Books! I love books — big books. Why not spend some screen-free time during your day reading a big beautiful book?
Not only will your eyes appreciate a break from the screen, casually flipping through the pages is refreshing and fun. Often called coffee table books, these books get borrowed consistently from the library and are constantly catching my eye.
• Storyteller: The Art of Roy Henry Vickers by Roy Henry Vickers: This huge book is a visually appealing collection of works by the renowned Canadian First Nations artist. Vickers’ artwork can be found all around the world and you can bring it into your living room from the library for free.
• Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe: You could spend hours looking at this book. Randall Munroe, creator of the comic xkcd has jammed a ton of visual information onto each page using simplified words and line drawings to help understand incredible things.
• Underwater Puppies by Seth Casteel: Do you like to smile? If you want to cheer up your day, stop by a library and grab a copy. The book is just what the title describes: pictures of puppies underwater. I could tell you more but I am too busy looking at pictures of puppies underwater.
• Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda: Have you heard of the Broadway play Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda? Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and traditional theatre, the production depicts both sides of the American revolution. It has been immensely popular, with shows sold out months in advance. To see the show, you have to enter a lottery or pay hundreds of dollars. This book outlines the path the play took to become a critically acclaimed success.
• Franny’s Simple Seasonal Italian by Andrew Feinberg: It is that time of year again when pumpkin spice lattes appear in every coffee shop and our brain focuses on food. We start our routine of stockpiling carbohydrates in preparation for our annual hibernation. New Year’s resolutions are not even on the mind yet, so you might as well eat up now. Franny’s simple seasonal Italian food luckily has those carbohydrate-heavy foods you crave and lighter dishes if you want to move after eating. Try your hand at making some authentic delicious dishes.
Don’t know what to read? Head to your local library and browse the collection for some big, beautiful books, or ask a staff member for suggestions.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Brandon Monahan works at Terry Fox Library in PoCo.
