mind and hoped that one of my favorite childhood superhero franchises hadn’t been ruined beyond all possible redemption.
Say Farewell to 2016 With These Nonfiction Favorites!
It’s December, and I’m looking back on another year of ups, downs and most importantly—books. Here’s a few nonfiction favorites I’ve enjoyed in good old 2016!
The Life of Nina Simone
Have you ever listened to the music of Nina Simone? A friend introduced me to her with the songs “I Put a Spell on You” and “Feeling Good”, after which … Continued
Inspire Someone Today!
I am inspired by the man tucked away at a desk in the corner studying for his aviation license. I am inspired by the woman learning a new language. I am inspired by the child getting help with their reading skills from a Reading Buddy at their local CLP branch. Last year, nearly three million people visited the Library in the effort to learn something new, make their lives better or to be part of something bigger than themselves. Simply, to be inspired.
Read Between the Gap…
This month, I was invited to attend the Masterclass in Children’s Literature, hosted by We Need Diverse Books. This class, organized by Kwame Alexander (The Crossover) and Jacqueline Woodson (Brown … Continued
Eleventh Stack’s Best of 2016
Well, it’s been quite a year. Many of us have suffered great losses, from family members and friends to celebrity muses like David Bowie and Prince. But we’ve also been gifted with wonderful new art in the form of books, films and music. Here’s a brief roundup of the Eleventh Stack Team’s favorites from 2016.
The Queen of the South
In our home we speak Spanish and English, and we’re always looking at the selection of resources that are available at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Spanish. We have read plenty of books, listened to plenty of music, and watched plenty of movies, but we had never ventured into Spanish TV from the library. That changed when we stumbled upon La Reina Del Sur Volume 1 and 2. We absolutely loved this series.
4 Your Earz Only
Rapper J.Cole is back with a new album. His fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only was released a week ago. It follows up his critically acclaimed third album 2014 Forest Hills Drive. That album is my favorite from him, though I did enjoy this new album. Cole has always been known as a storyteller, and I always enjoyed his music because most of it is relatable to 20-somethings like myself.
Read Harder: Vol. 12
At the beginning of the year, I decided to tackle a proper reading challenge. I wanted to push myself a little and try a few things, particularly genres, that I don’t typically approach when I’m looking for something to read. I’m pretty proud of what I tried and how many of the boxes I was able to check off. Here are a few of the categories I didn’t quite get around to this year, but I’m hoping to carry over into 2017.