Booksmarts

News books available at the Mount Airy Public Library include:

Fiction

The Cemetery of Untold Stories — Julia Alvarez

Clete: A Dave Robicheaux Novel — James Lee Burke

The Rom-Commers — Katherine Center

The Other Side of Disappearing — Kate Clayborn

Toward the Dawn — Mary Connealy

The Hunter — Tana French

Lost Birds — Anne Hillerman

For the Love of Summer — Susan Mallery

Sisters of the Last Nation — Nick Medina

How to Solve Your Own Murder — Kristen Perrin

After Annie — Annie Quindlen

Middle of the Night — Riley Sager

15 Summers Later — RaeAnne Thayne

Non-Fiction

COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War — Edda L. Fields-Black

The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America’s Invasion of Iraq — Steve Coll

Secrets of the Octopus — Sy Montgomery and Warren K. Carlyle IV

The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels — Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks — Crystal Wilkinson

Special Events — Summer Reading Prizes

KIDS/TEENS — SUMMER READING GRAND PRIZE. The kid or teen who reads the most number of minutes will win a collection of camping gear, which includes a one-person tent, sleeping bag, backpack, canteen, lantern and a S’mores kit. The gear was purchased with a gift card donated by Wal-Mart and a cash donation from “appreciative patrons.”

Kids and teens from K-12 earn prizes for the number of minutes read over the summer. They can choose from the bTreasure Chest or goody basket for free coupons. Thanks to these businesses for their donations: Wendy’s, Duck Donuts, Chick-Fil-A, Foothills Coffee

ADULT PRIZE BASKET — Every adult who turns in a book review form will be entered into the drawing for this basket. Many thanks to these businesses for their donations: Target, $25 gift card, Fish Hippie, $25 gift card, Whit’s, $10 gift card, Robby’s, $10 gift card, Keepsmiling A’Latte — $20 gift card, Fancy Gap Outfitters/ Blue Bear Cafe, $25 gift card.

Cereal Box Postcards — June 25 at 2 p.m., ages 18 and older. Patrons will design their own cereal box postcards. They will have special pens to work with, rulers, and stickers. The program director will have a list of local elderly people to write to, but they may also keep the postcards.

Cross Stitching for Beginners, Tuesday, July 2 for ages 18 older. Participants will start a beginner’s cross-stitch. They can choose from a ladybug, a butterfly, a bee, and a dragonfly. Patrons can finish at home.

Homemade Candle Making, Tuesday, July 9, for ages 18 and older. Patrons will make a small candle using candle supplies, dried flowers, and essential oils.

S’mores in a Jar- Tuesday, July 16, for ages 18 and older. Patrons will have all the supplies to make S’mores Bars in a Jar. The dessert will be served during class.

Pressed Flower Art, Tuesday, July 23, for ages 18 and older. Patrons will use mod podge and wild dried flowers to make a DIY flower tile. Class includes the display stand.

Special Events — Teens (age 12-17)

June 24 at 5 p.m. — Young Adult Author Al Sirois will be reading from his book “Murder in Mennefer.” He will also talk about how to turn a book into a graphic novel and ask for input on illustrations for the book.

June 24 at 6 p.m. — Strawberry Boba Tea — Teens experience a taste of Taiwan by making boba tea. In Taiwan, boba is a staple of the night markets, which encompass hundreds of food stalls where people congregate after work for groceries and snacks. We will create a strawberry boba tea. If we have enough products left over, take-and-make kits will be made for teens to make the tea at home.

July 1 at 6 p.m., Book Capsules. What book am I? In this program, we will decode book capsules that relate to specific books in the Young Adult section of our library. Each capsule includes various hints about the main character, culture or setting, plot, genre, etc. We will also make book capsules of our favorite books for others to decode.

July 8 at 6 p.m., The Unbreakable Code. Libraries can foster language learning and cultural competence by demonstrating fundamental Navajo language principles and increasing knowledge about the Navajo veterans who developed the unbreakable code in WWII. Several tribes worked as code talkers in both world wars. Teens will use declassified Navajo code to send messages to each other. Time permitting, we will try to break other unbreakable codes.

Special Events — Kids age 6 to 11

June 18 at 2 p.m. — Bird Watch Quest — The library will be teaming up with Dakota Johnson from Red Beard Birding, to have an indoor bird watch. We will use Mr. Johnson’s photographs of area birds, along with a QR code to hear the sounds each bird makes. Each child will receive his or her own bird watching journal.

June 25 at 2 p.m. — Geode Geologist — What’s inside a geode? How do they form? Most importantly, how do you split them open? This program teaches basic geode geology, then we will let the children explore various types of rocks. What will the inside of your geode look like?

July 2 at 2 p.m., Library Passport. Children will receive a passport and clues of various library “country” locations. When they find their country, they can stamp their passport and keep a record of their adventure. Prizes will be given out as well.

July 9 at 2 p.m., Underwater Flashlight. We will create an underwater adventure with hidden surprises. The children will trace a template or use their imagination to draw silhouettes. Then they will spend hours of fun in the deep, blue ocean.

Family Movies Times every Friday at 2 p.m. June 28, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; July 5, in Wonderland; Juley 12 Muppets From Space; July 19 Migration; July 26, Wonka

Virtual Events

Know Thy Shelf: A Book Club That is Genre Based — Exploring Magical Realism with Emily — June’s book is “The Unmaking of June Farrow” by Adrienne Young. Follow the book club group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1093128458553225. We will discuss the book in the Facebook Group.

Monthly Events

Storytime at the Mount Airy Public Library is here for kids of all ages. Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. is Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3; Thursday at 9:30 a.m. is Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old; and on Thursday at 11 a.m. is Preschool Storytime for ages 4-5, which is live streamed at https://www.facebook.com/groups/preschoolmapl

All of our storytimes are available virtually. Have a sick child or the weather is bad, look for our storytime groups on Facebook and join us for a live storytime.

Alternate Learning Program for Adults with Learning Differences on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 10 a.m. — What to Expect: Read-alouds, crafts, games, puzzles, fellowship. RSVP at 336-789-5108 and ask for Emily.

Cooking Club — Bring your favorite recipes to share! Our next meeting is July 12 at 12 p.m. The dishes for July are a prepared dish with the main ingredient from the garden. If you don’t have a garden, try the farmers market. We will be meeting at Flat Rock Ruritan Park at 1070 Linville Road.

Art in Action Afternoon at the Library is held every fourth Friday at 2 p.m. Our next meeting will be June 21, a week earlier than usual. Join us to make collage art, acrylic painting, watercolors, adult coloring, and blackout poetry art.

Hooked — Join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Open for all skill levels. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

The Chess Club meets each Wednesday from 4:30 — 7:30 p.m. Come join our group and hone your skills. Call the library for more information, 336-789-5108.

Tai Chi Fridays. Experience meditation in motion, 10 a.m. every Friday in the Multipurpose Room. All skill levels are welcome.

It’s Yoga Y’all meets on the third Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m.

The Community Book Club — North Carolina Reads is North Carolina Humanities’ statewide book club, annually featuring five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equity and the history and culture of North Carolina. Our book club meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. June’s selection is, “Welcome to the Circus of Baseball” by Ryan McGee.

Chapters Book Club meets the third Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. Members discuss the different books they have read.

Pre-Teen Book Club meets June 20 at 4 p.m. We will be reading “Chester Keene Cracks the Code” by Kekla Mogoon. Come out and meet other teens your age, snacks and socialization.

Teen Book Club meets the fourth Thursday at 4 p.m., our next meeting is June 27. We will be reading “Road Tripped” by Pete Hautman,

Murder, Mystery and Mayhem Book Club on the last Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. A book club for adults that focuses on murder, mayhem, true crime and other tales of terror. Our June selection is: “Unmasked : My Life solving America’s Cold Cases” by Paul Holes. Join us in person or discuss online with Google Meet.

Plaid Cloth Book Club — Every Second Wednesday at 12 p.m. at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. For July, we are reading “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrl.org/mt-airy/