Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Wednesday, Sept. 15 kicked-off Hispanic Heritage Month. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on Sept. 15 and ending on Oct. 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.  

Why does Hispanic Heritage Month start in the middle of the month? It is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico, and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively. Take some time this weekend to learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month and how you can celebrate.

If you have 3 minutes… check out this article I wrote last year to find a new book by a Hispanic or Latino American author to read this month. 

If you have 7 minutes… read this article from the Skimm about co-founders of streetwear and empowerment brand Daughter of an Immigrant, Leslie Garcia and Karen Garcia. 

If you have 12 minutes… watch this YouTube video from Great Big Story celebrating Hispanic American stories. 

If you have 20 minutes… listen to VISIT PHILADELPHIA’s podcast, Love + Grit, and hear the stories of Francisco Garcia, founder of Philadelphia’s first Latino-owned whiskey distiller, and social justice professional Alba Martínez, who composed a song inspired by SEPTA’s Route 47 bus, which runs through the heart of the city’s Latino community. 

If you have an evening… visit one of these Latinx-owned restaurants right here in Philly. 

Jenna Renaud is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Newman

We’re celebrating Christmas in July, so the feeling of cheer never needs to disappear. Light a candle, snuggle up with one of these books, which are great all year round! 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

This novel is the epitome of a Christmas classic, which is why it’s taken the coveted spot of first on my book list this week. Dickens’ classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge has been adapted for every audience and medium. My personal favorite adaptation is the Mickey Mouse Disney take starring Mickey and Scrooge McDuck. However, if you haven’t read the classic in a while (or ever!) it’s definitely worth the read this holiday season. 

The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford

If you’ve read, and loved, A Christmas Carol then the next book for you to read is The Man Who Invented Christmas. Standiford tells the story behind the story, including how Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in a last attempt to save his career. If you like to see stories on a big screen, The Man Who Invented Christmas became a film in 2017, although it hasn’t picked up as much momentum as one may have expected. 

The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien

Whether you’re a Lord of the Rings fan or not, The Father Christmas Letters is worth pulling off the shelf this holiday season. The novel is a compilation of letters that Tolkien wrote to his children each year at Christmastime. Each letter was written either from Father Christmas or a polar bear. Tolkien creates a world for his children, aiding in their belief of Santa Claus and all things having to do with the North Pole, which creates for a magical read for all.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Once again, I’ve found a way to throw my favorite book Little Women onto a book list. If you haven’t picked up the book yet, Christmas is a perfect time to read it for the first time. Little Women was originally two separate stories, Little Women and Good Wives. The first original novel and first half of what we know today as Little Women is book-ended by the March girl’s Christmas day celebrations. Greta Gerwig’s movie adaptation was also released Christmas Day 2019!

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

This week marks the first of two Children’s Book Weeks in 2021. For the last three years, it has been celebrated twice a year—once in the spring, in May, and again in the fall, in November. Starting in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest running national literacy initiative, bringing together authors, publishers, booksellers, libraries, and, most importantly, young readers. 

Cat in the Stax, Jenna Newman, got started on reading at a very young age

Reading has always been a huge part of my life and, especially, my childhood. Whether it was relating to the elementary school woes of Junie B. Jones or traveling around the world in a treehouse with Jack and Annie, curling up with a book has always been a favorite pastime. Beyond generating fond memories, the reading you did as a child is crucial in developing your values, enhancing your imagination, and helping you learn resilience at a young age. 

Our reading time may be made up of more research articles and textbooks than 100-page chapter books, but we can still jump in and celebrate Children’s Book Week this year and every year!

• Take a break, read a throwback: Sometimes, especially during finals, you just need that sense of accomplishment of completing a task, but also final exams and papers keep you from starting a new side project. Try taking a break and picking up a favorite childhood book to read. It’ll rest your mind from academics and when you finish it in an hour, you’ll feel accomplished.

• Share a book with a young reader: With the semester coming to a close, maybe you’re heading home to a younger sibling or have a babysitting job lined up for the summer. Do some research and share a book, whether a classic or something new, with a young reader. A kid is never too young to start to enjoy reading. 

• Join in the celebrations: Check out Every Child’s a Reader’s website to see ways you can get involved in Children’s Book Week. The website also has Superpower Book Lists so you can help young readers in your life find the perfect new book when you get home for the summer.

Fun Fact: Falvey has The Boxcar Children, Books 1-13 available digitally for some perfect throwback reading!

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

Not only is next week Earth Week, but it’s also National Parks Week, so get ready for a list of ways you can celebrate both the earth and our parks, whether it’s through picking up a new book to read or finding time to get outside and enjoy nature.

Activities to Celebrate 

Villanova is lucky enough to be situated only 15 minutes from one of Pennsylvania’s national parks—Valley Forge National Park. This week or weekend get together a group of your close friends, find someone with a car and make the drive over to Valley Forge to walk around and enjoy nature. Not only is this a great way to celebrate National Parks, but it also lets you get outside, clear your head and refocus for all of the end of semester studying and papers that lie ahead. 

Villanova has a wide variety of Earth Week events going on, some of them starting as early as this week, and all of them are worth attending; however, I wanted to highlight another event that gets you outside and looking at nature, even if it’s not at a National Park. Next Thursday, April 22, Villanova’s horticulturist, Hugh Weldon will be leading a tour of the trees around campus. More details and registration can be found here.

Books to Read 

The Falvey collection has a wide range of National Parks Travel Guides that you can reserve and pick up. The collection has guides for everything you need to know for parks from Shenandoah National Park to Glacier National Park. With only a month left of the semester, now is the perfect time to grab some guide books and start planning a summer road trip to a National Park near or far!

Fun Fact: Did you know each day of National Parks Week has its own theme?

The National Park Service website has a list with themes for each day of National Park week as well as other ideas for you to celebrate. Below are the themes for each day.

April 17 – Park Rx Day

April 18 – VIP (Volunteers In Parks) Sunday

April 19 – Military Monday

April 20 – Transformation Tuesday

April 21 – Wayback Wednesday

April 22 – Earth Day

April 23 – Friendship Friday

April 24 – Junior Ranger Day

April 25 – BARK Ranger Day

Let us know how you plan on celebrating both Earth Week and National Parks Week next week!

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

We’re officially halfway through National Library Week! There’s something about libraries that sticks with you throughout life, whether it’s memories of getting your first ever library card or late nights spent writing papers and studying for exams. For this week’s Cat in the Stax I’m going to reminisce on some of my favorite library memories and factors that make a great library.

My first library card was from the Mercer County Library, and I remember practicing writing my name over and over again because my mom said once I could write my own name, I could get my library card. Despite having not been there in over 10 years, I can still distinctly remember where everything is located. Every summer they would always have different events for elementary students that promoted reading and learning. One factor that makes a great library is the variety of programming and events that they have available, whether in-person or virtual!

During my undergraduate years, I spent quite a bit of time at the University of Delaware’s Morris Library. My four years there included many late night study sessions and trying to snag the best study spots between classes. Another mark of a quality library is definitely study spots and study rooms. My roommate and I would always meet up in our pre-booked study room after classes to study before heading back to our apartment!

Maybe I’m a little biased, but my favorite library right now is definitely Falvey! Beyond the extensive programming and study spots, Falvey also has an amazing group of staff and librarians that are always willing to help with papers and research projects. Plus, having Holy Grounds there to get a mid-study caffeine fix has become a deal-breaker for me as far as study spots go. Make sure to head over to Falvey sometime this week to celebrate National Library Week and let us know what you think makes a great library on social media or in the comments!

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Newman

I hope you’re rocking your green today because it’s St. Patrick’s Day! This week I wanted to dive deeper into the history of St. Patrick’s Day and answer some FAQs about St. Patrick’s Day and typical ways of celebrating.

Who was St. Patrick? Saint Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle. He was brought to Ireland as a slave when he was 16, but later escaped. Later, he returned to Ireland and is thought to have brought Christianity to Ireland.

When did people start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? Since the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been celebrating the feast day of St. Patrick on March 17; however, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade actually took place in the United States! Records show that in 1601 there was a parade in the Spanish colony that is now St. Augustine, Florida. In 1772, homesick Irish soldiers in the English militia marched in New York City to honor the saint – celebrations have only grown from there!

What’s the significance of shamrocks? One of the most told legends regarding St. Patrick is that he used a three-leaf Irish clover (a shamrock!) to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people when he brought Christianity to the country. 

What do leprechauns have to do with St. Patrick’s Day? Legends of leprechauns and their pots of gold at the end of rainbows go back centuries, although it was more recently that they became tied to St. Patrick’s Day. One theory has to do with a movie Walt Disney released in 1959 called Darby O’Gill and the Little People, which was about an old Irish man and his experiences with magical leprechauns. This movie became increasingly popular in the United States right around the time that celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day also were becoming more popular. Since St. Patrick’s Day is about celebrating Irish culture and leprechauns are a large part of Irish folklore, the connection is fitting. 

Why do you wear green on St. Patrick’s Day? It all has to do with the leprechauns! Leprechauns are known for their trickery and supposedly pinch everyone they come across. But, leprechauns also cannot see the color green, so we wear green on St. Patrick’s Day to avoid being pinched! Green is also one of the prominent colors in the Irish flag.

As part of your celebrations, I encourage you to take a deeper look into one of Falvey’s digital exhibits, Rambles, Sketches, Tours: Travellers & Tourism in Ireland. This exhibit highlights Irish travel narratives and related materials, primarily from the Joseph McGarrity Collection, in Falvey Memorial Library’s Special Collections.

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

With winter seeming never-ending and spring still feeling like a far-off dream, it’s time to make a new list of movies and TV shows to watch. Below is a list of five books that have been adapted into TV series or movies for 2021. Many of these books are in Falvey’s collection. If you’re like me, you’ll need to read the book before you watch the movie!

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: OUT NOW – Feb 1, 2021

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: OUT NOW – Jan 22, 2021

The Dig by John Preston

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: OUT NOW – Jan 15, 2021

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari

Movie Title: The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Platform: Hulu

Release Date: Feb 26, 2021

Cherry by Nico Walker

Platform: Apple TV+

Release Date: Mar 12, 2021

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

College is all about meeting and connecting with new people from all over the country that normally you wouldn’t get an opportunity to interact with if you stayed in your small town. Unfortunately, the last year has made it really difficult to form and maintain those relationships. Below are some ways to stay safe, mask up, but still connect with friends, new and old.

Virtual Study Sessions
This was one idea my undergraduate roommate had as a way for us to spend time together despite the fact we were both super busy in grad school and hundreds of miles apart. We pick a time that works well for both of us, find our own, safe study space, then hop in a Zoom room to study at the same time. Our fields couldn’t be more different, but the important part is being able to spend time together, like we used to when we had study sessions back at Delaware. 

Attending NEW Events
Walking into a room full of people you don’t know to hear a speaker on a topic you’re unfamiliar with can be super intimidating. However, with Zoom events, you can feel free to leave your camera off and no one will even know you’re there! And who knows? Maybe you’ll find a new topic you enjoy learning more about or see the name of someone you have a class with also at the event and make a new connection!

To view a list of upcoming events hosted by Falvey click here. To check out the latest Villanova Theatre production, Songs for a New World, click here. 

Fresh Air
Going for walks, masked up, around Villanova’s beautiful campus is another way to connect with new and old friends while still staying safe. Swing by the library to pick-up some books, grab some food, loop around campus, and then go your separate ways back to your building or house. Being outdoors is a safer way to connect and is a great way to take a break from studying (if you don’t believe me, read any of my stress reliever blogs from last semester). 

What new ways have you been able to connect with people this past year that you’ve never thought of before?

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes things happen and absolutely nothing goes according to plan. This lesson is something that we need to internalize and remember going into 2021 and beyond. Take a minute, stop reading, and think about all of the New Year’s resolutions you made last year that you completely forgot about when March hit. For my first Cat in the Stax of the year, I want to change the way that we think about “New Year’s resolutions,” especially with many of your resolutions potentially pertaining to the new semester that’s right around the corner.

According to Google, a resolution is, “a firm decision to do or not to do something.” In my opinion, humans just aren’t good at that, we’re wishy-washy and that’s totally okay. So let’s stop setting ourselves up for failure. If I make my New Year’s resolution to workout 5 times per week, the first time that I don’t do that, I’ve technically failed. Instead, let’s think of this new year as a time to reassess our goals.

By changing our mindset and making goals instead of declaring resolutions, we offer ourselves more grace and can celebrate the progress made. In 2020, I set my reading goal on Goodreads to 25 books, as of December 13 I had read 9. Instead of thinking of that as, “Wow, I failed!” I can focus on the fact that had I not set that goal, maybe I would have only read 3 or 4 and missed out on reading fantastic books.

Goals partially completed at the end of each year can be seen as progress markers. I now know that I read 9 books in 2020, and I wish that I had made reading more of a priority. In 2021, maybe my next goal is to read 15 books. It’s not that lofty 2020 goal of 25, but I took the progress I had made and can now work to beat that.

To encourage you all in crushing your goals for 2021, here are some of my goals for the Spring 2021 semester:

• Get to know two Falvey librarians better
• Engage Cat in the Stax reader’s by replying to every comment
• Read 5 books off of the Falvey shelves
• Take my own photos for 50% of my Cat in the Stax 

What goals do you have for 2021 and how can Falvey help you crush them?

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department. Current mood: Figuring out how to crush my goals (& 2021)!

I always love getting presents for all the important people in my life, but sometimes it can be hard to figure out exactly what to get for each person. You want the gift to be meaningful, but also easy to get and not something that’s going to break the bank. My go-to for gifts is always books. I can find a perfect book, whether long or short, for about practically any interest! Plus, it gives me an excuse to visit my local bookstore.

Below is my Holiday Book Gift Guide for all of the important people in your life.

Books for Cooks If you have any cooks in your life, they probably don’t need a step-by-step cook book, but they could always use some inspiration! Below are two books that could provide good inspiration for the foodies in your life:

• Platters and Boards: Beautiful, Casual Spreads for Every Occasion by Shelly Westerhausen

• Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin

Books for Sports-Lovers Maybe the sports-lovers are interested in the biography of their favorite coach or player or just the history of their favorite sport. Here are a couple of books for all those Wildcat basketball fans out there:

• Long Shots: Jay Wright, Villanova, and College Basketball’s Most Unlikely Champion by Dana O’Neil

• Tales from the Villanova Wildcats Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Wildcat Stories Ever Told by Ed Pinckney 

Books for Outdoorsy People With the cold weather ever-approaching, all outdoor lovers and preparing for another winter of going stir-crazy. Here are two book gift ideas that can help them explore outside while staying in or plan their next adventure:

• The Bucket List: 1000 Adventures Big & Small by Kath Stathers

• The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

Books for People ALWAYS Buying Decor You know? Those people that are always going to Target or Hobby Lobby to buy new decor? The ones that rearrange their house every couple months? Below are two books for those people in your life:

• Cozy White Cottage: 100 Ways to Love the Feeling of Being Home by Liz Marie Galvan

• Rental Style: The Ultimate Guide to Decorating Your Apartment or Small Home by Chelsey Brown

Coffee Table Books A couple years ago for Christmas, I got “coffee table books” for all of my future in-laws. These are essentially books that you rarely sit down and read through, but they sit on a coffee table or an end table in the living room for people to casually flip through. These are great gifts because they really can speak to any interest. Honestly, a lot of the ideas listed above can fall under the category of “coffee table books.” Usually, around the Holidays, Barnes and Noble has a whole table or section online dedicated to these kinds of books…go there to get inspired!

If you’re like me and trying to shop small this Christmas, but don’t have a local bookstore in the area that you love, check out Bookshop. They are an online bookstore that supports local, independent book stores through your sales going to an earnings pool that’s then distributed to bookstores nation-wide!

Share with us below any Holiday book shopping tips you have and happy shopping!