Books, Bytes & More Newsletter
August 2018
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NWRLS Library Locations

Headquarters:
Bay County Public Library
850-522-2100

Panama City Beach
850-233-5055

Parker
850-871-3092

Springfield
850-872-7510

Corinne Costin
Gibson Memorial Library
Port St. Joe
850-229-8879

Charles Whitehead
Public Library
Wewahitchka
850-639-2419

Harrell Memorial
Public Library
Bristol
850-643-2247

Jimmy Weaver
Memorial Library
Hosford
850-379-3300

Featured Items 
 
 
Cottage by the Sea
by Debbie Macomber

Knocked down by tragedy, Annie settles into the summer cottage where her family once vacationed. As she connects with those around her, making friends and even tempting a romance with a soft-spoken artist, Annie learns that helping others is the best way to heal.
 
All We Ever Wanted
by Emily Giffin

A woman is forced to choose between her family and her most deeply held values. Nina Browning is living the good life after marrying into Nashville's elite. Her husband's tech business is booming, and her adored son, Finch, is bound for Princeton. Tom Volpe is a single dad working multiple jobs. His adored daughter, Lyla, attends Nashville's most prestigious private school on a scholarship. But amid the wealth and privilege, Lyla doesn't always fit in. Then one devastating photo changes everything. Finch snaps a picture of Lyla passed out at a party, adds a provocative caption, and sends it to a few friends. The photo spreads like wildfire, and before long, an already divided community is buzzing with scandal and assigning blame. In the middle of it all, Nina finds herself relating more to Tom's reaction than her own husband's--and facing an impossible choice. 
 
Spymaster
by Brad Thor

Across Europe, a secret organization has begun attacking diplomats. Back in the United States, a foreign ally demands the identity of a highly placed covert asset. In the balance hang the ingredients for all-out war. With his mentor out of the game, counter terrorism operative Scot Harvath must take on the role he has spent his career avoiding. But, as with everything else he does, he intends to rewrite the rules--all of them. In Spymaster, Scot Harvath is more cunning, more dangerous, and deadlier than ever before. If you have never read a Brad Thor novel, this is the place to start!
 
Clock Dance
by Anne Tyler

From her mother's early-on disappearance to widowhood at a young age, Willa Drake has known tragedy; now she just wants to become a grandmother. But when her son's ex-girlfriend is shot, Willa rushes cross-country to tend to her and her nine-year-old daughter. There she learns how a community can bond as closely as family, how solace can be found in small, unexpected places, and how rebirth can come from pain. 
   
Indianapolis
by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
 
 Four days after delivering the world's first atomic bomb to the U.S. flight crew in the Pacific, the USS Indianapolis was sunk by Japanese torpedoes, with a loss of all but 317 of the 1,196 men on board. US Navy veteran Vincent, New York Times best-selling author, and documentary filmmaker Vladic, who's made an award-winning film on the tragedy, investigate what happened and how the decades-long struggle to vindicate the captain unfolded.
 

The Plot to Destroy Democracy
by Malcolm Nance
The retired intelligence officer outlines a provocative, comprehensive assessment of the Russian Federation's plan to destabilize the West, sharing related insights into the 2016 election controversy. 

 

Bad Blood
by John Carreyrou
 
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of Theranos, the multi billion-dollar biotech startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end, despite pressure from its charismatic CEO and threats by her lawyers. In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood testing significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work.
A riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley.

   
The Summer Wives
by Beatriz Williams
Twenty years after being banished from Winthrop Island, Miranda Schuyler returns to find justice for the man she once loved. 
   
Pick and Chews
by Linda O. Johnston
 
As a technician for a local vet and the owner of the Barkery & Biscuits dog bakery, Carrie Kennersly is excited to host a rescue animal adoption event. She's also happy to be in a relationship with veterinarian Dr. Reed Storme, despite his repeated pleas for her to butt out of the murder cases she keeps finding herself involved with. Yet when Reed is accused of killing his former veterinary colleague, he seems a lot more agreeable to having amateur detective Carrie butt back in. Can Carrie clear Reed, or does she care too much for a killer?

   
Tin Man
 by Sarah Winman
This is almost a love story. But it's not as simple as that.
Ellis and Michael are twelve-year-old boys when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of overbearing fathers. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more. But then we fast-forward a decade or so, to find that Ellis is married to Annie, and Michael is nowhere in sight. Which leads to the question: What happened in the years between? With beautiful prose and characters that are so real they jump off the page, Tin Man is a love letter to human kindness and friendship, and to loss and living.
   
Maze Master
by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
 
LucentB is a retrovirus that's inevitable, unstoppable, and utterly catastrophic for humanity. The US government believes the only person who can find the cure is the geneticist who tried to warn them about it and then disappeared: James Hakari. They assign the task of finding him to his former student Anna Asher, who in turn recruits paleographer and religious studies scholar Dr. Martin Nadai.The brilliant but insane geneticist is leaving clues for Anna and Martin to follow, showing he's truly earned his students' nickname for him: the Maze Master. The search takes Anna and Martin around the world and into a war zone they never imagined. With its scientific and archaeological authenticity and suspenseful clues, Maze Master will have readers rushing through its intricate maze to find out the fate of the world in this thrilling adventure.
The Late Bloomers' Club
by Louise Miller
  

Two sisters, beloved diner owner Nora and her short-on-cash filmmaker sibling, Kit, are inheriting the property of local cake-making legend Peggy. The town is divided on whether the sisters should sell the land to a big-box developer, which Nora opposes, but everyone wants to find Peggy's lost dog. Following The City Baker's Guide to Country Living, Miller's popular debut.
From Cold War to Hot Peace
by Michael McFaul
  

From the Stanford Kremlinologist who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, and has since been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin, comes a revelatory account of U.S.-Russia relations from 1989 to the present, told through his experience working for President Barack Obama and witnessing the tightening of Putin's grip firsthand.
The Good Fight
by Danielle Steel
    
Against the electrifying backdrop of the 1960s, Danielle Steel unveils the gripping chronicle of a young woman discovering a passion for justice and of the unsung heroes she encounters on her quest to fight the good fight. Encompassing the remarkable people the protagonist, Meredith, meets, the historic events she witnesses, and the sacrifices she must make, this is the story of a woman changing her world as she herself is changed by it. 

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NWRLS is a department
of
Bay County

Thank you for choosing to receive the library newsletter, where you will learn about upcoming programs and the many services provided in our libraries.
Back to School with the Library
 
Preparing to go Back-to-School? Your library card is the best back-to-school resource out there!
  • Check out up to 20 items at time with access to books, audiobooks, eBooks, eAudiobooks, DVDs, ukuleles, and dulcimers.  
  • Access online research databases, including Encyclopedia Britannica and the Florida Electronic Library.
  • Create an ArtistWorks account. ArtistWorks allows you to take free art and music lessons online!  
Working on research or writing a paper? All library branches have Wi-Fi and computer access available!!
EMPLOYEE + IDEA = ENTREPRENEUR 
Small Business Workshop 

Bay County Public Library
Monday, August 13th @ 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Are you starting, growing or financing your own business? You are invited to attend a free, informative workshop. Topics discussed will be start-up business basics, business plan development, how to access capital, and available resources! You will even have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with each presenter within the program. Participants will walk away with a wealth of valuable information. 

Program presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC), and Community Enterprise Investments, Inc. (CEII).  

To register for this free small business workshop, call the library at 850-522-2107.
Youth  Classes @ Your Library

Bay County Public Library

Book Babies (0 - 17 months with caregiver) 
Classes will resume in September.

Terrific Tots (18 - 36 months with caregiver) 
Classes will resume in September.

Read Rock & Rhyme (3 - 5 year olds with caregiver) 
Classes will resume in September.

Storytime Mondays at the Panama City Mall
August 13th, 20th, and 27th @ 10:00 a.m.
Meet at the Panama City Mall Play Area for a Libraries Rock! Storytime with Heather, Bay County Public Library Outreach Librarian.  All ages welcome.

Panama City Beach Public Library 

Book Babies (0 - 4 years with caregiver) 
Classes will resume in September.

Beach Kids (Ages: 5 and up) 
Classes will resume in September.

Sewing Camp at Corinne Costin Gibson Public Library in July

Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library in Port St. Joe
 
Tuesday Tales (0 - 3 years with caregiver)
Classes will resume in September.

Charles Whitehead Public Library in Wewahitchka 

Budding Bookworms (Ages: 3 - 6 years)
Mondays, August 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th @ 11:00 a.m.
Stories, rhymes, songs, finger plays and activities!

Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library in Hosford

Storytimes
Saturdays @ 10:30 a.m. 
Teen Programs  at Bay County Public Library

Teen Advisory Board (TAB)
Monday, August 13th @ 4:00 p.m.
Earn volunteer hours and help the library by telling us what teens want! Please turn in our TAB form to earn hours.

Anime Club
Monday, August 20th @ 4:00 p.m.
Watch anime and talk about manga!

Library Lions Teen Book Club
Tuesday, August 28th @ 4:00 p.m.
Share a Mystery genre book that you've enjoyed! 
Snacks provided by the Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries. 
Game On! Tabletop Games

Bay County Public Library
Monday, August 20th @ 6:00 p.m.

Bring your favorite board games or learn how to play new ones during this two hour session.  Program held in the Bay County Public Library Meeting Room.  Geared for adults, but everyone is welcome. 
St. Andrews Readers Theatre Troupe
Bay County Public Library
Monday, August 6th @ 6:00 p.m.

The St. Andrews Readers Theatre Troupe is presenting select monologues from American poet, Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology (1915). Edgar Lee Masters created a series of compelling free verse monologues of a time gone by in which former citizens of a mythical mid-western town speak touchingly about their lives. Their voices speak about disappointment, dashed dreams, but also love and hope - themes which are universal and resonate with us today. Program is free to attend and open to the public. Performance will be held in the Bay County Public Library Meeting Room.
Higdon Swatts Storytelling & Book Signing

Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Library in 
Port St. Joe
Tuesday, August 14th at 4:30 p.m.

Come meet author, Higdon Swatts, and hear his tales of growing up in Port St. Joe. Higdon Swatts will be signing his book, The Way I Remember It - Tales from a Port St. Joe Childhood & Beyond. Books will be available for purchase. 
Book & Film Clubs

STEAM & Culture 
Book Club
Bay County Public Library
Tuesday, August 7th  @ 6 p.m.
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science,  Humanism, and Progress 
by Steven Pinker

For more information, please call 850-522-2107.

BCPL Book Club
Bay County Public Library
Thursday, August 9th @ 10 a.m.
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The BCPL Book Club meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. For more information, please call 850-522-2107.

Grace + Grub Book Club
Bay County Public Library
Wednesday, August 15th @ 10:00 a.m.
Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo

For more information, please call 850-522-2107. 
Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.

Beyond the Lens: Book and Film Series
Bay County Public Library
Tuesday, August 21st  @ 5:30 p.m.
Film: The Greatest Showman (2017) Rated PG
Book: The Fabulous Showman: The Life and Times of P.T. Barnum by Irving Wallace

Beyond the Lens meets every 3rd Tuesday of the month.  For more information, please call 850-522-2107.  
Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.

Film Fan Club
Bay County Public Library
Wednesday, August 22nd @ 5:30 p.m.
Film: Point Break  (1991) Rated R

Hang out and watch cult classic movies at the library every fourth Wednesday of the month. 
Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.

Beach Book Club
Panama City Beach Public Library
Wednesday, August 1st @ 10:30 a.m.  
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Beach Book Club meets the 1st Wednesday of each month at 10:30 a.m. For more information, please call 850-233-5055.

Springfield Library Book Club
Springfield Public Library
Thursday, August 16th @ 1 p.m.
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

For more information, please call 850-872-7510.

Library Book Club
Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library
Monday, August 20th @ 10:30 a.m.
The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu

The Library Book Club usually meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 10:30 a.m. Coffee and tea provided. For more information, please call 850-229-8879.
Classes and Programs @ Your Library
Bay County Public Library

Color + Crafts
Friday, August 3rd @ 9:00 - 11 a.m.
Adult coloring supplies will be provided. Cricut machine available for paper crafts. You can also bring in your knitting, crocheting, sketchbook and craft projects to work on!! 
Program sponsored by the Rotary Club of Panama City and Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.

Ukulele Social Club
Saturday, August 4th @ 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
The first part of the class is for beginner basics. The second part is for jammin'! We will have a few loaner instruments available but you are encouraged to bring your own. 

Black Madonnas:  Tracing their Legacy and Traditions throughout History
Tuesday, August 21st @ 2:00 p.m.
Rich Filippi will present the history and legends of sacred Black Madonna sites. In his travels, he has visited over 45 sites. Rich will present different views on their history and meaning, as well as several images from visited sites. 

Beginning Dulcimer Class
Friday, August 24th @ 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
The first part of the class is a beginner mountain dulcimer
lesson, and then a jam session! We will have a few spare
instruments, but you are encouraged to bring your own.

Panama City Beach Public Library

Sea Needles
Fridays @ 10 a.m.
Bring your needlework crafts to work on at the library. Sea Needles meets every Friday at 10 a.m.

Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library in Hosford

Craft Day
Thursdays @ 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Bring your favorite craft or learn something new!

Family Game Nights
Monday, August 27th @ 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Every 4th Monday of the month. Show your skills and make new friends as we enjoy playing Pictionary, board games, and Bingo!

Charles Whitehead Public Library in Wewahitchka

Family Search
Explore your family's genealogy every Thursday at 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Adult Literacy Classes

Bay County Public Library 
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Easy English
Thursdays @ 10 a.m.
Thursdays @ 1 p.m.

Beginners Classes
Tuesdays @ 10 a.m. & 2 p.m.

Intermediate & Advanced Classes
Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 3 p.m.

Conversation & Pronunciation
Tuesdays @ 1 p.m.

Reading & Pronunciation Class
Thursdays @ 2 p.m.
Fridays @ 10 a.m.

US CITIZENSHIP CLASS
Wednesdays @ 1 p.m.

Panama City Beach Public Library 
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

English Conversation
Mondays @ 3 p.m.

Conversation & Pronunciation
Fridays @ 12:30 p.m.
Computer Classes

Bay County Public Library
All classes take place in the Bay County Public Library Computer Lab in Adult Services. Classes begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. Registration required. For more information or to register, call 850-522-2107.

Microsoft Word Part I 
Tuesday, August 7th @ 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.

Microsoft Word Part II
Thursday, August 9th @ 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.

Computer Basics
Tuesday, August 14th @ 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.

Internet Basics
Thursday, August 16th @ 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
New E-books and Downloadable Audiobooks 

We recently added new items to our digital collection, including: 

How to Change your Mind
by Michael Pollan

When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research.

The President is Missing
by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

The President Is Missing confronts a threat so huge that it jeopardizes not just Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, but all of America. Uncertainty and fear grip the nation. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the Cabinet. Even the President himself becomes a suspect, and then he disappears from public view... Set over the course of three days, The President Is Missing sheds a stunning light upon the inner workings and vulnerabilities of our nation. Filled with information that only a former Commander-in-Chief could know, this is the most authentic, terrifying novel to come along in many years.

Long Way Down
by Jason Reynolds

You can call it a gun. That's what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he's after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that's when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn's gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn't know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck's in the elevator? Just as Will's trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck's cigarette. Will doesn't know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES.
And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END...if WILL gets off that elevator.

You can check out e-books and downloadable audiobooks for free from your library. All you need is your library card number and PIN. Forgot your PIN? Just give us a call at 850-522-2100 or stop by your local branch and we'll set one up for you.

To access e-books and downloadable audiobooks, click here or:
Go to www.nwrls.com
Click on Books, Etc.
Click on eBooks & eAudio
Click on OverDrive  to find books  
Need assistance with e-books and downloadable audiobooks? Just call us at 850-522-2107 or stop by your local branch.