Search results for: melissa rhoades
Books & cocktail mixes: Find your perfect pairing
August 14, 2020By Melissa Rhoades Recently, The New York Times published an article declaring the return of cocktail hour. I, for one, am celebrating. Mixed drinks can be enjoyed with or without a buzz. Those who choose to not imbibe alcohol can still find plenty to get shaken and stirred about. I’ve noted books that include non-alcoholic […]
Finding out more about racial justice
June 25, 2020By Melissa Rhoades In recent weeks, people all over the country have participated in Black Lives Matter protests to honor the life of George Floyd and work towards systemic change. For adults wanting to know or learn more about the issue, you can find many resources in the library’s Digital Library. Our librarians have curated […]
Self-care from pandemic times to the best of times
June 10, 2020By Melissa Rhoades As counterintuitive as it may sound, self-care during a pandemic is basically the same as self-care at any other time. A saying sometimes attributed to Dolly Parton—but actually dating back to at least 1859—sums up the situation nicely: “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” Perhaps the hardest […]
Become a fiction frequent flyer with short stories
March 25, 2020By Melissa Rhoades As a novel enthusiast, I love returning to the same characters, settings, and writing styles for days or weeks at a time. It feels like taking an extended vacation. Short stories, in comparison, can feel like weekend getaways that end too soon. But Neil Gaiman has pointed out the positive side of […]
Mindfulness picture books for your little ones (and you!)
January 15, 2020By Melissa Rhoades Definitions of mindfulness can sound mystifying and impossible to achieve. Take, for example, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition: “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.” Luckily, there is a much less daunting definition. According to a 2017 Psychology […]
When murder smells like honeysuckle: The allure of film noir
October 30, 2019By Melissa Rhoades In adolescence, my impulse towards mysteries and thrillers was satisfied by Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Mystery! on PBS. But these days when I get the urge, I’m more likely to pick up a film noir or some of the hardboiled fiction that inspired it. Less cozy and more convoluted, film […]
And Now for Something Completely Different: Monty Python’s entertainment legacy
August 21, 2019By Melissa Rhoades If you’ve never experienced Monty Python, you’ve missed a big part of comedy history. The group played an integral role in the evolution of sketch humor. In fact, their influence is so massive that The Atlantic magazine called them “The Beatles of Comedy” in 2013. Like the Beatles, Monty Python’s influence extends […]
Explore the arts for enormous rewards
June 12, 2019by Melissa Rhoades Writer Kurt Vonnegut survived being a soldier and prisoner of war during WWII. He also suffered from depression. Knowing these facts adds extra weight to Vonnegut’s thoughts about the importance of art: “The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more […]
From the Library of Things: Machine sewing at your fingertips
April 2, 2019By Melissa Rhoades Did you know you can borrow a sewing machine from the Library District? Our Library of Things offers two Elna eXplore 320 sewing machines to check out for up to seven days at a time. One is available for pick up at the Spokane Valley Library and the other can be picked […]
Independent spirit: Films that offer fresh perspectives
January 9, 2019By Melissa Rhoades Independence is a major theme in the American consciousness. We’re taught from an early age to admire historic figures that bucked the system in order to forge new paths. Most of us like to consider ourselves independent, too. Yet most Americans don’t watch independent films. This is a shame since indie movies […]
