Introducing Manager Ashley Rose

 

New years always bring changes, and the Library is starting a new chapter this year. When manager Matt Shaw (aka "Librarian M") retired the end of 2023, we prepared to welcome our new manager Ashley Rose. Of course, the Library's Furry Ambassadors asked her the tough questions. Read on to get to know our new leader better.

Furry Ambassadors: What do you like to do when you're not at work?

Ashley: I love being at home with my husband (Bear), my rescue dogs (Luna and Nisa), and my rescue cats (Rosie and Rosco). They each bring me so much joy and I love spending time with them! I also love traveling to explore new places and visiting my family in Arizona! 

What's your favorite imaginary animal?
Hippogriff! Buckbeak is my favorite "animal" character in the Harry Potter series! 

What's your favorite pizza topping?
Pepperoni, extra cheese.

Favorite ice cream flavor?
Peppermint Bark

Favorite genre to read?
Mystery/Horror, I like a good crime story, even better if there's an unexplained monster involved.

How did you decide to become a librarian? 
Once upon a time I was a Language Arts teacher that taught my students how to love reading! In doing so, I also taught myself how to love reading even more and from there I had a desire to become a librarian. But wait there's more! My first real job was as a Library Assistant at the Montgomery County Public Library during the summers while I was in school getting my teaching degree. From that experience, I knew the secret of how much fun being a librarian could be! 

What's your favorite dinosaur? 
Brachiosaurus, it's been my favorite since "The Land Before Time" movies and will forever be my favorite because they don't eat meat and were peaceful giants! 

If you could "travel" into any book, what would it be and why? 
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll simply because I would like to have nonsensical adventures in Wonderland and also meet the Cheshire Cat! 

Favorite superhero?
Scarlet Witch - Wanda Maximoff

You can have one superpower - what do you pick?
Flight, so I can travel anywhere for free!

Favorite color?
PINK!

Snacks: Sweet or Salty?

Salty! Popcorn, extra salt and butter!

Welcome to the Archdale Library, Ashley!

Q&A with Ms. Liz!

When Ms. Haley left the Library for another adventure, we began searching for our next Children's Programming Guru - and are quite excited to welcome Ms. Liz to our Library family! 

Our furry ambassadors have once more volunteered to ask the tough questions and get the answers we're all curious about ... but first: 

Storytime is resuming SOON. We're waiting for a few final details to make our official announcement, so stay tuned and get ready for fun.

The Furry Ambassadors: Who is your favorite storybook character?

Ms. Liz: Winnie the Pooh

Who is your favorite author?

Mary Pope Osborne

Which is better: the book or the movie?

The book

Who is your favorite Disney Princess?

Mulan

What is your favorite pizza topping?

Buffalo chicken with banana peppers

What is your favorite salty and/or sweet snack?

Cheddar cheese Pringles (salty) and ice cream (sweet)

If you could travel back in time, where/when would you go?

The 70's/80's, for the music

You can have one superpower - what do you pick?

Teleportation

What's your favorite color?

Burnt orange

If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would you pick?

A cat

What is your favorite way to spend a weekend (or day off work)?

Getting coffee with friends and reading

I think we can all rest better, knowing these answers -- and many thanks to our furry ambassadors for asking the tough questions.

Welcome to the Archdale Library family, Ms Liz!

Summer Reads

For Teens and Adults, Summer Reading involves writing short reviews of books read to earn entries in the end-of-summer giveaway(s). Today, we're going to share a selection of those reviews (all from highly rated books), in case you need inspiration for what to read next.

See anything that catches your eye? Have you read any of these?
What have YOU read and loved this summer? 

Book Bites Recommends

If you are unfamiliar with Book Bites, it's the "un-book club" offered by the Library. How does it work? Well, on the second Tuesday of every month, a group of avid readers meet at 2pm and discuss the book they've read and loved most since the last meeting. It's always a varied and wide-ranging list of titles discussed, and all come highly recommended by one reader or another (or several!)

Here's the lists of recommended titles from our first three meetings so far this month (and our first meetings after a 2 year hiatus because of the pandemic!):

#LucyMaudMarch

I recently joined a readalong on Instagram for L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle (also available as an ebook through NCKids digital). It ended up being a reread for me - Goodreads informed me I first read it back in 2014 - but there is something about Montgomery's writing that begs to be revisited again and again. I couldn't tell you how many times I've read the Anne of Green Gables series, and even though I know exactly what is going to happen - have some passages practically memorized - it always feels like going home, opening the pages and getting lost in that familiar and cozy world. Rereading The Blue Castle, and seeing plans on Instagram for a few other specific Montgomery readalongs, got me thinking ... and what started as an off-hand comment to a friend began to take root. 

I'd like to officially invite you to join me for #LucyMaudMarch - a relaxed and informal reading of L.M. Montgomery (aka: Lucy Maud). There is no required reading - I won't ask you to read a particular book on a particular week - and there are no group discussions. This is merely a chance to revisit - or perhaps discover for the first time! - a simpler time.

While most famous for the much beloved Anne Shirley, Montgomery wrote many more books about other fascinating and enchanting heroines. There's Emily of New Moon, and Jane of Lantern Hill. Kilmeny of the Orchard, Pat of Silver Bush, and The Story Girl. And let's not forget Anne's youngest daughter, Rilla of Ingleside, coming of age during WWI.

Perhaps you'd like to learn more about Montgomery herself, either in a biography (House of Dreams) or a novelization (Maud). 

Maybe you want to introduce a young reader to Anne, in which case I highly recommend the work of Kallie George. With dreamy illustrated books like Goodnight, Anne and If I Couldn't be Anne and a first-chapter series that begins with Anne Arrives, you can tell George is a kindred spirit. 

Another kindred spirit is Winston-Salem author Sarah McCoy - Marilla of Green Gables is an imagining of Marilla's life in the before times, and is an engrossing story on its own, as well as a loving homage to the original.

There are so very many options, more even than mentioned here, and I invite you to read any that catch your fancy, at any point during the month of March. All I ask if that if you do, let us know. I'd love to know what you read and what you think. Comment on any of the posts I make during the month, or tag us in your posts (and please, use the #LucyMaudMarch hashtag too!).

Winter Book Bingo!

The days are getting crispy (sometimes downright cold!), the nights are longer, and it's time for a reading diversion .... Book Bingo has returned!

This time, we're doing it a little bit differently ... The holiday season can be busy, occasionally stressful, and it's easy to forget to take time to breathe and savor the moments. Then, once those moments have all passed, the winter slump hits hard. So ... Winter Book Bingo to the rescue! 

The board will be "live" from now until the end of February, and there's a mix of prompts to choose from. You can read across a row for Bingo, or you can try to knock out the whole board. The hope is that joining in our bookish fun will help you take a moment to escape - to savor - to have some quiet "me time" while reading - and add a little something special to the holiday season and beyond.

The bingo board is posted below, but it will also be on our Instagram page!

If you join in, please tag us on Instagram @ArchdaleLibrary and use #ArchdaleReads so we can cheer each other on!

Q&A with Ms. Haley!

 As you may know, Ms. Carol retired at the end of the summer, after 20+ years of storytimes and children's programming.
Ms. Haley has joined us as our new children's programming guru (you can check out her welcome/introduction video here on our facebook page), and our furry ambassadors recently took the opportunity to interview her - asking the tough questions we're all curious about!

The Furry Ambassadors: Who is your favorite storybook character?
Ms. Haley: Junie B. Jones

Who is your favorite author?
Nicholas Sparks and J.K. Rowling

What is your favorite genre to read?
Fantasy and Romance (basically anything that is a Hallmark movie in book form)

Reading snacks: Yes or No?
Does coffee count? If so then it is a big yes!
{Coffee definitely counts, even though we bunnies like cocoa better}.

Which is better: Book or Movie?
Book!

Who is your favorite Disney Princess?
Belle from Beauty and the Beast
{Belle is Librarian R's favorite too!}

You can hang out with any fictional character for a day -- who do you pick? Why?
Hermione Granger. She's smart, she can do magic, and she appreciates a good trip to the library!

What is your favorite way to relax and have fun (when you're not reading)?
Hiking/exploring parks, spending time with my family and fiancé.

What is your favorite color?
Purple ... or pink ...

What is your favorite holiday/celebration?
Christmas!! 😁🎄 (But Thanksgiving and Easter are close seconds)
{We love Christmas too! Our favorite part is decorating the tree and making everything look festive!}

What is your favorite pizza topping?
Pepperoni

What is your favorite ice cream flavor and/or sweet treat?
Cookies-n-cream milkshake from CookOut or Chick-fil-A

That was a lot of fun! Welcome, Ms. Haley!

Stay tuned for further updates from the Library about when in-person programming will return, as well as some new virtual content and fun things coming our way.

Spring Reading Challenge

Ah ... Spring has arrived! With it, a whole new reading challenge for your pleasure. {Fans of Book Bingo, fear not: It will return for Summer Reading!}

When deciding what sort of challenge/reading "game" to do for April and May, I wanted something fun and easy. Maybe even something a little silly. The book-themed planner I'm using this year includes several challenges, and one of those is "on the cover" - I decided to take that idea for our Spring fun.

Here's how it works:

I've posted a template to our Instagram story, and saved it under the "Odds & Ends" highlight for future reference. I'm also including it here, in case it's easier for you to snag and save.

I've picked 9 different things to find on the cover of the books you're reading, and you can try to find all 9 by the end of May OR however many you feel like reading. There's a mix of things, as you can see, because I wanted to have a range of features for people to be able to look for (which means a greater variety of books) and the fun part of this is that you being asked to pick the book by the cover! 

Make sure you tag us if/when you post your progress so we can see what you're reading and share in the fun! 

A Reading Challenge, You Say?

Reading Challenges. I don't know about you, but I find them both intriguing and, occasionally, daunting.

If you are unfamiliar with the term, no worries: the quick definition is that a challenge  focuses your reading toward a particular set of books. Similar in a sense to our Book Bingo prompts, but ... not. They are usually much bigger in terms of books involved, and can be quite specific.

As someone who has dabbled, trying several reading challenges over the years, I am always curious what will pop up next. This year there are quite a few catching my attention ... I'll link and blurb them here, in case you'd like to stretch your reading in 2021.

The Alphabet Challenge

I first saw this on Little Inklings Design's instagram last year, but I'm sure it has been around for awhile. This is one of the simplest challenges, I think, in that you match the titles you read to the letters of the alphabet (Little Inklings allows for any title including an "X" or "Q" to count, huzzah!).
Last year, I came so close to making it - I was 4 letters short by the time the clock struck midnight. {For the curious, I missed out on: U, V, Y and Z}. 
Maybe this year I can knock out all 26 letters - care to join me?

Book Riot: Read Harder
Book Riot (an excellent source for booklists and bookish news) has an annual Read Harder challenge. With a list of 24 challenge-prompts, they've designed a list that will expand your reading horizons - this is a good challenge if you're wanting to really think about what you're selecting/reading, and want to read more diversely. Individual books can count for multiple prompts, and if you feel stumped, just search the Book Riot blog for "Read Harder" to find suggested booklists. They've also created a nifty tracker, so you can easily keep up your progress.

Modern Mrs. Darcy
Anne Bogel, commonly known as the "Modern Mrs. Darcy" in the bookish world, has an annual reading challenge. This year, that challenge is a bit different than you might expect (if you've seen previous years), but is designed to help you get the most out of your reading.
I love the idea of stopping and assessing what I want to get out of my reading time - and there are so many great prompts and lists and mini exercises to help you get started. 

PopSugar
I have seen the PopSugar Reading Challenge on #bookstagram quite a bit lately, so I tracked it down ... with 50 prompts, it will definitely provide some reading inspiration. Again, there's a checklist you can print and use to track your progress, and there's a variety of online outlets to find suggested titles.

Read Christie 2021
The Read Christie challenge is one I stumbled upon, quite by accident, but I am intrigued. Having recently discovered the genius of Ms. Christie (thanks to the glorious audiobook narration of Dan Stevens for Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None), the idea of having a monthly prompt/focus for reading more of these novels is helpful. 
I'm not sure how I'll do following along, (I completely missed January, and February looks doubtful), but this is definitely something I will consult during the year.

This is only a sampling of the reading challenges available for you to pick from - is there one you love that I've missed? Share the love!

Book Bingo!

Have you ever played Book Bingo? No? Well, today is your lucky day! The Library just posted a Winter 2021 Book Bingo card, that will run January through March.

You can find a blank template (and how to play) under the "Book Bingo" highlight on our Instagram page. While you're there, make sure to give us a follow, to keep up with the fun and shenanigans that take place over there.

If you've never played Book Bingo before, basically you're given various prompts (ex. "a book with snow on the cover"). You can decide to go for a 3-in-a-row Bingo OR complete the whole card (8 books + a free space). I have a feeling it's going to be a long winter, so I'm going to try and fill my card ... 

Please join the fun, and don't forget to tag us @ArchdaleLibrary and use the hashtag #ArchdaleReads so we can cheer you on and share reading ideas.