Ocean City Free Public Library Book Blog

      Nimona  is the printed published version of a popular webcomic by Noelle Stevenson, who goes by the screenname Gingerhaze   online. While Stevenson dabbles in webcomic presentations of multiple types (stand-alones, multi-pannel, fanart, etc.) Nimona  was a serial webcomic that she started posting in June of 2012 while attending Maryland Institute College of Art. It doubled as her senior thesis. It was published as a book earlier this year, in May 2015.       Nimona  follows the story of a disgraced knight turned mad scientist, Lord Ballister Blackheart, and his feisty shape-shifting sidekick, Nimona in their quest to overthrow the government through the means of supervillany--all the while being pursued by Blackheart's former friend and now nemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. Through the course of the story the alliances and moral codes of the two men begin to warp as secrets, cover-ups, and conspiracies begin to come to light, ...

      If you are a fan of video blog style YouTube channels, then you probably have experienced Tyler Oakley at some point. One of the Internet's most active LGBT+ spokespeople, Tyler Oakley has collaborated with dozens and dozens of other YouTubers and actors including Jenna Marbles, Miranda Sings, Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig, John Green, Dan Howell, Phil Lester, Jim Chapman, Troye Sivan, Oli White, Joey Graceffa, Connor Franta, Darren Chris, and many many more. He has been nominated twelve times for Streamy Awards (and won seven), has a popular podcast which he cohosts with his best friend and fellow YouTubers Kory Kuhl, and since starting his YouTube channel in 2007 has gained over 7,700,000 subscribers. He has even been featured as a guest host on the popular MTV show Catfish.  Tyler Oakley uses his presence and online popularity to advocate for LGBT+ rights, especially those of LGBT+ youth, as well as social issues like healthcare and education. One of organisa...

      Welcome to Night Vale  is a recently published novel written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It is a story set in the same setting as the #1 international hit podcast of the same name . Rather than being a novelisation of one of the story-lines that has already happened on the podcast, this novel presents an entirely new story-line that explores the origin and explanation for one of the background characters who was introduced in the early episodes of the podcast; namely: The Man in the Tan Jacket.       If you are unacquainted with the recurring twice-monthly podcast through CommonPlace Books, the first episode aired in June 2012. Source material and inspiration for the stories that happened in the early episodes were drawn from A Commonplace Book of the Weird: The Untold Stories of H.P. Lovecraft and What It Means to be a Grown-up , both originally published by CommonPlace Books. It began slowly gathering a somewhat underground fol...

      Career of Evil is the latest book published by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, and continues to follow the story of private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott. This book is vastly different from the preceding two novels in the series, The Cuckoo's Calling  and The Silkworm , as the nature of the crimes and investigation is different.       In the first two books in this series, the crimes are highly sensationalised and highlighted by the media, pulling a heavy focus on the public side of crime investigation. In Career of Evil  the investigation is given much more of a personal element, as the killer is directly targeting Cormoran and Robin. In addition to this, we are given a much more in-depth backstory of Robin Ellacott and her relationship with her fiance, Matt.       For the most part, I enjoyed Career of Evil , because while both main characters are present and investigatin...

      Go Set a Watchman  is the recently published novel by Harper Lee that follows her classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird.  In this novel, the reader sees a grown-up Jean Louise (Scout) Finch visiting her hometown and discovering that her father, whom she idolised in the previous novel, is not as heroic as she grew up believing.       There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the publication of this book--namely the time elapsed between Mockingbird and Watchman and the probability that it was not Lee's desire to publish this book, (Joe Nocera writes a good article for the New York Times about this controversy)--however, setting that controversy aside for a moment, let's focus on the literary merit of the story itself. What follows is purely the opinion of the librarian writing this post.       Was it a good book?       It was a well written book. It brought up controversial issues, it revisited idea...

      The Girl in the Spider's Web  is the fourth book in the  Millennium  series originally created and written by Stieg Larsson. As Larsson himself passed away in 2004, the popular trilogy, chronicling the adventures of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and investigative journalist  Mikael Blomkvist, was originally published posthumously. However, there is still a large time gap between the publication of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest  in 2007, and the decision to continue the series under a different author. The announcement that there would be a fourth (and eventual fifth and sixth) book was not even announced until early 2015.       This time delay is only logical, as the process of continuing a series of this caliber is a daunting one. Getting the consent and permission from the Larsson's estate alone would have taken much legal negotiating. Even tougher still would be finding an author who could capture a...

      National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15th to October 15th. It is a month dedicated to celebrating the diverse culture, the many contributions and accomplishments from Americans whose ancestors are Hispanics/Latinos. From the vast history of Spain to all the stories and histories from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, it is a month to celebrate all the people who are part of such diversified background and contribute to the ever growing and changing story of America.       It first began as a week long observance in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson, it was eventually expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15.       "The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salv...