#ReadGreatThings2018: Fictionalized Accounts of Real People’s Lives

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Meredith Lewis

Need some more suggestions to work your way through the Durham Tech Library’s Read Great Things Challenge? This month, in addition to our previous post about memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies, we’re highlighting fictionalized stories about real people.

Any of these books will count for this category in the challenge, but you are more than welcome to find your own book as well. Many of the books below can be found in our libraries, along with so many more!

a brief history of seven killings by marlon james book cover

Jamaican Shower Posse (Available through ILL)

abraham lincoln vampire hunter seth grahame-smith book cover

Abraham Lincoln (Available at Main Campus, PS 3607 .R348 A64 2010)

Grace Marks, murderess (perhaps) (Available at Main Campus and OCC, PR 9199.3 .A8 A79 1997)

Charles Dickens (Available through ILL)

fever a novel of typhoid mary by mary beth keane book cover

“Typhoid” Mary Mallon (Available at Main Campus, PS 3611 .E165 F48 2014)

girl with a pearl earring by tracy chevalier book cover

Johannes Vermeer (Available through ILL)

Roman Emperor Claudius (Available at Main Campus, PR 6013 .R35 I2 1961)

Abraham and Willie Lincoln (Available soon at the Durham Tech Main Campus and OCC Libraries)

see what i have done by sarah schmidt book cover

LIzzie Borden (Available at Main Campus, PR 9619.4 .S34 S44 2017)

swans of fifth avenue by melanie benjamin book cover

Truman Capote, Babe Paley, and other New York socialites (Available through ILL)

the good lord bird by james mcbride book covers

Abolitionist John Brown (Available at Main Campus, Special Collections shelf, PS 3613 .C28 G66 2013)

the watch that ends the night voices from the titanic by allan wolf book covers

Titanic passengers (Available at Main Campus, PZ 7.5 .W64 Wat 2011)

wolf hall and bring up the bodies by hilary mantel book covers

Thomas Cromwell (Available at Main Campus, Special Collections shelf, PR 6063 .A438

x a novel by ilyasah shabazz with kekla magoon book cover

Malcolm X (Available at Main Campus, PZ 7.1 .S47 Xan 2015)

What We’re Reading – Dietland

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Courtney Bippley

This book was read by Courtney Bippley and Meredith Lewis.

Dietland by Sarai Walker

Title: Dietland

Author: Sarai Walker

Summary: Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed, because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged. Or mocked. Or worse. With her job answering fan mail for a popular teen girls’ magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. Only then can her true life as a thin person finally begin.

Then, when a mysterious woman starts following her, Plum finds herself falling down a rabbit hole and into an underground community of women who live life on their own terms. There Plum agrees to a series of challenges that force her to deal with her past, her doubts, and the real costs of becoming “beautiful.” At the same time, a dangerous guerrilla group called “Jennifer” begins to terrorize a world that mistreats women, and as Plum grapples with her personal struggles, she becomes entangled in a sinister plot. The consequences are explosive.

Why did you choose to read this book?

Courtney: This books is being turned into a TV show this year which checks one of the boxes in the Library’s Read Great Things Challenge 2018. And, the premise was interesting to me.

Meredith: I think I read a review of it? I’m often interested in books that explore themes surrounding how society and women view their own bodies as a part of and as an obstacle in the world.

What did you like about it?

C: I liked a lot of the themes of the book. It has a very feminist bent to it and I enjoyed reading about a character discovering a different way of looking at the world, and herself.

M: As a non-Jennifer in a sea of Jennifers in elementary school especially, I kind of loved that the vigilante lady group was called Jennifer.

What feeling did the book leave you with?

C: When I finished the book I felt like I wanted more from it. There were a lot of supporting characters that I was interesting in and who could have had their own stories told. If a sequel came out (there isn’t one as far as I know) I would definitely pick it up.

M: It made me think about how powerful society’s expectations can be on our own sense of self and what we think we deserve (and tolerate) based on that. Other stuff, too. I thought this was a great book, but (and?) it left me thinking about a lot of things.

Who would you recommend the book to?

C: Anyone who is interested in exploring feminist ideas but is not interested in reading nonfiction essays and wants something a little juicier.

M: Someone who doesn’t mind a book about women behaving “badly” (both by societal and, uh, legal standards) and maybe someone who is identifying with the feelings behind the current #metoo movement.

What would you pair this book with?

C: I would pair this book with a plate of chocolate oatmeal cookies to be eaten while driving an M113 armored personnel vehicle. Like you do.

M: I’d pair it with Roxane Gay’s Hunger. Similar themes, different genres.

#ReadGreatThings2018: Books to Movies and/or Television

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Courtney Bippley

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but 2018 is here and the library is launching a reading challenge!

To help you discover books for the reading challenge categories, we will be highlighting books from our collection that fit into different categories (and also count towards that last one– librarian recommendations).

Get excited!

Stephen Colbert and Kermit the frog waving their arms around excitedly

This month we’re covering books that will be turned into movies or television shows this year.

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer book cover

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Monster: A Graphic Novel by Walter Dean Myers; adapted by Guy A. Sims

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth

Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James Hansen

These are only a few of all the page-to-screen adaptations happening this year, but you can find more here, here, and here.

#readgreatthings2018 protip: Many of these books can count towards 2 categories.

Remember, if we don’t have a copy of a book you’d like to read, we can get it for you through inter-library loan. Just ask a librarian.

#ReadGreatThings2018

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Meredith Lewis

Looking for a way to challenge your reading self in 2018?

Have we got a plan for you!

What is the Read Great Things Challenge?

The Read Great Things Challenge is a reading challenge sponsored by the Durham Tech Library throughout 2018 that encourages folks to diversify or increase their reading goals by completing books that fit into at least 10 of the following 12 categories:

A book being turned into a movie or tv show in 2018

A biography, autobiography, memoir, or a fictionalized account of a real person’s life

A book about or that features sports

A book of poetry or a book written in verse

A book you previously started or were assigned and never finished

A book that takes place in a country or place you’d like to visit

A book you chose for the cover

A book that takes place during or is about a historical event 50 years or more in the past [1968 or before]

A popular science book [nonfiction books that talk about scientific topics from a non-textbook point-of-view]

A book with a supernatural creature, occurrence, or event

A book about cooking or food

A book suggested by a Durham Tech librarian either in-person or on the Durham Tech Library Blog

We’ll be highlighting a different category on this blog each month. Your can always ask a librarian for recommendations if you can’t think of a book to read for a certain category (which conveniently fills that final awesome category).

How do I participate in the Read Great Things Challenge?

It’s pretty simple –just start reading! You don’t have to sign up and you can start at any point in the year. You’ll need to choose books that fit into at least 10 of the 12 categories by the end of Fall Semester (December 2018) to complete the challenge.

There’s also a joinable Sakai site (listed under Membership on your Sakai home page once you sign in) that we’ll be using if you want to discuss books you’re reading and recommend some of your own great reads. Email Meredith Lewis (OCC Librarian) or the library for more information.

What kind of book counts as a “great thing”?

All books count–hardcover, paperback, ebooks, audiobooks, graphic novels, comic books, library books, books you own, books you’ve borrowed… If it fits into one (or two) of the categories and you’ve read it/want to read it, that counts. As long as it’s read in 2018, you’re good to go.

Can I count a book for multiple categories?

One book can count for up to two categories.

How do I win the challenge? (What do I win?)

To win and complete the challenge, you should finish books in 2018 that fit into at least 10 of the 12 listed categories. In late November or early December, we’ll have bookish prizes available for those who bring their completed book list to the library or fill out the completion form.

You’ll also get a personal sense of satisfaction and bragging rights. (And who doesn’t love those?)

Do the books have to be from the Durham Tech Library?

Nope, but we’re glad to point you in the direction of one already in our collection. We have some great books just waiting to make it on your list.

Download a pdf of the checklist and challenge guidelines here: Read Great Things Challenge 2018

Durham Tech Library Blog

Updates and Info from the Durham Tech Library

Tag Archives: readgreatthings2018

#ReadGreatThings2018: Fictionalized Accounts of Real People’s Lives

What We’re Reading – Dietland

#ReadGreatThings2018: Books to Movies and/or Television

#ReadGreatThings2018