Jawahir Javaid

Middle Eastern Literature

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / October 14, 2019

Browse our extensive collection of Arabic and Persian literature, located primarily in the call numbers PJ7601-PJ8008 and PK6400-PK6599.7 respectively. Some recommended works include:

All That’s Left to You: A Novella and Short Stories by Ghassan Kanafani
The Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
- Palace Walk
- Palace of Desire
- Sugar Street
Distant View of the Minaret by Alifa Rifaat
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
Layla and Majnun by Nizami Ganjavi
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat

Watchmen

Graphic Novel Symposium, In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / September 23, 2019

Coming to “After Watchmen: Interpreting and Misinterpreting a Superhero Comic” with fine arts faculty member, Erik LaGattuta on Wednesday, September 25? Click here to search for the graphic novel in our library catalog. We have a collection of the original and annotated editions of Watchmen and Before Watchmen eBooks accessible through Hoopla. We also own: the graphic novel in print, an animated motion comic on DVD, and Considering Watchmen: Poetics, Property, Politics by Andrew Hoberek about the influences of Watchmen on the graphic novel industry. LaGattuta’s talk and other events from the Graphic Novel Symposium will be available for viewing online afterwards.

Diet Therapy for Diabetes

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / November 29, 2018

The holidays can be a tempting time to eat with cookie exchanges and decadent family dinners. Don’t lose sight of your health with the help of books on diet and dietary cookbooks for managing diabetes. Some of the titles in our collection include:

American Diabetes Association Guide to Nutrition Therapy for Diabetes
Diabetes & Heart Healthy Cookbook by the American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association
The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking: 80 Low-Carb Recipes that Offer Solutions for Celiac Disease, Diabetes, and Weight Loss by Peter Reinhart and Denene Wallace
Master Your Diabetes: A Comprehensive, Integrative Approach for Both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes by Dr. Mona Morstein
Two-Step Diabetes Cookbook by Nancy S. Hughes

Click on the following for a complete list of books on diabetic diet therapy. Also browse our collection of books on diet therapy for other health problems.

Comic Book Documentaries

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / October 23, 2018

Stream the following comic book documentaries recently added to our Films on Demand collection to coincide with this year’s One Book One College. Each documentary presents a different aspect of comic book history.

The American Comic Strip surveys the history of comic strips with renowned artists Mort Walker, John Romita, Will Eisner, John Cullen Murphy, Sean Kelly, and Milton Caniff.
The Art of Spiegelman is a biographical film on Art Spiegelman, creator of popular comic strips Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers. The film features interviews of Spiegelman and his wife, Françoise Mouly.
In Search of Dan Cooper examines the creation of the French-Belgian Dan Cooper series, inspired by Canadian pilots stationed overseas, and how the comic strip evolved over time.

Want to learn more? Stream Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle. Season 1 and Dear Mr. Watterson: An Exploration of Calvin & Hobbes through Hoopla and browse our extensive graphic novel collection in person.

Hispanic Heritage Month: Frida Kahlo

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / October 1, 2018

Commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month by exploring our extensive collection of books, eBooks, and audiovisual materials on renowned Mexican painter and feminist icon, Frida Kahlo. Special mention to two award-winning picture books in our Juvenile Collection, Viva Frida! by Yuyi Morales and Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown. Both books feature colorful illustrations that are sure to bring the artist’s creativity to life.

Also see the Huffington Post article, “19 Children’s Books to Read in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month,” by Taylor Pittman for additional suggestions.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

In the Collection, In the Headlines / By Jawahir Javaid / April 26, 2018

We finally have a print copy of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss. The book was announced (and released) on March 18th during an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver with some controversy. Independent booksellers were blindsided by the release and questioned business ethics as the book was first made available to Amazon.¹ The larger conversation was around the fact that the book was published as a parody of Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President, written by Charlotte Pence and illustrated by Karen Pence. Both books star the Pence family pet, Marlon Bundo, but one is a biography of the Vice President, while the other is about same-sex marriage.

The release of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo was political, serving as Oliver’s response to Mike Pence’s indirect support of anti-gay organizations.² The plot is about gay marriage and pictures contain cues for adults. At the same time, the book introduces broader themes that go beyond this specific political situation. Twiss writes about the essentials of democracy and diversity, ideas that are universal regardless of who is in power. You can checkout the book in print or electronically from our library.

Green, Alex. “Booksellers Outraged by Chronicle’s Rollout of John Oliver Book.” Publishers Weekly, 26 March 2018, https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/76440-booksellers-outraged-by-chronicle-s-rollout-of-john-oliver-book.html. Accessed 26 April 2018.
“Mike Pence: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).” YouTube, uploaded by LastWeek Tonight, 18 March 2018, https://youtu.be/rs2RlZQVXBU.

The Salesman

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / March 29, 2018

Are you familiar with Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman? Watch Forushande (The Salesman) for a spin on the classic. The Persian film is about the private struggles of a young couple in Tehran, who happen to be working on a theatrical production of Death of a Salesman. The film won an Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year in 2017.

While no background reading is required, the movie had me revisiting the 1949 play about Willy Loman and the end of his career as a salesman. You can find the original play and the following motion picture and television adaptations at our library:

Death of a Salesman: 1966 television film starring Stanley Adams, Edward Andrews, and Lee J. Cobb. Winner of three Primetime Emmy Awards in 1967.
Death of a Salesman: 1985 television film starring Dustin Hoffman, Charles Durning, and Kate Reid.
Salesman: 1968 documentary following door-to-door salesmen at work.

Female Superheroes in Comic Books

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / March 1, 2018

This Women’s History Month, get inspired by the strength and leadership of female superheroes. Our library offers a diverse collection of graphic novels, featuring new and old female superhero characters like Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel. Find a complete list of Women Superheroes in our catalog, or select popular characters from the list below.

Alana in Saga (Image Comics)
Barbara Gordon in Batgirl (DC Comics)
Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse Comics)
Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel (Marvel Worldwide)
Doreen Green in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Marvel Worldwide)
Hannah, Violet, Dee, and Betty in Rat Queens (Image Comics)
Jessica Drew in Spider-Woman (Marvel Worldwide)
Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel (Marvel Worldwide)
Kate Kane in Batwoman (DC Comics)
Lunella Lafayette in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (Marvel Worldwide)
Sonja in Red Sonja (Dynamite Entertainment)

Maggs, Sam. “A Feminist Ranking of Female Superheroes.” Marie Claire, 25 July 2017, www.marieclaire.com/culture/news/a13588/a-feminist-ranking-of-todays-female-superheroes/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.

Ostroff, Joshua. “15 Fantastic Female-Fronted Comic Books for Your Kids.” Huffington Post, 28 Mar. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/03/28/female-comic-books_n_15494978.html. Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.

Cooking with Vegetables

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / November 20, 2017

Whether you are vegetarian or just looking for a vegetable side dish, be sure to check out our collection of cookbooks this holiday season. We have a great variety of print books, along with electronic books from EBSCO and eRead Illinois. Click on the following link to browse our collection of books on cooking vegetables or narrow your search to vegetarian cooking. Also, if I may recommend How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman for recipes ranging from gnocchi to preserved lemons. The tenth anniversary edition of Bittman’s book released earlier this month and will soon be available on our shelves.

Graphic Novels Guidebook

In the Collection / By Jawahir Javaid / October 27, 2017

If you don’t know what graphic novel to read or are searching for more information regarding a particular comic book, we have the guide for you. Michael Pawuk and David S. Serchay’s Graphic Novels: A Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More is a bibliography with a listing of 1,000 popular graphic novels. The book is easy to read, organized by genres and subgenres to help you find your next graphic novel. Click on the link above for direct access to the e-Book; off-campus users will be asked to login with their MVCC username and password.