Read This Book!

https://youtu.be/qR5PaFmBRZ4 By Mark Engebretson Lisa Von Drasek With schools closed and libraries shuttered due to COVID-19, children find themselves sequestered at home — many without enough books or activities to appease their curiosity. Enter Lisa Von Drasek, the energetic curator of the University of Minnesota’s Children’s Literature Research Collections. Von Drasek has created a social media...

Lisa Von Drasek discusses  Making Comics by Scott McCloud, Making Comics by Lynda Barry, and Comics: Easy as ABC by Ivan Brunetti in this episode of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries. Von Drasek makes the connection that teaching children how to make comics is another key tool to instill in them the love of writing and reading. About Lisa Von Drasek and Zach Miller Lisa Von...

Jessica Abbazio, the University of Minnesota music librarian, reviews “The Lunar Chronicles” by Melissa Meyers on this installment of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries. The Lunar Chronicles is a series of young adult science fiction novels that are futuristic retellings of classic fairy tales. Abbazio discusses the book with host, Lisa Von Drasek, curator of the...

Zach Miller reviews A Shark Going Inland Is My Chief on this installment of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries. The book traces the origins of the Hawaiians and other Polynesians back to the shores of the South China Sea. Archaeologist Patrick Vinton Kirch follows their voyages of discovery across the Pacific in this fascinating history of Hawaiian culture from about one tho...

Cody Hennesy gave a thumbs up to Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World by Meredith Broussard in the latest installment of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries. In the book, Broussard argues that our collective enthusiasm for applying computer technology to every aspect of life has resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed systems. We are so...

In this installment of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries, Tim Johnson recommends two books: “The Devil’s Due” by Bonnie MacBird — a Sherlock Holmes Adventure — and “Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger” by Rebecca Traister. Lisa Von Drasek is the host. About Lisa Von Drasek and Tim Johnson Lisa Von Drasek is the Curator...

Jessica Abbazio, the University of Minnesota music librarian, reviews “A Wild Ride Through the Night” by Walter Moers for this installment of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries. A Wild Ride through the Night describes the exhilarating and comic adventures of his twelve-year-old protagonist Gustave, a boy who aspires one day to be a great artist. Abbazio discusses...

Librarian Kristen Mastel recommends two nature books — ‘Into Nature’ and ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ — on this installment of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries, hosted by Lisa Von Drasek. Find the books Into Nature: A Creative Field Guide and Journal By Autumn Totton, Alexandra Frey, The Mindfulness Project University of Minnesota Libraries Hennepin C...

Librarian Alicia Kubas reviews  Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor on this installment of Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries. Kubas and program host, Lisa Von Drasek, discuss — and highly recommend — the book, which is a New York Times bestseller and Michael L. Printz honor book. Strange the Dreamer is an epic fantasy about a mythic lost city and its dark past. About Lisa...

Two books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal were featured in this episode of  Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries. Danya Leebaw and Host Lisa Von Drasek discussed Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life and Little Pea — two of Leebaw’s favorite books by Rosenthal . Rosenthal was an author of adult and children’s books, who died of ovarian cancer in 2017 at the age of 51. She had...

Sherlock Holmes expert Tim Johnson recommends three Holmes books for your August reading list on this episode of Read This Book! from the University Libraries, hosted by Lisa Von Drasek. The three are: Sherlock Holmes: A Biography by William S. Baring-Gould The Whole Art of Detection : Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lindsay Faye Medical Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Carl Heifetz About Lis...

Lisa Von Drasek recommends a number of books about the moon — in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing on July 20, 1969. It’s all part of our Summer Reading series on Read This Book  from the University of Minnesota Libraries. Books included:  Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin A Kite for Moon by Jane Yolen, He...

Librarian Jan Fransen recommends Circe by Madeline Miller as her choice for 2019 Summer Reading in this episode of  Read This Book! Fransen — Service Lead for the Libraries’ Research Information Management Systems — discussed Circe with Host Lisa Von Drasek, Curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University Libraries. Set in the world of ancient Greek mytholog...

Publishing Services Librarian Emma Molls recommends two books for summer reading: Her Body and Other Parties and  Paper Girls . Molls discussed the books with Host Lisa Von Drasek on this installment of  Read This Book!  from the University of Minnesota Libraries. Find the books Her Body and Other Parties University of Minnesota Libraries Hennepin County Library Saint Paul Public Library Paper Gir...

Come sit in the chair in a landmark Twin Cities exhibit! The  ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter  will transport you back to your childhood with original artwork and manuscripts from over 200 children’s classics. Enjoy three floors of photo opportunities including a life-sized  Poky Little Puppy  and an 18 foot replica of the  Goodnight Moon  bedroom perfect for reading a bedtime s...

Here’s a New Year’s Resolution for you: Read all of the books you can — and keep them as long as you want — from Ebooks Minnesota . The online library is available to anyone who lives in Minnesota — just visit ebooksmn.org . Zach Miller talks about the benefits of Ebooks Minnesota — and plugs one of his favorite children’s books,  What To Do With a Box  — in this episode of  Read...

Sherlock Holmes expert Tim Johnson recommends two books to give to Sherlock Holmes fans: About Sixty: Why Every Sherlock Holmes Story is the Best , and About Being a Sherlockian , both edited by Christopher Redmond. Johnson was a guest on Read This Book !, produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries and hosted by the U’s Lisa Von Drasek. About Lisa Von Drasek and Tim Johnson Lisa Von D...

Music Librarian Jessica Abbazio recommends “American Music” by Annie Leibovitz as a book to give as a gift on this installment of Read This Book from the University of Minnesota Libraries. Where to borrow this book American Music University of Minnesota Libraries Hennepin County Library About Lisa Von Drasek and Jessica Abbazio Lisa Von Drasek is the Curator of the Children’s Literatur...

Lisa Von Drasek interviews Julie Schumacher — author of Dear Committee Members and The Shakespeare Requirement — in this installment of Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune keep hitting beleaguered English professor Jason Fitger right between the eyes in The Shakespeare Requirement , the hilarious and eagerly awaited sequel to the...

Tim Johnson reviews Revenge of the Nerd: Or . . . The Singular Adventures of the Man Who Would Be Booger by Curtis Armstrong, in this edition of “Read This Book!” from the University of Minnesota Libraries. Armstrong, who played Booger in the 1984 film, “Revenge of the Nerds,” is an avid Sherlock Holmes fan, and Johnson is Curator of the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the U...

Dread Nation — a New York Times bestseller — is at once provocative, terrifying, and darkly subversive. Written by Justina Ireland, Dread Nation represents a stunning vision of an America both foreign and familiar — a country on the brink, at the explosive crossroads where race, humanity, and survival meet. University of Minnesota librarian, Lisa Von Drasek, reviews Dread Nation in this installmen...

Breakfast with Beatrice and Original Scandinavian Recipes were featured on this installment of Read This Book! Megan Kocher, Curator of the Doris Kirschner Cookbook Collection discussed these books with host Lisa Von Drasek. Kocher also announced that the University Libraries recently acquired Beatrice Ojakangas’ cookbook collection — which includes  Original Scandinavian Recipes  — for the...

Lisa Von Drasek recommends two children’s books for writing on Part 3 of Summer Reading for Children on Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries. The books are: Heart Maps by Georgia Heard and Happy Mail by Eunice and Sabrina Moyle. About Lisa Von Drasek and  Read This Book! Von Drasek is host of Read This Book and the curator of the University of Minnesota’s Children...

Alicia Kubas reviewed “When Women Didn’t Count: Behind the scenes on data collection and women in the USA” by Robert Lopresti on this installment of “Read This Book!” from the University of Minnesota Libraries. In the book, Lopresti details the startling facts of how women have been sidelined, neglected, and just plain lied about in United States government statistics...

Lisa Von Drasek recommends several books from independent publishers in Part 2 of Summer Reading for Children on Read This Book! from the University of Minnesota Libraries. The books are: Jump Little Wood Ducks, A seed is the start, Crow not Crow, You Can’t Be Too Careful, and Do Doodlebugs Doodle. About Lisa Von Drasek and  Read This Book! Von Drasek is host of Read This Book and the curato...