Summer Reading at EFPL

Memorial Day is upon us and that means Summer Reading is just around the corner! This summer we will be offering reading challenges for all ages (detailed below) and a wide variety of programming. This week's post will cover some of our upcoming June programs, so make sure you check our website for more information on all our summer events.

Reading Challenges: June 9-August 12

• For Kids: 
• Ask for a reading log at the Youth Services Desk to keep track of the amount of time spent reading. Choose your own path of how much you'd like to read this summer (or how much your parents will read to you).
• Track your progress! Mark your path for every hour you read and pick up stickers at the desk to mark your path as you go.
• Complete paths, get prizes! Submit a reading log with a finished path to choose a book prize from our cart. Each completed path earns a prize drawing ticket. Prize cart will be available starting July 10.
• For Teens:
• Ask for a reading log at the Youth Services Desk to keep track of the amount of time spent reading. Choose your own goal of how much you think you can read this summer, then figure out what halfway to your goal will be and mark it on your log. Aim high!
• Did you make your halfway mark or final goal? At your halfway goal, show us your log for a prize drawing ticket. When you reach your final goal, turn in your reading log to choose a book from our prize cart and a second ticket for our prize drawing! Prize cart will be available starting July 10.
• For Adults:
• Ask for a BINGO card at the Main Service Desk to keep track for the number of books you read over the summer.
• Read (or listen to) 5 books that fit the categories in one line: vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
• Did you complete a BINGO? Turn in your reading log by August 12 and a book of your choice will be ordered for you. You will earn a drawing ticket for the completed BINGO card and an additional drawing entry for each additional book read. 

June Programs at the Library

• Children's Programs
• Movers & Makers: Love Bugs (6/9)
• Sing, dance, play, and create! Enjoy a movement filled storytime followed by a hands-on art project.
• Tree Branch Art (6/14)
• Let's have fun with paint and pompoms! Decorate a tree branch together to display in the library as part of our summer reading decor! Please call 608-882-2275 to register, space is limited.
• Library Dance Party (6/23)
• Shake, rattle, and roll! It's time to dance at the library! We'll play some fun tunes and boogey on down!
• Ice Cream Making (6/28)
• How many cows does it take to make a scoop of ice cream? We'll talk about how cows are raised and give background on the dairy process, as well as make some ice cream in-house that you can taste! Please register at the Youth Services Desk or by calling 608-882-2275.
• Teen Programs
• Tie Dye for Teens (6/15)
• Join us on the lawn outside the library to celebrate summer with a tie dye party! Bring a t-shirt or other item you'd like to tie dye (100% cotton works best) and learn some tricks for creating different designs. Please register by calling 608-882-2275.
• Sew It Begins (6/21)
• Learn some basics about hand stitching and using a sewing machine to create a monster pouch or unicorn ornament!
• Adult Programs
• Self Affirmation Jars (6/14)
• Being a grown up can be rough, and we have to remember to be kind to ourselves as well as others, no matter how difficult it may be. Join us in making Self Affirmation Jars that will help our brains to think more positively. These would also make a great gift to help uplift a loved one.
• Spinning Yarns (6/21)
• Bring in or start a knitting, crocheting, or small sewing project. Join us for a relaxed, self-led, crafting hangout with other crafters.
• All Ages Programs
• Stuart Stotts (6/13)
• The award-winning singer, author, and storyteller will be performing at EFPL! Enjoy audience participation and a lot of singing, movement, and laughter.
• The Figureheads (6/27)
• This family-friendly hip-hop will move you in more ways than one! Jeremy Bryan of the The Figureheads will be playing songs from their new record Stars.
• Friends of the Library's Ice Cream Social (6/30)
• Kick off the Fourth of July weekend with cake and ice cream, ice cream sundaes, or a root beer float! Dairy free, gluten free, and vegan options will be available. This event will be held at Emma's Table (104 W. Main Street).

THE NIGHT CIRCUS

Next month, the Antemeridians book club will read and discuss Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus.  This novel revolves around Celia and Marco and their participation at Le Cirque des Reves. The circus arrives in a city without warning, simply appearing one day. It is only open at night, and once you enter the circus, you are met with a unique experience or breathtaking displays. Unknown to those visiting, a competition is underway behind the scenes. This competition is between Celia and Marco, two people that have trained since childhood for the competition without realizing what they were training for. These two don't realize that they are competing in a game in which only one can be left standing, and despite themselves, they fall in love. Regardless of their feelings, the game must play out and the fates of all involved hang in the balance.

Loved The Night Circus? Give one of these novels a try!

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Picture from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evans

NEW COLLECTION ALERT

Board games are now available for checkout! Thanks to a donation from the Friends of the Eager Free Public Library, we now have a circulating collection of board games.

The board game collection is just beginning. We have cataloged and processed the first batch of games and more will continue to be added over the coming months. Some of the available games include Codenames, Outfoxed!, Sleeping Queens, Ticket to Ride, and Unstable Unicorns.

These games are available now and can also be found on our online catalog.  They can be checked out for two weeks and can be renewed two times.  Renewals are only allowed if there are no holds on the game.  Stop by the collection located near the grandfather clock upstairs to check out a game or place a hold in SHARE.

Have some suggestions on games you'd like to see added to the collection? Email us with your ideas at eagerfree@eagerfreelibrary.org.

Pictures from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evans.

EXPERIMENTAL LITERATURE

Looking for something different to read? This week's blog post has got you covered with a selection of experimental literature.

Experimental literature is a genre that is generally difficult to define. These works experiment with the traditional conventions of literature such as the boundaries of a specific genre or style.  You may even see the text laid out in differing configurations on the page as opposed to the traditional look of paragraphs. Experimental literature can be found in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction works. As these works are not typically straightforward, they are often considered difficult to read. 

Some "common" things you may find in experimental work include:

• Challenging of tropes, genre rules, and literary traditions
• You might not find a beginning, middle, and end or the use of the classic plot structure
• You might not find any main characters (or characters at all)
• Knowingly mixing fact and fiction
• Loss of boundaries
• Writers may pop in and out of their own work; the traditional boundary separating the reader from the author, narrator, editor, etc. are often broken down
• Playing with language
• Verb tenses may change, point of view isn't always defined, words can have new meanings, and spelling & punctuation may vary
• Change in layout
• It may sprawl all over a page or just take up a small section; it does not have to follow from left to right or even move horizontally on the page
• Addition of other media
• Incorporation of art, photography, handwriting, etc.

Want to try reading some experimental literature? Check out one of these titles today! 

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

How To Be Both by Ali Smith

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

NW by Zadie Smith

City On Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg

Picture from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evans

HISTORICAL FICTION

This month, Mixed Bag Book Club will be reading historical fiction. Historical fiction is a genre of fiction that takes the reader to a time and place in the past. How far back does the author have to go? There is some debate on this, but a good starting place is at least 50 years. Historical fiction attempts to take the reader out of the events of their lifetime. Works of historical fiction are set in a real place, during a recognizable time. The plot is often a mix of actual events and imagined events, and the characters can be pure fiction and/or based on real people. Historical fiction authors should spend a lot of time researching the time period before creating their novels. Even though authors are allowed artistic license, the best historical fiction has been researched thoroughly and these details present themselves in the story.

New to historical fiction or not sure what to pick up next? Try one of these titles!

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (early 1900s - England)

Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen by Alison Weir (late 1400s-1500s - England)

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (1860s - New Zealand)

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Unspecified date - Slavery - United States)

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop (1910s - World War I)

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (1580s - England)

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (1910s & 1940s - World War I & World War II)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (1920s - Russia)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Unspecified date - Slavery - United States)

How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang (Mid-1800s - United States)

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (1100s - England)

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (Late 1400s - England)

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (First Century - Israel)

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Late 1800s - Nigeria)

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende (1930s - Spain & Chile)

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (1930s - United States)

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (First Century - Israel)

Pictures from https://ent.sharelibraries.info/client/en_US/evans