Keywords & Taurus in a Nutshell (including a bit of technical stuff)

Do you have a difficult relationship with pleasure… any and all physical pleasures? For instance, if you’re a foodie, you may very well have prominent Taurus placements in your birth chart. Taurus is one of the most embodied signs of the zodiac. Taurus is symbolized by the bull and it moves slowly, but steadily. And as the old adage says, slow but steady wins the race. In some ways, Taurus serves a corrective purpose, challenging the impulsivity of the previous sign, Aries. 

This sign is ruled by Venus, goddess of love, and it is associated with all things beautiful, especially gardens, architecture, arts and crafts, and even cooking! This isn’t a book, but the Great British Baking Show is very Taurean (albeit not in terms of its pacing). Have you ever seen the famous medieval unicorn tapestries housed at the Met Cloisters in NYC? These are the epitome of Taurean beauty. By contrast, while Libra is also ruled by Venus, as an air sign it represents the less earthy and more ethereal arts, especially music! Finally, Taurus is a fixed earth sign, meaning it can be immovable (i.e.: stubborn like a bull), but it is also very reliable, stable, and grounded. A Taurus would make a very trustworthy friend or confidante, someone you could truly lean on during difficult or tumultuous times. 🙂

[Read more…] about Taurus Season Book Recommendations (April 19th – May 20th): The Hedonist & The Romantic

Keywords & Aries in a Nutshell (including a bit of technical stuff)

Aries, the baby of the zodiac, emerges from the oceanic womb of Pisces without a backward glance. Fiery, aggressive, impulsive, bold, courageous, brash…These are just a few of the qualities, both positive and negative, of the zodiac’s warrior. Like Sagittarius, a fellow fire sign, Aries folks tend to be adventurous, although the Sagittarian approach tends to have a more philosophical bent. When I think of the Aries adventurous streak I picture the American Wild West vs. the Sagittarian adventurer as the nomadic expat living overseas or traveling around the world, experiencing different cultures and ways of being.

In both traditional and modern psychological astrology, Aries is a fire sign (inspired and passionate), a cardinal sign (associated with beginnings), and it is ruled by Mars (or Ares), the Greco-Roman god of war. Remember, not all warriors are male or masculine-identifying. Many are queer and many are women…Think of the lore about the Amazons, fierce women warriors who rejected the brutal patriarchy of ancient Greek society. (In honor of the Amazons, I’ve chosen to capture the essence of the Aries archetype with two contemporary pop culture references, Xena, Warrior Princess and Wonder Woman). 

Fun fact: The actress who played Xena, Lucy Lawless, is herself a triple Aries meaning she was born with an Aries Sun, an Aries Moon, and Aries rising. Talk about a triple threat! I am generally not a fan of type casting, but in this case it’s almost too perfect to be true.

While quick or hot-tempered, Aries doesn’t get into fights over nothing. At its best, the Aries archetype is embodied by the impassioned social justice warrior. That said, Aries folks can be dangerously reckless and impulsive. They may shoot first and think later. When it comes to warfare, the Aries type will be found on the battlefield. They usually aren’t long-term strategists and while they may win the battle, they also may lose the war. Let this be a cautionary tale. 🙂

[Read more…] about Aries Season Book Recommendations (March 20th – April 19th): The Adventurer & the Warrior

Introductory Musings

Looking for your next great read and not sure where to start? 

Just for fun, this year I am launching an astrology-themed book recommendation blog series, starting (NOT just because I am weird) at the end of the zodiac with Pisces and ending at the beginning with Aries. (I know it’s customary to start at the beginning, but some describe Pisces as the cosmic (or oceanic) womb, so in a manner of speaking it’s both the beginning and the end of the zodiac. Also, since the zodiac is a circle, there really is no beginning nor end per se).

[Read more…] about Book Recommendations from the Stars!

Adult Fiction in Global Languages: Serving the New Mainer Community

Have you ever wandered through the stacks on the 2nd floor in adult fiction wondering why we don’t own any books in languages other than English? After all, we do have a fairly extensive collection of foreign films downstairs! Are you a first-generation immigrant trying to maintain ties to your ancestral homeland and prefer to read for leisure in your native tongue? Or, are you perhaps studying a romance language and want to challenge your reading comprehension by taking a stab at reading an Allende novel in the original Spanish? (As someone married to a Spaniard with moderately decent knowledge of Spanish, I wouldn’t be brave enough to attempt this, but kudos to anyone who is!) 🙂

Thanks to a small grant we won back in the summer months of 2024, we have the opportunity to build an equally small (but robust) collection of adult fiction titles in three different languages: French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The titles are not limited to literary classics that can be accessed through ILL (interlibrary loan) services from college and university libraries scattered throughout the state. We’ve made an effort to acquire popular, mainstream titles, and relatively current titles (most dated from 2015 and later). [Read more…] about New Collection at the Library