Hello and welcome to Episode Forty Three of Page Turn: the Largo Public Library Podcast. I’m your host, Hannah!
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The English Language Transcript can be found below
But as always we start with Reader’s Advisory!
The Reader’s Advisory for Episode Forty Three is The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling. If you like the sound of The Death of Jane Lawrence you should also check out: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.
My personal favorite Goodreads list The Death of Jane Lawrence is on is Gothic Romantic Suspense of a Bygone Era – Victorian Mansions, Mysterious Manors, Haunted Chateaux, Sinister Castles, Rambling Estates, Governesses, Heiresses, Mistresses, and Brooding Atmospheres.
Happy Reading Everyone
Today’s Library Tidbit comes to us from Research & Access Services Librarian Hilary and is about Bipolar disorder.
Hilary has been long been running a program titled Issues that Matter that focuses on problems our society is facing using, mostly, fiction. On November 29th, the program will be reading and discussing The Silver Linings Playbook a book that deals with Bipolar disorder and trauma responses.
In the book the main character, Pat, has just come home from a psychiatric hospital where he was hospitalized following a destructive manic outburst. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In additional to bipolar disorder Silver Linings Playbook also has a character who portrays a trauma response, characterized by depression and risky behaviors.
Bipolar disorder are disorders that cause shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and ability to function. There are currently three types of Bipolar disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, called the DSM-5, Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, and Cyclothymic Disorder. Each disorder has different diagnostic criteria.
I’m going to cut in here to say that I am not a psychiatrist. I do not have a degree in any field of psychology. I cannot and will not diagnose anyone and no one should use any of the following information to diagnose anyone. If you think any of this criteria matches your lived experience please talk to your doctor or a psychiatrist. I know that may be too expensive for a lot of people but if you are in a position to be able to visit a doctor please ask them about your concerns.
In order to be diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder a person must have had at least one manic episode. This episode may or may not have been preceded by a hypomanic or major depressive episode. The manic episode cannot be better explained by a different diagnosis.
In order to be diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder a person must have had at least one hypomanic episode and at least one major depressive episode and the symptoms of these episodes must cause significant disruption of the person’s life. They can never have had a manic episode. The hypomania and depression cannot be better explained by a different diagnosis.
In order to be diagnosed with Cyclothymic Disorder a person must have had many periods of both hypomania and depression for at least two years. With the hypomania and the depression sharing the time evenly. The symptoms of these episodes significantly disrupts the person’s life. The hypomanis and depression cannot be better explained by a different diagnosis.
I am not going to explain mania, hypomania, and depression and the criteria or definition of the Bipolar Disorder will not make much sense.
Mania and hypomania have mostly the same symptoms, however, they do not have them to the same degree. Mania is the more severe of the two and can also present with psychosis. However, a manic or hypomanic episode must present with three or more of the following symptoms: abnormally upbeat, jumpy or wired, increased activity, energy or agitation, exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence also referred to as euphoria, decreased need for sleep, unusual talkativeness, racing thoughts, distractibility, and poor decision-making.
A depressive episode includes five or more of the following symptoms: depressed mood, feeling sad empty, hopeless, marked loss of interest or pleasure in activities that used to interest or bring pleasure, significant weight lose or weight gain that is not purposeful, a change in sleeping patterns, insomnia or oversleeping, restlessness or slowed behavior, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, decreased ability to think or concentrate, suicidal ideation.
The Issues that Matter program will discuss both mental health issues as well as the book Silver Linings Playbook. Hilary will also be sharing tips and resources on receiving assistance. This is an online program. Registration is required and the information on how to access the program will be emailed out by November 23rd. If you or someone you care about has Bipolar Disorder or you would like tips and resources to receive aid attend the program. We also have several titles in the adult non-fiction collection if you would like to do more research.
And now it’s time for Book Traveler, with Victor:
Welcome to a new episode of Book Traveler. My name is Victor and I am a Librarian at the Largo Public Library. Today I am going to talk to you about a non-fiction book that we have in our Spanish collection, Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano.
Synopsis: Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx. Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee, fruit, hides and wool, petroleum, iron, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum ore, nitrates, and tin. These are the veins which he traces through the body of the entire continent, up to the Rio Grande and throughout the Caribbean, and all the way to their open ends where they empty into the coffers of wealth in the United States and Europe. Weaving fact and imagery into a rich tapestry, Galeano fuses scientific analysis with the passions of a plundered and suffering people. An immense gathering of materials is framed with a vigorous style that never falters in its command of themes. All readers interested in great historical, economic, political, and social writing will find a singular analytical achievement, and an overwhelming narrative that makes history speak, unforgettably.
Opinion: The Open Veins of Latin America, is one of the most outstanding works of Eduardo Galeano, who after an exhaustive investigation on the political, economic, social, cultural history of Latin America from the 16th to the 20th century, manages to capture his ideas using well-founded arguments and reliable sources. The facts he presents are not taught in school. Although 48 years have passed since it was published, the problem is still valid.
In the first part, the author recounts what is happening in Latin America. He deals with how our Latin American countries are easy prey for the great powers since, despite having wealth, we are unable to develop creating a world in which only powers and subordinates exist. Since colonial times, America has undergone several changes, which have left great consequences. The colonizers did not come in search of the progress of our territory. They were only looking for their own benefit.
Galeano has long given us the elements to understand what interests are behind Latinos living in the constant hope of seeing our land progress, while the fruits are collected by the same as always more than 5 centuries ago.
Outro: That is all for today. Until the next edition of Book Traveler. Bye.
Stay safe everyone out there! Check out our programming page here as our planned programming has changed!
For everyone interested our intro music is by Break the Bans and the outro music is by Jahzzar, both artists can be found on Free Music Archive.
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