Explore History Through Graphic Novels
History doesn't have to be boring. It's full of ordinary people doing extraordinary things during extraordinary times in history. Uncovering these stories can be daunting when facing an enormous book…
Cat + Manga
I can only assume that manga readers love cats. This is for two reasons-- 1.) lots of people love cats, and 2.) there are tons and tons of manga featuring…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 3/12/25 Meeting
This month's meeting of the Environmentalism Book Club covered Will McCollum's book & extremely helpful guide to working towards a plastic-free life, "How to Give Up Plastic". This book is…
Nostalgic Showcase Presents: New Line Cinema
I read all the time when I was a kid, from a young age. Obvious reading materials aside (books, comics, magazines), I read, in complete childhood boredom, the backs of…
Happy 222nd Birthday Ohio!
Ohio officially became a state March 1, 1803 which makes March 1, 2025 Ohio's 222nd birthday! What makes Ohio so great? With a state slogan of "Ohio, The Heart of…
Classics Challenge: Children’s Classics
Hello, everyone and welcome to the next installment of the Classics Challenge! Now, just because these books are labelled as "children's literature", it doesn't mean that they couldn't also be…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 2/12/25 Meeting
The Environmentalism Book Club met again last week on Wednesday, February 12th. We discussed Richard Powers' novel "Playground", the group's first fiction title. Actually, it's our only fiction title currently…
[John Lewis speaking at a meeting of American Society of Newspaper Editors, Statler Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C.]
Read Biographies for Black History Month
February is Black History Month. This month honors the contributions of African Americans to American history - from our Colonial history up to the present. Here at Westlake Porter Public…
Genre Journeys: Memoir
Part of the fun of reading is to learn something new and to meet interesting characters. If you'd like to find a book genre that allows for both, you might…
Classics Challenge: Epistolary Novels
We're on to our next installment of the Classics Challenge and this time we're looking at epistolary novels! For those of you who aren't familiar, epistolary novels are stories told…
Genre Journeys: Gothic Fiction
Huge, creepy houses; dangerous, controlling men; pale women with candelabras; dark secrets....these are all aspects of the gothic novel. If you're looking for an atmospheric blending of horror and mystery,…
Genre Journeys: Portal Fantasy
We all enjoy reading to escape--to find a new world and visit places that we've never been to before. But, what if you actually could go into a new world?…
Nostalgic Showcase Presents: Will Vinton Studios
Long time fans of this series (or my sister-series, Cat's Picks), will know how much I dig underground and obscure media. There was just something in the air in the…
Genre Journeys: Biography
Biography is probably the easiest section to search in any library's nonfiction collection. After all, while the rest of the NF books require a basic knowledge of the Dewey Decimal…
The Legacy of Laird Cregar
This month, The Horror Film Club watched Hangover Square, a film noir about a composer who suffers from frequent blackouts. As the film progresses, he becomes increasingly unstable, making for…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 1/8/2025 Meeting
WPPL's newest book club, focused on Environmentalism, met for the first time on Wednesday, January 8th. We discussed the fantastic book "Kiss the Ground" by Josh Tickell, whose main focus…
Genre Journeys: Fairy Tales
When I was a child, there was nothing I enjoyed quite like reading fairytales. These stories of princesses and peasants and monsters and magic were so delightful to me, and…
Read Your Resolutions
Every year, like many people, I concoct a list of resolutions to make me a better person. These range from trying to be more active to cutting back on screen-time.…
Genre Journeys: Westerns
My grandpa was a huge fan of westerns. And he would often tell me that he's read just about every Western the library could send him. I wish I would…
Classics Challenge: Big Books for the New Year!
Welcome to our first installment of The Classics Challenge, where every month, I'll provide you with a list of classic books that you can check out from the library! Since…
Classics Challenge 2025
If you're looking for a New Year's Resolution, allow me to throw a suggestion into the ring. What if you consider reading the classics? We all "had" to read them…
My Most Anticipated Books of 2025
Yesterday, I posted a list of my favorite books of 2024. Today, I wanted to post a list of the books I'm most looking forward to reading in 2025! There…
My Favorite Reads 2024
I read a lot in a year. And I don't want to oversell it, but I'm talking at least 200-300 books in a wide variety of genres, age-levels, and styles.…
Nostalgic Showcase Presents: Florida’s Failed Interactive Attractions
When I was nine years old, I borrowed nearly all of the Disney How-to-Draw books from my local library up in Michigan, tracing the many characters over and over on…