Thank you! We appreciate our readers and subscribers who have followed Chapter Chats through another year. We share a wide variety of posts with you, from Winter Reading selections to upcoming author events to a tremendous selection of reviews – fiction and nonfiction, for adults, teens, and children.
Here are some of the most-viewed posts of the year:
You may have wondered about one of the most challenged books (according to ALA), and Ash Baker provided a wonderful look at Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe.
Feeling stressed? Relieve some of that tension and join us for Stress Free STEAM. In this low-key, hands-on monthly series, commune with other adults while exploring various topics in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.
Each class session focuses on a different subject and features an engaging and creative hands-on project. Among other inventive projects, previous creative customer favorites have included miniature cabinets of curiosity, Japanese Gyotaku fish prints, and Fibonacci spiral paper sunflowers.
On Thursday, January 5 we will examine the science of snowflakes. Learn why no two snowflakes are alike, among other fascinating facts, before making a unique paper snowflake.
All abilities welcome. Beginners and the non-crafty are encouraged to come. Materials provided.
Stress Free Steam for Adults meets at the Miller Branch on the first Thursday of the month. Register here.
Holly is an Instructor and Research Specialist at the Miller Branch. She enjoys knitting, preferably with a strong cup of tea and Downton Abbey in the queue.
We can’t move forward without knowing where we have been. This is the essence of why the Jewish Federation of Howard County took on the creation of the Howard County Jewish History Project. By looking back at how the rapid growth of Columbia impacted the evolution of the organized Jewish community in the area, we are better able to chart a path into the future that builds on the work that has been put in by the leaders of the past.
The Jewish Federation is the major instrument of Jewish philanthropy and engagement in Howard County. We are a community-driven organization committed to taking care of the needs of the Jewish people and building a vibrant Jewish future in Howard County, in Israel, and around the world. We are responsible for looking out for the entire Jewish community in the county, not just one demographic segment or one geographic pocket.
The Howard County History Project, “Made From Scratch: Creating the Howard County Jewish Community,” is the type of venture that only a communally-minded organization like ours could take on. We are so grateful to the wonderful historians who worked on this project with us, Deb Weiner and Karen Falk. Assembling this collection of artifacts and anecdotes took over three years, and their process was greatly impacted by the pandemic. Howard County’s Jewish history dates back to the 19th century, but the exhibit starts in the 1950s, when 12 Jewish families settled in the area. It takes viewers through the most important inflection points in the community’s history over the next 50 years then wraps up with an epilogue that gives an overview of what the local Jewish community looks like today.
We are thrilled that the the exhibit’s tour stops next at HCLS Central Branch in the Equity Resource Center from January 4 – February 10. HCLS is one of our most important community partners, and we are always excited to collaborate with them. And if you are wondering when might be a good time to check out the exhibit, maybe try to schedule your visit on January 19, when the Federation and the library partner on an event with local author Diane Tuckman to complement the exhibit.
Joel Frankel was appointed the executive director of The Jewish Federation of Howard County on July 1, 2021. He and his family moved from St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent almost 10 years working at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Joel and his wife Leah have two sons. As a family they love exploring everything this area has to offer, especially the tot lots, playgrounds, and all of the amazing trails.
As of Tuesday, December 20, Howard County Library System offers video games!
For this pilot project, we have a small selection of games for XBox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 and 5. Games are rated E, E10+, and T. Here’s what you need to know:
Almost everyone* can borrow games from the collection.
Due to limited supply, you can borrow one item at a time. Since this collection is new and small, we want to give as many customers as possible the opportunity to borrow a video game.
You can keep the game for one week and renew it for another week, if no one else is waiting for it.
You can reserve one game through our catalog at hclibrary.org.
Overdue fines are $1 per day, with a $10 maximum.
If you don’t return a game within 28 days after it’s due, we’ll charge you the cost to replace it. So please return your game!
Visit your library, pick up a game case, then take it to the customer service desk to get the game.
*Games may not be borrowed with these types of library cards: Educators, Homebound, Satellite Collections, DIY, and Temporary Residents.
Princess Marra is kind of a princess in waiting, or maybe it’s more like cold storage. Her sisters, one after the other, have married the Prince of the Northern Kingdom, bringing as their dowry the control of the best deep water harbor and removing the threat of war. If the middle sister also dies in childbed, Marra appears next in line to be married. In the meantime, she’s content living at the convent of Our Lady of the Grackles, where she apprentices to Sister Apothecary and helps with midwifery.
It turns out that the prince, now king, is not so charming. Marra learns how he likes to hurt his wives when attending her sister’s premature labor. Upon digesting some hard realities, this third sister decides to save her older sibling and herself. Although, all she really has is a vague plan to remove some rotten royalty from the face of the earth. Quite honestly, I’d want to kill him, too.
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher is the best kind of fairy tale. It has all the right characters and doesn’t feel the need to over-explain the deep and weird places inside the story. The novel begins with Marra performing her second impossible task – building a dog from bone and silver wire. Her first involved spinning yarn filled with nettles to make a cloak of owl-cloth, but the story opens as she is desperately trying to complete a canine skeleton in the mandated time. Our sheltered nun proves to be a wonderfully obstinate, straightforward young woman. She accomplishes two impossible tasks before the dust-wife (a witch who tends the dead) takes pity on her and gives her a jar filled with moonlight that Marra can immediately re-gift. The two women, young and old but both fiercely independent, set off on their journey.
What follows is a story that I will surely reread and put on my “keeper” shelf. The adventure begins in earnest at a creepily fantastical Goblin Market and continues, despite all odds or even common sense, to its exciting conclusion at the royal palace. At the hidden market and on the road, Marra makes trades that lead to the completion of her merry band: her now real-seeming Bonedog, a handsome and honorable woodcutter, a (mostly) good fairy godmother, and the dust-wife with her demon-possessed hen. Clearly, the author keeps chickens, because it’s a character in its own right!
Each has a role to play as the quest becomes ever more complicated. Not only does Kingfisher excel at the magical aspects, she also manages to insert enough mundane practicalities to keep the book grounded. The absurdity of every day matters, like eating and sleeping, informs the subversive humor that laces through the story. The slightly snarky observations serve to illustrate the misogyny present in so many classic stories. Here, at least, the youngest princess works to save her royal sister from dying young of the curse of having an abusive husband who holds all the advantages. I laughed, I cheered, and I wanted more.
This short novel manages to fit a lot of story into a surprisingly few pages. You can read it as a book or e-book.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).
Shared Legacies depicts inspirational African American and Jewish collaboration in the 60s Civil Rights era, shows that connection changing, and calls for it to be renewed in light of “divisive seeds of hate taking root anew in the American landscape.”
After viewing, participants and panelists from the African American and Jewish communities ask:
Can the legacy continue? How can our communities move forward with a shared agenda to promote racial equity in Howard County, as well as fight for an inclusive economy, education, and healthcare for all, and the equitable dispensation of justice?
Is there a joint role in the era of mass-incarceration and the post-January 6th America?
Can we move from friction (like that surrounding Ye and Kyrie Irving) to relationship and shared action?
Films for Change is a series of documentaries about racial equity, each followed by panels featuring local leaders and organizations. Sponsored by the Horizon Foundation.
In partnership with the African American Community Roundtable, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Howard County, The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission, and the Howard County NAACP.
Inequity Within Report
Over the last two years, Howard County Library System engaged more than 600 people in racial equity training. Using national data about disparities across education, health, housing, and legal systems, the trainers found that racial inequity looks the same across systems, socioeconomic difference does not explain racial inequity, and systems contribute significantly to disparities. Howard County Library System’s new Inequities Within: Issue of Inequity Across Communities report examines the racial equity landscape in Howard County and across the state of Maryland. The data show disparities across education, healthcare, housing, economic, and legal systems for every racial group.
In Howard County, for example:
Black residents are three times more likely to be denied a home loan than non-Hispanic white residents.
Hispanic students are 5.4 times more likely than white students to skip school because they felt unsafe.
Asian residents in the county are 1.8 times more likely to face poverty than non-Hispanic white residents.
As one of the wealthiest, healthiest, and most diverse communities in the state and the US, the belief that racial inequity does not exist here can be a hindrance to addressing those disparities.
We invite you to read the report, educate yourself, and join with us and others in this work.
For opportunities to learn more and discuss with community members, check here for classes and events.
Funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Maryland State Library Agency
In all honesty, I had been in quite a reading slump. Until this.
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall was exactly what I needed. A light read, a little bit of fluff, and a satisfying turn of events for two hapless chaps in London, England. Luc is a rudderless ship in the sea of life, just coasting from one man to another and stuck in a job that he won’t admit he doesn’t totally hate, raising funds for the preservation and defense of dung beetles. The kicker? The charity is aptly named CRAPP, or The Coleoptera Research and Protection Project. Did you laugh? Because I did, and that’s not the last laugh-out-loud moment you’ll have when reading this book. I found many a moment where I loudly cracked up and others had to ask me what I was laughing about.
Now, Luc is in a pickle, not only because he’s the child of two current and former rock stars from the eighties, but also because his talent for landing himself in the tabloids for unscrupulous moments has his job in jeopardy; no one wants to donate to a charity that employs someone like him. In comes Oliver Blackwood, a stiff and proper barrister whom he met once before but made the worst impression on due to copious amounts of alcohol. Oliver is his chance to sort out his issues, and so Luc hatches a plan where they pretend to be in a relationship to clean up Luc’s image, as well as provide a plus-one for Oliver for his parents’ ruby anniversary party. But what happens when a classic romantic trope leads to more? You can’t just be fake boyfriends and not expect some real feelings to develop. Right?
Well, from the first few glimpses of how real a relationship between these two men could be, I was HOOKED. Throw in a kooky friends group, complicated parental relationships, and French Toast, and you’ve got quite an enjoyable read about two chaps who were aimless as individuals, but found their way together. I found myself wanting to slap Luc upside his head and hug him at the same time. Oliver was so proper that it hurt, but the momentary glimpses of his real self and his humanity felt special, and I felt privileged to see them. Alexis Hall crafted a great book that I felt such a connection to, and I cannot wait to delve further into their story in the next book in the London Calling series, Husband Material.
Peter is an Instructor and Research Specialist at the Miller Branch and has a humongous sweet tooth, so the numerous mentions of French Toast in this book DID NOT HELP.
A friend recently told me she recently checked out and watched the 1949 film The Heiress and that she was oddly enthralled and affected by it.
“That’s based on a Henry James novel called Washington Square.” I said excitedly. “You should read it sometime! It’s absolutely heartbreaking.” Her face grew a bit stricken as she said, “Oh, Lord, no! I can’t do that.” She sounded like I had just suggested an unexpected root canal, and I had to wonder if maybe she had had a bad experience with Henry James at some point in her reading life. Maybe I should say a particularly bad experience, as she would not be alone in her feelings on him. Biographer Susan L. Mizruchi writes that a law professor she knew once confided in her, “I never read a James novel that I did not want to hurl across the room when I finished.”
It is kind of true: Henry James can be off-putting to a lot of readers, especially in his writing style. He appears stuffy and unapproachable in nearly all known pictures of him. You might even wonder: what could he possibly have to say to today’s readers? Despite all this, I unapologetically love Henry James. I named my tuxedo cat after him and have read almost everything he ever wrote. I buy all my favorite titles of his in every imaginable edition, just to see the different ways covers treat his novels and to read yet another introduction (or afterword).
I’m determined to sell someone besides me on Henry James. It’s not that he doesn’t already have his fans (though probably not in the same number as Dickens or Austen), or that I’m the first person to ever hear of or love him. Joseph Conrad, a contemporary of James, once said: “His books stand on my shelves in a place whose accessibility proclaims the habit of frequent communion.” Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth is also a fan of Henry James and well-deserving of a read with her terrific Girl In A Band (reviewed here).
Washington Square remains my favorite of his and is the book I would give to anyone who believes that Henry James is as dry as day-old toast. In her slim biography on Henry James, literary critic Rebecca West writes, “The book so beautifully expresses the woe of all those people to whom nothing ever happens, who are aware of the gay challenge of life but are prevented by something leaden in their substance from responding. It’s a work of genius and a story of how a plain and stupid girl was jilted by a fortune hunter when he discovered that she would be disinherited by her contemptuous father on her marriage. It has in it a wealth of feeling.” Even critics of James often say that Washington Square is his most accessible title.
I remember when I discovered him back in college, Washington Square touched me profoundly. James could see right through the veneer of proper society and heavy clothing to the heart that beats in anyone who has ever been manipulated or spurned in the name of love…or lack of it. And he had a feel for emotions and social observations that were ahead of their time. Whether it’s the 19th century or the 21st, the power of emotions can bring down even the most staid of persons and are something all people from all times can understand.
But if I can’t sell you on Henry James with any of the above, consider, for a moment, this passage, both lovely and far from uptight, that I have held on to many times in my life: “Don’t melt too much into the universe, but be as solid and dense and fixed as you can. We all live together, and those of us who love and know, live so most. We help each other—even unconsciously,”
Angie is an Instructor & Research Specialist at Central Branch and is a co-facilitator for Reads of Acceptance, HCLS’ first LGBTQ-focused book club. Her ideal day is reading in her cozy armchair, with her cat Henry next to her.
Marcus Sankofa Nicks is an educator, researcher, and historian of African American History. He regularly facilitates conversations surrounding the African American historical experience, the topic of race, and its present-day implications. He has served in the Howard County Public School System for more than 12 years, primarily supporting Black/African American students through a culturally relevant, trauma-informed approach. Since then, he has established History Heals Consulting, LLC, which uses African American history as a vehicle to aid schools, institutions, and businesses in fostering healthy and inclusive environments.
Nicks offers a multi-session course that takes a comprehensive and expansive look at the history of African Americans in Howard County. It covers the influences and contributions of African Americans from the earliest beginnings of Howard County up to the contemporary era. He provides historical accounts and a wide range of perspectives on the diverse experiences of African Americans.
The Establishment of Columbia, The Rouse Dream, and Its Impact on African Americans
Monday, Dec 12 at 6:30 – 8:30 pm Central Branch Register at bit.ly/hclsheal3
What was your first job? After graduating from Bowie State, an Historically Black University, I became a substitute teacher. I taught in Howard, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore Counties, and the educational landscape of these school systems helped give me a broad sense of how to engage students of various ages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses. After a year, I decided to return home to the Howard County Public School System as a full time educator.
What is a book you’ve read that changed how you think about a topic or your life? A book that significantly shaped how I think about life and see the world was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley. I remember there being so many mixed depictions about Malcolm X, so I decided to read the book for myself. I read it as a college student and remember it being more intriguing to me than any textbook. I found a lot of resonance to my life as a young adult. The book had many themes that provoked me into thinking more broadly on topics such as coming of age, trauma, racism, colorism, mental health, family dynamics, the incarceration system, Black Nationalism, peer relationships, Black history, and leadership. I found Malcolm’s X’s evolution inspiring and believe that we share similar qualities, such as the intent to educate and be studious, a work ethic, being a researcher, and using words and speech to analyze society critically.
What inspires/motivates you? My family inspires and motivates me every day, since I know that what I do builds off a generational legacy. My parents always encouraged me to pursue education. My wife and life partner has always fully supported me along my journey. I am deeply inspired by my daughter, who pushes me to be the best version of myself possible as a father. She continues to give me a reason to leave behind a legacy for her to be proud of.
I am further inspired each day through the lessons of history and the stories of those who rose above adversity amidst seemingly insurmountable odds. Lastly, I am inspired and motivated by anyone who is passionate about their craft.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I’m generally content with a quiet space to read and study (haha), but I would love to visit the continent of Africa. Africa has given so much to the world. I would love to visit the place where scientists have said human life first began. I would also love to experience the culture of various countries throughout the continent. Africa has been such an integral aspect of my studies, and I believe traveling there directly would have such a profound impact on me and my family that it couldn’t be put into words.
Looking to learn new skills in technology? Upcoming classes at Howard County Library System can help you develop new skills or even refresh and develop previous learning. Join us for a class in e-mail basics this month or mark your calendars for classes and open labs in 2023!
If you’re new to using email, our hour-long Computer Skills – Learn How to Use Email on Tuesday, December 13 at Miller Branch introduces some basic email skills and leads you through practice activities, including creating an email account. Best of all, no computer is required! Although you are more than welcome to bring your own laptop, our PC laptops are available for student use. Register here.
Not sure how to get started creating job application documents? Our Computer Skills – Career Skills class on Wednesday, February 1 at Central Branch introduces basic skills for creating resumes and cover letters and leads you through practice activities, including how to use and edit resume and cover letter templates. No computer is required. Again, you can bring your own laptop or use our PC laptops for the session. Registration for the February class opens on December 31.
Finally, if you’re looking to brush up your skills in a less formal setting, bring your questions to an open lab! Boost your technical knowledge by getting hands-on assistance with topics including:
Basic computer skills
Using the Internet
Setting up an email account
Creating and saving documents
We will work with you at your skill level and provide information and guidance to develop the skills you are seeking or resolve the problem you are facing. No computer required! Use our PC laptops and headphones, or bring your own laptop and headphones.
Miller Branch offers two sessions of Computer Skills Open Lab – one on Tuesday, January 17 (registration open now) and one on Tuesday, February 21. Registration for the February date opens January 1, 2023.
CHAPTER CHATS 