Visiting All CLP Locations by Bike — in One Day!
Last week, my classmate Justin Cole (Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon ’18) put my model to the test on his bike, attempting to visit all 19 branches in one day. He even got a CLP passport (which is a bit like the National Park’s Passport to Your National Parks) stamped at each location.
Spine to Spoon: Over Easy by Joy Wilson
As someone who inevitably fills every hour of the day with some kind of odd gig or pet project, I often find it hard to leave an entire chunk of time totally free and set aside some time to savor summer while it’s here. But exploring a new cookbook is a great excuse to take a break in the kitchen, and you can always justify taking a break to cook (everybody’s got to eat sometime, after all). Recently, I was lucky enough to be able to spend an entire morning with Joy Wilson’s Over Easy: Sweet & Savory Recipes for Leisurely Days. Based on title alone, it sounded like the perfect companion for a belated break from a busy week.
Throwback Thursday: Like a Brick to the Head?
Scott Brick is a super-prolific audiobook narrator and a favorite among Main library staff. He’s narrated books by just about everyone – people like Steve Berry, Terry Brooks, Harlan Coben, Philip K. Dick, John Grisham, Frank Herbert, Jon Krakauer, Erik Larson, and Brad Meltzer, to name a few (really, that’s the short list).
Examining Life Through Bots and Bodies: Jorie Graham’s Newest Poetry Collection
As far as American poets go, Jorie Graham is a superstar. With over thirteen collections of poetry to her name, she steadily remains well-loved and revered. She has served as Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, has received a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship and took over Seamus Heaney’s role as the Boylston Professor of Oratory and Rhetoric at Harvard. To say she is a heavy hitter in the poetry world would be a gross understatement.
Preservation Highlight: Thinking Outside the Pamphlet
There are many people working at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh who go unseen. We are the ones behind Staff Only doors, the ones who process and repair books and so much more. Here in the Conservation, Preservation and Access Department (CP&A) we are trying to share more of what we do with the general public. We are a small staff working primarily with the Library’s older and more fragile collection.
Fight the Stigma: Books That Raise Awareness About Mental Health
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. We all experience various forms of mental health, and it’s only when you add terms such as “illness”, “problem” or “disorder” to the end of that phrase, that your awareness is shifted from well-being to something that needs to be fixed (or is beyond fixing).
Spine to Spoon: The Aleppo Cookbook by Marlene Matar
Marlene Matar’s The Aleppo Cookbook: Celebrating the Legendary Cuisine of Syria, is a delicious dedication to a city and its food. If I could, I would eat only olives, beans and bread for the rest of my life, and I just might be able to with this book in hand. Matar presents us with a plethora of dishes, from a simple lentil stew to more complex creations like stuffed lamb dumplings. Still, each recipe is easy to follow and most include adaptations for the more adventurous cook.
Coming Soon to Pittsburgh: Theremania!!!
The Theremin was one of the very first electronic instruments. It is the only musical instrument that is played without being physically touched. Stop by the CLP – Main International Poetry Room on Thursday, May 18th, 12 – 1 pm for a free lunchtime lecture and performance by world-class thereminist Pamelia Stickney as part of a day long Theremania!!! celebration.
A Basic Gal’s Guide to Jane Austen: Persuasion
I am doing my own version of The Jane Austen Book Club. Yes – I took my inspiration from a romantic comedy (it was a book first). Just chalk it up to another symptom of my basic status. One Austen book a month for six months so I can read all of her major novels. In random order, the first book is…Persuasion. So let’s dive in, basic girl style.
Stories Alive: Annual Spring Puppet Show, “The Magic Tree”
As May approaches, the librarians at Main-Children’s are busy preparing for the Annual Spring Puppet Show! This year we present a story based on the African folktale, “The Magic Tree”.