In Touch M U LT I-A G E P RO GRAM S
Volume 26, Number 10 November 2019
All GPPL programs are drop-in unless otherwise noted. All registered programs will be specified in the program description.
Family Movie: The Lion King After the murder of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery. Rated: PG. Audience: Families of all ages. Maximum: 50 people Dates: Time: Location:
Saturday, November 2 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Night Owls (parented) Join us for an assortment of bedtime stories and rhymes for the whole family. Audience: families of all ages. Maximum: 25 people Dates: Thursdays, September 5 to December 5 Time: 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm Location: Linda Smith Story Room
GPPL Giving Trees We will be accepting donations of stocking stuffers and other gifts to the Giving Trees in both the Children’s and Teen areas from Friday, November 15 to Thursday, December 12. Donations from the Children’s tree will go to Odyssey House and pet food, cat litter, treats and pet toys from the Teen tree will go to Bandaged Paws Animal Rescue.
Anime & Manga Club Are you an anime and manga fan? Read the manga and then join us to watch the anime and discuss what you liked and didn’t like. November’s anime is Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Audience: ages 10 to 16. Maximum: 15 people Dates: Fridays, November 8 & December 13 Time: 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Enter Virtual Reality Play and explore virtual reality with the Oculus Go. Take the Oculus Go for a test drive and experience the cool new headset that is making VR fun and accessible. Games include zombie runs, escape rooms, roller coasters, and many more VR experiences.
101, 9839 - 103 Avenue, Grande Prairie, Alberta T8V 6M7 780-532-3580 www.gppl.ca
Dates: Wednesday, November 13 & 27 Time: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Escape Room: Priority Cruise Lines The cruise ship has started to sink. Can you retrieve enough life jackets for your group to escape in just 30 minutes? Group registration required. Interested participants must form their own group of 4 to 6 people and select a single person to register on behalf of the group. Participants may only attempt this escape room once. Please arrive on time; participants may not start their escape attempt late. Audience: adults, teens, and children ages 7+ (younger children may also accompany a group) Dates: Wednesdays, November 6, 20, and December 4 Times: 7:00 pm & 7:45 pm Dates: Saturdays, November 2, 16, and December 7 Times: 10:15 am, 11:00 am, 11:45 am Location: Sky Story Room
Handy Helpers If it could work again, why throw it away? Repairs can often be made on just about anything, from appliances to zippers. Volunteers with the right expertise have been recruited by GPPL to help those bringing in their items find solutions and look for ways to possibly make repairs. Registration required. Register online or call 780357-7455. Dates: Wednesday, November 20 Time: 6:00 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
A D U LT P R OGRAM S All GPPL programs are drop-in unless otherwise noted. All registered programs will be specified in the program description.
Afternoon Book Club Can’t wait to share your thoughts on your latest read? Interested in meeting others who share your love of reading? Come join us for a monthly book club. Each month we will discuss a novel chosen from a variety of genres. This month we are reading Juror #3 by James Patterson. Date: 3rd Tuesday of every month (November 19) Time: 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Back on the Big Screen: Good Boys Three grade 6 boys ditch school and embark on an epic journey while carrying accidentally stolen drugs, being hunted by teenage girls, and trying to make their way home in time for a long-awaited party. Rated: R.
Date: Tuesday, November 12 Time: 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Back on the Big Screen: Where’d You Go, Bernadette A loving mom becomes compelled to reconnect with her creative passions after years of sacrificing herself for her family. Her leap of faith takes her on an epic adventure that jump-starts her life and leads to her triumphant rediscovery. Rated: PG-13. Date: Tuesday, November 26 Time: 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Free Digital Audiobooks Find out what free eBook resources are included in your GPPL membership. We’ll be covering the Libby, cloudLibrary, and RomanceBookCloud apps. Bring your smartphone or tablet with you, as well as any passwords you may need. Date: Tuesday, November 19 Time: 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Location: Rotary Training Room
Coffee Club Looking for ways to make new connections? Come to Coffee Club to meet new people and take part in games and other fun activities. Coffee provided. This program is for people with disabilities. Presented with Centerpoint Facilitation. Date: Wednesdays (no session November 13) Time: 10:30 am to 11:30 am Location: Rotary Community Room
iPad and iPhone Club Learn how to use your iPhone and iPad. Enjoy a quick lesson to learn a new skill, with the rest of the hour being dedicated to answering questions and demonstrating solutions. Bring your iPad or iPhone, as well as any passwords you may need. A basic understanding of how to use your device is necessary since oneon-one help will be unavailable. Dates: Tuesday, November 12: Organize your Apps with Folders Tuesday, November 26: Add Apps to the Bottom Tray of the Home Screen Time: 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Location: Rotary Training Room
Conversational English Club Come and practice your English conversational skills in a small group setting. We will guide you through some interesting topics such as food, shopping, job search, travel, Canadian current events, housing and more. Please call 780-538-4452 for more information. Basic knowledge of English is required. Presented with The Grande Prairie Centre for Newcomers.
Date: Thursdays (October 3 to December 12) Time: 1:00 pm to 2:45 pm Location: Rotary Training Room
Citizenship Education Are you immigrating to Canada? Come learn about Canadian systems and prepare for the Canadian Citizenship test in our monthly classes. Topics are based on chapters in Discover Canada - the Canadian citizenship test preparation book and Welcome to Canada. Please register as space is limited. Presented with The Grande Prairie Centre for Newcomers. Date: Thursdays, November 14 & 28 Time: 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Are You Game? In the mood for some friendly competition? Kick off the weekend playing board games at GPPL. Come meet new people or bring your friends. This program is for people with disabilities. Board games provided. Presented with Centerpoint Facilitation. Date: Fridays (no session November 15) Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Location: Rotary Community Room
Job Seeker Support Searching for work? Not sure where to start? Book a one-on-one session for help: • • •
creating / revising resumes and cover letters searching for jobs online submitting online applications
To book a sixty-minute session, call 780-357-7455. If you have a previous resume or cover letter, please bring it along. Registration closes at 6:00 pm the day prior to session. Date: Fridays at 11:00 am (no session November 15) Location: Rotary Training Room
Death Café If death is inevitable, why is discussing it socially taboo? Let’s make time to talk about it! Come eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death. Through open conversation, we aim to increase awareness of death and help people make the most of their lives. Our discussion will have no agenda, objectives, or themes. Please note this is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session. For more information call Jill at 780-357-7473. Date: Last Wednesday of every month (November 27) Time: 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm Location: Rotary Training Room
Genies in the Library (Genealogical Society) Are you researching your family tree and don’t know where to start? The Library Genies are available the second and fourth Wednesday of each month to aid you in your search and answer any questions you might have! Sessions run October through November and January through May. Appointments are recommended but drop-ins welcome. Please email gp@abgenealogy.ca or call 780-512-4463. Dates: Time: Location:
2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month (November 13 & 27) or by appointment 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Isabel Campbell Room
Opioid Education Join us for this informational session on opioid use, hosted in collaboration with the City of Grande Prairie. We will watch the Critical Condition video series, have a short presentation, and open the floor to questions. We will discuss topics around treatment, recovery, policing, prevention and harm reduction. Attend these sessions if you are looking to be more informed about the opioid crisis in our city and have your questions answered by experts. Date: Wednesday, November 20 Time: 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm Location: Rotary Community Room
Swan City Writers Aspiring or published, all are welcome to join this group of people who love to write. Swan City Writers meet on the first and third Tuesday of every month. For more information, call 780-357-7455. Date: Tuesday, November 5 & 19 Time: 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm Location: Rotary Training Room
Knitters’ Circle Join the Knitters' Circle and spend an evening working on your latest project with other knitters or crocheters. Don't have a project started yet? Bring your knitting needles or crochet hooks and some yarn and start something new. Everyone is welcome to join this group, no experience required. Date: Tuesdays Time: 6:30 pm Location: Reading Lounge
Grande Readers Book Club Do you love reading? Can't wait to share your opinions on the chosen novel? Why not join the Grande Readers Book Club! Each month we read a book available through GPPL and meet to discuss our thoughts on the book as a group. Date: Thursday, November 21 Time: 7:15 pm Location: Rotary Training Room
Songwriter’s Circle Whether you're new and want to learn more about the song writing process or a seasoned songwriter looking to get feedback, the Songwriter's Circle is a great Library program that encourages camaraderie, feedback, and collaboration. For more information contact Susan at susanpicard@gmail.com. Date: Monday, November 25 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Rotary Community Room
Keepsake Quilters A quilting club is a great way to start or finish that project you’ve been working on! Meeting every Thursday, get together with fellow quilters and enjoy the comfort of friends while you sew. Please bring your own supplies. Date: Thursdays Time: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Location: Rotary Community Room
Scrappy Hour Share your creativity, learn new techniques, and make friends in this monthly program held on the last Wednesday of every month. Please bring your own supplies. Date: Wednesday, November 27 Time: 6:00 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Motion & Mobility A gentle exercise class aimed at improving general fitness, joint mobility, and strength. Designed for the older adult or the new-tofitness participant. A great environment to enjoy fluid movement of the body. Please come in comfortable clothing. Registration required. Register online or call 780-357-7455. Date: Friday, November 1, 15 & 29 Time: 10:30 am Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
GPPL Family Photos Calling all book-loving families! Local photographer Maj will be at GPPL doing family photoshoots in library settings. 15 minute mini-sessions are available, with each family receiving 10 edited photos in time for Christmas. The cost is $25.00 per family and must be pre-paid at the Customer Services desk. For more information, please call Marci at 780-357-7464. Date: Saturday, November 2 & Sunday, November 3 Time: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Location: GPPL
NaNoWriMo Writing Workshop National Novel Writing Month is an annual, Internet-based creative writing project that takes place during the month of November. Participants attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript between November 1 and November 30. Join GPPL's very own Swan City Writers in this weekend workshop. Date/Time: Saturday, November 9 (10:00 am to 5:00 pm) & Sunday, November 10 (10:00 am to 1:00 pm) Location: Rotary Community Room
Law at the Library: Wills and Estates Do you have a will? If you don’t, should you? Whether you have a large or small estate, learn the implications of making a will. You won’t want to miss this informative session presented by Cliff Headon of Stringam LLP. Registration required. Register online or call 780-357-7455. Date: Wednesday, November 27 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Rotary Community Room
Trivia Time! Bring your friends to GPPL for a night of trivia questions and fun. No teams required. Drop in and challenge your knowledge! Prizes will be awarded to the top three players. Date: Wednesday, November 6 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
Itty Bitty Book Club Be a part of the book club of few commitments. Each month, comments for the selected book may be left via sticky note. November’s book is The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. Dates: Location:
November 1 to 30 Just inside the Library entrance
Armchair Travel It’s summer somewhere! Uniglobe Travel will be sharing tips, tricks, and advice when travelling to an all-inclusive resort. Come and prepare for your next vacation with local experts. Date: Wednesday, December 4 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Rotary Community Room
World Movie Night: Up North A pampered heir must complete a year of service work to inherit his dad's assets but unearths new goals when he's placed in an unfamiliar region. Rated 14-A. Presented in collaboration with the Grande Prairie Intercultural Association.
N Sunday
Monday
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Tuesday
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5 Tales for Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am Dungeons & Dragons 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Young Authors' Club 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Wiggle Waggle Fun 10:30 am to 11:00 am GPPL Family Photos 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
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Story Corner 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm
GPPL Closed - Remembrance Day
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Wiggle Waggle Fun 10:30 am to 11:00 am Musical Munchkins 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Lego Club 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
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Tales for Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am A Gruffalo Birthday Party 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm Free Digital Audiobooks 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Afternoon Book Club 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm pm Dungeons & Dragons 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Knitter’s Circle 6:30 pm Swan City Writers 7:30 pm
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Wiggle Waggle Fun 10:30 am to 11:00 am Musical Munchkins 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm Songwriters' Circle 7:00 pm
Escape Room: Pri 7:00 pm &
Tales for Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am iPad & iPhone Club 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Knitter’s Circle 6:30 pm Back on the Big Screen: Good Boys 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
NaNoWriMo Writing Workshop 1:00 am to 5:00 pm
Music 10:30 am Coffe 10:30 am Baby Rh 1:30 pm t
Trivia Time
Knitter’s Circle 6:30 pm Swan City Writers 7:30 pm
Musical Munchkins 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Wedn
26 Tales for Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am iPad & iPhone Club 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Back on the Big Screen: Where'd You Go, Bernadette 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm Knitter’s Circle 6:30 pm
Music 10:30 am to Baby Rhy 1:30 pm t Enter Virtu 7:00 pm t Genies in 7:00 pm t
Music 10:30 am t
Coffee Club 10:30 Baby Rh 1:30 pm Handy Help Opioid E 6:30 pm t Escape Room: Pri 7:00 pm &
Music 10:30 am t Coffee Club 10:3 Baby Rh 1:30 pm t Scrappy Hour 6:0 Death Cafe 6:30 Genies in 7:00 pm Enter Virtual Reality Law at the Library: W
November 2019
nesday
Friday
Saturday
1 Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Motion & Mobility 10:30 am Job Seeker Support 11:00 am Are You Game? 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Bookworms! 4:00 pm to 4:45 pm Itty Bitty Book Club Begins
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cal Tots to 11:00 am ee Club to 11:30 pm hyme Time to 2:00 pm
e! 7:00 pm
iority Cruise Lines & 7:45 pm
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GPPL Family Photos 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Family Movie: The Lion King 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
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Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Job Seeker Support 11:00 am Are You Game? 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Anime & Manga Club 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
14 Keepsake Quilters 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Conversational English Club 1:00 pm to 2:45 pm Tell Me Why 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm Art Crew 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Night Owls 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm Keepsake Quilters 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
2 Escape Room: Priority Cruise Lines 10:15 am, 11:00 am & 11:45 am Musical Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am
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Keepsake Quilters 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Conversational English Club 1:00 pm to 2:45 pm Tell Me Why 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm Citizenship Education 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Tech Time 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Night Owls 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm
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cal Tots o 11:00 am yme Time to 2:00 pm ual Reality to 8:30 pm the Library to 9:00 pm
cal Tots to 11:00 am
Thursday
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NaNoWriMo Writing Workshop 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Musical Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am
15 Motion & Mobility 10:30 am Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Kid's Volunteer Hour 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Escape Room: Priority Cruise Lines 10:15 am, 11:00 am & 11:45 am Musical Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am
Giving Trees begin
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Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am
0 am to 11:30 pm hyme Time to 2:00 pm pers 6:00 pm Education to 8:00 pm iority Cruise Lines & 7:45 pm
Conversational English Club 1:00 pm to 2:45 pm Tell Me Why 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm Picture This! Book Club 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm Citizenship Education 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm World Movie: Up North 6:30 pm Night Owls 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm Grande Readers Book Club 7:15 pm
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cal Tots to 11:00 am 30 am to 11:30 pm hyme Time to 2:00 pm 00 pm to 9:00 pm 0 pm to 8:30 pm n the Library to 9:00 pm y 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Wills & Estates 7:00 pm
Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Job Seeker Support 11:00 am Are You Game? 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
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Musical Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am
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Keepsake Quilters 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Conversational English Club 1:00 pm to 2:45 pm Tell Me Why 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm Night Owls 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Motion & Mobility 10:30 am Mother Goose on the Loose 10:30 am to 11:00 am Job Seeker Support 11:00 am Are You Game? 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Musical Tots 10:30 am to 11:00 am Itty Bitty Book Club Ends
Date: Thursday, November 21 Time: 6:30 pm Location: Willie Janssen Discovery Room
P R O GR A MS FOR CHIL DRE N Parents must remain in the story room during parented programs and stay in the Grande Prairie Public Library during unparented programs. Please do not bring food or toys to children’s programs. Admittance to programs is done on a first come, first served basis. Program tickets will be handed out no more than 30 minutes before the start of the program. Tickets will only be given to individuals already present at GPPL. Please arrive on time for the program you wish to attend. All GPPL programs are drop-in unless otherwise noted. All registered programs will be specified in the program description.
Baby Rhyme Time (parented) Bond with your baby over finger plays, rhymes, songs, and stories, all designed to stimulate early literacy and social development. Audience: pre-walking babies and caregivers. Maximum: 15 babesin-arms Dates: Time: Location:
Wednesdays, September 4 to December 4 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm Linda Smith Story Room
Musical Tots (parented) Enjoy interacting with your little ones in this fun-filled program with songs, musical activities, and stories. Siblings are welcome. Audience: ages 6 months to 2 years and caregivers. Maximum: 25 people Dates: Wednesdays and Saturdays, September 4 to December 7 Times: 10:30 am to 11:00 am Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Mother Goose on the Loose (parented) Rhymes, stories, and songs abound in this parented program! Siblings are welcome. Audience: ages 18 months to 3 years and caregivers. Maximum: 25 people Dates: Thursdays & Fridays, September 5 to December 6 Time: 10:30 am to 11:00 am Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Tales for Tots (parented) Children and their adults can come enjoy a story time complete with rhymes, flannel stories, and finger plays. Siblings are welcome. Audience: ages 2 to 3 and caregivers. Maximum: 25 people Dates: Tuesdays, September 3 to December 3 Times: 10:30 am to 11:00 am Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Musical Munchkins (parented) Enjoy songs, stories and musical instruments with your little ones in this engaging
program. Siblings are welcome. Audience: ages 2 to 5 and caregivers. Maximum: 25 people Dates: Mondays, September 9 to December 2 Time: 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Wiggle Waggle Fun (parented) Children and their accompanying grown-up can wiggle away with stories, dance, songs, and musical instruments. Siblings are welcome. Audience: ages 2.5 to 6 and caregivers. Maximum: 25 people Dates: Mondays, September 9 to December 2 Time: 10:30 am to 11:00 am Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Tell Me Why (unparented) Come learn about the world around you! This interactive story time will help kids learn about animals, science, nature, and more. Audience: ages 3 to 5. Maximum: 12 people Dates: Thursdays, September 5 to December 5 Time: 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Story Corner (unparented) Enjoy stories and puppet plays. Take turns being the story helper in a variety of interactive story activities with instruments, puppets, and props. Audience: ages 3 to 6. Maximum: 15 people Dates: Sunday, November 10 Time: 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm Location: Linda Smith Story Room
Picture This! Book Club (unparented) A picture book club for children! Come once a month to read and discuss a book of your choice on a specially selected topic. November's topic is books about the ocean. Audience: ages 4 to 7. Maximum: 12 children Date: Time: Location:
Thursday, November 21 & December 19 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm Linda Smith Story Room
Bookworms! Are you a bookworm? Come get together to talk about books! We will be reading books of your choice from a selected genre and then discussing them as a group. For November, bring an historical book. Audience: ages 9 to 12. Maximum: 15 readers Dates: Friday, November 1 & December 6 Time: 4:00 pm to 4:45 pm Location: Sky Story Room
Tech Time Learn the basics of coding and electrical circuits, play with robots, and so much more in this awesome after school program. Audience: ages 9 to 12. Maximum: 8 people Dates: Time: Location:
Thursday, November 7 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sky Story Room
A Gruffalo Birthday Party (unparented) A fun party with a story, a game, and a craft followed by cookies and juice boxes! Registration required. Audience: ages 3 to 5. Minimum: 6 Maximum: 12 Date: Tuesday, November 19 Time: 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm Location: Sky Story Room
Lego Club Are you a master builder? Put your skills to the test as you race to complete the challenge or build your own dream. Audience: ages 6 to 12. Maximum: 15 people Dates: Sundays, November 17 and December 29 Time: 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm Location: Sky Story Room
Art Crew Work on your skills in this interactive program. Different crafts or art activities each month! Audience: ages 8 to 12. Maximum: 15 artists Dates: Thursday, November 14 Time: 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Location: Sky Story Room
Kids’ Volunteer Hour Volunteer at GPPL! This monthly program offers tracked volunteer hours, learning, and fun. Plus you can volunteer your late fees away! Audience: ages 8 to 11. Maximum: 20 children Dates: Friday, November 15 Time: 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Location: Children’s Department
T E E N P R OG R AM S All GPPL programs are drop-in unless otherwise noted. All registered programs will be specified in the program description.
Young Author’s Club Do you love to write? Join this teen writing club to develop your creative writing skills, share your work, and meet other writers! Audience: ages 12 to 18 Date: 1st Tuesday of every month (November 5) Time: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Location: Rotary Training Room
Teen Advisory Board The Teen Advisory Board (TAB) is a group for teens ages 12 to 18 to suggest and plan teen programs, find creative ways to share favourite books and movies, and share ideas on how to continue to make GPPL a great place for teens. New members are always welcome! Audience: ages 12 to 18 Dates:
TAB will resume in January
Teen Hangout Looking for something to do after school? Drop by the teen area to play some games, surf the internet, read, do homework, or just relax. The choice is yours. Dates:
Teen Hangout will resume in January
MO ST WA NT ED Looking for the latest bestseller or movie, but don't want to wait? Take a look at our Most Wanted shelf. No holds, one-week borrowing periods and no renewals. Located next to the Ask sign. Some of the current selections include: Isn't it Romantic (DVD)
Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb
A Better Man by Louise Penny
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Walking Dead, Season 9
Outfox by Sandra Brown
Someone We Know by Shari LaPena
The Guardians by John Grisham
Aladdin (DVD)
B O OK ER P R IZE WIN N ERS
The winner has been chosen for the Man Booker Prize and it's a tie! Have you read these award winning books and the rest of the long list of nominees?
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (winner) Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives and struggles of 12 very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years. Joyfully polyphonic and vibrantly contemporary, this is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible.
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (winner) More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, the lives of three radically different women converge, with potentially explosive results. Two have grown up as part of the first generation to come of age in the new order. The testimonies of these two young women are joined by a third voice: a woman who wields power through the ruthless accumulation and deployment of secrets. As Atwood unfolds The Testaments, she opens up the innermost workings of Gilead as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes.
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann Latticing one cherry pie after another, an Ohio housewife tries to bridge the gaps between reality and the torrent of meaningless info that is the United States of America. She worries about her children, her dead parents, African elephants, the bedroom rituals of “happy couples”, weapons of mass destruction, and how to hatch an abandoned wood pigeon egg. Is there some trick to surviving survivalists? School shootings? Medical debts? Franks ’n’ beans? A scorching indictment of America’s barbarity, past and present, and a lament for the way we are sleepwalking into environmental disaster, Ducks, Newburyport is a heresy, a wonder and a revolution in the novel.
An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma Umuahia, Nigeria. Chinonso, a young poultry farmer, sees a woman attempting to jump to her death from a highway bridge. Horrified by her recklessness, Chinonso joins her on the roadside and hurls two of his most prized chickens into the water below to demonstrate the severity of the fall. The woman, Ndali, is moved by his sacrifice. Bonded by this strange night on the bridge, Chinonso and Ndali fall in love. But Ndali is from a wealthy family, and when they officially object to the union because he is uneducated, Chinonso sells most of his possessions to attend a small college in Cyprus. Once in Cyprus, he discovers that all is not what it seems. Furious at a world that continues to relegate him to the sidelines, Chinonso gets further and further away from his dream, from Ndali and the place he called home. Partly based on a true story, An Orchestra of Minorities is also a contemporary twist on Homer’s Odyssey. In the mythic style of the Igbo literary tradition, Chigozie Obioma weaves a heart-wrenching epic about the tension between destiny and determination.
Quichotte by Salman Rushdie Inspired by the classic Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Quichotte is the story of an aging travelling salesman who falls in love with a TV star and sets off to drive across America on a quest to prove himself worthy of her hand. Quichotte’s tragicomic tale is one of a deranged time, and deals, along the way, with father-son relationships, sibling quarrels, racism, the opioid crisis, cyber-spies, and the end of the world.
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar which the women use to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that Leila shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life – friends who are now desperately trying to find her.
Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry It’s late one night at the Spanish port of Algeciras and two fading Irish gangsters are waiting on the boat from Tangier. A lover has been lost, a daughter has gone missing, their world has come asunder. Can it be put together again?
This is a novel drenched in sex and death and narcotics, in sudden violence and old magic, but it is obsessed, above all, with the mysteries of love. A tragicomic masterwork from a multi-award-winning writer, Night Boat to Tangier is both mordant and hilarious, lyrical yet laden with menace.
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This'll be the third boyfriend Ayoola's dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the fit doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede's long been in love with him, and isn't prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other.
The Wall by John Lanchester The Wall is a thrilling and hypnotic work of fiction: a mystery story, a love story, a war story and a story about a voyage. Kavanagh begins his life patrolling the Wall. If he’s lucky, if nothing goes wrong, he has only two years of this: 729 more nights. The best thing that can happen is that he survives and gets off the Wall and never has to spend another day of his life anywhere near it. He longs for this to be over; longs to be somewhere else. The Wall is a novel about why the young are right to distrust the old. It’s about a broken world you will recognise as your own – and about what might be found when all is lost.
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy In 1988 Saul Adler (a narcissistic, young historian) is hit by a car on the Abbey Road. He is apparently fine; he gets up and goes to see his art student girlfriend, Jennifer Moreau. They have sex then break up, but not before she has photographed Saul crossing the same Abbey Road. Saul leaves to study in communist East Berlin, two months before the Wall comes down. There he will encounter - significantly - both his assigned translator and his translator's sister, who swears she has seen a jaguar prowling the city. He will fall in love and brood upon his difficult, authoritarian father. He will befriend a hippy, Rainer, who may or may not be a Stasi agent, but will certainly return to haunt him in middle age. Slipping slyly between time zones and leaving a spiralling trail, Deborah Levy's electrifying The Man Who Saw Everything examines what we see and what we fail to see, the grave crime of carelessness, the weight of history and our ruinous attempts to shrug it off.
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli A family in New York packs the car and sets out on a road trip. A mother, a father, a boy and a girl head south west, to the Apacheria, the regions of the US which used to be Mexico. They drive for hours through desert and mountains. They stop
at diners when they’re hungry and sleep in motels when it gets dark. Meanwhile, thousands of children are journeying north, travelling to the US border from Central America and Mexico. Not all of them will make it to the border. In a breathtaking feat of literary virtuosity, Lost Children Archives intertwines these two journeys to create a masterful novel full of echoes and reflections – a moving, powerful, urgent story about what it is to be human in an inhuman world.
Lanny by Max Porter There is a village outside London, no different from many others. Everyday lives conjure a tapestry of fabulism and domesticity. This village belongs to the people who live in it and to the people who lived in it hundreds of years ago. It belongs to England’s mysterious past and its confounding present. But it also belongs to Dead Papa Toothwort who has woken from his slumber and is listening, and watching. He is watching Mad Pete the village artist. He is listening to ancient Peggy gossiping at her gate, to families recently moved here and to families dead for generations. Dead Papa Toothwort hears them all as he searches, intently, for his favourite. Looking for the boy - Lanny.
Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love – against their better judgement – with Victor Stein, a celebrated professor leading the public debate around AI. Meanwhile, Ron Lord, just divorced and living with Mum again, is set to make his fortune launching a new generation of sex dolls for lonely men everywhere. Across the Atlantic, in Phoenix, Arizona, a cryonics facility houses dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead… but waiting to return to life. But the scene is set in 1816, when 19-year-old Mary Shelley writes a story about creating a non-biological life-form. ‘Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful.' Spanning multiple timeframes, Frankissstein is funny and furious, bold and clearsighted, exploring gender identity and the far-reaching consequences of the AI revolution we are already living through. What will happen when homo sapiens are no longer the smartest being on the planet? Jeanette Winterson shows us how much closer we are to that future than we realise.
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Monday, November 11 - Remembrance Day