Times are strange right now. Because of the corona virus, all of a sudden we are practicing Social Distancing- a term that most of us have probably never heard of before. We’ve also kicked up our personal hygiene by three notches, namely by washing our hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Not five… View more
Kanopy is a streaming service you can access from the comfort of your couch. To access simply go to our website (crlibrary.org,) click on the resources and services tab and select Kanopy. From there you’ll have access to thousands of movies and documentaries the New York Times referred to as “a garden of cinematic delights”…. View more
Hoopla is an online resource you can use from the comfort of your couch. To use it, simply go to the Cedar Rapids Public Library website (crlibrary.org), click on Resources and Services and select Hoopla. Once there you’ll be prompted for your library card. Log in as a Cedar Rapids or Marion resident. You’re now… View more
With our community working hard to stay home and healthy, it might be difficult to figure out what to read next! Check out this Childrens Fiction Series List and start a new series for yourself or as a family read aloud. This list includes the series name as well as the first title in the series to… View more
I have just finished the latest Erik Larson book The Splendid and the Vile. It’s about the first year in Winston Churchill’s premiership. That year coincided with the London Blitz where German bombers pelted London and other British cities with bombs for weeks. I really like Larson’s works. He brings history alive and presents things in… View more
Ladies, gentleman, and non binary friends- I have news. Winter is here. We can deny it all we want, but we know it is just around the corner. This time it is not playing by any rules either. I don’t think I have ever before seen fall leaves on top of winter snow. Have you?… View more
I’m trying to be less reliant on my phone for everything. Between work, playing games, and those time sucking social media apps whose purpose I’m always questioning, I am on my phone way too much. I didn’t want to find another use for it, but then two great forces converged and made it well worth… View more
I’m fascinated with epic stories tied to different religions. Although I was familiar with some of principles of Buddhism and knew some details on the story of Gautama Buddha, I didn’t realize how much of the story I was unaware of till I read Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha that is available from the Downtown Library. This… View more
I fell in love with the wonders of Mythology in college. It was the similarities between mythologies that grabbed me at first, like the reoccurring stories of younger gods defeating older gods. But as I delved deeper into it, I became equally fascinated with how different cultures in different landscapes view the world with fascinating originality. There… View more
Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City is April 2-7th at various venues around town. The festival is mixture of literature, music and film. There will be several indie recording artists performing: Mitski – whose album ‘Be the Cowboy’ has gotten great press has sold out the Englert on Friday, April 5th, and Jenny Lewis, on… View more
