Tag Archives: adult non-fiction

One Library Gal’s Obsession with Jeopardy

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It’s hard to say exactly when I became a die-hard fan of Jeopardy. Growing up, I dabbled here and there. Catching an episode with my parents, flexing my general knowledge skills for the family (there’s a reason why my specialty here at VPL is general services). It turns out there are some benefits to a liberal arts degree after all. In all seriousness, I love the approach the show takes to trivia, which mirrors the general trivia ethos, if you will. The questions can be about almost anything, covering wide swathes of subjects, time periods, historical movements, cultures, and geographies. The value is in knowing a bit about many things, versus doing a deep dive into one limited area. Somewhere along the way (and I think COVID had something to do with this), we started recording every single episode. Now, there is a cache of riches just waiting for us in our PVR all the time. The goal is to watch an episode every day, but sometimes things get in the way: illness, vacations, plans, etc. Most days, I like to turn it on just as we’re sitting down to supper. It’s a lovely accompaniment to a nice piece of salmon or a tofu stir fry. During the lockdown, we watched daily. I remember tracing the trajectory of Alex Trebek’s illness. From the moment he disclosed his diagnosis and the fact that he would be undergoing aggressive treatment, to the minuscule changes in his appearance that would appear from one episode to the next. It was heartbreaking, of course, but there he was hosting the show nonetheless. Such an impressive individual in so many ways. My dream is to be on the show as a contestant. That would be everything to me, but who knows? There’s a test you have to take online called the “Anytime test.” One of these days, I’ll get that call from the Jeopardy producers, and they’ll fly me to New York or some place glamorous for the final interview. I will wow them with my dazzling intellect, and the rest will be history. It turns out, we have a fair number of items related to Jeopardy in our catalogue. A couple of autobiographies from key figures, a non-fiction book about Jeopardy history, and of course trivia for you to brush up before the big test. I hope there’s something here that tickles your Jeopardy fancy!

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Secret Santa Part III: Ho Ho Ho and a Pile of Books

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Happy (almost) holidays, readers! There’s just about one week proper to go until family, feasting, and much-needed vacation time (or one of the three) and I, for one, can’t wait. Plus, there’s only one week left in our HOTS month of library-themed gifting and though we’re slowing down, there are still two more people on our team who made the Nice List this year.

I should preface this by saying I have a few different approaches when it comes to gift-giving. One: the thoughtful and thoroughly researched method. Two: the direct technique of “just ask”. And three (and sometimes my favorite): given because it’s just funny, in a very tongue-in-cheek way.    

With that little PSA out of the way, seeing as the number of yet to be revealed Secret Santas is dwindling, it might come as no surprise that as fate would have it the name I pulled out of our festive hat was Adam’s. I promise that there will be no weather-related arguments below. Instead, I’ve gone through my favorite Adam-authored posts and done some sneaky (or not so sneaky) conversational reconnaissance behind the scenes to gather a list of books, shows, and video games that he may enjoy.  So come with me as we get particularly niche and geeky as I share some recommendations that hopefully tickle his funny bone and/or fall in line with his specific brand of Nerd.  

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‘Tis the Season for Gift Giving – A Secret Santa Shelf Pick

Happy December, happy holidays, and happy last month of 2024! (As delightfully kooky youtuber Jenna Marbles once said, this year felt both short and terribly and insufferably long at the same time.)

My fellow HOTS writers and I thought we’d switch things up a little this month. In the spirit of gift giving and shelf picks—which is a personalized reading recommendation service where library staff introduce you to titles based on your preferences—we thought we’d do a sort of Secret Santa exchange of recommendations.

And thus, this post is dedicated to Claire and what I think (and hope!) she might like to read and watch, in the event she hasn’t yet. I gotta confess, this was a nerve-wracking test of how familiar I am with Claire’s taste and preferences.

Aiming to not give a gift that sucks, I revisited some of Claire’s posts and took literal and actual notes, by hand, in a notebook, to then do research with. I’m hoping that paid off! I’m also hoping you—dear reader—will find this list of recommendations to be a gift as well (pun fully intended).

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