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Follow us on social media and keep up with everything at the library

We try our best to make sure people like you who love the library know what's happening in library news and events. It's hard to reach everyone, but if you follow us on social media you will learn about new events, special programs, see what our librarians are reading (and watching and listening to), and see what's happening in the library. Sometimes, we even save spiders!

If you haven't yet, please like and follow us on Facebook and be sure to set your notifications so you see them in your newsfeed. Follow us on Instagram at @derby_library and be sure to catch our stories. We sometimes post on Twitter — our handle is @derby_library. Subscribe to our YouTube channel where you'll find the latest adventures of Theo and see the cool movies our teens make in Moviecraft.

You will find links to all our social media profiles at the bottom of this newsletter. Be sure to scroll down and bookmark them! (And if you do that, you won't miss a thing in the newsletter!)

We have a brand new app!

We are excited to let you know that we have launched a brand new app, the KanShare Libraries app. It lets you do all the things you loved in the previous app, but is a little more user-friendly. Find it in the Apple App Store or in the Google Play Store. Download it today and find titles, place items on hold or renew items you have checked out.

Youth Services programs to resume Sept. 13

Our Youth Services staff is taking a short break from programs in August, to get ready for a full slate of fall programming. Fall programs will begin Monday, Sept. 13. Be sure to pick up a fall brochure. They will be available in mid-August.

A good summer for art

June and July have been fabulous months with the Derby Arts Council. We have enjoyed great art from the Derby Photography Club in our Gathering Space Gallery and a wide variety of art styles from local art teacher, Laine Pike in the High Wall Gallery. Both of these shows are set to close in the first week of August.

On July 16, the DAC opened our galleries to the public to meet and greet our artists. On Tap, a husband-and-wife band, serenaded our guests. More than 100 people attended the event.

As we move into August, we will be featuring Derby resident Mark Ward in the Gathering Space Gallery. Mark paints in acrylics, oils, and watercolors. In our High Wall Gallery, we look forward to partnering with the Derby Recreation Commision for an art show by the Derby Free Spirits.

We hope you will stop in and take a look at the work by our talented artists!

Learn more about art that is on display at the library by clicking the big red "Read More" button below.

Pictures below (left to right): Laine Pike, artist - High Wall Gallery; On Tap, Mike and Michelle Roesch; and various guests enjoying the photography

Go on an adventure to all the libraries in the KanShare consortium!

The KanShare libraries are joining forces to host KanRead, a series of events hosted by each library in the consortium. For more details, stop by the library beginning Aug. 16 and pick up a copy of Grimms' Fairy Tales (limited availability). Be sure to pick up your passport with the list of events, which you can take to each library to get stamped, and be eligible to win a prize!

Click on the book titles to see the book in the library catalog!

Five books recommended by Amelia:

The Honeybee by Kirsten Hall

The Alpactory: Ready, Pack, Go by Ruth Chan

The Little Butterfly That Could by Ross Burach

Atticus Caticus by Sarah Ma izes

Home is Where the Heart Is by Emma Dodd

Friends book sale huge success!

The Friends of the Derby Public Library annual book sale was a rousing success. The sale brought in more than $3,500. The money will be used to support library programs including Big Read, StoryWalk and more.

The Friends especially thank the volunteers who helped with the sale for all their hard work. All the leftover books were donated to Union Rescue Mission. The Mission sells the books in its store to help fund the organization's charitable work.

Katharine Parr,
the Sixth Wife
by Alison Weir

First Line: Katharine was five when death cast its black shadow over her life.

Summary: Katharine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII of England, grew up as a simple country gentry but she made several advantageous marriages. However, each husband died early leaving her a widow and childless. Then when she meets the handsome brother to the late queen, Jane Seymour, she believes she has found the love of her life.

But fate has different plans. Katharine catches the eye of the King of England. With the hopes of swaying the king towards the new faith, Katharine accepts his proposal. With her marriage comes the enmity of the Catholic faction at court. Bishop Gardiner and his men are determined to bring down Henry’s new queen.

My Thoughts: I liked this book. I liked how we got a look into Katharine’s early life. Many of the books about her focus on her time as queen and afterward, but very little on her first two marriages. I enjoyed learning a little more about her time before the throne and how she became a strong proponent of the new religion, Protestantism.

Katharine is one of my least favorite queens. Her story is not very exciting and centers a lot around religion. She did much for the reformists in the court and even became the first woman to publish a book under her own name in English. It is quite an achievement. Alison Weir did a great job giving all the queens in her series a new life and bringing more of their stories to readers. I will be anticipating her next collection of books.

Click here to find Katharine Parr on the KanShare catalog.

Release date: May 11, 2021

Ashley's rating:

The Therapist
by B. A. Paris

First Line: My office is small, perfect and minimalist.

Summary: When Alice and Leo move into their new home in an exclusive gated community in London they see this as the perfect beginning to their life together. But as Alice meets her neighbors, she learns about the dark history of her new home. After this discovery, Alice becomes obsessed with finding out what happened and who was involved.

My Thoughts: B. A. Paris always writes a fun, twisty thriller. They are always very fast reads. Something that will keep you reading until you finish the book late at night. This one kept me wondering throughout. Everyone is a suspect. Even with a headache I finished this book because I had to know how it ended. There is lots of misdirection to throw the reader off.

I admit that it was nothing groundbreaking or original. It was just plain fun to read! I have been in a slump with lots of 2 star reviews so it was nice to find something that kept me interested and wanting to read. If you want a quick summer read then this would be it.

Click here to find The Therapist on the KanShare catalog.

Release date: July 13, 2021

Ashley's review:

Looking for someplace to discuss books? We've got you covered!

We have three active book groups here at the library that are open to everyone. If you love to read and talk about the books you read, pop in to one or more of the book groups!

Bemused Biblipohiles — meets at 1 p.m. Aug. 4. The title for August is Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. The book club will meet in person in the Frank Fanning Conference Room.

Hauntingly Good Reads — meets at 7 p.m. Aug. 9. The title for August is The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack. The book club will meet in person in the Frank Fanning Conference Room.

Joyful Page Turners — meets at 6:45 p.m. Aug. 26. The title for August is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The book club will meet in person in the Frank Fanning Room.

Bemused Bibliophiles meets during the day and reads popular books that have been on the bestseller list. Hauntingly Good Reads meets in the evening and explores all kinds of books that have a supernatural/magical/unexplainable kind of bent—we look far beyond the traditional vampires, ghosts and witches.

Joyful Page Turners is the most enduring book club at the library—it's been meeting regularly since May 2000! Books selected for this book club include just about everything: classics, modern bestsellers, non-fiction, and more.

Click the red "Read More" button below to visit the book club page on the library website, where you can find lists of books each book club has read.

Get your copy of Celebrating Derby now!

Celebrating Derby — 150 Years: 1869-2019 is a wonderful book that lets you see what life was like in the early years of the town we call Derby, but was originally named El Paso.

Pick up your copy today at the library for $20.