Grand Rapids Public Library

It’s a terrible thing to admit but I discriminate against books. I don’t want to read books from the bestseller list (with a very, very few exceptions). I don’t want to read romance or chick lit or urban fiction. I can live with all these self-imposed limits, except one: I especially don’t want to read [...]

It’s that time of year: MARCH MADNESS! And this year, the library wants YOU to be part of it! No, not the usual office pool. The library wants you to help us discover the 2012 champion of books! At each of the branches, and online as well, you’ll find the starting lineup of 32 books [...]

Are you up for a reading challenge and a chance to earn limited edition buttons?

Have you ever recommended a book to a friend? Or used an online resource to figure out the next book in a series? Or even suggested a book to be purchased by the library? Congratulations! You’ve participated in readers’ advisory! But what is readers’ advisory and why does the library have a committee working to [...]

It’s delicious. It’s not nutritious. It’s necessary, in small portions. It rots your teeth. Sugar, it has almost a split personality. And people love it in that crazy stalker, obsessive way. We know we shouldn’t but we almost always do. Why? Why can’t we say no to its sweet talk? Because glucose, which is a [...]

  The internet loves bacon according to an article on MSN. And I have to agree. I spend probably too much time on the internet and, over the last few years, bacon has blown up. What started out as a few clever recipes and the odd decorative item has now become big business. There are [...]

I know I don’t resemble your average couch potato. After all, I do have roller derby practice 3 days a week and I try to fit in as many 6+ miles trail skates as I can into the nice weather months. But once my skates come off my feet, I turn into a total lump [...]

I have a confession: I love paranormal T.V. shows. Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Paranormal State, Paranormal Cops, etc. I’ve watched them all because I don’t think there is much better than a little shiver of fear to go along with the bigger questions in life. But my love of ghost stories didn’t start with there. [...]

Not that long ago, most Americans were homesteaders, much like Little House on the Prairie. They grew and preserved their own fruits and vegetables, raised their own animals for meat, milk and eggs, and made do or did without. Money was scarce and people’s work paid them in goods or barter, for the most part. [...]

Yes! Grand Rapids has its very own roller derby league, the Grand Raggidy Roller Girls. And this is no flash in the pan. The Grand Raggidy Roller Girls skated their first bout in April of 2006 and since then the league has grown to include 3 teams: the All Stars, the G-Rap Attack!, and the [...]