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Post by Kristin S.
Books that recently premiered on the New York Times Bestseller List:
New Fiction
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The Fallen by David Baldacci
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Amos Decker, known as the Memory Man, puts his talents toward solving a string of murders in a Rust Belt town.
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After Anna by Lisa Scottoline
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
A woman marries a widower and reunites with her teenage daughter who is murdered soon after, and the husband is put on trial for it.
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Noir by Christopher Moore
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
In the summer of 1947, a woman and an Air Force general attract the attention of a San Francisco bartender while a suspicious flying object is spotted near the coast.
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Circe by Madeline Miller
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
Zeus banishes Helios' daughter to an island, where she must choose between living with gods or mortals.
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I've Got My Eyes on You by Mary Higgins Clark
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
A high school guidance counselor tries to uncover the identity of her sister’s murderer.
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The Overstory by Richard Powers
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
Nine people drawn to trees for different reasons fight for the last of the remaining acres of virgin forest.
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The Thief by J. R. Ward
Borrow: [Print] [eAudiobook]
The 16th book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Sola Morte falls for a man who sells weapons to a group of vampire warriors.
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Shoot First by Stuart Woods
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook]
Stone Barrington searches for the person who plotted to kill the woman behind a cutting-edge software startup.
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Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
Ten years after her daughter disappears, a woman tries to get her life in order but remains haunted by unanswered questions.
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The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The relationship between a college freshman and a famous feminist reveals the challenges of intergenerational feminism.
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The Sixth Day by Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook]
The fifth book in the A Brit in the F.B.I. series. After the German vice chancellor dies, special agents investigate one of Dracula’s descendants.
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Red Alert by James Patterson and Marshall Karp
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The fifth book in the NYPD Red series. Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald investigate the death of a documentary filmmaker and an explosion at a charity benefit.
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The Disappeared by C. J. Box
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook]
A Wyoming game warden teams up with his daughter to find a missing British businesswoman.
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Varina by Charles Frazier
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
As the Confederacy and her marriage to Jefferson Davis fall apart, a woman flees Richmond with her children.
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Macbeth by Jo Nesbo
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
In this adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, police in a 1970s industrial town take on a pair of drug lords.
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Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman
Borrow: [Print]
Tribal police officers search the Navajo Nation for a missing instructor and investigate a troubled girl’s story of finding human remains.
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To Die but Once by Jacqueline Winspear
Borrow: [Print] [eAudiobook]
In 1940, months after Britain declared war on Germany, Maisie Dobbs investigates the disappearance of an apprentice working on a government contract.
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The Cutting Edge by Jeffery Deaver
Borrow: [Normal Print] [Large Print]
Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs track a killer who targets engaged couples.
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New Nonfiction
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A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The former F.B.I. director recounts cases and personal events that shaped his outlook on justice, and analyzes the leadership styles of three presidents.
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Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright
Borrow: [eAudiobook]
The former secretary of state examines the legacy of fascism in the 20th century and its potential revival.
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Factfulness by Hans Rosling
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
A look at our biases and the argument for why the world is in a better state than we might think.
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Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
A look at aging, the ways people try to control the inevitable and strategies for accepting mortality.
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God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
An exploration of the history, politics and economics of the Lone Star State.
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This is Me by Chrissy Metz
Borrow: [Print] [eAudiobook]
A star of “This Is Us” describes her journey toward self- acceptance.
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Dear Madam President by Jennifer Palmieri
Borrow: [Print] [eAudiobook]
The director of communications for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Obama White House prescribes a new model of leadership.
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Make Trouble by Cecile Richards
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
A memoir by the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and former labor organizer.
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Killing the Deep State by Jerome R. Corsi
Borrow: [Print]
The conservative commentator describes a secret conspiracy to undermine the Trump presidency. From the author of "The Obama Nation."
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Our 50-State Border Crisis by Howard Buffett
Borrow: [Print]
An Illinois sheriff describes the close connection he sees between national security and the opioid crisis.
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Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
Borrow: [Print] [eBook]
A deeper look at the personal and professional triumphs and disasters of the champion golfer.
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Faith by Jimmy Carter
Borrow: [Print] [eBook] [eAudiobook]
The former president discusses the broader meaning of faith and its effect on our lives, including its religious aspects.
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Unified by Tim Scott and Trey Gowdy
Borrow: [Print]
Two Republican lawmakers from South Carolina use their relationship as a model for overcoming differences.
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Pretty Mess by Erika Jayne
Borrow: [Print]
A memoir by a star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."
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DVDs - New Arrivals:
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The Greatest Showman
Borrow: [DVD]
Hugh Jackman stars in this bold and original musical - inspired by the ambition and imagination of P.T. Barnum - celebrating the birth of show business and dreams coming to life.
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Sweet Virginia
Borrow: [DVD]
The Walking Dead's Jon Bernthal stars in this neo-noir crime thriller where hitman and troubled small-town motel owner collide in an unsettling tale of sex and violence.
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All the Money in the World
Borrow: [DVD]
After the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, in a race against time, his mother works to convince his wealthy grandfather to pay the ransom. Inspired by historical events. Certain scenes, characters and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
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Father Figures
Borrow: [DVD]
Upon learning that their mother has been lying to them for years about their allegedly deceased father, two fraternal twin brothers hit the road in order to find him.
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Beast of Burden
Borrow: [DVD]
Pilot Sean Haggerty (Daniel Radcliffe) must deliver cocaine across the US-Mexico border for his final run as a smuggler to save his wife
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Molly's Game
Borrow: [DVD]
The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.
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The Phantom Thread
Borrow: [DVD]
Set in 1950s London, a renowned designer and dressmaker finds his fastidiously planned life disrupted by the love of a young, strong-willed woman.
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DVDs - Coming Soon:
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Black Panther
Borrow: [DVD]*
When young King T'Challa is drawn into conflict with an old foe that puts his homeland Wakanda and the entire world at risk, he must release Black Panther's full power to save them.
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The Last Movie Star
Borrow: [DVD]*
Burt Reynolds stars as an aging screen icon who gets lured into accepting an award at a rinky-dink film festival in Nashville, launching him on both a hilarious fish-out-of-water adventure and an unexpectedly poignant journey into his past.
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The Strange Ones
Borrow: [DVD]*
Mysterious events surround two travelers as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to a dark and complex web of secrets.
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Thoroughbreds
Borrow: [DVD]*
Two upper-class teenage girls rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. They hatch a plan to solve both of their problems -- no matter what the cost.
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The Little Hours
Borrow: [DVD]*
Italy, 1347: Bored, volatile nuns Alessandra (Alison Brie), Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza), and Ginevra (Kate Micucci) live in a monastery under the watchful eye of Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly). The arrival of a handsome new groundskeeper (Dave Franco) - introduced to the sisters as a deaf mute to discourage temptation - soon leads to a frenzy of hormones, substance abuse, and wicked revelry.
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I Kill Giants
Borrow: [DVD]*
Barbara is the only thing that stands between terrible giants and the destruction of her small town. But as she boldly confronts her fears in increasingly dangerous ways, she begins to question everything shes always believed to be true.
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Mary and the Witch's Flower
Borrow: [DVD]*
From the director of When Marnie Was There, comes a dazzling new adventure about a young girl who discovers a flower that grants her magical powers - but only for one night.
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Peter Rabbit
Borrow: [DVD]*
Peter Rabbit and family wreak havoc in hopes to win back the Manor House of Old McGregor and the affections of their neighbor, Bea.
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Please Stand By
Borrow: [DVD]*
Wendy is an independent and brilliant young woman with autism. To submit her script on-time for a Star Trek screenplay competition she sneaks out of her group home and travels hundreds of miles not letting anything stop her from achieving her goals.
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Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
Borrow: [DVD]*
Based on Peter Turner's memoir, tells the story of the actor's passionate relationship with aging Gloria Grahame, who finds support in her younger lover when she is diagnosed with breast cancer.
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In the Fade
Borrow: [DVD]*
Golden Globe® Winner for best foreign language film. Katja's family is killed in a terrorist attack and her life falls apart. The killers are set free and Katja can do nothing else but seek justice.
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The Insult
Borrow: [DVD]*
In today's Beirut, an insult blown out of proportion finds Toni, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee, in court.
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Red Sparrow
Borrow: [DVD]*
Jennifer Lawrence is Dominika, a former ballerina forced to join Sparrow School, a secret government program that transforms her into an agent who can manipulate, seduce and kill.
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Braven
Borrow: [DVD]*
Jason Momoa stars in this intense action-thriller about a logger fighting for survival against drug traffickers who have stashed heroin in his hunting cabin.
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Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds
Borrow: [DVD]*
In the wake of his heroic death, a firefighter experiences the afterlife with the help of three guides.
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7 Guardians of the Tomb
Borrow: [DVD]*
7 Guardians of the Tomb follows a team of scientists in search of a colleague that disappeared in an ancient cave. To save him, the group must battle a swarm of deadly man-eating spiders and discover the elixir - before it's too late.
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Fifty Shades Freed
Borrow: [DVD]*
Newlyweds Christian and Ana embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. However, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.
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Winchester
Borrow: [DVD]*
Believing her house is haunted, firearms heiress Sarah Winchester decides to keep building onto her home in order to appease the spirits of people killed by the Winchester rifle.
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The Post
Borrow: [DVD]*
Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep team for the first time in this exhilarating true story about how the Washington Post exposed a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades.
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Paddington 2
Borrow: [DVD]*
Paddington, now happily settled with the Brown family, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt's 100th birthday. Hilarity ensues when the gift is stolen.
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12 Strong
Borrow: [DVD]*
Weeks after 9/11, U.S. Special Forces go to Afghanistan ordered to take the city of Mazar Sharif. To survive, the U.S. must adopt the rudimentary tactics of the Afghan horse soldiers
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Hostiles
Borrow: [DVD]*
In 1892, a legendary Army captain reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory.
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Forever My Girl
Borrow: [DVD]*
A country music super-star returns to his hometown after leaving his love behind 8 years ago.
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The Commuter
Borrow: [DVD]*
Liam Neeson stars as a man who gets caught up in a criminal conspiracy during his daily commute home and works against the clock to stop a deadly attack to save the lives of his fellow train passengers.
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Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Borrow: [DVD]*
In the epic Maze Runner conclusion, Thomas leads the Gladers on their final mission - they must break into the legendary Last City, which turns out to be the deadliest maze of all!
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Proud Mary
Borrow: [DVD]*
Mary is a hit woman working for an organized crime family, whose life is turned around when she meets a boy during a professional hit.
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Den of Thieves
Borrow: [DVD]*
A gritty Los Angeles crime saga which follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles.
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*Caution: Once DVDs are released, the links above may stop working.
Sources: The New York Times, Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon, Goodreads, EarlyWord, Novelist, DVDs Release Date
Post by Justine C
When you think of great animal literature, you probably think of Old Yeller and Where
the Red Fern Grows. It’s very likely you’ve also heard of Marley & Me and A Dog’s Purpose,
but there are so many more stories featuring animals (fiction and non) that you may not
have had the pleasure of reading yet.
It’s not just a dog’s world anymore as Americans
are turning to a larger variety of animals for companionship, from tropical fish to owls!
I’ve devised a list of a few lesser known titles featuring animals that might pique your
interest. I’m hoping that you’ll be so eager to check them out, you’ll run straight to your
closest branch of the Aurora Public Library!
It was the title of this book that caught my eye, as the only book I’ve ever read
featuring an owl was Hoot back in the fifth grade. Owls are beautiful and
mysterious creatures that we rarely interact with due to their nocturnal nature
and tendency not to live in areas highly populated by people. It’s even rarer to
encounter a book like this about them, especially as pets or companion animals.
Biologist Stacey O’Brien recounts in this semi-autobiographical tale her
two-decade adventure with a barn owl named Wesley, whom she rescued when
he was a newborn injured owlet. While I don’t recommend you go out and try to
adopt an owl (as I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to own owls in Aurora!), you can have
the next best thing by reading this touching story of an owl and his human.
Another book featuring a beloved bird, Alex & Me tells the story of an African Gray
parrot and the special bond he shares with psychologist Irene Pepperberg. If you’ve
heard of the famous African Gray parrot Einstein, you know how intelligent and fun
this particular breed of bird can be and will love reading about Alex and Irene’s
shenanigans as they proved that some animals have the ability to communicate and
understand complex ideas.
Cats are one of the most popular pets in the United States. Due to their small stature
and independent nature, cat owners tend to own multiple cats in the household which is
why statistically they are more popular than dogs, with 88.3 million cats as pets versus
74.8 million dogs. Whether you’re a dog lover or a cat lover, it goes without saying that
there aren’t enough books out there featuring felines, which is why the next title on our
list is A Street Cat Named Bob​. London-based author James Bowen writes about his
special bond with a stray cat he saves off the street--and how Bob in turn saved him. In
the UK alone this book has sold over 1 million copies and has even been turned into a
feature-length film, which we also have for you to check out here at the library! And
wouldn’t you like to know the real Bob played himself in the movie?Talk about a smart
cat!
If you have a child or young adult in your life who would love to read about Bob but
without the more graphic backstory involving the author’s difficult life, you can check
out My Name is Bob, which tells the story from Bob’s perspective in this beautifully
illustrated book for children!
Yes, this one is about a dog. But I would be remiss to exclude all literature featuring
pooches. They’re popular and beloved for a reason, and it can be even harder to find
books about them when you’re trying to find something new to read because of how
many classics are out there. This 2016 book, unlike the others on our list, is suitable for
younger ages, isn’t based on a true story, and features a female companion animal for a
change. It isn’t your typical “a dog and his boy” tale either, although it is about a dog
and her boy. The catch is, Maxi is deaf. Timminy is determined to help his special needs
dog, but as dogs often do, Maxi ends up helping him navigate the difficulties of fifth
grade and learn that life isn’t all that bad.
Unlikely Friendships is a bit different from the others on our list as it doesn’t feature just
one animal and its bond with a human, but rather several animals and their bonds with
other species. This in-depth look into interspecies animal friendship is sure to tug at the
heartstrings and features beautiful full color candid photographs of the odd pairs. From
cats and dogs to calves and leopards, all the notable odd couples of the animal kingdom
are explored expertly by National Geographic writer Jennifer S. Holland.
Post by Chris G.
The history of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is fairly interesting. The award itself is named after the international association of writers, PEN (which is an acronym for "Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Editors, and Novelists), and the prolific American author William Faulkner.
Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949 "for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." In 1960, he used his prize money to establish the William Faulkner Foundation, a charitable organization intended to support young writers. Among other things, the Faulkner Foundation gave out an annual literary prize called the William Faulkner Foundation Award, the winners of which include names like John Knowles, Thomas Pynchon, Cormac McCarthy, and Robert Coover. After 10 years, the Faulkner Foundation was dissolved in 1970. The PEN/Faulkner Award was named to honor Faulkner's philanthropy, as well as to continue in the Faulkner Foundation Award's tradition of recognizing works of literary excellence.
The PEN/Faulkner Award was founded in 1980 by Mary Lee Settle, who herself had won the National Book Award in 1978 for her novel "Blood Tie". This resulted from some controversy surrounding the 1979 National Book Award winner, "Going After Cacciato" by Tim O'Brien. Many in the publishing industry believed that year's award should have gone to John Irving for "The World According to Garp", which led to a rift among the panel of judges and ultimately changes to the rules of how the National Book Awards were judged. In protest of these rule changes, PEN voted to boycott the awards, citing them as "too commercial." The following year, the PEN/Faulkner Award was established. Settle's vision was that the "awards would be judged by writers, not by industry insiders, and no favoritism would be granted to bestselling authors."
Now in its 38th year, the PEN/Faulkner Award is among the most prestigious literary honors an author can receive, and continues to fulfill Settle's mission "to create a community of writers, honor excellence in American fiction, and encourage a love of reading."
The 2018 PEN/Faulkner Award winner was announced on Saturday, May 5th. All of this year's nominees, the winner as well as many winners of years past are available to be borrowed from the Aurora Public Library. You can find those titles and the formats in which they are available below.
This Year's Nominees
"In the Distance" by Hernan Diaz
"The Dark Dark" by Samantha Hunt
Also available as an eBook.
"The Tower of the Antilles" by Achy Obejas
"Improvement" by Joan Silber
"Sing, Unburied, Sing" by Jesmyn Ward
Also available as an audiobook, eBook, and eAudiobook.
Past Winners
2017
"Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue
Also available as an eBook.
2016
"Delicious Foods" by James Hannaham
2014
"We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" by Karen Joy Fowler
2012
"The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka
2010
"War Dances" by Sherman Alexie
Available as an eAudiobook through RBDigital.
2009
"Netherland" by Joseph O'Neill
Also available in Large Print and as an audiobook.
2007
"Everyman" by Philip Roth
Also available as an audiobook and eAudiobook.
2006
"The March" by E.L. Doctorow
2005
"War Trash" by Ha Jin
2004
"The Early Stories, 1953-1975" by John Updike
2002
"Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett
Also available as an eBook.
2001
"The Human Stain" by Philip Roth
Also available in Large Print.
2000
"Waiting" by Ha Jin
Also available in Large Print and as an eBook.
1999
"The Hours" by Michael Cunningham
1997
"Women in their Beds" by Gina Berriault
1996
"Independence Day" by Richard Ford
Available as an eAudiobook through RBDigital.
1995
"Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson
Available as an audiobook, eBook, and eAudiobook.
1993
"Postcards" by E. Annie Proulx
And the 2018 winner is...
"Improvement" by Joan Silber
Sources:
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1949
Notes on People; New York Writer Getting PEN/Faulkner Award
Novelist Mary Lee Settle; Founded PEN/Faulkner Award
PEN/Faulkner
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
PEN International
William Faulkner Foundation
Post by Steven K
If you’re intrigued by anything you read below, join us at APL Central on Saturday, May 26th at 3:00pm for a journey into the world of Arrakis, the setting of Frank Herbert’s award-winning science fiction novel, Dune.
2018 has been an interesting year for me. So far, I’ve witnessed a half-orphaned teenager dismantle a planetary trade empire and start a holy war. I helped another teenager free the solar system from a brutal socially-stratified imperial regime. When I finished that, I traversed a glacier on an icy alien planet with an exiled politician who could change his (her? their?) biological sex. And when I got bored, I watched in awe as two star-crossed lovers stole a magic gem from an evil god. Oh, and I’ve spent 20 hours a week working at Aurora Public Library, which is often just as exciting.
I’ve obviously only done one of those things since the start of the year. (Mars is beautiful in February, by the way.) Still, I have experienced all of those adventures secondhand from the comfort of my own couch. Truly, books are gateways to other worlds. If  you read, you can live thousands of different lives in a single lifetime. You can live vicariously through other characters’ lives—you know, get a feel for what it’s like to rule a fledgling empire or brush shoulders with your fellow wizards at a school of magic. You can travel on the cheap to exotic locales, to the past and the future, to universes with different natural laws and wildly different living things. Reading grants you all these freedoms and more, all for the cost of a few hours (or days) of your time and a few bucks (or for free, if you use the library!).
Yes, books are marvelous gateways, but even novice readers will tell you that some of these gateways are better than others.
Say what you want about genre, or historicity, or style or form—I won’t argue with you there. Personally, I prefer science fiction and fantasy, but wonders can be found throughout the literary landscape. Regardless of category, the best books are those that feel real and ring true. There are many ways to accomplish these goals, but I’m particularly fond of one strategy: worldbuilding.
All writers worldbuild, whether they’re writing something realistic or fantastic, modern or historical, mysterious or romantic. Simply put, worldbuilding is what writers do to give their settings depth, richness, and complexity. The goal: to make you, the reader, feel like you could climb inside those worlds and really live there, instead of feeling like they’re cheap amusement park rides or half-hearted high school productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s an exercise in immersion, an effort to make you momentarily forget about the real world and transport your mind elsewhere.
So, how exactly does a writer achieve this effect? I would argue that effective worldbuilding happens on two distinct levels: the small-scale and the large-scale. On the small-scale, worlds are built from careful, detailed descriptions of places, people, things, and actions. Cumulatively, all of these descriptions conjure up images in our mind’s eye, essentially transmuting black and white pages into rich canvases full of light and color and texture. It’s as close to magic as mere mortals can get. Take, for example, the opening passage to the final book of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy:
In a valley shaded with rhododendrons, close to the snow line, where a stream milky with meltwater splashed and where doves and linnets flew among the immense pines, lay a cave, half-hidden by the crag above and the stiff heavy leaves that clustered below.
 The woods were full of sound: the stream between the rocks, the wind among the needles of the pine branches, the chitter of insects and the cries of small arboreal mammals, as well as the birdsong; and from time to time a stronger gust of wind would make one of the branches of a cedar or a fir move against another and groan like a cello.
It was a place of brilliant sunlight, never undappled. Shafts of lemon-gold brilliance lanced down to the forest floor between bars and pools of brown-green shade; and the light was never still, never constant, because drifting mist would often float among the treetops, filtering all the sunlight to a pearly sheen and brushing every pine cone with moisture that glistened when the mist lifted. Sometimes the wetness in the clouds condensed into tiny drops half mist and half rain, which floated downward rather than fell, making a soft rustling patter among the millions of needles. (The Amber Spyglass, 2000, p. 1)
The passage continues for several more pages, but I don’t want to spoil it for you. What I do want is to draw attention to its vivid imagery, both visual and aural. It’s absolutely arresting. Every time I read it I feel like I’m in that forested valley, a valley that’s alive and breathing, and it almost aches when I’m snapped back into the reality of the concrete jungle, which somehow seems dead in comparison despite its endless racket. Pullman is a gifted small-scale worldbuilder; you’ll find passages like this throughout his work.
Large-scale worldbuilding is harder to define—so I’ll let another master of the craft explain it for me. In his landmark essay “On Fairy-Stories,” J. R. R. Tolkien—creator of our beloved Middle-earth—puts it like this:
What really happens is that the story-maker proves a successful “sub-creator.” He makes a Secondary World which your mind
 can enter. Inside it, what he relates is “true”: it accords with the laws of that world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside. (p. 351)
For Tolkien, large-scale worldbuilding is an act of “sub-creation.” Though he’d never have put it this way (on account of his staunch Roman Catholic beliefs), it’s as if the “story-maker” is the god of its own little universe—and as such, it must ensure that universe is whole and balanced, that everything in it “accords with the laws of that world.” In this regard, writers working with realistic fiction have a pretty good template to work with, so long as they’re keen observers of society and the natural world. But for writers of speculative fiction—especially science fiction and fantasy—this is where the fun begins.
Imagine that you are the sub-creator god of your own secondary world. Think of the power and freedom! You’re not bound by the limitations of our universe, though your world still needs that Tolkienian “inner consistency of reality.” What would you create? What novelties or magics or technologies would you introduce into your world? What environments would you construct, what beings would you populate them with, and by what processes would you have them interact? What do your world’s inhabitants eat,  where do they live, what do they value, what do they fear? Where have they been, historically, and what’s just over the horizon? In the end, the accomplished worldbuilder needs to be part scientist, part historian, part engineer, and part anthropologist, just to name a few other roles aside from “writer.” I know it’s a lot—but it’s not easy playing god.
Maybe you’d worldbuild like Tolkien: set your story in an environment similar to continental Europe, with a few notable exceptions (*cough* Mordor); design separate species/races of sentient life with different lifestyles and mortalities—elves, dwarves, humans, hobbits, ents, orcs, etc.; incorporate a mysterious “soft” system of magic available only to certain powerful beings; make the primary source of conflict a perpetual struggle between the forces of good and evil, where the good seeks harmony, freedom, and beauty and the evil seeks control, domination, and destruction; and so on.
Or maybe that’s too old school for your taste and you want to go the way of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising saga: set your world in a future version of our very own solar system, in which humans have colonized the planets and their moons with advanced technology; make your society rigidly hierarchical—where some people are born to rule, some to pilot starships, some to entertain, and others to toil endlessly to support everyone else—and reinforce that hierarchy with genetic engineering; sow the seeds of rebellion and interplanetary war by having your ruling class brutally enforce their Romanesque social order, whether by ordering executions for petty offenses or reducing entire moons to ash for perceived acts of treason.
Maybe you just want to make some maps or draw landscapes from a world that’s been plaguing your dreams.
Whatever it may be, if anything about worldbuilding interests you, join us for Worldbuilders! Our next meeting will be on Saturday, May 26th at 3:00pm in the small community room at APL Central. You can register hereto guarantee a spot. We’ll be talking about Frank Herbert’s legendary science fiction novel, Dune, but feel free to bring some of your original work to share, too.
I hope to see you there!
References:
Pullman, Philip. The Amber Spyglass. New York: Yearling, 2000.
Tolkien, J. R. R. “On Fairy-Stories.” Tales from the Perilous Realm. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. 315-400.
Post by Zach S.
With opening day over and the warm days of spring setting in, it’s time to get ready for a season filled with all things baseball! Whether you’re a lifetime fan who can name batting averages from memory or simply enjoy the foot long hot dogs at a game, we can all enjoy these fun baseball crafts, recipes and movies together.
We’ll start things off with my personal favorite – a baseball piñata! While it is a little more involved, it will certainly be the hit of your party. This craft comes from Easy Crafts For Kids.
Materials:
• Bowl
• Water
• Newspaper
• White Paint
• Red Marker
• Balloon
• Pin
• Glue
• Scissors
• Candy (wrapped)
Step 1:
Blow up a balloon. Make it about the size of a softball.
Cut out strips of newspaper. You want these strips to be about an inch width and a few inches long.
Mix your paper mache mixture - 3/4 glue 1/4 water.
Step 2:
Dip a piece of newspaper in the glue mixture, coating it completely. Take off the excess with your fingers.
Cover your balloon in moistened pieces of newspaper.
Make sure to leave a small area around the balloon end. This will allow you to pop the balloon and fill it with candy.
Step 3:
Once the balloon is covered, place it in the sink to dry.
Once it is partially dry add another layer of paper. This time use white paper so it is easier to paint the ball afterwards.
This can take up to 24 hours depending on your region and temperatures.
Step 4:
Once dry fill it with candy and cover the hole up with some white paper (covered in your glue mixture). Allow to dry.
Paint the balloon white. Allow to dry.
Step 5:
Draw on stitching with a red marker. This will be one large oval around the baseball - adding V marks around it.
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I think it’s time for a snack to refuel after that project. How about baseball rice-krispie treats? This recipe comes to us from Domestically Speaking.
1. Make a batch of classic rice krispie treats but instead of putting them in a pan, put them in a cookie sheet with sides. This will make the rice krispie treats thinner for cutting.
2. Let them set up for about 30 minutes before using a round cookie cutter.
3. Melt some white chocolate in a glass pie pan.
4. Dip one side into the white chocolate.
5. Use a spoon to add some more white chocolate to the dipped tops and then smooth them with an off-set spatula.
6. Once they set up (about 30 minutes) use a red gel cake decorating tube to make the baseball stitching.
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Now that we’re refueled and full of sugar, let’s get one more craft in before we’re done. Fingerprint baseballs! This craft comes from Crafty Morning and is a great one for the younger kids.
Materials:
 • White paper
• Red washable paint
• Scissors
• Red Marker
1. Start by drawing a circle onto a piece of paper and having the kids cut it out.
2. Take a red marker and draw two curved lines.
3. Have the kids dip their pointer finger in the red washable paint and make laces on the baseball. Let it dry and you’re done!
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Top your busy day off with a baseball movie night! Check out this list of baseball themed movies from 3 Boys and a Dog. Stop into your Aurora Public Library to check out some of the movies below on DVD.
Hopefully these activities help you get your baseball season off to a great start! For any baseball books, movies, or other resources, stop into your Aurora Public Library branch and chat with us!
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