Sink Your Teeth Into These Short Horror Stories
“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” - Charles Addams Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. Even now the amount…
Staying Spooky with S.E. Schlosser
As we enter into August, something strange starts happening in my head. Namely, I start thinking about Halloween. And yes, I know, it's really early for that sort of thing,…
Andrew Lang’s Rainbow Fairy Books
There is nothing quite like settling in with a great collection of fairy tales. My colleague, Jessica, has written at length about the topic, and today, I'd like to throw…
Up Your Game with These RPG Guides!
The first time I played Dungeons and Dragons (DnD), it was less than exciting. A couple of the guys in my dorm had just started a game in one of…
How to Have a Happy Art Aesthetic
I don't really consider myself "fashionable," but, I love books that showcase a fun, colorful aesthetic, with bright, quirky accessories, chunky jewelry, beads and baubles and funny little vases made…
Inventors and Inventions That Changed the World
Without inventors, the modern conveniences we take for granted would not be possible. Cars, airplanes, and the computers we read this blog on simply would not exist. Not just these…
STEAM Up Your Kitchen!
Science, technology, engineering, arts, and math - together, they make STEAM. And they also are important skills that you use in cooking. As a kid, I found science and math…
July Author Talks!
Every month, you can check out awesome author talks at your library! Thanks to our partnership with the Library Speaker's Consortium, readers of all ages can attend live webinars with…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 6/11/25 Meeting
"Regeneration: Ending the climate crisis in one generation" is, as we found out in our meeting of the Environmentalism Book Club last month (this blog is very late - apologies!),…
Cat’s Picks! Pride Month!
June is "Pride Month"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of the history of folks in the LGBTQ+ community, their positive and lasting contributions to society, and acceptance of…
Awesome Anime Movies
Sometimes, you want to chill with some excellent anime, but you don't want to go through the trouble of watching an entire series. So, what do you do? Why not…
Cat’s Picks! Fan Convention Retrospective
Sunday afternoon, about 2PM. I enter the Doubletree Hotel in Westlake, people entering the building wearing big eye-catching costumes, and leaving with big brown bags heavy with loot. With a…
Take a Bite of These Gourmet Manga
I'm not sure how its possible, but manga always manages to make food look delicious. Sometimes, it's obvious--cakes and other pastries are fun to draw and delightful to look at,…
On Rereading, or Books that I Will Never Stop Reading
I still remember the day my friend told me she doesn't reread books. It's been over a decade since that conversation, but I still can't get over it. I'm a…
Old black sewing machine on white background
Let’s Get Sewing at Westlake Library!
Since this year's National Library Week Theme is "Drawn to the Library," I would like to draw your attention to one of the creative services our Makerspace offers at WPPL…
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…
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…
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: 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…
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.…