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Book Spotlight

Book Spotlight: The Witch’s Daughter

by Public Service Associate Juliana

The Witch’s Daughter: My Mother, Her Magic, and the Madness that Bound Us by Orenda Fink (2024)

Today’s book spotlight features a memoir I gravitated towards as if it was magnetic. I noticed it on the new shelf in the library lobby and felt literally pulled to examine it closer, drawn to the arrangement of pressed flowers on the cover, the unmarked sheet music background, and the black cursive typography of the title that appears to be scribed with a paintbrush. The title itself beckoned me; The Witch’s Daughter sounds like the stuff of dark fairytales and straight away inspired interest and intrigue.

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Recommendations

A Magical Movie Night for Library Lovers

by Public Service Associate Juliana

Matilda is a movie for library lovers. The little protagonist LOVES books. She LOVES to read. She LOVES her public library! The film came out in 1996, and I remember watching it for the first time and absolutely longing to be able to walk to the library like she does. To fill a little red wagon full of books and pull it home is the stuff of dreams — and maybe part of why I ended up working at a library. Wish fulfillment.

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Recommendations

The Great Outdoors

by Content Coordinator Hannah

What began as just a week back in 1998 has grown into Great Outdoors Month, officially recognized by the U.S. Senate on June 5, 2019. It’s a national celebration meant to encourage people (you’re invited!) to explore and appreciate nature—for all its benefits: mental well-being, stronger communities, economic value, and of course, physical health.

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Recommendations

Walks with Mondo: A Book Lover’s Guide to Exercise

by Public Service Associate Juliana

Mondo among the violets

I wish I loved exercise as much as I love reading. Maybe even half as much as I love reading. I have no problem showing up for the current chapter I’m on. But lately I can’t get myself to exercise. For a while, I showed up for yoga, but now my mat gathers dust. When I started watching Scandinavian murder mysteries while on the stationary bike, I thought I’d solved my exercise problem once and for all. That felt like something I would and could do a couple times a week.

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BPL News & Information

Summer Community Read (SCR) Is for Adults, Too!

By Associate Librarian Leah

At BPL, patrons of all-ages are invited to sign up for our SCR (Summer Community Read) program. Maybe, like me, you have vivid childhood memories of getting your summer reading prize, stamp, or coupon, at your local library. I remember the excitement of going to the library and walking up to the desk with my reading tracker in hand. While I have not been inside my childhood library for many years, I can still visualize the space in my head. Maybe your library memories are being made now, in adulthood and/or retirement. Don’t worry, there’s still the chance for you to make memories around summer reading! 

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Online Resources Recommendations

Celebrate World Collage Day with Help from Your Library!

By Public Service Associate Juliana

image by Juliana Farrington

Over the weekend, Saturday May 10, 2025, I honored World Collage Day by spending time at the table with various papers, scissors and a glue stick. Creativebug, the app available for free with your library card, recently released a new series of videos called “Collage Homage: 15 Women Artists to Know,” and I’ve been working through the tutorials with great joy.

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Video Games

Terms and Conditions May Apply

Gaming and the Illusion of “Ownership”

By Public Service Associate Paul

Picture yourself as a child in the 5th generation of home video game consoles–a time when the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Sega Saturn stood like titans, engaged in a fiery battle for your imagination. You are buckled into the backseat of the family car, clutching your new GameStop gift card like it’s a golden ticket, your mind already drifting to the aisles that await. You can already see them in your head: rows of game cases lined like soldiers with their glossy covers bursting with heroes, villains, and far off lands calling to you. You push past your parents and feel the cool air as the automatic doors whoosh open. Your eyes adjust to the fluorescent lights, and you see the shelves stretching endlessly, glowing like a treasure trove of pixelated promises. You wander, starry eyed through the electric wonderland, your hands dragging along the spines of cases, each one whispering a new adventure to your imagination.

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Reading Life

What’s Your Reader Personality Type?

by Associate Librarian Leah

You may have taken various tests/quizzes to figure out your personality type/s (Enneagram, Myers Briggs, etc). Have you ever considered what your reader personality type is? I recently found this list of reader personality types from Author Janie Crouch’s Facebook page.

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Recommendations

Permission to Watch the Movie First: To the Lighthouse

by Public Service Associate Juliana

When it comes to “Page to Screen” movies, like many people, I almost always prefer to read the book before seeing the film. Occasionally I’ve done the opposite – watched the movie first and then decided to read the book it’s based on. When I’ve done this in the past, I’ve found myself bored out of my mind because I knew too much. But what I’d like to present today is an argument for when it is very much OK to watch the movie first. 

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Recommendations

Celebrating Women’s History Month: Reflections, Stories, and Empowerment

By Public Service Associate & Content Coordinator Hannah

I knew I wanted to write a Women’s History Month post, but I didn’t know how to go about it. After all, this month is an opportunity to celebrate the vast accomplishments of women throughout history and the ongoing contributions we make. It’s a time to acknowledge the resilience, creativity, and courage of individual women and the communities that empower them. It’s also a moment to honor and encourage women to support one another on our journeys whether on a grand scale or in quieter, more personal ways. So, with all that in mind, I turned to the library, a natural source of inspiration, and it came through.

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