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The "Zen Master" of Comics

Submitted by SDM2010_library on May 8, 2013 - 12:56pm

Reinventing Comics Reinventing Comics

 

In their modern form, comics are accessible and anything but immature, or some “lowly” form of reading.  This is not really news for us at the library because we have seen the development of the collection over the years.  And while the form has expanded, there has also been a need to understand what has happened in the world of comics/graphic novels.  Enter author, and comic artist Scott McCloud.

 

Haiku: When 140 characters say too much...

Submitted by SDM2010_library on April 5, 2013 - 10:16am

Narrow Road to the Interior and Other Writings Narrow Road to the Interior and Other Writings

Haiku is not a rigid form that is restricted to 17 syllables with three lines. Modern Haiku, while remaining essential in its approach, has opened itself to a variety of forms.  The spirit of Haiku is to record a simple, unencumbered experience of reality.  You are expressing the energy of that moment with words.  Form is merely a catalyst for this expression. 

 

Do you still have a bookshelf?

Submitted by SDM2010_library on March 7, 2013 - 4:03pm

Zen in the Art of Reading

  As many people begin to walk with a smaller footprint the amount of space they can dedicate to things like books becomes greatly reduced.  I imagine that if I lived in a micro compact home I could have a bookshelf, but then I would have to give up cooking!  In some ways, e-books allow me to rekindle (no pun intended) dreams of living in an eco home in the country that is completely off grid.  It is a fantasy out of step with my actual life, but something I daydream about from time to time.

When they don’t work...

Submitted by SDM2010_library on February 13, 2013 - 11:55am

 

 

Zen in the Art of Relationship Reading

 

Zen in the Art of Reading

Submitted by SDM2010_library on October 17, 2012 - 11:05am

Author, monk and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh has commented that a litmus test for truth is whether we can articulate it to a child.  In his attractive and entertaining picture books, Jon J. Muth has managed to tell stories that impart deep philosophical lessons without requiring a Doctorate in philosophy to understand.  Zen shorts is a wonderful blend of water color and sumi-e ink, interesting characters, and adapted Zen stories to impart life lessons to children (and adults).  Regardless of your beliefs, Zen shorts and other titles by Jon J.

Zen and the Art of Reading:

Submitted by SDM2010_library on September 12, 2012 - 1:03pm

 

Going to school can be a stressful time for children and parents.  As our routines change it is helpful to cope with them skillfully. Mindfulness is not a practice that is bound to any one tradition.  The Ottawa Public Library has numerous books on mindfulness practices and my goal here is to outline three authors that can provide excellent information on the practice for parents and students

Reading habits, or why we hate E-readers

Submitted by SDM2010_library on August 21, 2012 - 4:30pm

 

Behavioural research has established that consistent cues help establish and maintain behaviours.  Habits are best developed when there is some unique sensory cue like a certain type of mug or a particular sensation.  According to Charles Duhigg, author of the bestseller The Power of Habit, the reason toothpaste went from an initial failure to a huge success was due to the addition of a component that created a tingling.  The tingling was a signal that was associated with “cleaning” your teeth.  

Emerging Digital Reading Solutions

Submitted by SDM2010_library on July 16, 2012 - 8:04pm

 

 

  The top five major publishers in the world call e-books the future of reading.  The rapid development of e-readers and tablets further illustrate the direction of consumer interests.  Now with technology like tablets, which are both a reader (without an e-ink screen) and everything else, reading is completely integrated with other actions like posting updates on facebook or watching a movie.   

Keats and Burns

Submitted by SDM2010_library on July 11, 2012 - 11:10am

 

  On this day in 1818, John Keats, the famous English romantic poet, visited Robert Burns’ first home while on a walking tour in the North of Scotland, where he composed the following Sonnet (www.todayinliterature.com):

Written In The Cottage Where Burns Was Born:

This mortal body of a thousand days

Now fills, O Burns, a space in thine own room,

Where thou didst dream alone on budded bays,

Happy and thoughtless of thy day of doom!

My pulse is warm with thine old Barley-bree,

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