Self-Care Books

Taking the time to care for yourself is something many people. myself included, have trouble doing. Sure sometimes I take a bath or take it easy one night and just throw a pizza in the oven, but is that really self-care or just being lazy? 

Self-care involves taking action to do things for yourself that make your life easier and more enjoyable. I know for me, part of this is going to therapy. While I know many people do not have the resources to do this, I highly recommend it. I know I am a better person now than I was in the past because I take the time out of my schedule to make this a priority. The stigma behind therapy makes me so upset that I talk about how I go to therapy probably more often than is necessary. Hence the tangent here. 

But anywho, I'll shut up and move onto the good stuff. The free posters for you to use!

And HERE is the list of titles I used for this display! Take a look and then try to implement some self-care into your schedule!

-Megan

Dystopian Fantasy

What are your thoughts on dystopian fiction? Personally, I'm a fan of it. My favorite is A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and yes, I also like the tv show. However, when thinking of dystopian fiction, you usually don't think of fantasy. 

I think that most people separate dystopias and fantasies into different categories because they tend to be so different. But think about it. Both require a lot of world building and character development. They also both deal with a tragedy and a problem that needs to be solved. It makes sense that there needs to be dystopian fantasy books with these similarities. 

I'm not sure where I came up with this idea for a book display. Could be like last week when it came about when trying to come up with read-alikes for a book club pick. Not sure, but I think it's unique and pretty cool.

And HERE is the list of titles for the display. Hope you all have a great week!

-Megan 

Red Book Display

You know it's time for another puny book display.

When looking for books to put on a display, it's important to look at how appealing it is to the viewer. Books that look old or ratty just aren't going to circ, whether you put it on a display or not. I like to try and pick covers that are bright or eye catching. This display does that. When you see a large (or small) collection of things in all one color, your eyes are bound to be drawn to it.

This display can also be easy to refill because you can walk the stacks and look for red spines. However, you may come across one of my pet peeves which is when the spine doesn't match the cover! Such a pain when doing a display like this! However, I did the hard work of coming up with the titles so hopefully this doesn't happen to you!

I'm still not sure if the display sign should say these or this so you get both! HERE is the list of titles for you to use for this fun display.

-Megan

Currently Reading: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.

Latin American Historical Fiction

 Happy August! Hard to believe how fast this year has been. It's still strange going out and not needing to wear a mask. I still do most of the time, but the fact that I don't have to is something I am grateful for.

Ok, now for the topic at hand. Historical Fiction! I created this display to go with the reading of the book Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. Whenever I have a book club book, I like to at least have a small display of read-alike books. For this one, I actually created two different display ideas and let the head of the book club pick which one to use. I can't remember if they chose this or the other one to be honest. I do remember that the other display topic was Dual Time Periods which I already have a post about. 

I think this display is a great way to showcase Latinx authors and the beautiful areas they are from. It also helps readers branch out of their usual historical fiction comfort zones. I know most historical fiction lately tends to focus on WWII and white histories. It's good to show our readers that there is history outside of this box!

So here is today's poster and the list of titles to use with it. I hope you'll find it as enlightening as I did. Have a wonderful week!

-Megan

Currently Reading: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Hidden Gem Books

I disappeared for a bit. I wasn't in the mood to really blog, but I'm back at it!

For today's post, there won't be a list attached. Why? Because these are hidden gems that are in YOUR library. I've done this display two times, two different ways. You can do it as bottom shelf finds. (You know no-one likes to bend down for a book!) Or you can do it as books that haven't been checked out for a few years. It's a great way to increase the circulation of these maybe not-so-loved books.

And that's all for today! Hope you all had a wonderful June!

-Megan Redding

Currently Reading: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Big Books Display

I like big books and I cannot lie! You other reader's can't deny!

Long books, short books, in-between books, I love them all. While longer books can be a little intimidating to people, it's a great way to get great story-building and character development without it being a series. Although some series have some pretty big books! *cough* *cough* Sarah J. Maas.

So HERE's the list of nice big books for your display! Have a great end to your week!

-Megan

Mythology Book Display

So my friend on has a bookstagram (@boocwurm) and decided to start a reading challenge called Mythology May. For this challenge, you read mythology retellings or original myths from different cultures.

I was inspired by this to create a book display of myths and different retellings. I tried to make sure to include more than just Greek mythology, but it was hard to find some of them at my library. I will say, I did not include anything that is currently new because our new books have their own display. I've noticed there is a bit of a trend in mythology retellings, so this list may expand over time!

HERE is a list of titles to use for this display, or to read for #MythologyMay.

Have a great weekend!

-Megan 

Mystery Book Display

There are so many mysteries out there you could make a display for each different little theme. Sherlock retellings, private investigators, CSI investigations, female sleuths, and so many more options!

For this display, I brought them all together for one big display. I would love to one day do each of those separate displays, but for today, let's stick with this!

 HERE is a list of titles for this large mystery display.

-Megan

Mother's Day Book Display

Let's give it up for the greatest people in our lives, OUR MOMS! With Mother's Day around the corner, this is a great way to show our love for Moms and also showcase some great moms in literature. 

This was a somewhat difficult display to make because it's hard to keyword search for this. When you look for "Mother's Day Books", you get a lot about flowers and gardening, but that's not what I was looking for. So this is a bit of a shorter list of titles.

HERE's the list of titles!

Happy Mother's Day (a little early) to all the Mom's out there!

-Megan

Currently Reading: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 

Behind the Scenes Book Display

I love going to the movies. Just this past weekend I rented out a private viewing of the new Disney Movie Raya and the Last Dragon. It was a great way to safely see a movie and spend time with my friends. I'm also one of those people that like to know the ins and outs of every movie. Let's just say, I'm surprised IMDB.com isn't bookmarked on my computer!

I feel as though there are a lot of people like me who like to know the behind the scenes of movies. This display is for all of them. It's a short list so make sure to use this one for your smaller displays!

HERE is the list of titles for today's post!

Hope you all are having a fantastic week!

-Megan 

Currently Reading: Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food and Love edited by Elsie Chapman
 

Bad Book Covers Display

It's always so interesting how there are trends in book covers. I saw a great article or video recently about this in romance novels. (While this isn't the one I originally saw, BookRiot has this awesome post about it as well.) It's so interesting how we went from books with Fabio on the cover to the new trend of illustrations of the leads on the cover. I mean we went from this...

to 

So for today's post, let's give a little love to all the books with not so great covers. While Fabio-esque covers may have been popular in the day, not so much anymore. 

HERE is the list of titles for a book display featuring books with just terrible covers. 

Have a wonderful last full week of March!

-Megan

Pirates Book Display

Ahoy ye mates!

Small display for this week, but there are titles for both kids and adults! These true and fictional pirate stories are fun for all ages. While I only included books on the lists, it's easy to add some popular movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean. 

HERE's the list of titles. Make sure to look at the tabs at the bottom to find the kids tab and the adults tab.

-Megan 

Currently Reading A Cat Story by Urusla Murray Husted

National Geographic Book Display

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I'm doing one of my easier displays for you all. One of the things I like about this display is that it can be used for books, movies, or both. Those yellow spines are so easy to find when you need to fill a spot on the display.

The media collection at my library is often more popular than our fiction section at our library. Does this happen at anyone else's library. What's interesting with that is that we rarely have a display up for our DVDs, but almost always for our fiction. Plus we make sure to allocate a larger budget for media than fiction. Maybe our community is different than most.

 

And of course, HERE is the list.

Have a great week everyone!

-Megan

Currently reading A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

St. Patrick's Day Book Display (Adults & Kids!)

One thing you've probably learned from me if you follow this blog is that I am extremely indecisive. For example, there are 5 different versions of the display sign for this book display in my Canva! And I still don't think any of them are right! 

For this display, I thought I'd have two separate lists, one for kids and one for adults. All the books are either about St. Patrick's Day or take place in Ireland. Irish fiction is something that is loved in many communities so this display is sure to be a hit in your library!

I think the third and fourth ones are my favorites, but what do you think?

Here's the link to the books. They're all on one document, but two different tabs; one for kids and one for adults. Have a lucky day!

-Megan

Still reading A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Novellas & Short Stories Book Display

Oops I lost track of the days!

This is the current display we have up in the library I work in. While I was unsure if people would like it, it has actually been pretty popular! I defined a novella as a book with fewer than 200 pages. Some definitions put this page number a bit lower, I figured any book less than 200 pages could be finished in one sitting which is another great way to define them.

However you define it, this week's list is mostly made up of novellas, but has a few short story collections built in. Personally, I tend to read short stories right before bed because it helps me stay out of the "just one more chapter" black hole. 

For our display, I went with the first poster, but I created 2 other ones during the process. I figured I might as well share them with you all!

Which poster is your favorite? Here's the list of books! Have a great rest of the week.

- Megan

Currently Reading A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Blue Books Book Display

 I'm blue daba de dabu da.....

I found this cute idea on Pinterest and had to make it for myself. With the weather being absolutely, and horribly wintery, I thought a bright and cheerful display would be helpful. Each of the books for this display have a blue cover which matches the punny display poster. 

Do you really need a list for this one, not really, but you'd be surprised by the amount of books where the spine doesn't match the cover. The amount of times I pulled a blue spine for it to have a white cover was infuriating. So yes, a list is necessary. Luckily our cataloging system has a cover image of most books so it was easy to check. However, user beware! Books have more than one cover so the list might not be perfect for your library.

Here's the list! Hope I didn't get that song stuck in your head!

-Megan

Currently Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

Read Around the World Book Display

As someone who loves to travel, I love reading books that take place outside of my home country. With the inability to travel right now, these books may mean a lot more to people. I think we all may need a little bit of escapism right now. 

One thing I did when I originally made this display was that I put a printed out the flag and name of the country and taped that on each book. Would I do that now? No. It was a lot of extra work that is already on the inside flap or back of the book. Also, based on the training I have received on making a display, we don't need to add extras to make a book display effective. 

So here are some posters and of course the list of titles HERE. If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

-Megan 

Currently Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab