Recommended Reading: Verily, a New Hope by Ian Doescher

Book Description:

Inspired by one of the greatest creative minds in the English language—and William Shakespeare—here is an officially licensed retelling of George Lucas's epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. ’Tis a tale told by fretful droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearsome Stormtroopers, signifying...pretty much everything.

Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter—and complete with twenty gorgeous Elizabethan illustrations—William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! This is the book you’re looking for.

A surprisingly great book! It's not just a bunch of "thous" and cheap jokes -- it really is a Shakespearian Star Wars. It's in full-on iambic pentameter, and Shakespearian style come through in the characters and structure. It works remarkably well. The plot sticks along closely with the movie, but the characters can stop and monologue, bringing something new to the story without changing the plot. It's full of Shakespeare references and Star Wars jokes, but all very gentle, not parodic. For instance, at one point Luke says something like "I couldn't be more invested in this rescue if Leia was my own SISTER!" My favorite part in the whole book is that R2-D2 can talk, but decides (Hamlet-style) to act like he can't.

My one criticism is that I'd actually like to see it diverge more from the movie plot, to make it function more as a play. In a movie, you can have a little two-minute scene with the villains and then go back to the main story. In a play, that many rapid scene changes would be cumbersome and impractical. I didn't affect my enjoyment of the book, but I would've liked to see how things might change to make it more stage-friendly. 

Check your local library for location -- it may be in juvenile, adult fiction, or classics.

Recommended Reading: You Are Here by Chris Hadfield

Book Description:

Divided by continent, You Are Here represents one (idealized) orbit of the ISS. This planetary photo tour -- surprising, playful, thought-provoking, and visually delightful -- is also punctuated with fun, fascinating commentary on life in zero gravity. In the spirit of his bestselling An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, You Are Here opens a singular window on our planet, using remarkable photographs to illuminate the history and consequences of human settlement, the magnificence (and wit) of never-before-noticed landscapes, and the power of the natural forces shaping our world and the future of our species.

Chris Hadfield is now well-known for his tweets from space and his talks on being an astronaut. In October 2014, following up on his previous bestseller, he released this book of photos taken from the International Space Station. The pictures are gorgeous, and Hadfield's perspective really comes through in his creative choice of subjects... He provides just enough text to explain what you're seeing without overwhelming it, keeping the focus on the pictures themselves. It's not just any coffee-table book, it's a trip around the world from a brand-new perspective.

Recommended Reading: "X-Men: Age of Apocalypse"

Book Description:

Charles Xavier is dead - killed twenty years in the past during a freak time-travel accident - and the world that has arisen in his absence is dark and dangerous indeed. The Darwinian conqueror Apocalypse rules with an iron fist, ruthlessly enforcing his dictum that only the strong shall survive - and in Apocalypse's long shadow, hidden among a downtrodden humankind, are a group of ragtag freedom fighters led by Xavier's oldest friend, Magneto: the Amazing X-Men! When Bishop, last survivor of the true Marvel Universe, locates the X-Men and explains how the world went wrong, these embittered mutants and their tenuous allies must risk everything - and undertake a dangerous and multi-pronged quest - to put things right!

Get ready for the next X-Men movie, X-Men: Apocalypse, with the classic four-volume graphic novel! It's a complex story, so you'll enjoy it most if you have some knowledge of the X-Men already, but there's no need to be an expert. This collection organizes a wide variety of comic issues into a coherent story that flows remarkably well, and you really get the feeling and the atmosphere of being on Apocalypse's Earth. This story showcases a compelling set of alternate characters who have remained popular in the Marvel universe ever since, including a heroic Magneto, a dark Nightcrawler, the new character Blink, and many more. A fantastic story on its own, it's also a must-read in the X-Men canon.

Recommended Reading: The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

Book Description: 

This much-anticipated follow-up to Jonathan Auxier’s exceptional debut, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, is a Victorian ghost story with shades of Washington Irving and Henry James. More than just a spooky tale, it’s also a moral fable about human greed and the power of storytelling.

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. With Auxier’s exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.

This 2014 release is the perfect horror novel for middle graders -- creepy, with its share of gross-out moments, but not terrifying. The focus is on the two orphans as characters, and they're more nuanced than in most other middle-grade books... In fact, all the characters have dominant personality traits, but those traits aren't random. They go along with whole personalities and backstories. The characters got where they are not because they've just always been that way, but because they've made specific choices over time, so this would be great opportunity to discuss choices and consequences with your child! Altogether, The Night Gardener is a super-fun book that's satisfying on many levels, from old-fashioned spookiness to well-written prose and a compelling plot.

Winter Wellness with Essential Oils

Prepare Your Body and Your Family for the Coming Months

JOIN US FOR THIS SPECIAL EVENT!

We are excited to have Christine Nishimura back at the library. She uses DoTerra Essential Oils and she will share with you how to prepare your immune system, your home, and
your family for the winter months. Christine will be able to answer any questions you may have.

The weather is getting colder and germs are on the rise.
Come learn how to support your immune system, your respiratory
system, and lower the toxic load in your body and home. Make
sure your home is prepared for anything that may come this
winter!!

Winter Wellness

WHEN:

Tuesday, Feb. 3rd 6pm – 7pm

WHERE:
North Shelby Library | Meeting Room

MORE INFORMATION:

Join us as we learn how to prepare for the Winter Cold & Flu Season. Just like eating well and exercising regularly, essential oils can be another great way to help support a healthy body.

DoTERRA essential oils are unique in that they are sourced from their indigenous region from all around the world, and third party tested to insure quality and efficacy

Recommended Reading: Julie Kagawa

Julie Kagawa has firmly cemented herself as one of best young adult fantasy writers.

First came The Iron Fey series. We follow Meghan Chase, a half-human teenage girl pulled into the Faery realms and trapped in between the clashes of the Winter and Summer Fey against a terrifying new kind of faery, the Iron Fey. She also battles her way through a love triangle that rivals Twilight's Team Edward/Team Jacob. 

Then The Blood of Eden trilogy. These vampires definitely don't sparkle. In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities. Outside city walls: a vast wilderness, stalked by terrifying creatures called rabids. Created when humans and vampires attempted to cure Red Lung, rabids prowl by night, mindless and ravenous for human blood. Allison Sekemoto is a life-long Fringer: always hunted, always hungry. But when forced to choose between agonizing death and becoming what she hates…Allie takes immortality.

And now Kagawa is launching a new fantasy series all about dragons. Talon, released in 2014, revolves around dragons with the ability to disguise themselves as humans and an order of warriors sworn to eradicate them. The dragons of TALON and the Order of St. George have been at war with each other for centuries. The fabled creatures, whose existence is unknown by the general public, are determined to rule the world. Their foes, a legendary society of dragon slayers, are equally bent on driving the fabled beasts into extinction. However, when a young dragon and a hardened slayer unknowingly befriend each other, it has severe repercussions for both organizations.

Rogue, book two in the series, will be hitting selves in April 2015. 

You can check all of these excellent fantasy titles out from the library! 

Stop by and see us soon.

Recommended Reading: The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker

Book Description: 

Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, pogroms, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?

This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives- the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.

The central thesis of Steven Pinker’s 2011 book is that, contrary to popular belief, violence in the world has actually decreased over time. He deals with changes over time as well as specific historical time periods and human neurological qualities, not only demonstrating his point but also discussing reasons and mechanisms for the historical change he's observed. 

This is a big ol' book, but I still highly recommend that everyone read it, because it really will change the way you think about the world. Historians and political scientists will find plenty to talk about here, plus this book will be invaluable for novelists who want to understand historical societies or create their own. You don't have to be any of those things to appreciate Pinker's work, though. He demonstrates that despite fatalistic news reports, the human race is less violent than ever before and optimism can be well-founded!