The next time you visit the Adult Services Department at the Main Library on Harnish Drive, you might notice that things look a little bit different.
Our librarians and materials staff have been busy rearranging our fiction collections to make browsing easier, and to create room for some exciting new items we can’t wait to share!
Here's where you'll find...
If you love taking photos, get acquainted with the Worth 1,000 Words Camera Club! The club meets the first Wednesday of each month, both in-person at AAPLD, and virtually. Photographers of all experience levels are welcome. Members use digital, film, and cellphone cameras.
“We have very expert members and raw beginners. Any style of photography, equipment, and any subject matters are covered by the membership, as well as in the meeting content,” said group leader Mike Circo.
Monthly programs include a short teaching session covering a photography technique, or style. Recent topics have included camera maintenance, motion photography, still life photography and Black and White photography. Members then share their work for discussion, positive critique and suggestions. Circo also issues a challenge for the upcoming month, to encourage members to expand their photography skills. “The challenges are generally the most enjoyed part of any meeting because they help us mentally get out of our ruts and impel us to get that camera out,” Circo said.
The group has also begun occasional photography outings. Circo said the field trips allow members to learn from one another while actively taking photos. In December, members photographed holiday decorations, learning about the technical issues of shooting in low light. Members have expressed interest in local landscapes, spring flowers and the McHenry Riverwalk.
Click to register for the Worth a 1,000 Words Camera Club’s next meeting, Wed. June 1, at 7:00 p.m.
The Spring Fling Reading Challenge invites participants to review a book they've read, and our patrons have responded!
If you're looking for an intriguing new read, why not give one of these "Favorite Flings" a try? Browse online, call the library to place a hold, or stop in and check out our Favorite Flings display in the Adult Services department.
If you've read something you loved, grab a Spring Fling review card from the Favorite Flings display, or at the Adult Services desk. You can also log into your Beanstack account, click Book Reviews, and tell us about your pick. You might see your new favorite on display soon!
Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson - From America’s most beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller—a thriller about a young singer/songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.
Every song tells a story. She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her. She’s also on the run. Find a future, lose a past. Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny. It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.
Fits Spring Fling challenge square: Read a book with flower in the title.
Patron Review: "I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was very thought-provoking as I wanted to continue reading for the next adventure she embarked on. It was heartwarming with her success at the end of the story. Loved the short chapters." -Anonymous
Go Tell The Bees I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon - The ninth installment in Gabaldon's beloved "Outlander" series! Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same. It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible. Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s teakettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long until the war is on his doorstep.
Spring Fling Reading Challenge squares: Try it as an audiobook!
Patron Review: "I loved this latest edition of the Outlander series. Roger, Brianna, and their kids are reunited with Claire and Jamie on the Ridge! But it wouldn't be outlander without some twists and turns (and tears)." - Outlander Fan
The Last Exiles by Ann Shin - Jin and Suja met and fell in love while studying at university in Pyongyang. She was a young journalist from a prominent family, while he was from a small village of little means. Outside the school, North Korea has fallen under great political upheaval, plunged into chaos and famine. When Jin returns home to find his family starving, their food rations all but gone, he makes a rash decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, miles away, Suja has begun to feel the tenuousness of her privilege when she learns that Jin has disappeared. Risking everything, and defying her family, Suja sets out to find him, embarking on a dangerous journey that leads her into a dark criminal underbelly and will test their love and will to survive.
Spring Fling Reading Challenge squares: Read a book with flowers on the cover, Debut Novel, Staff Pick
Patron Review: "This novel gives a look inside the secretive world of North Korea. A country filled with fear, distrust, and little control over one's life. Yet, the power of love and determination changes the fates of the brave characters in this book. An enjoyable and informative read." - Cecelia G.
