Korean Culture Club

 

Are you curious about Korean culture? Teens are invited to join us for some short videos, Korean games and snacks, and a K-pop dance off at the K-Culture Club event on March 26!  Do you have a favorite manga or manhwa (Korean comics)?  The library recently was awarded a grant that allowed us to purchase a number of Korean graphic novels and K-pop music CDs, take a peek at all the new offerings! If you’re a K-pop fan, you won’t want to miss all the great freebies at this event!

EFPL is also offering a book discussion that provides insight into Korean culture. Under the Same Sky is an autobiography and a pretty amazing survival story.  Copies are available at the check-out desk for the discussion on Monday, March 21st, 4 pm.

In the picture book arena, a Korean title worth checking out is: Where's Halmoni by Julie Kim. Two grandchildren are worried when their grandma is missing and follow animal tracks to a fantasy world where they must battle a tiger and outwit clever rabbits and hungry dokkebi to get home safely.

Are you wondering how Korean culture has become so big in the US lately?  Here's a timeline of the Korean Wave of pop culture that has hit the U.S. in a big way:

2012: Gangnam Style song and dance by Psy goes viral

2012: Moon embracing the Sun, a Korean TV drama debuts in the US, wins Best Drama, Best Actor, and Drama of the Year.

2013: Boy band BTS debuts, reaching U.S. audiences in 2017. They went platinum in 2018, and was one of the first bands since the Beatles to earn 4 U.S. #1 albums in 2 years.

2010-2020 YouTube videos on mukbang (excessive eating) become very popular.  Korean noodles, seaweed products, and kimchee become more widely available in US grocery stores.

2019: the movie Parasite debuts, winning  Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.

2020-22: Due largely to social media influencers, Korean cosmetics (Missha, Cosrx) enjoy a wave of popularity.

2021: Squid Games becomes Netflix’s most watched series.

2021: K-pop band BlackPink coordinates with Starbucks to raise funds to help the Red Cross in highly hit pandemic areas.

Censorship, Intellectual Freedom, and I am Jazz

 

With so many censorship challenges raging in the country right now and the anniversary of the “I am Jazz” challenge coming up, we thought it was a good time to reflect on intellectual freedom and censorship. Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to research information from all points of view without restriction.  Considered an essential component of a democratic society, it is also the underlying philosophy that guides libraries. Where things usually get tricky is with children and young adults.  While libraries subscribe to the belief that a parent is the best person to decide what their child reads or doesn’t read, some parents think that some books should be banned for all children/teens based on their own moral or religious codes. (LGBTQ+ and books with racially diverse characters are a common target.) When one person tries to decide what is available for a community to be able to read, that is considered censorship.

 

 If you’re not familiar with the “I am Jazz” challenge, here’s a quick recap: in 2015, the Mount Horeb School District planned a reading of the picture book I am Jazz to help a transitioning transgender student feel welcome. A conservative group in Florida challenged the decision, but the community rallied together to support the reading.

 

BASE (Building a Safer Evansville) will be hosting an online reading of the book on Feb. 24, starting at 6pm on their facebook page as part of a nation-wide commemoration.  In the week leading up to the event, the Eager Free Public Library will have “Jazz and Friends” activity packets available at the craft table in the lower level. We hope you’ll pick one up and tune in on Feb. 24! 

 

If you’re curious about other recent challenges, one that has been in the news recently is Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, that was recently banned by a school district in Tennessee. A Pulitzer-prize winning novel based on experiences by the author’s parents, there is worry that anti-Semitic sentiment is behind the censorship. When there is more concern about mild profanity than the genocide that is the book’s focus, it does seem like an odd choice to target, especially when this book makes a hard topic more easily accessible for a younger audience. 

 

Commissioners in Llano County, Texas are taking an even more controversial approach: removing access to the ebook platform Overdrive altogether and closing the library for 3 days to conduct a “thorough review” of every children’s book in the library and assess their content.* School libraries in central Texas are under similar surveillance.  I wish we could say these incidents are isolated, but groups targeting specific books and the philosophy of intellectual freedom have become more organized and the attacks more frequent in the past year.  Libraries are lucky to have the support of the American Library Association and the ACLU, but we also need the support of our communities when challenges arise.  

How can you help? The BookRiot website has some great suggestions, such as supporting local journalism, voting, correcting misinformation when you see it, serving on a board, know where to find minutes from local meetings, show up to meetings, write letters, etc. (https://bookriot.com/how-to-fight-book-bans-and-challenges/) We hope you'll stand with us in defending the right to read.

*Texas book censorship targeting LGBTQ+ and race.

Rom-Coms, Valentine Crafts, and Happiness Bubbles

 

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, we have a few valentine-themed crafts for kids at the Craft Table this week: a Ladybug Heart Craft and Multimedia Wall Hanging.  We also have a Happiness Bubbles board in the lower level for all ages where we’re asking, “What makes you happy?”  Fill out a bubble to add to the board and see what others have added! 

Have you seen our rotating quilt display? They can be seen in the side entrance foyer as you walk in, hanging from the upper banister. This month, we are featuring one we thought perfect for Valentine's Day: a wedding quilt created by Rebecca's mother. (It also has the embroidered names of places like Cooksville and Rutland!) The heart quilt in the middle also has a personal connection as it was made by staff member Stephanie. We still have a few quilt squares left if you'd like to add to our Community Quilt Project! 

We've been in the mood for romantic comedies lately, both in books and movies…  Do you have a favorite romance book?  Can you name a book character who embodies what you’d love to find in a partner?  Here are a few books and movies that we love:

Movies

Cutting Edge

A spoiled figure skater is desperate for a skating partner and her coach pairs her with a macho hockey player with no background in figure skating. Sparks, ice shards, and stinging dialogue flies.

Ridicule

A French film about a lord who wants to persuade King Louis the XVI about a land project, but learns he must sharpen his verbal wit and parry attacks in order to be heard. Caught between a predatory Countess and a sweet young thing, his only weapon and defense are his words. 

10 Things I Hate About You

Cameron would love to ask Bianca out on a date, but her father has said she isn’t allowed to date until her older sister does. Cameron hatches a plan to pay a pretty boy/jerk/model to ask out the older sister… How badly could things go wrong? (Fabulous lines, great chemistry, and based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.)

Bride and Prejudice

A Bollywood film that highlights the misunderstandings, scheming, lies, and wrong turns when two mothers meddle in their daughters’ love lives.

 

Books

Austenland (both a book and a movie!) by Shannon Hale

Jane is obsessed with the novel Pride and Prejudice, to the point where all romantic interests seem to pale next to Mr. Darcy.  When a relative buys her a ticket to Austenland, her fantasies suddenly become reality…

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I’m usually not a fan of vampire books, but heard so much about this one, I thought I’d try out a page or two…  A very addictive series with one of the most appealing male love interests I have seen…

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

A young art student in Prague leads a double life collecting rare teeth for her adoptive father, a monster who can turn teeth into wishes. Raised in a demon world, she does not remember a previous life. When an angel named Akiva claims they were lovers, she starts to fall for him without realizing the consequences and their past history.

What if it’s us? By Albertalli and Silvera

Ben meets Arthur at the post office while mailing back his ex-boyfriend’s things. Were they destined to meet or is the universe tearing them apart? In a series of missed connections, mistakes, and sparks that fly, two guys try to figure out if they were meant to be.

Groundbreaking Teen Lit

 

Are you a fan of teen lit?  While some people still think of teen lit as fluff, light romances, or vampires and melodrama, it has also produced some truly groundbreaking, innovative books. Publishers have started to recognize that there are a lot of adults who read it, so sometimes there is a curious tension between what is considered teen vs. adult.  Have you read any great teen titles lately? Here are a few that we think are especially groundbreaking:

The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Insightful social commentary and compelling look at the beliefs that shape us. Micheal has always thought the anti-immigration rallies his parents took him to made sense, until he met Mina.  Mina is a new student at school, an Afghani refugee, who challenges Micheal’s assumptions and helps him see more clearly the racism that Mina faces daily.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

One of the first LGBTQ books published with an optimistic outlook, it imagines a utopian world. A romantic comedy where a boy falls in love, and learns where he needs to grow to make a relationship work.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

A witty social commentary on high school combined with gritty realism make this a novel that is hard to forget.  Isolated after an incident at a party, Melinda is so traumatized she is unable to speak.  Former friends who made assumptions leave her spiraling into a void of depression.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

While young, pregnant girls usually are used as tired examples in film and literature of potential unrealized, especially young women of color, Acevedo puts an upbeat spin on things that is rare to find.  The stress and pressure are acknowledged realistically, but Emoni has a culinary talent that can’t be denied. Despite trying to juggle high school, a new boyfriend and a baby, she works hard to reach her dreams, and the delicious Puerto Rican fusion dishes will definitely make your mouth water.

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka

An autobiographical graphic novel, Jarrett takes a hard look at his childhood.  Raised by opinionated grandparents who weren’t happy about having to raise another child, it is his only option as his mother was an addict and his father disappeared.  A powerful journey as he learns to find coping methods to survive some very tough years.

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

One of the most important teen books written in the past few years, it gives great insight into the BLM movement and systematic racism in the US.  Starr, a teen who leads a double life between her home in the projects and an affluent school in the suburbs, witnesses firsthand the death of a close friend by a police officer and it shakes both of the worlds she lives in.  A sorely needed perspective with relatable characters and a rising awareness of the need for change.