Take It, Make It: April

Beginning on Thursday April 1st, we will have a brand new Take It, Make It Activity available at both branches! Take It, Make It activities are projects that can be done at home with materials you can pick up at the library! You can also request curbside pick up. Just call 812-926-0646 (Aurora) or 812-954-4151 (Dillsboro) and let us know how many of the activities you need for your family!

Stop by the Aurora or Dillsboro Library anytime in April to pick up these fun flipbooks! The pictures in the flipbooks are all drawn by artist, Steve Harpster! You can find more of his work on his Facebook or Instagram. Color in the pictures and have fun creating different, silly faces by flipping the pages!

If you want your flipbook to be featured on our social media, send a picture to Ms. Stephanie at stephanie@eapld.org. Please be sure to include if we have permission to share your picture and name on our Facebook and Instagram. Pictures must be submitted by April 23, 2021.

March Fresh Finds with Jessica

Check out our YouTube channel every last Friday of the month for Fresh Finds! Join Jessica this month as she discusses 5 of APLD’s newest books for March! You can find this month’s video here!

Check out the five books below! Click on a cover to place a hold or learn more!

Bleak Books with Olivia: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Have you ever read a book all the way through just to close it for the last time and say “wow, that was bleak”? Well, I’m here to make the case for those dark, dreary, haunting, and disturbing reads that keep you up at night long after you put them down. Welcome to Bleak Books with Olivia, your resident creepy book lover at the Aurora Public Library District.

Let us dive into the dark, disturbing world of psychological thrillers, shall we? This genre is a staple of my “bleak books”, described by yours truly as novels where our deepest fears manifest and grow within the minds of the characters. I would recommend these books to anyone that loves the psychological aspects of true crime stories, serial killer documentaries or are just fascinated with the ways that our brains can be our own worst enemies.

 

The Silent Patient is a book that will mentally shake you to your core. Meet Alicia Berenson, a famous painter who is also notoriously known for brutally murdering her loving husband by tying him up and shooting him five times at point-blank range directly into his face. She then attempts to commit suicide at the scene and refuses to speak another word. Naturally, her art becomes an overnight sensation as people from across the globe study each painting for some kind of clue that would explain this heinous crime and Alicia’s subsequent silence.

Theo Faber, a criminal psychologist, thinks he may be able to find the answer and becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth, working his magic to infiltrate the psychiatric ward where Alicia is staying, and manipulating the staff in order to become her personal psychologist. As he meets with Alicia, he discovers through her silence that there is much, much more than meets the eye. A sprawling web of lies, obsession, and passion ensnare Theo as he descends into the darkness that has consumed Alicia, and slowly, Theo realizes Alicia may actually be the one in charge here. The shocking rollercoaster ride of an ending will simply leave you at a loss for words, not unlike Alicia herself.

The number one thing that I enjoyed about this book is the gripping, unrelenting pace at which it was written. It was because of this that I could not put the book down and was finished with it in a number of days, which is VERY FAST for me, a reader who has major attention deficit issues. Virtually no time was spent on themes and concepts that I often find wasteful, such as world-building and descriptive writing. Instead, the majority of the novel is spent within the thoughts of Alicia and Theo, tying them together with a remarkably thick rope that normally wouldn’t exist between two characters who are supposed to be complete strangers. The novel is built so that we exist entirely within the realm of the mind, constantly aware of inner monologues and the twisted thoughts that we fear to share with the rest of the world. Alicia and Theo are stripped to their rawest forms in this novel, making it a true psychological thriller. The novel even manages to get the readers to reflect on themselves, asking “In that moment, would you not do the same? Can any blame truly be placed?” The characters are manipulative and deceptive, betraying us at every turn. Right from the beginning, you know something is very wrong and it’s only going to get worse, giving the book a deeply sinister tone. The book is unsettling, disturbing, and shocking, making it a truly bleak book.

Thank you for joining me on this dissection of one of my favorite Bleak Books. I hope to see you again sometime soon! Please take a look in the Adult Fiction section at the Aurora and Dillsboro Public Libraries for my favorite Bleak Books (including this one!) If you meet me in the library and have any Bleak Books suggestions, please let me know! I’m always looking for a new book to disrupt my life for a couple of weeks.

Take It, Make It: March

Beginning on Monday, March 1st, we will have a spring inspired Take It, Make It Activity available at both branches! Take It, Make It activities are projects that can be done at home with materials you can pick up at the library! You can also request curbside pick up. Just call 812-926-0646 (Aurora) or 812-954-4151 (Dillsboro) and let us know how many of the activities you need for your family!

Stop by the Aurora or Dillsboro Library anytime in March to pick up the supplies to make this cute spring scene! All the pieces are included in your packet, but you will need glue to attach everything, and markers to color in the banner.

If you want your craft to be featured on our social media, send a picture to Ms. Stephanie at stephanie@eapld.org. Please be sure to include if we have permission to share your picture and name on our Facebook page. Pictures must be submitted by March 24, 2021.

Literature & Leprechauns

Join Jamie & Olivia as they read some of their favorite St. Patrick’s Day stories! They’ll be singing some fun songs, doing yoga, making crafts, and teaching the sign for Leprechaun! Literature & Leprechauns will be available on our YouTube Channel on March 10th! Make sure to subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss out on any of our other upcoming virtual programs.

Check out these other St. Patrick’s Day Books! Click on a cover to place a hold!