Staff Picks- For the Love of Pumpkins

For the Love of Pumpkins by Sarah Marie Talley

This time I picked another Halloween inspiration book to get me ready for my favorite holiday. 🙂 This one caught my attention from the shelves because of the adorably carved pumpkins on the front, and because really who doesn’t love pumpkins at Halloween? The subtitle for this book is “A Visual Guide to Fall Decorating with Pumpkins and Ornamentals”. If you’re looking for exhaustive descriptions of how to recreate the ideas in the book, this isn’t the one for you. There are simple descriptions for each project, but the main focus of this book really is the pictures. (Thus the Visual Guide part, I guess.) And boy, the pictures really are worth it. There are some really adorable displays, and some very elegant ones, and some things I have never seen before and certainly couldn’t have brainstormed on my own! One of the prettiest and most unique ideas I saw in the book was probably the three-tiered pumpkin fountain. They accented the fountain with fresh bittersweet branches and the result was a lush, beautiful, harvest fountain.

As far as the text goes, there seems to be just enough to get you through the projects, but for those of us that sometimes need a little more of the step-by-step instructions, certain steps may leave us stumbling. There are recipes for the Thanksgiving portion of the book that are standard step-by-step fare though, and there is a very informative appendix in the back of the book that details all the different types of pumpkins and gourds found throughout the book. There’s also a lovely (but short) section at the beginning about the pumpkin process – from how the pumpkins are grown and harvested to how to select and care for your pumpkin. I really enjoy the layout of the book – there are often mosaics of pictures on each page, the photos themselves are all well-composed and eye-catching, and where there are blocks of text they fit in instead of breaking the flow of pictures.

All in all I would recommend this book to people looking for Halloween and other fall design ideas who are more visually inspired. If you are a more concrete builder, painstakingly following each direction to create your desired outcome, this is probably not the book for you. But even then, it’s certainly worth a look for the information on pumpkins and the gorgeous pictures!

Recommended by: Ashley at Main
Check this book’s availability in our catalog!

Staff Picks – Halloween with Matthew Mead

Halloween with Matthew Mead

With a change of pace this week, I will be reviewing a non-fiction title! Just in time for our next upcoming holiday, I want to talk to you about “Halloween with Matthew Mead.” This is a new book that was ordered recently by our Sophia branch, and I have to say, it was a great purchase! On the cover of the book we’re promised some “style made shockingly simple”. I didn’t exactly believe that claim, since in my experience of checking out many many Halloween idea books (it’s one of my favorite holidays!) usually the suggestions provided require such skill and so much time that all I can do is look at the pictures and dream. You can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when I realized most of the ideas in this book were actually projects I could do!
From the whimsical (ideas for a “forest fete” complete with mushrooms and little mice) to the elegant (a “white magic” party with white-on-white décor and treats) to the down-right cute (a “pirate’s booty” party for kids), this book really has ideas for just about everyone. I have to say, my favorites have to be either the green “martian eye cookies” or maybe the adorable (and totally simple!) “pantry pals”.. staring carrots with black-eyed peas as eyes! I am definitely copying a few recipes and ideas from this book, and anyone else who likes to put on a party for Halloween should give it a look too!

Check this book’s availability in our catalog!

Staff Picks – Edgar Allan Poe

This week is Poe week at RCPL! We have a lot going on to celebrate. (Read more about it here! In honor of Poe this week, We took a poll of some of the employees at the main library to see what their favorite Poe works were. These are the results:
The Raven – 4 votes
The Tell-Tale Heart – 4 votes
Annabel Lee – 3 votes
Mask of the Red Death – 2 votes
For Annie – 1 vote
City in the Sea – 1 vote

This is obviously a very small sample of all of the many works written by Edgar Allan Poe in his lifetime. He wrote over a hundred literary works before his death in 1849. Many of them focus on the macabre, but he also wrote essays and beautiful, lyrical poetry. Most if not all of his works have also entered the public domain, and can be found on sites such as Project Gutenberg. Download one of his stories from there, or get a book from the library, and give him a try! He sets just the right tone to get you ready for October and Halloween.

Find lots of Poe books in our catalog!