Staff Picks of 2020
See what the Cedar Rapids Public Library staff was reading and watching in 2020.
I’m Not Really A Waitress: How One Woman Took Over the Beauty Industry One Color At a Time
If you’re a manicure aficionado, you’ve probably heard of a nail polish company called OPI. (In fact, you’re probably wearing one of their colors right now.) Lincoln Park After Dark and Let Me Bayou a Drink are just two of the whimsically-named polishes this company has produced over the years. If you know OPI, then it’s time… View more
Staff Picks of 2018
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
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
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
The Book of New Family Traditions
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
The Happiness of Pursuit
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
In the Company of Women by Grace Bonney
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
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
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 Forth
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
Dowager Countess Approved
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