Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For June, we’re looking at this year’s If All Arkansas Read the Same Book selection, historical fiction about the Gilded Age, an anthology of Western mysteries, a family saga set in 1970s Mississippi, a vampire fantasy romance, a guide to eating around the United States, true crime about gator poaching, encouragement for writers, and audiobook memoirs, romances, chick lit, and mysteries.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Summer Reads”Author: berryvillelibrary
"Our library, our future"
James J. Johnston’s Mountain Feds: Arkansas Unionists and the Peace Society
If you’re a Civil War buff like me, you probably already know that the war itself in Arkansas is largely overlooked in the conflict’s historiography. The Trans-Mississippi Theater is usually overshadowed by what was going on in the east, and even within that realm, Missouri has always gotten far more attention than Arkansas. In this book, Arkansas historian and Searcy County native James J. Johnston covers a facet of Ozarks Arkansas Civil War history that’s typically ignored even more than the state already is–Arkansas Unionists and the Peace Societies they established. I’ve been meaning to read this book since it was first released in 2019. Thanks so much to Julie for ordering it and adding it to our Arkansas collection!
Continue reading “James J. Johnston’s Mountain Feds: Arkansas Unionists and the Peace Society”Make Time to Play: June
This year, we’re celebrating play at the library! Everyone knows how beneficial play is for kids, but did you know that it is equally important for adults? It can be a wonderful stress reliever, boosts creativity, alleviates boredom, and may even lower your blood pressure. To that end, every month in 2024, we’re highlighting a different form of play. Each month we’ll have a bingo-style fun card. If you complete all the activities for a blackout on your card, you’ll receive a special prize. The more of the 12 monthly fun cards you complete this year, the better chance you have to win the grand prize and be crowned our annual play champion!
For June, we’re celebrating all things travel. When you travel for pleasure, your stress reduces, your mental health improves, and your horizons are broadened. It’s the epitome of the phrase “fun and educational.”
Continue reading “Make Time to Play: June”Adventure Begins at the Berryville Library This Summer!
Today is the first day of sign-ups for summer reading, and we’ve got adventure-packed programs and activities for all ages!
Continue reading “Adventure Begins at the Berryville Library This Summer!”Local Roots: May
Lots has changed in the years the Berryville Library has been in our current building. We expect lots will change in the years the library will be housed in the new building we are hoping to break ground on soon. That’s why we think it is so important as we move towards this bigger, better future to remember our roots. To that end, we have created the Berryville Library Legacy Project, which lets donors highlight a piece of local history of their choice by selecting photographs to be displayed on the end of a shelving unit at the new library. We also remain committed to helping create a sense of place through our collection, so we are going to highlight our Arkansas section this year. Each month, we’ll look at some of the different books and resources in that collection that feature unique parts of the history and culture of Berryville, Carroll County, the Ozarks, and Arkansas. There’s lots to explore about this place we call home! For May, we’re looking at travel guides.
Continue reading “Local Roots: May”Book Buzz: Contemporary Gothic Suspense, Historical Fiction, Northwoods Fiction, Nature Reads, Canning, and Audiobook Office Suspense
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For May, we’re looking at a gothic tale complete with atmospheric mansion and family secrets, historical fiction with settings that range from the construction of the Panama Canal to WWII, contemporary fiction set in rural Wisconsin, nonfiction about trees and the animal kingdom, a guide to canning, and an audiobook about an office cleaner.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Contemporary Gothic Suspense, Historical Fiction, Northwoods Fiction, Nature Reads, Canning, and Audiobook Office Suspense”Make Time to Play: May
This year, we’re celebrating play at the library! Everyone knows how beneficial play is for kids, but did you know that it is equally important for adults? It can be a wonderful stress reliever, boosts creativity, alleviates boredom, and may even lower your blood pressure. To that end, every month in 2024, we’re highlighting a different form of play. Each month we’ll have a bingo-style fun card. If you complete all the activities for a blackout on your card, you’ll receive a special prize. The more of the 12 monthly fun cards you complete this year, the better chance you have to win the grand prize and be crowned our annual play champion!
For May, we’re celebrating all things play-acting. Beyond just being a lot of fun, acting can improve confidence, as well as public speaking, listening, memorization, and teamwork skills.
Continue reading “Make Time to Play: May”Make It A Summer of Adventure Sneak Peek
Be sure to keep an eye out for the Friends of the Berryville Library’s upcoming raffle. Starting in May, you’ll be able to buy tickets for the Friends’ Make It a Summer of Adventure fundraising raffle. A special thank you to our presenting sponsor, Tonya Williams at Shelter Insurance, and all of our other generous sponsors. The prize drawing will be held Saturday, June 8, at the Ice Cream Social.
Continue reading “Make It A Summer of Adventure Sneak Peek”Local Roots: April
Lots has changed in the years the Berryville Library has been in our current building. We expect lots will change in the years the library will be housed in the new building we are hoping to break ground on soon. That’s why we think it is so important as we move towards this bigger, better future to remember our roots. To that end, we have created the Berryville Library Legacy Project, which lets donors highlight a piece of local history of their choice by selecting photographs to be displayed on the end of a shelving unit at the new library. We also remain committed to helping create a sense of place through our collection, so we are going to highlight our Arkansas section this year. Each month, we’ll look at some of the different books and resources in that collection that feature unique parts of the history and culture of Berryville, Carroll County, the Ozarks, and Arkansas. There’s lots to explore about this place we call home! For April, we’re looking at local plants.
Continue reading “Local Roots: April”Vanessa Chan’s The Storm We Made
In Malaysia in 1945, near the end of World War II, the Alcantara family is barely hanging on. Matriarch Cecily’s husband Gordon is a shell of his former self, while their beloved teen-aged son Abel has disappeared. Their daughter Jujube tries to maintain some semblance of normality as she works serving occupying Japanese soldiers in a teahouse, while the baby of the family, Jasmin, spends her days hiding in the basement. Cecily herself harbors a secret she desperately hopes her family never discovers–she helped usher in this invasion by working as a spy for Japanese General Fujiwara a decade earlier. Cecily had been lulled in by his pan-Asian message and the hope of overthrowing the colonizing British, but that’s not quite how things panned out.
Continue reading “Vanessa Chan’s The Storm We Made”
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