What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in January

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Happy New Year! We’ve packed January with programs to help you start off 2020 right!

New Movie Thursday: Judy (2019)

Thursday, January 2, 2020, 6:00 – 8:00pm

Did you miss the screening of a film you wanted to see in theaters?  Join us for the first Thursday of the month for a screening of a recently released film. This month we’re screening Judy, the biopic about Judy Garland, starring Renee Zellweger, rated PG-13. Registration is appreciated.

Nekita Waller concert

Sunday, January 5, 2020, 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Nekita Waller, Connecticut’s 17th  State Troubadour, will perform a mix of pop, Motown, soul, jazz, gospel and classic rock favorites together with some of her favoite sidemen! No registration required.

Tuesday Movie Matinees

Tuesdays at 1:00pm

A different popular film on the big screen, Tuesday afternoons at CPL. No registration required.

  • January 7: Varsity Blues (1999)
  • January 14: Growing Up Smith (2015)
  • January 21: Marty (1955)
  • January 28: Holiday (1938)

Shooting Vietnam with Author Dan Brookes

Tuesday, January 7, 2020, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Shooting Vietnam by Dan Brookes & Bob Hillerby  shares firsthand accounts of what it was like to be a military combat photographer in the most photographed war in history. The book contains hundreds of photographs by men who lived the war through the lens of a camera. Registration is required.

Let’s Celebrate the 20’s!

Thursday, January 9, 2020, 2:30 – 4:30pm

Lets celebrate the roaring ’20s! Join us for a screening of Downton Abbey : the Motion Picture (2019).   Bring your favorite teacup, tea and light refreshments will be served. Come in 20’s attire and have your picture taken at a speakeasy! Registration is required.

Preschool Fair

Saturday, January 11, 2020, 10:00am – 12:00pm

Want to explore the many great opportunities for your child’s preschool education within the Cheshire community? Representatives from local preschools will be at Cheshire Public Library to give you information regarding school facilities, teaching staff, and educational philosophies. Activities for children and refreshments will be provided. Please register so we can contact you in the event of inclement weather. Snow date is January 18.

Food and Inflammation

Thursday, January 16, 2020, 6:30 – 7:40pm

Inflammation in the body is related to many diseases. Marisa McCoy, a Registered Dietitian, will discuss foods that make it worse and foods that make it better. Registration is required.

Intro to iPad

Friday, January 17, 2020, 10:00 – 11:30am

Join us for this lecture style class as we will learn the fundamentals of the iPad.  We will go over how to turn on your device on and off and how to use various apps.  Bring your fully charge iPad if you own one, but a device is not required. Registration is required.

Intro to Social Media

Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 1:00 – 2:00pm

Learn the basics of using social media to connect with friends and family.  We will cover everything you need to get started using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in a friendly relaxed atmosphere. Registration is required.

How to Spot Fake News

Thursday, January 23, 2020, 6:30 – 8:00pm

This talk by Kenn Venit will focus on what “news consumers” should be aware of in terms of how various media ethics, competitiveness, ownerships ,revenue, bias and other factors may affect news coverage. Registration is required.

Caryn Lin’s One-Woman Musical Extravaganza

Sunday, January 26, 2020, 2:00 – 3:00pm

Tradition and technology meet when classically trained violinist Caryn Lin literally transforms sound! With her electric violin and the technology of looping and sound effects, on the spot recordings emerge.  Layers of sound with deceptively simple melodies create music that is both other worldly and totally catchy. No registration required.

Trivia Afternoon

Monday, January 27, 2020, 3:00 – 4:30pm

Come by yourself or bring friends. Test your knowledge from general categories, including pop culture, current events, history, music, and of course literature! Registration is required for this adult program (please register entire group, from one person to a maximum of five people).

Books Over Coffee: Killers of the Flower Moon

Wednesday, January 29, 2020, 12:00 – 1:30pm

Join us for an adult monthly book club program called “Books Over Coffee.”  On the last Wednesday of every month we’ll meet from 12-1:30 in The Loft to discuss the selected title. This month we are discussing Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. You bring your lunch, we’ll provide the coffee and tea. Registration is required.

The Kondo/KonMari Organizing Method

Thursday, January 30, 2020, 6:30 – 8:00pm

Let this be the year you get organized! Join us as Certified KonMari consultant Christine Thorn of Connecticut presents a informative, in-depth and entertaining talk on Marie Kondo and the KonMari Method™, as detailed Kondo’s bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Registration is required.

 

 

Lit Kits Are Back!

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From our Head of Children’s Services, Ali:

Have you ever wanted to do your own library-style Storytime at home? Well now you can! We’ve revamped our Lit Kits and they are better than ever! These Lit Kits are a great way to take storytime and learning home with you, and help support success in school by providing families with hands-on strategies for building pre-reading and literacy skills while having fun and bonding with your child. They can also help children hit important developmental milestones. Our Lit-Kits are designed for children 3-5 years old, but they can be adapted or modified for use with almost any age group!

Stop by the Children’s Room to see the new and improved backpacks that are available for checkout. Each kit contains 3-4 books on a theme, toys or manipulatives, and a caregiver guide with suggested songs and activities. The following kits are available: Alphabet, All About Me, Numbers, Ocean, Zoo, Dogs, Things That Go, and Dinosaurs. There will be more Lit Kit topics coming soon, and be sure to be on the lookout for upcoming STEM Kits (ages 5 & up), and Early Literacy Kits (ages 0-3)!

 

 

 

CPL Staff’s Favorite Reads of 2019

/ Louise / 1 Comment

As you might imagine, our library staff reads a lot of books! I recently asked CPL staffers what their favorite reads of the last year were, and the list was varied and long, a mix of fiction and nonfiction, older titles and new releases. If you’re looking for some “librarian-approved” reading, we’ve got quite a few suggestions for you!

Print Fiction:

Audiobook:

Graphic Novel:

Print Nonfiction:

Libraries are Avenues to Art

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Today’s post is brought to us by Bill, Head of Adult Services.

Why is art so important to individuals and society?

  • We use art to create and express ourselves.
  • Art is a part of our culture and reflects the society in which it was created.
  • We become more mindful when we create and view art – it allows us to slow down in a fast-paced world, increasing our self-awareness.
  • Art encourages critical thinking as we interpret what we see and then communicate our thoughts to others.
  • Art has no language barriers – it is a universal form of communication regardless of one’s culture.
  • Art can inspire, please  and motivate us, and influence our daily lives. It makes us think and feel in new ways.

Public Libraries are a great place to experience art and artists for free. From art books, concerts, exhibits, and programs, your public library brings many different forms of art to the community.

Art speaks to individuals in many different ways. To that end, we are hosting a community art discussion with the Mattatuck Museum of Waterbury on Monday, December 16, 2:00 p.m.   The museum is looking to engage area residents in discussions based upon some of its exhibitions. Valerie Rodgers, Lead Museum Educator, will present this discussion using images of paintings, artworks, archival photographs and more!

Have you ever visited the Mattatuck Museum lately? Cheshire residents can check out a museum pass which gives two adults and accompanying children free admission. The museum exhibits American art and cultural history – with a focus on the history of the Naugatuck Valley and the artists of Connecticut, using its history collections to tell the community’s stories and to collaborate with neighborhood associations, ethnic organizations and manufacturing groups.

Art is everywhere, and your library can bring it to you!

Susan’s Best Reads of 2019

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I don’t read as much as I wish I could; I just don’t have time at the moment. It doesn’t help that I wind up with sometimes 600 page books in my hands, and those take longer.  I never know what I’ll read next, and I read a bunch of good ones last year. Here are some of my favorites:

One of the two best books I read this year, I’ve already blogged about: Creativity, Inc, by Ed Catmull, was amazing. Not just a history of Pixar films, it’s also the best darned, most entertaining book on business and employee management you will read. Pixar is a 5-star company for a reason.

The second of my Best Reads this year is The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James.  From approximately 1898 to 1912, a serial killer traversed the US by train – coming through New Haven’s Union Station on the way – with an MO of bludgeoning his victims with the back of an axe. Because of communications at the time, few people were able to connect the murders. James painstakingly, with the utmost detail, traces the dozens of murders and examines them, deciding if they were likely by the same killer or not, and why. He traces the paths through the states and the seasons, chasing the trail to a man who was most likely the killer. By the time he’s done, you are convinced and amazed. I could not stop reading this book. I read it while waiting for the school bus. I read it while cooking. I would have read it in the shower if I could have. If you love a mystery, if you love history, if you love crime stories, this book is a must.

I’m only 30 years late in reading Neuromancer, the Hugo-winning cyberpunk novel by William Gibson. I can see why it is held as one of the greatest novels of our time. Gibson predicts and writes about today’s modern computers and internet and gaming – long before they existed. The scenarios he describes are both familiar and futuristic at the same time. While not only visionary, it’s written in  a flawless style and with realistic, interesting characters. If you loved Ready Player One or The Matrix (which has to have been influenced by this book), you will love Neuromancer.

If you’re aware of social and racial issues, I strongly recommend Survival Math, by Mitchell S. Jackson. A professor of writing, in achingly beautiful prose worthy of Martin Luther King Jr., with the voice of a preacher without being preachy, Johnson breaks down the issues faced in his own family, examining how he came to where he is, how racism played into it without even being visible, and how despite all the odds, it’s possible to thrive. He covers harsh topics without flinching. The book is brilliant, spellbinding, and a superb read from a voice that soars with truth.

Far more than I expected, I loved Total Recall, an older door-stop of a biography on Arnold Schwarzenegger. From his birth in a tiny town in Austria (which still has only 2500 people) to his divorce from Maria Shriver, Arnold is witty and candid and down to Earth. No matter what you think of his politics or his movies or his personal life, this book may be older, but it was highly entertaining. His best friend just died in September of this year.

Not my favorite, but worth mentioning because of its local importance, is Frog Hollow  by Susan Campbell. Campbell, a former reporter with the Hartford Courant, digs into the history of the notorious Frog Hollow section of Hartford, and through tireless research shows the former glory of the neighborhood as not only an important area in Colonial times, but once a major manufacturing center (in 1898, Pope automotive made half the cars in the US). I was hoping for a deep sociologic dissection of the issues, but instead Campbell gives us an upbeat view from street level about the good aspects of Hartford and the people who live there, not just the doom and gloom of ad-selling news clips.

Last but not least, I’ll throw in a kid’s series you probably missed; with 18 years between my last two kids, I certainly did, but my youngest is so hooked on the British easy reader series Urgency Emergency! by Dosh Archer, I wound up buying most of them. The series is so witty and enjoyable you don’t mind reading them over and over again. Doctor Glenda, Nurse Percy, and the Pengamedics, in predictable melodrama, assist the maladies of Humpty Dumpty, The Big Bad Wolf, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and many more. They are a delight. The library has several of the stories; be sure to read them all!