Digital Discoveries

Welcome to a new year and new series on our ShelfLife blog called Digital Discoveries. Here we’ll talk about what we’ve found on the web and through the library’s digital resources that we’ve enjoyed hearing, reading and watching.

Real Simple Magazine
I have been a fan of this magazine for several years and find their recipes listed each month to be vital to my recipe planning (that is, when I’m feeling organized and get around to menu planning). Not only that, just reading it gives me grand ideas about becoming more organized, better-dressed and on top of everything. Whether I follow through with those plans is not the fault of the magazine. If you were following all the advice in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (or at least attempting to) then this is for you. You can checkout the current issue, and a couple of years’ worth of past issues, through Flipster (you’ll need your library card if you’re reading it outside the library).

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisen
I read this fantasy title early last year after reading a couple of rave reviews. They all still managed to undersell this winner of the 2016 Hugo Award. Jemisen creates a world that is as much a character in this story, and has as much influence, as the three main narrators. There are so many hidden surprises in the story that slowly unfold and I worry about giving away too much. But I can tell you there are no medieval versions of fantasy here, no elves or orcs. Instead, a land called The Stillness (despite its tendency to be volatile) is populated by humans and orogenes – those who can control the earth and its movements.

The Adventure Zone
Are you into playing Dungeons and Dragons? No? That’s okay, you don’t have to be to start listening to this podcast (though I can’t guarantee you won’t want to start playing after a couple of episodes). Three brothers and their dad meet online to play Dungeons & Dragons together and they’re all pretty much playing it for the first time. What keeps me listening is the excellent story-crafting by youngest brother Griffin, the Dungeon Master, that’s influenced by the actions of oldest brother Justin, middlest brother Travis  and dad Clint. You can find the first full episode here and an edited version here (it cuts out a lot of the nitty-gritty D&D game-playing details and focuses more on the story). It’s fun for the whole family, if the whole family is full of grown-ups (there’s more than a fair amount of expletives).

Hamilton: The Mixtape
If you haven’t listened to Hamilton: The Musical, then I don’t know where you’ve been the last year. If you haven’t seen it in person, well, neither have I and we’ll get tickets someday! If you have at least listened to the original Broadway cast recording and are wanting even more from this wonderful musical, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, then sink your ears into Miranda’s mixtape, featuring versions of the songs you already know, but performed by Kelly Clarkson, Ben Folds, Regina Spektor, Jill Scott, Busta Rhymes, Sia, Alicia Keys and plenty more. You can check it out through Hoopla Digital.