Fresh Finds with Jessica: April

Check out our YouTube channel every last Friday of the month for Fresh Finds! Join Jessica on April 30th as she discusses 5 of APLD’s newest books for April! Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our videos! Subscribe here.

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

            

Bleak Books with Olivia: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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.

I think it’s about time for a return to the classics, don’t you? The Picture of Dorian Gray has been on my want-to-read list for months. When discussing dastardly books, this one in particular always seems to come up in conversation at some point. Maybe it’s the cast full of unlikable characters, or maybe it’s the descent into all-out hedonism that drags our title character down into the depths of pure evil. Or maybe, it’s just a good, old-fashioned hate-read (I cast my vote for the latter). Either way, this book is the one to reach for when you just want a downright sickening read.

I must preface this review by saying that I actually enjoyed this book, and found it an easy read. All the parts were there to keep me flipping the pages well into the wee hours of the morning: drama, intrigue, a couple deaths, and, of course, art (I’m an art historian, so I was sold on that front!) but there was just something that really rubbed me the wrong way… in the best way.

Dorian Gray is a remarkably beautiful young man approaching adulthood when he is taken by a painter, Basil Hallward, to be his muse. At the studio, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a brilliant, conniving older man with a taste for the hedonistic, despite Victorian society conventions. Lord Henry convinces Dorian that aging will ruin his beauty and render him useless and irrelevant in the near future and Dorian begins to panic, making a foolish wish to transfer all of his blemishes, wrinkles, and marks of indulgence to a portrait Basil recently made of him. The wish works, and once Dorian discovers he will not age any longer, his lust for life grows to disastrous proportions that comes with a body count.

This book, as I mentioned before, became not just a hate-read, but an full-on loathe-read. Almost every character in the book is male, and often they gather around and discuss modern life, which always seems to involve several quips about how women are useless for anything other than being a beautiful wife. Dorian himself also becomes a reason to hate this book with all his pompous self-adoration and his complete foolishness throughout the entire novel. Wilde tried to make me sympathize with Dorian, who was led astray at an innocent young age by an arguably predatory older man, but it’s incredibly difficult to feel bad for a boy who knows of his wrongdoings, continues to do them, and even leaves a body count in his wake. Maybe Dorian Gray’s portrait preserves his atrocious attitude from boyhood well into his older years along with his good looks.

Although this description may have thrown you off, I encourage you to read it anyway! This book gives an honest depiction of how obsession with youth and beauty will do nothing but eat you alive. As I said before, it truly is a “loathe-read”, but you will at least finish the book with the satisfaction of knowing you certainly aren’t the only one that hates Dorian Gray.

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.

5 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month! Check out these ideas on how to celebrate!

1. Create Book Spine Poetry

Stack up a pile of books to create a poem with the titles. You can use your own books, or books you’ve checked out from the library. You can use the one we made for inspiration!

2. Learn About the Types of Poems

If you’re new to poetry, try out A Beginner’s Guide to the Different Types of Poems from Book Riot. This breaks down 15 different poem forms. If you’re a little more versed in the world of poetry, check out this List of 168 Poetic Forms for Poets from Writer’s Digest. No matter which list you look at, you’ll be writing like a poet in no time!

3. Research Indiana’s Poet Laureate

Most states in the United States have a poet laureate. The poets laureate make public appearances at poetry readings or literary events, and promote awareness of poetry within their geographical region. Indiana’s poet laureate, Matthew Graham, is currently serving his two year term. Graham has lived in southern Indiana for 35 years and is a respected and recognized writer, teacher, and advocate for poetry and the arts. You can learn more about him HERE.

4. Get a Poem in Your Inbox Every Day

Head over to poets.org to sign up for their Poem-A-Day series, an original daily poetry series publishing new work by contemporary poets! Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Sign up and you’ll receive a poem in your inbox every day!

5. Check Out Some Poetry From the Library

Check out the display in the stairwell this month at APL for books of poetry, or look for books beginning with the numbers 811 in the nonfiction section. Ask any staff member and they’ll help you find what you’re looking for as well!

Take a look at some of our titles!

            

 

 

Dollar-a-Bag Book Sale

Our Dillsboro branch will be holding it’s $1-A-Bag Book Sale from April 16th-17th. You’ll find something for everyone on your list – mysteries, thrillers, romance, classics, westerns, travel, crafts, DIY, DVD’s, audio books, CD’s, children’s books, large print, magazines, cookbooks and much, much more.

OR, if you’re preparing for spring cleaning, pick up some books about home organization and tidiness! Maybe add some fresh, new titles to your collection!

Hours are Friday the 16th from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Saturday the 17th from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.  Shop early and often. New books are continuously being added to the selection.

Storms & Stories

Join Jamie & Olivia as they read some of their favorite books about the weather! They’ll be singing some fun songs, doing yoga, making crafts, and teaching the sign for Wind! Storms & Stories will be available on our YouTube Channel on April 14th! 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 weather books! Click on a cover to place a hold!

                

                

Become a Citizen Scientist for Earth Day!

Have you heard the term “Citizen Scientist”? A citizen scientist is an ordinary person, just like you, who observes, or measures, or identifies and who sends the information to actual scientists doing research around the world. Become a citizen scientist and help support your community for Earth Day by taking part in our tree-planting program! It’s simple and easy to do!

Children ages 3-8 can pick up a coloring sheet from the Citizen Science displays at the Dillsboro or Aurora Public Libraries and color a beautiful Earth Day scene. Once finished, write your name in the space provided and email a picture of your finished coloring sheet to hello@BlueDotKidsPress.com AND stephanie@eapld.org by April 26th and One Tree Planted will plant a tree for you! Children ages 9 and up can take a photo of a tree in your neighborhood an upload the picture to the free Tree Snap App. Email your photo to hello@BlueDotKidsPress.com AND stephanie@eapld.org by April 26th and One Tree Planted will plant a tree for you!

Pick up a book on our Citizen Science displays to read about trees and Earth Day to gain some Citizen Scientist skills! You can also scan the QR codes on the display to learn about more citizen science opportunities.