Friday Reads: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Religious Orders

Happy Friday! Dr. Stanley doesn't seem to think that too many people will be fascinated by his current read, but we're sure there are a few of you out there. After all, Ranganathan's Third Law is "Every Book Its Reader." So read on and learn more about The Rise and Fall of Catholic Religious Orders by Patricia Wittberg.

In reading articles in newspapers and listening to news reports that talk about Catholic school closings and various dioceses addressing the need for parish consolidations I remembered that I had this book in my personal library from my days as a doctoral student. Although it was dry reading when I used it for research it was actually very interesting when reading it at a leisurely pace more for enjoyment.

There have been rises and falls of religious orders throughout the Church’s history and it was interesting to compare the reasons for this in the past versus the present. Reading about the effects of modern life and Vatican II upon the Catholic religion gives a clear overview of how the most recent “fall” began and offers hypotheses as to why it continues. But since the pendulum swings both ways it will be interesting to see what will be the outcome of Catholicism’s next metamorphosis.

Congratulations to our Research Award winners!

 

CONGRATULATIONS to Kathryn Way and Jasmine Thomas, the winners of the 2021 Reeves Library Research Award!

At the first-year/sophomore level, Kathryn Way won for her paper, "Melun Diptych Analysis." One of our faculty reviewers wrote, "You mentioned how art serves to stir emotion. Your writing did the same!"

At the junior/senior level, Jasmine Thomas's paper, "The Bicultural Social Identity Phenomenon," impressed readers as "a perfect example of how outstanding research can be driven by personal inquiry" and with the way it "stressed the importance of understanding social identity/self concept as not only a way for a person to understand themself, but big picture idea- as a way to understand others."

Competition is always fierce, and we thank everyone who entered or who supported an entry!

Friday Reads: The Art of Taking it Easy

 Happy Friday! This week, Public Services Librarian Kelly Clever tells us about her current read, The Art of Taking It Easy, by Dr. Brian King.

I hadn't heard of this book until I got an email from the public library system saying that The Art of Taking It Easy was April's "Big Library Read." I wasn't sure what to expect, but I've enjoyed other Big Library Read picks in the past and I figured I'd give it a try. 

Brian King has a unique set of qualifications to talk about happiness and positive thinking -- he's both a doctorate-holding psychologist and a touring comic. In this book, he hilariously explains what stress is, why it happens, and when it's good and when it's bad. I've particularly enjoyed his use of murderous attacking unicorns to explain justified stress. Even the footnotes are fun. I'm about 20% of the way in and am looking forward to reading the rest. 

April DVD Spotlight: Oscar Winners

With the 2021 Academy Awards ceremony scheduled to take place on April 25th, it's a perfect time for our latest DVD display: Oscar winners!  We've got beloved classic Best Picture winners like Casablanca (1942) and The Godfather (1972), as well as more recent winners such as 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Spotlight (2015).  Whether you like comedy or drama, romance or suspense, American cinema or foreign films, we've got an award winner for every movie lover.

Other featured titles include:

Adaptation (2002)
Nicolas Cage plays identical twin brothers, one of whom is struggling to adapt an acclaimed non-fiction book into a screenplay, in this surreal comic masterpiece, which earned Chris Cooper a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The Departed (2006)
This Boston-set crime epic, about an undercover cop who infiltrates the Irish-American mob, only to discover that said mob may have a mole within the state police, took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, and gave Martin Scorsese his first Best Director Oscar.

Fargo (1996)
Frances McDormand won the first of her two Best Actress statuettes for her endearing portrayal of pregnant Minnesota police chief Marge Gunderson, whose investigation of a roadside murder puts her on the trail of a group of inept kidnappers.

Get Out (2017)
This acclaimed social horror film, about a young African-American man's increasingly unsettling weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, made writer-director Jordan Peele the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Jack Nicholson gives an Oscar-winning performance as a rebellious mental ward inmate in this beloved Best Picture winner, which also earned Louise Fletcher the Best Actress award for her turn as the villainous Nurse Ratched.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
This acclaimed horror-thriller, about a young FBI cadet who interviews a notorious serial killer as part of an effort to catch another murderer, features Oscar-winning lead performances by Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.

Titanic (1997)
This Best Picture-winning box office smash, about an aristocratic young woman who falls in love with a poor artist aboard the doomed ocean liner, won a staggering 11 Oscars.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

Library Statistics for National Library Week

 Happy National Library Week! Monday of NLW is "State of America's Libraries Day," so we're sharing some current stats about Reeves Memorial Library. If you ever wonder how much of our collection is still in print, or which databases are the most popular, here are your answers!