Posted in Explore and Discover, For You on January 22, 2015 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland Sharma Shields is a rising star in the literary world. Her first book, a collection of short stories called Favorite Monster won the 2011 Autumn House Fiction prize, and her novel The Sasquatch Hunter’s Almanac releases on January 27. Sharma lives in Spokane with her family (and she can often be found bringing her childr […]
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Tags: authors, Favorite Monsters, Jess Walter, local authors, q&a, Sharma Shields, The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, kids, Parents and Teachers, Teens on January 13, 2015 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland Picture this: one moment you’re walking through a normal theme park, passing lines of people, restaurants and roller coasters. But as you walk deeper into the park, you notice that the buildings around you start to change in character. Suddenly, you’re somewhere which looks a lot like London (albeit against a Florida […]
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Tags: Harry Potter, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, vacations
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, kids, Parents and Teachers, Prime Time, Teens on December 11, 2014 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland I remember it as if it were yesterday. I would walk into my local library and make a beeline for the children’s section. In that library, there was a children’s librarian sitting behind a special little desk. I would walk up to the desk and smile as though I were going to […]
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Tags: book recommendations, library hacks
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, Prime Time, Teens on November 25, 2014 at 6:00 am
by Cara Strickland Confession: I’ve always secretly wanted to do NaNoWriMo. For those who might be unfamiliar with this concept, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an attempt to write a 50,000 word novel between November 1 and November 30 (at 11:59pm). I went to college to write fiction, gave up writing for a while […]
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Tags: community, fiction, NaNoWriMo, writing
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You on November 6, 2014 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland It happens to all of us: the blank screen, the empty studio, the silent singing voice. Occasionally, we’re all visited by block of one kind or another. What’s a creative person to do? Although some blocks just take time to lift and lessen, there are a few things I’ve found to help […]
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Tags: art, creative block, creativity, writer's block, writing
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, kids, Parents and Teachers, Prime Time on October 16, 2014 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland When it comes to trains, I am like a six year old boy. LEAD ME TO IT (and can I blow the whistle, please?) So, it won’t be too much of a stretch for you to imagine my delight when I discovered (several years ago) that the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions […]
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Tags: Lions Club, staycation, trains
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, Prime Time on September 25, 2014 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland October (and Oktoberfest) is almost upon us. While I’m a fan of reading (and drinking) throughout the year, I find that I have more time for both as fall settles in to stay for a bit. There is something about this time of year that makes me want to learn something, or […]
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Tags: beer, book pairings, Liquid Lit
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, kids, Parents and Teachers, Prime Time, Teens on September 2, 2014 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland I talk about libraries a lot. Those who know me can attest to the fact that I usually end a book or movie recommendation with the words: “I got it at the library.” Through these conversations, I’ve discovered a common misconception about the kinds of things you can check out through the […]
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Tags: Books to Go, digital libraries, library hacks, new releases, overdrive
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You on August 21, 2014 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland I’ve always loved to have people over. While I enjoy meeting at a restaurant, coffee shop or wide open space, I like the personal nature of inviting someone into my home even better. At least, I like the idea of having people over. Sometimes, when it gets right down to it, I […]
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Tags: cleaning, entertaining, food, friends, games, stress
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, Prime Time, Teens on August 5, 2014 at 6:00 am
By Cara Strickland I’ve spent a sizable amount of my life in the fictional pages of my favorite books. Sometimes, with all of this reading, I wonder if I’ll ever have time to meet anyone I might like to go to dinner with. I’ve managed to climb out of the pages every once in a […]
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Tags: Calvin and Hobbes, dating, Dorothy L. Sayers, Emma, fiction, George Weasley, Harry Potter, Heist Society, Jane Austen, John Watson, Lord Peter Wimsey, Mr. Knightley, relationships, Sherlock Holmes
