While spring unfurls and reminds us that nature certainly isn’t canceled, many new questions are also appearing on what the new normal will look like as our state reopens. We are currently working on a phased reopening plan to safely welcome patrons into the library again, but for now we are still offering our no-contact curbside pickup service on Tuesdays from 2 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., along with free Wi-Fi accessible 24/7 from our parking lot.
The Mad River Valley libraries are also excited to add to the virtual opportunities for fun in our community with a series of trivia nights using the free game-playing app Kahoot. Over 30 households participated in the inaugural Harry Potter–themed event complete with costumes and other Hogwarts bling. Our next trivia opportunity is coming right up from a galaxy far, far away on an important holiday for “Star Wars” fans the world over. Visit any of the libraries’ websites to sign up for our virtual Star Wars Trivia Night on Monday, May 4, starting at 6:30 p.m. Registration will close at 9 a.m. on the day of the event, and only registered participants will be allowed into the Zoom meeting.
Another virtual opportunity to get together is our “Any Book” Book Club via Zoom. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, May 5, starting at 7 p.m. Register at moretownlibrary.com to get the link to join and let us know what you have been reading while enjoying snacks and beverages from your kitchen.
We are also grateful to Bridgeside Books in Waterbury for helping us add new books to our collection while our regular suppliers are shut down. With 10 titles in a range of genres, there is sure to be something for everyone. Both Julia Alvarez and Anne Tyler return with “Afterlife” and “Redhead by the Side of the Road,” respectively, and fans of “Station Eleven” writer Emily St. John Mandel can check out her latest, “The Glass Hotel.” For nonfiction fans, we have “Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family” by Robert Kolker focusing on a family with six of their children diagnosed with schizophrenia who became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institutes of Mental Health. And Olga Khazan, a Russian immigrant who grew up in Texas, brings us “Weird: The Power of Being and Outside in an Insider World.”
