Stay Connected through Library Programs

Weekly Program eNews

February 10, 2025

In this Issue

• Spotlight: Hemingway's Passions

• Spotlight: Paint Club for Tweens & Teens

• This Week at the Library

• Upcoming Program Highlights

• Staff Review: The Mighty Red

• Teen Book Beat: The Giver

• Ask a Librarian

See our full calendar here.

ABOVE RIGHT: StoryWalk© merges the joy of reading with the beauty of the outdoors,

providing a unique and delightful experience for families and individuals. More here.

In the Spotlight

Much has been written about Hemingway, but to date no book has linked the women he loved to his written work. The stories of Hemingway’s romantic relationships reveal not only the influence these women had on his writing but also his personal ambition, heartbreak, and literary triumphs and trials. Nancy Sindelar’s provocative analysis of Hemingway’s literature give fresh insight into the life of a legendary author, outdoorsman, adventurer, and lover. More/register here.

Thursday, February 13

5:30 p.m. • Lecture Hall + Livestream

Judy Zimmer leads Paint Club for tweens and teens. Join us in The Children's Library where we'll all make a creation on canvas! Paint Club is open to tweens and teens ages 9+ who can manage the project alone. All supplies are provided.

Space is VERY limited so sign-up is required. More/register here.

Thursday, February 13

3:30-5:00 p.m. • Children's Library

Starting February 14, Gold Mine Thrift is putting all their ski and snow CLOTHING ON SALE. Get 25% off your warm and cozy winter wear while the weather is cold and the deals are hot! (Excludes hard goods. Sale ends February 17.)

More about the Gold Mine stores here.

February 14-17

Doors open at 10:00 a.m. • Gold Mine Thrift

4th & Walnut in Ketchum

This Week at the Library

Story Time: Love

Monday, February 10

10:30-11:30 a.m.

Treehouse

Lunchtime Language: Spanish

Monday, February 10

12:00-1:00 p.m.

Idaho Room

Beginning Knitting

Monday, February 10

4:30-6:00 p.m.

Foyer Fireplace

State of the Valley: Supporting Youth Mental Well-Being

Tuesday, February 11

4:00-6:00 p.m.

Lecture Hall + Livestream

Conversational Spanish

Tuesday, February 11

4:00-6:00 p.m.

Learning Commons

English Language Learning

Tuesday, February 11

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Idaho Room

Virtual Creative Writing Workshop

Wednesday, February 12

12:00-1:00 p.m.

Zoom

Paws to Read with Pansy

Wednesday, February 12

2:30-3:30 p.m.

Children's Library

Genealogy Workshop

Wednesday, February 12

3:00-5:00 p.m.

Learning Commons

Winter Read Book Group: Chinese Stories in the American West

Wednesday, February 12

4:00-5:00 p.m.

Lecture Hall

Tech Help Desk

Wednesday, February 12

5:00-7:00 p.m.

Learning Commons

Bedrock: Immigration’s Role in the Wood River Valley

Wednesday, February 12

5:30-7:00 p.m.

Lecture Hall + Livestream

Pop-In Poetry

This week: Love is so short, forgetting is so long. But at least I have this Nobel prize.

Thursday, February 13

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Learning Commons

Story Walk© on the Wood River Trail

This unique activity merges the joy of reading with the beauty of the outdoors, providing a delightful experience for families and individuals alike. Enjoy A Polar Bear in the Snow in English and Spanish between 6th Street and Wood River Drive in Ketchum. Presented in partnership with BCRD and the Hailey Public Library.

Thursday, February 14

through Sunday, February 23

Wood River Trail, Ketchum

Tiny Art Show - Pick Up!

The foyer exhibit of Tiny Art has ended and original art may be picked up now.

Pick-up Deadline: February 15

Children's Library

Upcoming Program Highlights

February 17: The Library will be CLOSED in observance of Presidents' Day

February 18 & 21: Drop-In: Play-Doh Fun

February 18: WINTER READ: The Light of a Hundred Fires: Chinese Experiences in Idaho’s Gold Rush with historical archaeologist Dr. Renae Campbell

February 19: Cake Truffles for Tweens & Teens

February 19: Restoring the Dignity of Our Rivers with Dr. Colin Thorne

February 20: Winter Read Book Discussion with Teen Interns

February 21: Reel Love Film Screening with The Advocates Every Teen Counts (ETC) Interns

February 22: Drop-In: Day of Pretend Play

February 24: WINTER READ: Mastering the Brush: A Conversation with calligraphy artist Yidan Guo

February 25: Behind the Start Gate 2: Steve Porino on Being a Color Commentator for FIS World Cup Ski Racing

February 26: Library Lab: Code-a-Mouse

February 26: Tech Roundtable: Windows & PCs

February 26: Reframing Women's Health and Aging with Dr. Jennifer Garrison

February 27: WINTER READ Keynote with Jenny Tinghui Zhang

March 4: Book Signing with Author and Illustrator Nathan Hale

March 4: Behind the Start Gate 3: Curtis Bacca and Jonna Mendes on their experiences at over 200 World Cup Races

March 5: Upbeat with Alasdair

See our full calendar of events/register here.

Title Review: Library Staff

"She gets each of them to divulge a piece of the hidden event, because it’s a small town, and everybody knows everyone else’s business..."

Information Systems Manager Will Duke recommends The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich.

One of the many things I enjoy about the Erdrich universe is the way she shifts between characters from book to book, each presenting unique and often opposing points of view. For the past few decades, she has bounced around the communities of Argus, Pluto, and Hoopdance, generally with the Turtle Mountain Reservation as a backdrop. Her novels explore these towns through the eyes of different inhabitants. The often-opposing perspectives of the characters are a delight for attentive readers.

It’s world creation on a grand scale.

In The Mighty Red, Erdrich takes us to a new fictional town, Tabor, in the Red River Valley. This time, she doesn’t make us wait for the next novel to give us these different perspectives. Whether it’s the daughter, the mother, the father, the boyfriend, the other boyfriend, the mother-in-law, or the friend – who plays a dual role as both her friend and her boyfriend’s friend – these characters have a lot to say and do. While Erdrich turns these characters loose on each other, literally, she uses each one to build the community of the novel.

She gets each of them to divulge a piece of the hidden event, because it’s a small town, and everybody knows everyone else’s business...

Read Will's entire review here.

Find more staff book recommendations here.

Book Beat: Student Book Review

My name is Bria. I am a ski racer, swimmer, and dancer. I love reading in my free time. For my Book Beat review, I read The Giver by Lois Lowry.

I found The Giver to be an interesting and engaging dystopian novel. Not only is it captivating, but it also has a film adaptation. I enjoyed this book because it explores themes of adventure, hope, joy, love, power, and more.

The story is set in a future community where people do not experience color and emotions are suppressed. Life seems idyllic, as everyone is the same, eliminating inequality, conflict, and injustice. Each year at the Ceremony of Twelve, children receive assigned jobs based on their birth year.

Jonas, the main character, anxiously waits for his name to be called to receive his assignment. However, he is different; he is chosen for the honored position of Receiver of Memory. In this role, he will receive memories of the past from an elderly man known as the Giver. The community consults him when facing problems to avoid repeating mistakes.

As Jonas becomes the Receiver of Memory, he realizes how much the community has kept from its people—experiences like love, snow, dancing, and Christmas...

Read Bria's entire book review here.

See all Book Beat Reviews here.

Got a Question?

We're here for you.

Ask a Librarian

Our mission is to bring information, ideas, and individuals together

to enhance the cultural life of our community.

208.726.3493 | www.comlib.org | info@comlib.org