Cooking demonstration at the Jones!

Liz Barbour, author of Beautifully Delicious, 

will be at the Jones to speak with us about food! Food! Food! 

Come hear her talk.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

This program was entirely funded by your donations to the Friends. 

We can't do this stuff without you guys. 

Thank you.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

The Beatles!!!

Every fall the Friends ask you for financial support. 

Programs like this are among the many things your dollars go towards.

We get by with a little help from our Friends...

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Thanks, Friends.

Idris Elba and Pong-Pong

The Friends have been fans of Idris Elba ever since we met him on The Wire. Just in case you're one of the three people out there not yet converted to the Idris Elba camp, here's yet another reason why you should love him, too.

Want to hear more great stories read by people you know? 

Check out ProjectLiteracy.

Quick! Go get a banned book!

It's Banned Book Week. 

Need a list of banned books to read? 

We've got your rebellious book-loving back, Friend.

Ex Libris -- The New York Public Library documentary

Doing mind-building, soul-affirming, life-saving work...

Are you a crafty reader?

If you love DIY and books, we've got an article for you! 

14 do-it-yourself projects to add some literary flavor to your space. 

Rainy day projects, here we come!

Foreign and female? You're less likely to be translated.

Women read more than men (14 books per year compared to 9). Women use libraries more than men. Women buy more books than men. And yet only one-third of all books translated into English are written by women.

What gives?

Black Lives Matter film

Hey, this is important:

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Plagiarizing Poets

Like a literary superhero, 

Ira Lightman is feared, reviled, and lauded in the poetry world.

Uke Strum Along!

This is yet another one of the wonderful programs funded by 

your donations to the Friends. Thank you, Friend.

Now go sing your little heart out.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Charlie wasn't originally a little white kid

In the much-loved children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, author Roald Dahl had originally intended Charlie Bucket to be a black hero, not a white one.

Read more here.

Outlander Facts

If you've fallen down the Outlander rabbit hole, you may think you know a thing or two about the series. The Friends are here to give you 15 surprising facts about Outlander that we bet even you, dear Jamie Fraser fan, might not have known.

Hey you scurvy dogs!

It's the 15th annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day! But then, you undoubtedly already knew that.

And in case you need any literary inspiration today, to go along with your grog and chowder, check out these pirate books.

Also? We recommend you swing by one of the three town libraries just to see if any of the librarians have donned a new name tag, perhaps have a parrot on their shoulder, or, best of all, are singing pirate shanties as they reshelve books.

Arrgh, mateys.

Double-dog dares

Here's a little article about 

10 books that were originally written because of a bet. 

Some of these are classics, some surprises. 

Check them out. 

Literally. 

They're all in the library system.

Okay, fine. Not #7.

Levitating bookshelf

This is so neat!

Claiming Liberal Bias, Pub Drops Association with 'NYT' Bestseller Lists

A conservative book publisher based in Washington, DC, announced to its authors that it will no longer use the New York Times bestseller list as a basis for employee and author bonuses. Regnery Publishing wrote the Times doesn't "accurately reflect what is selling across the country...prioritizing liberal-themed books over conservative books and authors...There is a principle at stake here. We want to work with a list that reports accurate data."

Regency England fashion

Come see what your favorite hero and heroine would've really worn.

Poets in Amherst

This Saturday.

Second floor of the Jones.

Free.

(click on image to enlarge)

Where to Start: The 7 Must-Read Sherlock Holmes Stories

Perhaps you, like some Friends, have never actually read the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you'd like a gentle introduction to the great detective, here are seven places to begin.

Papa's cats are okay

In the news of all the death and destruction caused by our recent natural disasters, here's a welcome bit of good news. The six-toed cats descended from Ernest Hemingway's original kitty, Snow White, managed to survive Hurricane Irma.

Jane Austen at the Jones!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

11 Literary Destinations Every Book-Lover Should Visit In The Fall

It's autumn in New England and the Friends have 11 literary trips to take just for you, dear reader. Some of them are far, far away. Some of them are in our own home state.

So while you're enjoying your pumpkin-spiced bologna sandwich on your next lunch break, maybe you'll plan a trip to one of these exotic locations.