In an earlier column, I announced that the Summer Reading Club would still be going forward this summer, though things would look a bit different. Additionally, we’re giving virtual programs a try.
This week, things really pick up speed with eight different events aimed at readers and library lovers of all ages.
Virtual Storytimes continue on our Facebook page every Wednesday at 10 a.m. You’ll see a different Delaware County District Library face every week with varying themes. This week, Miss Marley presents a transportation-themed storytime.
Children a bit older who want to discover the secret behind magic will enjoy an extra special show from Delaware’s own Magic Nate. He’ll show off his unique style and sense of humor on his Facebook page (MagicN8) Tuesday, June 23, at 2 p.m. Adults who always wanted to pick up a party trick or two will find this program especially enjoyable.
Creative teens will want to sign up to create 3-D flowers with our friends from White Dragon Paper. Registration in advance is easy at www.delawarelibrary.org on the Events page. Be sure to have a book or magazine on hand that you won’t mind cutting up to make these beautiful book flowers. Glue and a pencil will also be needed, and crafters’ stamens, florists’ tape, and wire are optional.
Finally, adults will have plenty of opportunities to discuss some of their recent reads. Though the Around the World in Books and Bites club isn’t meeting in restaurants this summer, they’re still discussing books from around the world, with this month’s discussion focusing on “The Girl with Seven Names” by Hyeon-Seo Lee. Grab your favorite North Korean food to-go from a local restaurant and join the virtual discussion Monday at 1 p.m.
A very special virtual visit from local author Nita Sweeney will take place Tuesday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. Her talk, titled “Can You Exercise Your Way to Mental Health?,” focuses on her running and mental health memoir, “Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink,” and the writing journal, “You Should Be Writing.” It’s obvious that Nita’s passion and determination show through in all she sets her mind to.
Check back at www.delawarelibrary.org on our Events page to see everything coming up and how you can join. Here’s an insider secret – even if you can’t make it, go ahead and register. We’ll send you the information to login, if a login is required, and we might be able to get a recording to you afterward, if one is provided.
Still looking for things to read? Try a new author, published for the first time in 2020.
• “If I Had Your Face” by Frances Cha. In Seoul, South Korea, four young women make their way in a world defined by impossibly high standards of beauty, secret salons catering to wealthy men, strict social hierarchies and K-pop fan mania.
• “These Ghosts Are Family” by Maisy Card. A man on his deathbed reveals that he stole another man’s identity decades earlier, traces the family’s history from colonial Jamaica to present-day Harlem and reconnects with the firstborn daughter he never knew.
• “The Girl with the Louding Voice” by Abi Daré. Adunni, a 14-year-old Nigerian girl who longs for an education, must find a way for her voice to be heard loud and clear in a world where she and other girls like her are taught to believe, through words and deeds, that they are nothing.
• “The Beauty of Your Face” by Sahar Mustafah. Enduring the harrowing minutes of a shooting attack on her school by a radicalized assailant, a school principal and daughter of Palestinian immigrants experiences flashbacks about the bigotry she faced as a child and the disappearance of an older sister.
• “A Burning” by Megha Majumdar. For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies—and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India. An opportunistic gym teacher and a starry-eyed misfit find the realization of their ambitions tied to the downfall of an innocent Muslim girl who has been wrongly implicated in a terrorist attack.
