Month: October 2023

TV Review: Ghosts (2019)

When Mike and Alison Cooper learn that Alison has inherited a house in the English countryside from a distant relative, the news could not have come at a better time. They’ve been looking for a place, and the stately historic mansion is far more than they could have ever afforded on their own. They end up with more than they bargain for, though, when Alison has a nearly fatal accident. Its lingering side effects include her being able to see the quirky, tragic ghosts who haunt the place. And wow are there a lot of them, from all different time periods. They range from the surprisingly astute caveman Robin to the over-the-top melodramatic Romantic poet Thomas to the snobby grand Edwardian lady Fanny to more modern ghosts. We won’t even get into all the ghosts crammed in the furnace room. Hilarious complications ensue.

Kelli suggested this delightful British show to me, and I am so glad she did. Thanks for the great recommendation, Kelli! It’s a hilarious show with a lot of heart. Despite the ghostly subplots, it is not really horror, though it does have some amusingly effective jump scares. So, if you want to watch something appropriate for Halloween but are in the mood for something that’s not horror or just don’t have a high tolerance for scary stuff to begin with, check out this show instead.

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Maker Post: October

Over the past few years, we’ve been developing and expanding our reach into the world of making, by offering both programs and resources.

What exactly is making? Well, we actually helped craft a formal definition for it for library staff across the nation. But the short answer is pretty simple: it is the process of being willing to get your hands dirty and learn while you create whatever you want to make to accomplish a task or just have fun. Do you cook?  Do you craft? Do you invent? Do you build? Do you fix things? You are a maker! 

In fact, some are even talking about making as at the core of a new type of literacy: invention literacy  (i.e., the ability to look around you and figure out how human-made things work). Like any type of literacy, you can never be too old or too young to start your making journey and nurturing the growth mindset on which all making depends. You also can never have enough tools in the forms of books to get your creative juices flowing.

So, this year we plan to highlight all of the various making resources we have–which range from needlework to Legos to more. October is all about woodworking!

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Dale Ross’s A Voice for Ira

One of Carroll County’s claims to fame is being the birthplace of iconic long-time Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown. Born in Green Forest in 1922, Helen left the county as a child. As an adult, her career path included work as a secretary, ad copywriter, and author before reinventing Cosmopolitan in the 1960s as a magazine for modern single women. After her death in 2012 at the age of 90, she and her husband David Brown–a noted movie producer in his own right who worked on Jaws, among other films–were buried in Sisco Cemetery here in Carroll County at her mother’s family’s plot.

However, as local historian Dale Ross explains in his book A Voice for Ira, Helen’s father Ira is an interesting figure in his own right. Both of Helen’s parents were schoolteachers, but Ira also pursued a successful political career in the 1920s and 1930s. He served multiple terms as a state representative before being appointed Game and Fish Commissioner. He had signaled an interest in running for Secretary of State before he was killed in a bizarre elevator accident in the summer of 1932.

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Nothing’s Sweeter Than Being a Friend of the Library

Friends board members and volunteers gathered around one of the kids’ tables. We’ve outgrown the library! Help us build a new one.

It’s October, which means it’s time to start renewing your Friends of the Berryville Library memberships! Or joining for the first time. 🙂

We’ve had a really eventful year for the Friends, so keep reading to learn more about how the building project and other Friends work is progressing.

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Walk a Mile in My Shoes: October

This year, our theme is “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.” The idea that you can’t understand someone (and shouldn’t judge them) until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes is a pretty common sentiment. And research has shown that reading fiction is one way to really get such a walk going. So, that’s what we are going to do this year: use fiction (and some nonfiction when we just can’t resist) to take walks in someone’s shoes. We hope you join our journey. For October, our theme is domestic violence.

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