Staff Picks

Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley [Online Resource]

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Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley host a delightful podcast that explores food through the lens of science and history. They explore the origins of foods (who really did invent the French Fry?), the biology of foods (what causes the differences between different sourdoughs?), the psychology of food (how do menus affect what we order?), the ecology of food (how can our food choices affect invasive species or the climate?). They explore unusual foods (the pawpaw, kelp, and kombucha) and common foods (butter, bread, salt, and beer) and everything in between. Most episodes are about 40 minutes long.

All the episodes are great, but my favorites include:

• The Secrets of Sourdough
• Mango Mania: How the American Mango Lost its Flavor—and How it Might Just Get it Back
• Green Gold: Our Love Affair with Olive Oil
• The Bagelization of America.

99% Invisible by Roman Mars [Online Resource]

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99% Invisible is a podcast that explores the effects of design on our lives and society in ways we generally don’t notice. The episodes delve into aspects of everyday life, history, and architecture, and detail the fascinating stories behind some truly amazing things that have profound effects on how we live and experience the world. Its about “all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about”. The show’s name is inspired by a quote by Buckminster Fuller: “Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.”

Valley Advocate Sessions [Online Resource]

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The Valley Advocate Sessions is presented by the Valley Advocate, Signature Sounds, and Northampton Open Media and regularly features short concerts by local musicians both seasoned and new. A recent contributor was Henning Ohlenbusch, who has been featured in our staff picks before and was one of Forbes Library’s 2018 Musicians in Residence.

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts by NPR Music [Online Resource]

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I recently discovered this delightful corner of the internet and have treated myself to these eclectic short musical sets ever since. I’ve experienced some great new artists and some sets by beloved familiar ones. They are all recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered by host Bob Boilen, except for the last few which are home editions. There is something for all musical tastes and will tide you over until you can get out to your next live performance.

LibriVox [Audiobook, Online Resource]

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LibriVox is a free source of public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world. Most of the books are in English, but other languages are available as well with many titles in French and German and a not insignificant number of recordings in Ancient Greek. Titles for children and adults are available. I recommend starting with the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, both of which are available in variety of version by different readers.

Questionable Content by Jeph Jacques [Online Resource]

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Questionable Content is a long running, slice-of-life, web comic focusing on a large cast of humans and robots living in a small college town which resembles Northampton to an extent that cannot be ignored. (Scenes are occasionally set at the Smif College library, and a number of characters have been Smif College students or employees. And there are a lot of scenes set in coffee shops and bars.)

The comic includes sci-fi elements, as evidenced by the many artificial intelligences amongst the cast, but the plot is driven by the interpersonal relationships and struggles you would expect in a college town. Dedicated readers return to the comic again and again to follow the evolving story of favorite characters such as Marten, Faye, Dora, and Hannelore and their struggles which include workplace romances, anxiety, addiction, sexual identity, poverty, social awkwardness, and difficult family dynamics.

Despite these weighty topics the tone is generally light. The humor can be crass (Jeff Jacques has a fondness for jokes about sex toys and farts), but is never unkind.

Given the evolution of the strip, I can’t recommend you start at the beginning unless you feel absolutely compelled to do so. New reader’s might instead start with Number 1719 in which Hanelore begins working at Coffee of Doom or Number 2201 just before the introduction of the new library interns Emily, Claire, and Gabby. There are currently well over 4000 comics, so that still leaves plenty to read, and dedicated fans of the comic can always backtrack to explore the comics roots.

Crash Course World History by John Green [Online Resource]

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Library users may know John Green best as the author of such popular books as The Fault in Our Stars and An Abundance of Katherines, but he is also a prolific YouTube content creator. His Crash Course series is, so I’m told, aimed at teens, but is loved by adults as well. I am particularly fond of Crash Course History.

Crash Course History was the first series in the Crash Course brand and every episode consists of a short presentation by Green enhanced with clever animations. Green’s style is conversational and engaging. He treats us to occasional tangents and jokes, but the content remains focused and extremely informative, and he doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like imperialism, fascism, and slavery.

Each episode is just over ten minutes long. The length is appropriate for an easily digestible summary that leaves you curious and interested to learn more about a topic. Episodes include The Agricultural Revolution, The Silk Road and Ancient Trade, Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa, and The Columbian Exchange and 38 other topics from ancient through modern times.

Other series in Crash Course brand include, among others, English Literature, Philosophy, Economics, and U.S. History, and more are being planned. You can find them all at the Crash Course page on YouTube.

Ayesha at Last [Book]

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This funny and touching retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is set in the Muslim community of Toronto, Canada. Full of mistaken identity, eccentric family, arranged marriages vs. love matches, and how appearances can be misleading on several levels. Great debut by author Uzma Jalaluddin.

All He Ever Wanted: A Novel [Book]

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If you like dark, involving, character-driven tales, pick up this one about a professor at a small New England college at the turn of the last century. The unlikable, perhaps unreliable narrator is writing an account of his obsession with a woman he met by chance, is instantly enthralled with, and ultimately marries.  I didn’t so much enjoy this very well written “memoir” as was possessed by it. As the object of the narrator’s desires, we see the female character only through the narrator’s eyes and she remains enigmatic.  As is Shreve’s modus operandi  there is another interlocking tale written years later called Stella Bain. Perhaps these characters stayed with the author as they did with me.

High Tide in Tucson: Essays From Now or Never by Barbara Kingsolver [Book]

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Written in the 1990s but still every bit as pertinent and fresh, this series of essays from the novelist is about nature, single motherhood, and musings about cultures and politics (oddly prescient). Most of the essays were previously published in magazines, but were revised for inclusion in the book. Kingsolver pays close attention to her natural and human surroundings whether she is in Africa or her home turf of Kentucky, or her current abode in the desert. Some essays are funny, some lump-in-the-throat poignant; all are highly recommended.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson [Graphic Novel]

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Ballister Blackheart, a kind-hearted supervillain, gains a new sidekick when Nimona, a shapeshifter in the (sometimes) shape of a young girl, simply insists. Nimona seems to be interested only in mischief, villainy and fun. Blackheart has little patience for her antics but they learn to get along and become a family of sorts, and a team that may just be capable of bringing down The Institution. Blackheart and Nimona each have their own rules, though, and their own complicated pasts.

Noelle Stevenson’s graphic novel, first released as a webcomic, is a delightful read. The artwork is inviting with simple expressive lines, and beautiful colorwork in a subdued palate. Nimona can be a mouse or a lion, a boy or a girl, a squirrel or a dragon. This makes for a very fun to read comic, as we learn to recognize Nimona in her many forms, and of course Nimona’s shape shifting comes in handy in the pair’s many schemes. The story is touching and humorous, though it’s the characters that keep you turning the pages. If you are anything like me you will finish wanting more.

Foreigner: A Novel of First Contact by C. J. Cherryh [Book]

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The subtitle of C. J. Cherryh’s novel Foreigner is “a Novel of First Contact”. The novel begins with a brief prelude in which a starship is flung off course and and its passengers and crew find refuge on a previously unknown world where their first encounter with the local inhabitants has a fairly promising start. This is not a typical first contact story, however, because the novel then jumps several centuries into the future, and we find that relations between the indigenous population and the foreigners are mired in misunderstandings and ignorance.

As it turns out, the indigenous Atevi and the foreign humans found they had a common interest in slowing down contact between their two peoples. After some disastrous misunderstandings a treaty is formed to limit human-Atevi contact. According to the treaty the humans are given an island on which to live, the Atevi have the rest of the world, and contact between the two species is channeled through a single human translator/diplomat known as the paidhi. This worked well; for generations humans and Atevi both prospered, and for generations of paidhi the job consisted of attending meetings and writing dictionaries. Foreigner tells the story of Bren Cameron, a young paidhi whose plans for a quiet life of linguistics and tedious but routine bureaucracy must be exchanged for intrigue, politics, and outright violence—and he doesn’t even know why. Cherryh’s narration alternates between Bren’s awkward interactions with his Atevi hosts, which increasingly involve attempted assassinations, espionage, and uncertain alliances, and his internal monologues as he tries to make sense of his increasingly incomprehensible situation. Suddenly, things are changing very rapidly. Bren is the only human with a chance of comprehending what the changes mean to the Atevi. Is Bren the world’s only hope at keeping peace?

Foreigner is the first novel in a long series (nineteen novels have been published so far) and is perfect for folks that like long character arcs, anthropological sci-fi, deliberate pacing, and complex relationships.