(Lit)erary
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Sunshine State Young Readers Award Program 2020 Book List
On April 23, the Florida Association of Media in Education revealed this yearâs titles for the Sunshine State Young Readers Award Program (SSYRA). The SSYRA is a statewide initiative to encourage students to read independently to improve reading fluency. Books picked for the annual lists appeal to a wide audience, have literary value, represent different…
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Five Tips to Help Maximize the Number of Books You Read
Reading. The most enriching activity an individual can perform â if you do not include cooking or frolicking through a field of freshly grown sunflowers. As a bibliophile, I find that my mind is constantly overcome with thoughts about how I can read more, despite my best attempts to focus on how to flip an…
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Tiger King Companion
Hey all you cool cats and kittens, itâs Melissa at Orange County Library System. If you are like me, youâve binged Netflixâs Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness while quarantined. After I finished the documentary, I was left with some questions, such as, If you cover someone in sardine oil, will tigers eat them? I cannot…
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Imagine Your (Scary) Story This Summer
In February 2019, the Horror Writers Association, (a global group of horror writers and publishing professionals), announced its inaugural reading program, Summer Scares, to book lovers and libraries everywhere. The program, now in its second year, is designed to connect libraries with horror creators and to promote the genre as a wonderful option for satisfyingly…
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A True Crime Aficionadoâs Guide to At-Home Entertainment
True crime became my favorite genre of media after I read Truman Capoteâs In Cold Blood in the 8th grade. Initially, my gnawing need to consume true crime stemmed from the desire to learn everything I could to avoid being kidnapped and brutally murdered. However, over the years, I became more enraptured by understanding the…
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Read-Alikes You Can Read Right Now
As we are adapting to our new way of life that includes social distancing, people also need to find new ways of entertaining themselves. Luckily this includes books! While the library has temporarily suspended home delivery for physical items, our digital collection, including Overdrive, Hoopla and RBDigital to name a few, is still accessible 24/7 from the…
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Free Online Resources from Educational Technology Companies and Your Public Library
In response to unprecedented school closures and the need for learning from home, School Library Journal published a list of resources that are currently available to students, educators, and parents during the COVID-19 outbreak. You can find these resources listed below in blue. Orange County Library System also makes available databases, listed in orange, that are free and…
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Some of the Best Marvel Comics Available for Free with Hoopla
The date is May 3, 2006. I am a junior in high school and as of yet unencumbered by the difficult decisions of adulthood. Yet, for several months I have felt conflicted. Everywhere I look, people are asking me, âwhose side are you on?â As if it was that easy. On one side there was…
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Roses are Red, Violets are Grateful, That National Poetry Month Happens in April
April is a time where flowers bloom from their winter sleep, birds sing as they fly across the skies and writers pick out their new seasonal pens of inspiration to write with. Well, not so much that last part. Among other celebrations, April is also recognized as National Poetry Month. National Poetry Month found its…
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Become Your Best Self with the Enneagram
I never expected to benefit from yet another personality test but as it turns out researching my Enneagram type was a wise choice. With a limited investment of time, you can learn a ton about yourself and the people you love. The Enneagram types, represented by numbers one through nine, are more than personalities. They help to explain a personâs worldview, self-image and motivations. For example, I learned that people of my type, the Four, strive to be unique and authentic. They tend to…
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