Memorial Day

Every Memorial Day, we gather as a nation to mourn our collective fallen servicemen and servicewomen. It is actually written into the United States Code, or the Federal Code of Regulations, that the president issue a proclamation each year "calling on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace". Some interesting facts about Memorial Day, which has been observed since the close of the American Civil War, can be found below.

Happy Juneteenth!

Elisabeth Scott

Reference and Social Media Librarian

Americans have been celebrating Juneteenth since 1865; we rang in a new era when it became an official federal holiday in 2021. MLC's 2022 Stacks and Stories podcast episode celebrating the occasion touches on the history of Juneteenth National Independence Day, Mississippi's homegrown Freedom Day (the Eighth of May), and events in Mississippi for Juneteenth. But that was last year. This year we're focusing on Juneteenth as an opportunity to learn and to educate. We've put together a list of books that focus on Black history (including Juneteenth, of course) and the Black experience, many of them from a uniquely Mississippi angle. Get your TBR ready for a slew of great reads!

Happy Towel Day!

Do you know where your towel is?

May 25th is Towel Day, a celebration of the author Douglas Adams. Fans carry a towel around to symbolize their love for the author and his works. Though best known for his book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, as well as it’s sequels, Adams also wrote for the screen. He served as script editor on the science-fiction show Doctor Who and wrote the serials "The Pirate Planet" and "City of Death." Adams wrote and designed the computer games Bureaucracy and Starship Titanic. Adams had a close relationship with members of the British comedy group Monty Python. A few Python members even lent their voices to Starship Titanic!

But why towels? According to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it’s essential that a hitchhiker carry a towel with him, due to its useful nature. You could dry off with a towel, use it as a blanket, carry things with it, and so on. Likewise, if a hitchhiker has a towel, then others will naturally assume the hitchhiker has other necessities on him and will happily lend the hitchhiker whatever he “accidentally lost.”

20 Children's Books Celebrating Passover and Easter

Believe it or not, Passover and Easter are right around the corner! Whether you're preparing matzah or dying eggs, we've rounded up a selection of books that will get your small ones in the swing of things for this special season.

Hop! Hop!

Leslie Patricelli

2015

Preschool

Ollie's Easter Eggs

Olivier Dunrea

2013

Preschool

The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Easter Colors

Eric Carle

2017

Preschool

Llama Llama Easter Egg

Anna Dewdney

2015

Preschool

Happy Easter, Mouse!

Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

2010

Preschool 

My First Easter

Tomie dePaola

2008

Preschool

Here Comes the Easter Cat

Deborah Underwood and Claudia Rueda 

2014

Preschool-Grade 2

Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure

James Dean and Kimberly Dean

2014

Preschool-Grade 3

Junie B. Jones, First Grader: Dumb Bunny

Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus

2009

Grades 1-4

My Weird School Special: Bunny Double, We're in Trouble!

Dan Gutman and Jim Paillot 

2014

Grades 1-5

My First Passover

Tomie dePaola

2015

Preschool

Lotsa Matzah

Tilda Balsley and Akemi Gutierrez

2013

Preschool

Passover is Coming!

Tracy Newman

2016

Preschool 

Company's Coming

Joan Holub and Renee Andriani

2002

Preschool

Dayenu! A Favorite Passover Song

Traditional and Miriam Latimer

2012

Preschool

Sammy Spider's First Passover

Sylvia A. Rouss and Katherine J. Kahn

1995

Preschool-Grade 3

A Tale of Two Seders

Mindy Avra Portnoy and Valeria Cis

2010

Preschool-Grade 3

A Sweet Passover

Leslea Newman and David Slonam

2012

Preschool-Grade 3

The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah

Leslie Kimmelman and Paul Meisel

2011

Preschool-Grade 3

The Yankee at the Seder

Elka Weber and Adam Gustavson

2009

Grades 2-5

Until next time, happy reading!

From the Shelf to the Small Screen

Turning into a couch potato over the holidays? Here are a few books to add to your reading list and then you can add them to your DVR too. 

In Modern Romance, author and comedian Aziz Ansari teamed up with sociologist Eric Klinenberg for a book that is part comedy and part educational. Not the kind of dry, fact filled text found in most classrooms, this book contains Ansari’s charming wit and tackles dating and love in the modern age with humor and grace. Ansari, previously on Parks and Recreation, is best known as a stand-up comedian. He has several stand up shows available on Netflix: Buried Alive and Dangerously Delicious. He also has an original series on Netflix, Master of None, which he created and stars, which focuses on establishing a career as an actor and love life in his early 30’s. 

If you are a fan of Bravo’s Top Chef, you may have read cookbooks or even visited restaurants owned by the Judge Chefs and the contestants. But if you want to know more about the hostess of the show- Padma Lakshmi, her memoir is the best source. In Loss, Love, and What We Ate, Lakshmi dishes about her childhood, spent both in India and in the United States, and love life, as well as being a single mom and TV celebrity. And, of course, as a true foodie she sprinkles her memories with recipes and tales of traditional meals with her family. 

Top Chef’s latest season, set in Charleston, South Carolina is currently airing on Bravo. 

Tired of politics? Not ready for a holiday story yet? Liane Moriarty’s novel Big Little Lies is the perfect winter reading escape. Moriarty’s story, like her other novels, reads like a raunchy reality show- think Real Housewives of Australia- but with a ‘whodunit’ twist.  Big Little Lies is the snarky tale of three women who meet when their young children attend the same suburban school.  Despite different family circumstances, the women’s friendships grow through a series of darkly humorous episodes centering on raising children in the suburbs. Each learns that the others’ lives may not be as picture perfect as they seem. The story takes a dramatic turn at the annual school fundraiser when a murder occurs. Yet the women remain close as they bond over marriage, motherhood, and, finally, murder. 

Now you really can read the book before you watch the show! Big Little Lies has been made into a ‘limited’ dramatic series starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, premiering on HBO February 19, 2017.