Want to Help The Library? Become a Friend!

friends

As we’re in the early planning stages of building a new library facility (and raising the money to pay for it), it’s been so energizing to see how many people in our community are excited and want to help. That’s what they ask–how can I help?

And the short answer right now is please join the Friends of the Berryville Public Library.

I’ve written about the Friends on here before, but I wanted to talk about this wonderful group and the work they do again as we kick off our Friendsraiser for the month of October.

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Movie Review: The Great Escape (1963)

The Great Escape

In the middle of WWII, the German military was not especially enthused with the idea of tying up resources guarding troublesome POWs who kept wanting to escape. Now, to my mind, it would probably be more logical to separate all the troublesome prisoners from each other, but instead, the Germans decided to lump them all together in a special high-security POW camp. Probably not too surprising when you gather together dozens of escape artists, they end up orchestrating, well, a great escape. . . .

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Old Favorites: Agatha Christie

We’re focusing on newer books, movies, and television shows for 2019, but that doesn’t mean we’re entirely ignoring old favorites! After all, what’s that saying–what’s old may just become new again (or something like that)?

Though she’s been dead for over 40 years, Agatha Christie is a perennial favorite with mystery readers. Her mysteries still circulate very well at our library, and I’ve been an avid reader of her work since I was a teenager.

I’ve blogged before about her work that we have at the library–here and here–and even written a guide to how to survive an Agatha Christie novel. 🙂

But since this week also marks the 129th anniversary of her birthday, I thought books that celebrate her life would be the best way to honor her. Because, even beyond her career as a writer, Dame Agatha had a fascinating life. . . .

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Jeff Guinn’s The Vagabonds (2019)

The Vagabonds

In the 1910s and 1920s, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were two of the most famous men in America. They were also friends who regularly vacationed with each other. In his latest book, Jeff Guinn chronicles the quirky friendship between these two prickly historical figures, as well as their numerous road trips across a changing, modernizing America.

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Book Buzz: Wizard of Oz Fan Fiction,Terrible Children’s Stories, and Slime

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For September, we’re looking at a fictional behind-the-scenes look of a Hollywood classic, a zany but clever graphic novel for kids, and a book about slime (no, really).

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Movie Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

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Lee Israel has a problem.

At one point in her life, she was a successful author, writing biographies of famous women like the actress Tallulah Bankhead. She was even on the New York Times Bestseller list.

But that was years ago. Now, she can’t find work and is behind on her rent. The only friend she has is her ailing cat, and nobody will return her phone calls. As far as Lee is concerned, the fact she is now living in poverty and unemployed is a disgrace.

Her longtime agent, though, is less confused about why Lee has been snubbed by the literary world–just because she wrote a bestseller doesn’t mean she’s famous, her proposed new book subject is unmarketable, and Lee herself is just thoroughly unpleasant to deal with. Nobody wants to work with her.

Her agent advises her to seek a different line of work. And that’s just what Lee does. She starts forging letters from famous, deceased authors and selling them to collectors and antique dealers. Needless to say, complications ensue.

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Old Favorites: H.P. Lovecraft

We’re focusing on newer books, movies, and television shows for 2019, but that doesn’t mean we’re entirely ignoring old favorites! After all, what’s that saying–what’s old may just become new again (or something like that)?

Today marks the 129th anniversary of the birth of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, known to generations of readers as classic horror/weird fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft. Though he was writing in the early 20th century, Lovecraft has been a major influence on countless contemporary horror writers, including Stephen King.

Whether you’re a long-time fan of Lovecraft’s nightmarish fictional world or one of the completely uninitiated, today’s the perfect chance to revisit his work–or sample it for the first time.

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Peter Heller’s The River (2019)

The River

Jack and Wynn have been best friends since their college freshmen orientation. In many ways, they couldn’t be more different–the former an engineering major, more pragmatic, raised on a Colorado ranch; the latter an art major, more optimistic, raised in a comfortable, well-to-do Vermont home. Still, they’re bonded by a love of the outdoors, of canoeing, of fishing, and of reading.

It’s no surprise that they decide to spend August on a canoe trip in northern Canada–their goal a small village on Hudson Bay after an approximately 150 mile-long trip. Things take an unexpected turn when they realize a large wildfire rages near the river. Then, they hear a couple arguing one day in the fog. The next day, a lone man paddles up the river. . . .

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Book Buzz: Neurotics Broadening Their Horizons, 19th Century Frontier Romances, Real-Life WWII Partisans

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For August, we’re looking at a surprisingly sweet romance, a trilogy of historical romances set in 19th century Oklahoma, and a history of British secret operations in France during WWII.

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You Like Westerns, We Like Westerns–Want to Watch More Westerns?

Our library patrons in Berryville really like Westerns. It’s one the most popular book genres we circulate, and of course, our Western movies also are checked out regularly.

And for any of you regular readers, you know I like Westerns, too.

But even when you love something, that doesn’t mean you’re immune to being stuck in a rut. We now have a solution to that for our Western-movie-loving patrons.

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