Want to learn a new language? Shreve Memorial Library can help
In high school I began learning to speak Spanish. I even took a few Spanish classes in college, and a few more as an adult for fun. I am happy to say that I know just enough Spanish to be dangerous… you know enough to say a few words and sound like I might know what I am doing, but not enough to hold a true conversation. Just enough. I often wish that I were better at remembering all that I learned in my multiple Spanish classes. If you are like me in this regard, then you might be excited to know that Shreve Memorial Library is making it easy for all of us to learn a new language (or just practice what we have already learned).
And since practice is key, you can practice what you know at several library branches. The West Shreveport Branch has a brand new French Club that is open to both those just learning French as well as those who are fluent in the language. At the West Shreveport French Club, you can practice speaking French with others and use a variety of reading materials to enhance basic vocabulary skills.
If Spanish is your language of choice, then consider joining the Marcado por un Club de Lectura, a welcoming book club for anyone interested in connecting with people of diverse cultural backgrounds, at the Broadmoor Branch. The club features book titles that are published in both Spanish and English, giving you the option to read the book of the month in either language. Unlike other Spanish lessons, Marcado por un Club de Lectura is more engaging in that participants actively speak the language to share their thoughts and feelings about the selected title.
Want to learn a language other than French or Spanish? Well, Shreve Memorial Library has online digital resources to help with that as well. Through Homework Louisiana, an online tutoring platform powered by Tutor.com, students can get help with their foreign language studies in French, Spanish, German and Italian, while Mango Languages provides instruction in more than 70 world languages as well as 20 English courses designed from the perspective of the learner’s native language. Both Homework Louisiana and Mango Languages are accessible with a Shreve Memorial Library card through the Louisiana State Library Database at htps://lalibcon.state.lib.la.us/.
All of these resources are available to help us achieve our dreams of being an international communicator (or at least that is one of my dreams). Be sure to visit the Shreve Memorial Library website at www.shreve-lib.org for more information on these and other resources available at the library to help you dream, discover, do. Adios!
What’s New at the Library
Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux (fiction)
In this spellbinding, fantasy-rich romance, a woman is swept into a world where she has the power to alter fairy tales, and change a kingdom’s destiny… To Kaley Arens, a PhD student and expert in folklore, fairy stories have always had a power and an allure beyond mere entertainment. It’s only when Kaley accompanies her lifelong friend Jobi on a visit to his home that she realizes how much she still has to learn. Bellis isn’t the remote island that she believed it to be. It’s another world – a stunningly beautiful and seductive one, with its own royalty, its own rules, and inhabitants who breathe life into the tales she was taught were fiction. Kaley’s presence is no simple holiday. She has a mysterious connection with Jobi and with Bellis, and abilities that may help determine this world’s fate. Tasked with locating a lost prince, Kaley and her companions – the enigmatic Tanek, a member of the Order of the Swans, and Sojee, Kaley’s colossal bodyguard – journey through a land both thrilling and terrifying, where the uncanny and the familiar go hand in hand. But in fairy tales, heroes and villains are easy to discern. Here, nothing is quite as it seems. And though Kaley is discovering that she can change the outcome of the fairy tales she knows so well, her own story is unfolding in ways impossible to predict, with a destiny she could never have foretold…
Penitence by Kristin Koval (fiction)
Penitence is a sweeping debut novel that follows the lives of two estranged families in rural Colorado after an unimaginable tragedy forces them back together. When their thirteen-year-old daughter Nora kills her terminally ill brother, Angie and David Sheehan struggle to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. They turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel – she’s also the mother of Angie’s ill-fated first love, Julian, a successful criminal defense attorney. Martine promptly draws him into the legal battle against an overreaching district attorney determined to try Nora as an adult. As the families grapple with the lasting strain of blame and the complexities of an often unfair criminal justice system, Julian and Angie must confront their own culpability in a long-ago accident and the guilt they still carry over how their prior life together in New York City ended. For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a timely story of hope in the face of blame and remorse. It’s both an addictive page-turner and a literary reflection on the boundaries of forgiveness that compels readers to consider whether each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.
Food for Thought: Essays & Ruminations by Alton Brown (non-fiction)
From Alton Brown, the New York Times bestselling cookbook author and beloved culinary food personality, a debut collection of personal essays defined by his flair, wit, and insight. From cameraman to chef, musician to food scientist, Alton Brown has had a diverse and remarkable career. His work on the Food Network, including creating Good Eats and hosting Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen, has resonated with countless viewers and home cooks. Now, he shares exactly what’s on his mind, mixing compelling anecdotes from his personal and professional life with in-depth observations on the culinary world, film, personal style, defining meals of his lifetime, and much more. With his whip-smart and engaging voice, Brown explores everything from wrestling a dumpster full of dough to culinary cultural appropriation to his ultimate quest for the perfect roast chicken. Deliciously candid and full of behind-the-scenes stories fans will love, Food for Thought is the ultimate reading experience for anyone who appreciates food and the people that prepare it.
About Shreve Memorial Library
Shreve Memorial Library transforms Caddo Parish lives with resources, services and support to create a better world by focusing on developing young readers, sparking imaginations, encouraging curiosity, fostering connection, and providing comfortable places. Shreve Memorial Library’s 21-branch system is maintained by a parish-wide property tax millage to support the informational, educational and recreational needs of its constituents. For more information, visit www.shreve-lib.org, and like, follow and subscribe on social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube. Dream, discover, do – Shreve Memorial Library and you!
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