Ahoy, mateys! Hoist yer sails and practice yer pirate voice because DCDL is taking Talk Like a Pirate Day and making it into a week-long celebration of daring adventure on the high seas.
Talk Like a Pirate Day was founded in 1996 by two friends and celebrated personally by them every year on Sept. 19 until their tradition reached the email inbox of syndicated columnist Dave Barry. In September of 2002, Barry wrote about the “holiday” and people across the world began to use Sept. 19 as a day to channel their inner Black Beard or Captain Jack Sparrow.
Each DCDL branch is hosting a Talk Like a Pirate event. Kicking things off is the Orange Branch Library on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. The Ostrander Branch Library’s After School Book Bunch is the next afternoon, Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. Delaware Main Library is hosting their pirate party on Friday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m. It’s a special after-hours program for the brave and daring pirate kids in your life. We wrap thing up on Monday, Sept. 24 with Powell Branch Library at 6 p.m. Each location will have a visit from a pirate and a few of the locations will have a mermaid visit, too! It’s going to be a very exciting week at the library.
Finally, this is my last column as Communication Manager Nicole Fowles will be returning from maternity leave and will be resuming the authorship of this column. I’ve enjoyed sharing some library love with you all this summer. It’s been great fun to write. You never know, I might fill in for Nicole another time. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite books. These are titles that I’m always quick to recommend:
• “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles: Deemed unrepentant by a Bolshevik tribunal in 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to house arrest in a hotel across the street from the Kremlin, where he lives in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history unfold.
• “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier: A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house’s first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted.
• “But What If We’re Wrong” by Chuck Klosterman: Explores the idea that today’s mainstream beliefs about the world are fundamentally incorrect, drawing on original interviews with intellectuals and experts to consider how music, sports, literature, and other present-day conventions may be perceived in future centuries.
• “White Girl Problems” by Babe Walker: A comic tale based on the popular Twitter feed follows the exploits of egocentric Babe Walker, who after a stint in rehab for her shopping addiction tackles such vanity challenges as achieving celebrity thinness and accepting her father’s trophy girlfriend.
• “My Not So Perfect Life” by Sophie Kinsella: After being fired by Demeter Farlowe, Katie Brenner retreats to her family’s farm to help them set up a vacation business, but when Demeter shows up out of the blue, Katie has a new chance at re-evaluating and resetting her life.
• “June” by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore: Learning that she is the sole heir to the fortune of a legendary Hollywood movie star, Cassie Danvers, mourning the loss of her grandmother, investigates the truth in her prim grandmother’s past and discovers secrets involving blackmail, murder, betrayal, and broken hearts.
