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It's been an unconventional [see: literary term-- understatement] few months. May is always Mental Health Month, but due to the stresses and uncertainties a lot of us are facing, it seems particularly important this year. There are lots of ways to attend to your own mental health needs and for many, meditation and yoga or other mindfulness practices may be beneficial. Check out some of the free (or temporarily free) apps that you can use to practice these skills. Note: Some of these apps offer

From the author who taught us that writing and life was best accomplished "bird by bird", or one slow mindful step at a time, comes her message of finding hope in the midst of chaos. Published in 2018, readers today in pandemic spring will recognize themselves in the first sentence: "I am stockpiling antibiotics for the apocalypse, even as I await the blossoming of paperwhites on the windowsill in the kitchen." Title: Almost Everything: Notes on Hope Author: Anne Lamott Genre: Self-help book

Title: Record of a Spaceborn Few Author: Becky Chambers Genre: Science Fiction Read Great Things Challenge 2020 Categories: A book that is part of a series, a book suggested by a Â鶹ӰÊÓ librarian. Description: Hundreds of years ago, the last humans on Earth boarded the Exodus Fleet in search of a new home among the stars. After centuries spent wandering empty space, their descendants were eventually accepted by the well-established species that govern the Milky Way. But that was long ago

Title: The Way to Rainy Mountain Author: N. Scott Momaday Genres: memoir, biography, folklore Read Great Things Challenge 2020 category: A book about the great outdoors (sort of). This book was read by Stephen Brooks, Main Campus Reference Librarian. Why did you read this book? It was assigned book club reading. N. Scott Momaday is the descendant of Kiowas, a Native American tribe indigenous to the Great Plains of what is now the United States. This book is many things, including a biography of

This week we'll be showcasing some book reviews! Want to review something you've read or watched for the library blog? Let us know by filling out the Â鶹ӰÊÓ Book or Media Review form. Being in your late 20s and not knowing what you want to do is hard, so of course when your friend from your brief foray into boarding school asks you to come take care of her step-children who catch fire when upset or scared, you say yes. Right? Sure. You weren't doing anything anyway. Title: Nothing to See

We asked Â鶹ӰÊÓ to share the baking and cooking they've been doing at home, and, well, we're making various quick and slow breads, embracing box mixes, getting a little fancy, and not forgetting to eat our vegetables. Click through for food pics and recipes (for most). Links to recipes are in picture captions. We've been making some bread: "sourdough" (not really successful yet), soda bread, and sandwich white bread. Creating some fancier breads, too: Parmesan and cheese herb bread, hot

This week's What We're Reading post is a little different because this book is a cookbook! I've included a couple of pictures of the food I've made. My amateur food photography skills are on full display. Title: Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World's Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes Author: Joe Yonan Description: Joe Yonan, food editor of the Washington Post,provides a master base recipe for cooking any sort of bean in any sort of appliance—Instant Pot

There are a lot of reasons why people are cooking and baking more right now, including restaurant closures and the fact that many of us are at home more. Check out some of our digital cookbooks through the Home Grown eBook collection and how to access (and help) our own Â鶹ӰÊÓ Food Pantry. We have many academic ebooks in our overall collections, but we also have some fiction and nonfiction through the NC LIVE Home Grown eBooks, including a Food and Wine collection. Here are a few of my

It's Friday, y'all! We made it to the end of another week doing the social distance disco. This week is National Library Week, too. The theme for this year's National Library Week was originally "Find Your Place at the Library." However, it was chosen before COVID-19 forced everyone out of physical library spaces. Due to current circumstances, the theme was reassessed and became "Find the Library at Your Place." (Note the stay-at-home worker in the lighthouse using those sweet library databases

Emotionally intuitive PIs help an overworked small town investigate the sudden disappearance of two young girls from a parking lot. Fast-paced plot with unexpected twists and turns. This book was read by Meredith Lewis, the [mostly] Orange County Campus Librarian. Title: Two Girls Down Author: Louisa Luna Genre: Mystery, Thriller, PI Crime Novel #ReadGreatThings2020 Category: A book that is part of a series [ The Janes-- the second book in the Alex Vega series--is also available at the Orange