As we wrap up another wonderful year at the Cedar Rapids Public Library, we would like to express our gratitude to our patrons, our volunteers, our community partners, and our donors for their endless support. You have walked with us on our mission to serve as a beacon of literacy to those in our community… View more
Since my daughter was a very little girl we’ve read books together. In the early days this was easily accomplished. Bedtime stories and cuddling on the couch with picture books brought smiles all around. As she has gotten older this has become more of a challenge. We compete with schoolwork, screen time, and activities of… View more
As a parent with a physical disability, I have always known there would be activities I could not do with my children. Anything that requires running, jumping, hopping, or kneeling and I’m left on the sidelines. This has only made me try harder to find things I can do with my family and make… View more
I think it is common for us, as human beings, to search for purpose and meaning in our time on earth. Psychologist Erik Erikson reminds us that, in the final stage of life, our task is to look back on our journey and contemplate our achievements. Those who see their lives as unproductive experience despair…. View more
The only way for a woman, as for a man, to find herself, to know herself as a person, is by creative work of her own. There is no other way. ― Betty Friedan Each year on March 8th we gather to celebrate International Women’s Day. Through rallies, performances, networking events and more, we recognize… View more
I went through a reading slump in the second half of 2016. Blame it on the siren song of social media. Blame it on the election. I couldn’t sit down and finish a book to save my life. I found other things to occupy my time. I cooked a lot. I started learning Polish. (Check… View more
Essay = noun: /ˈesā/ A short piece of writing on a particular subject. The question: Can a literary form that that caused so much anxiety in my high school years find redemption in my dotage? Oh, the exercise in misery that was the high school essay. Did students really enjoy writing them? Did teachers really… View more
The sixth and final season of award-winning costume drama, Downton Abbey, has come and gone. For those of us following the adventures of the Crawley family, Sunday nights have become a bit of a lonely affair. Cast adrift and clutching our teacups, we must now sit back and wait for writer Julian Fellowes to pen… View more
Today I have visions of tea, scones and arsenic dancing in my head. While scouring the stacks at the Cedar Rapids Public Library, I discovered that we have an incredible selection of Agatha Christie novels. For a mystery lover, this is a treasure indeed. Dame Agatha Christie, the doyenne of the proper English murder mystery,… View more
The Immortal Nicholas is a novel by television host and political commentator Glenn Beck. It is a fable that aims at retelling the Santa Claus story in a way that guides people away from the commercial Kris Kringle and toward the spirituality and altruism of the man, Saint Nicholas. The main character is a simple… View more
