The phrase “beach read” is a deeply subjective one. For some, it means a breezy romance set on a literal oceanside beach. For others, it’s an action-packed twisty thriller – the literary equivalent of a summer popcorn flick. For other people it’s a behemoth of a book – a biography, or a classic work –…
Find out the who's who of national celebrities and historical figures that have made appearances in Libertyville through the years. Enjoy part one of the series. There's more to come! Mentioned in the Podcast: Ep. 38: The Past is Present - Frederick Grabbe and Libertyville's Spring Water Local History page Catch every episode! Subscribe to…
June 1–July 31 • All Ages The summer reading program isn't just about books — we invite your whole family to EXPLORE the Library's offerings, DO fun stuff, and READ books. The more you explore, do, and read, the more points you earn toward a finishing prize! How To Sign Up Online through READsquared In…
It can be argued that rugged individualism and American are synonymous. You can't have the American dream without the idea that if you work hard and rely on your own resources, you will ultimately succeed. Instead, as income inequality rises around us, we are left with shame and self-blame for our condition. Why is there so much poverty adjacent…
When it’s film awards season, you often hear critics saying something like, “Hollywood loves movies about the film industry.” I picked up The Librarianist using that same logic – I’m a librarian, so I’ll like a book about libraries. I was wrong about the subject of the book – this isn’t really a book about…
This week I decided to travel back millennia to rediscover the myths I thought I knew. We begin with the tale of Pandora's box jar. Author Natalie Haynes discovers that it wasn't until somewhere after the Middle Ages and before the 20th century that the jar became a box. Haynes then compares Pandora with the…
In the 1890s and early 1900s, rising population in the Chicago made the countryside more appealing. Chicago business leaders looked to rural areas within commuting distance of the city to build country homes for their families and indulge their passion for farm pursuits, including raising horses. Chicago restauranteur John R. Thompson and railroad executive J.W.…
Zelda is having a moment. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released less than two weeks ago and is already making its mark. A direct sequel to the largely successful Breath of the Wild (2017), Tears of the Kingdom is breaking records, selling over 10 million copies in the first three days.…
If you’ve been on the internet at any point since 2016, you’ve probably seen Maggie Smith’s viral poem “Good Bones.” It’s breathtakingly sad and also the tiniest bit hopeful, and any time the world seems especially disastrous, it pops up all over social media as a way to put words to unspeakably hard situations. At…
I fell into a hole. It was probably four or five feet deep, but I’d managed to land on my feet. I looked around the grass – now at eye level – but the animal was nowhere to be found. I heard the grass rustling nearby, but before long the sound stopped. Hiroko Oyamada, The…
