Your monthly news & updates |
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An Evening with Ann Patchett |
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Virtual Event with Author Ann Patchett,
Friday, February 5, 5:30 PM
As one of only 16 private Membership Libraries in the nation Lanier Library is fortunate, through our relationship with these other unique and/or historic libraries, to be able to occasionally offer our members special opportunities. One of those libraries, the Providence Athenaeum in Providence, RI, has invited our members to participate in a virtual program with author Ann Patchett on Friday, February 5 from 5:30-6:30 via Zoom. This is a free program, open only to members of the Membership Library network.
We are excited to be able to offer you this opportunity and grateful to the Providence Athenaeum for providing it. We hope to be sharing more such opportunities with you in the future.
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Sidney Lanier Poetry Competition |
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A direct and compelling headline |
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In addition to the competition, we are excited to host four poetry reading events from April 22-25. with the kickoff confirmed for Thursday, April 22, 6 pm with a reading by NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green.
Other events include:
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Friday, April 23 at 6 pm: Readings by Wendell Hawken and Patricia Corbus
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Saturday, April 24 at 4 pm: Readings by Erik Bundy, Kathy Ackerman, and DJ Gaskin
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Sunday, April 25 at 4 pm: Reading by Cathy Smith Bowers and the announcement of the winners
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As we approach the end of the first year of COVID pandemic restrictions, we understand that "COVID fatigue" is very real. But the pandemic is not over and we need to remind you that the library requires the wearing of masks properly to enter the building. This is for the safety of our staff as well as other members on the premises. The new strains of the virus are reportedly more contagious than the original strain, and, even as many are receiving vaccinations, half our staff will not be eligible to be vaccinated until later in the process. Please wear your mask to cover your nose and chin, and, although it is sometimes difficult and frustrating, please do not pull your mask down to speak to us or others. We feel fortunate to have been able to keep the library open with your cooperation this past year, and hope that we can count on your continued support to do so safely now.
For those who who remain uncomfortable with indoor settings, we continue to offer porch drop-off and pick-up.
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Tryon is a small town with a bit of everything, and that makes us pretty special. We have the arts, an historic library, restaurants and shopping in abundance. But during a pandemic many of us have had to find new ways of performing normal activities: taking advantage of the Metropolitan Opera’s free online streaming instead of attending concerts; zooming family celebrations without the hugging; and shopping online for a myriad of products from birdseed to embroidery threads, to exotic baking ingredients and craft supplies, things that warranted, in safer times, a trip to Hendersonville, Spartanburg or beyond.
If you have used Amazon Prime for any of these types of purchases, we want you to know that if you click on AmazonSmile before ordering, 0.5% of your purchase will be donated to the charity of your choice. We hope that might be Lanier Library.
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It may seem like pennies, but as we all know, pennies add up, and every little bit helps. So far 29 members have designated the library as their charity of choice and the pennies are mounting! Our goal is to double that number to 50, so the next time you need to order something not readily available in town, Smile and we will too.
Here is the direct link to the library on AmazonSmile:
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Membership Renewal a Click Away |
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Newcomer Membership Drive
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Membership is the heart of the library, and you are our greatest recruitment asset. Every week someone joins after telling us "my neighbor says the library is a must to join." But since you can't be everywhere, and there are new folks moving to Tryon monthly, the Board has decided to create a newcomers initiative to reach those you cannot, and would like your help.
We would like you to take your voice, telling the stories you share with neighbors and friends when talking about the library, and offer it to people who have just moved here and are looking for ways to connect with the town's history and to meet new friends.
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To this end we ask you to share with us your favorite things about the library. It could be a story about meeting others through your library membership, fun facts, a program that introduced you to a new idea, the complete Midsomer Murders collection.... You get the idea.
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2021 Lanier Library Book of the Month Reading Challenge |
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Last year we challenged you to read your way through classics and award winners, and we had a few but not many who accepted the challenge. This year, we wanted to have more join in so decided to go lighter, and quirkier. To make it a bit more fun and flexible. There is only one inflexible rule however: the book you read this year must be a book you have not read before! Jenny has created the kids' reading challenge and the same rule applies. Participants in both groups can pick-up a 2021 Lanier Library Reading Challenge book log at the library, or download it here:
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We're unsure of the prizes yet, but you can count on a prize for each group this time. You will earn one ticket with your name on it for each monthly challenge accomplished and be entered into the drawing to be held on January 31, 2022. Since we got a late start, the challenge will run from February 2021 through January 2022.
We know you're excited, so watch this space for interim updates and Challenge news as you read your way through the coming months. On your mark, get set, READ!
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As a warm-up for the 2021 Reading Challenge Lanier Library Board member Vince Verrecchio suggests you continue your brain stretches with his monthly literary brain teasers. Click on the link below for the February Bibliotrivia Quiz questions. Answers can be found on the library website or in person at the library
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Book Lovers Go Virtual...Again
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Book Lovers will meet via Zoom Saturday, February 6, 10 am. If you are already on the Book Lovers email list, you will receive an invitation with the meeting code for the meeting from Jenny on Friday. If you would like to join the list and the conversation, let Jenny know by contacting her at thelanierlibrary@gmail.com. Because there was no meeting in January, we are repeating last January's recommendations to remind you of some good books you may have forgotten about.
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And here are the links to our newest orders and acquisitions. Feel free to contact the library to put your name on the hold list for any you would like to read. You can call us or log in through the catalogue on the website using your library card number for ID and PIN. And, as always, let us know if there is a book or DVD you think would enhance the collection.
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Reviews
The Little White Bird
by JM Barrie
I recently borrowed the delightful adult novel The Little White Bird by J.M. Barrie from the Lanier Library. Although he is best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan, Barrie wrote a number of successful novels and plays, which I also look forward to borrowing from the library and reading as well.
His inspiration for The Little White Bird began when he and his wife, Mary, moved into a house directly overlooking Kensington Gardens in London. He befriended the boys of the neighboring Llewellyn Davies family, often taking them along for long walks in the Gardens. His charges benefitted from Barrie’s enduring connection to his “inner child” as well as his creative storytelling skills.
In 1902, Barrie recorded some of these experiences when he wrote The Little White Bird, which is about a bachelor’s connection and happenstance relationship with a nanny named Mary, her husband, and their first child, David, who became his constant companion as they walked through the Gardens. Like the Llewellyn Davies boys, David learned from his companion everything he needed to know about the fairies that lived in the park. He learns that “fairy rings” are made when fairies dance all night at their balls and the mushrooms in those rings are the chairs that the clean up crew had neglected to take away. He also practices the techniques for how to spot a fairy while walking through the Gardens.
A prominent whimsical theme in the novel is that the children who played in Kensington Gardens were once little birds that chose human mothers in order to become babies. Several chapters include the magical adventures of one of the birds-turned-baby, Peter Pan. (Those chapters were evidently so popular, Barrie wrote the play, “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up” in 1904.)
In the novel, we learn Peter Pan’s charming backstory about how several turns of fate caused him to live permanently in Kensington Gardens among the birds and fairies. According to Barrie, since all babies start off as birds, that is why Pan is able to fly. He informs us that, “The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”
Through its Disneyesque chapters, The Little White Bird has good advice for children as well as adults, such as a much-quoted line, “Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight to always try to be a little kinder than is necessary?” In closing, I leave you with another one of my favorite Barrie quotes from the novel: “There is nothing that has such a clean sense of fun as a fallen leaf.”
Review by Robin Edgar
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One of the coziest spots to stay warm while catching up on the latest news, recipes and travel is our Holden reading room with its comfy chairs, natural light, plenty of space for social distancing, and even a fireplace. We're pleased to now offer the Sunday edition of the Charlotte Observer and Country Life magazine.
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In order to do our part to control the spread of the COVID virus, we will continue virtual programs for the foreseeable future.
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Mike Havekotte: American Comics
Thursday, February 25, 2 pm
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Comics, in its purest form, is a storytelling medium made up of dialogue and visuals.
Local artist and art director Mike Havekotte includes comic books in his portfolio of work, and will share with us an overview of "sequential graphics, the unique, storytelling medium that marries artwork with text" on Thursday, February 25 at 2 pm.
In the 20th century, comics became an autonomous art medium and an integral part of American culture. I'm sure many of us remember saving up from our allowances to buy a Little Lulu or Archie comic book at the local candy store. We weren't the first. Comics were relatively popular in early 1800s America and England. In fact, the very first comic book is widely considered to be The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats, which was published in 1897. That same pairing of pictures with words is still favored today as we see in the popularity of graphic novels with today's youth.
Join Mike on Thursday, February 25 at 2 pm as he presents this unique storytelling medium that marries artwork with text, and explores the cultural influence and history of American comic books; their publishing highs-and-lows; and noted artists, writers, and publishers.
From the editor: if you are at all interested in comics (and New York in the 40s and 50s), a "must read" is The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.
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Mark Catesby: American Nautralist |
We had a large group of Zoomers for Donna Wise's presentation on the art of colonial naturalist Mark Catesby last month. We are grateful to the Tryon Garden Club for suggesting the program and co-sponsoring it with us. Special thanks, of course, to Donna for sharing this history and art of the natural world with us. For those who missed it, here is the link to the video on our website: Mark Catesby: Colonial Naturalist
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Lanier Library welcomes all library-friendly dogs, but asks that they remain on leash at all times. |
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This is a Lanier Greeter Dog Nick look-alike with a reminder of how to correctly wear your mask while in the library. |
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This month's display will complement Mike Havekotte's program on American Comic Books.
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Sandra's February Shelf Display is a double-header, celebrating both romance and Black History Month. As always, Sandra's displays are designed to be dismantled by interested readers, so come in and pick a book guaranteed to inform about an integral part of American history, and/or instill the warmth of romance in the chill February days as we await spring.
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Thank you to Donna Wise for the beautiful January display case filled with pieces of her Mark Catesby print collection complemented by nature's own art.
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In honor of the month of St. Valentine we offer a romance-themed literary quiz.
No prizes, just fun.
Happy Valentine's Day to you and those you love
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Answers can be found on the library website: www.//thelanierlibrary.org
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Lanier Library | 828-859-9535| thelanierlibrary@gmail.com |
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