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Brown Girl Dreaming book cover

Your Friday Five

Stories in verse for fourth- to eighth-graders

We're wrapping up National Poetry Month, and while I've personally spent the month reveling in re-reading all of my favorite poems, I realize that not everyone loves poetry as much as I do. For some people, this disinterest -- or even distaste -- has to do with the fact that there isn't enough plot in a poem; people like a good narrative.

Your Friday Five: Poetry Month

Celebrate Poetry Month with Books About Poets and Their Worlds

Poetry Month can be celebrated in a variety of ways. Yes, you can and should take the time to read and write poetry at any of the numerous events happening around the city. But what if you do that year round? Perhaps you would enjoy reading more about some of the famous poets of the past. Below are five books that showcase the men and women behind the poems and illustrate how the people, events, and world around these artists shaped them and their work.

What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris

A Trip Through English History

Historical mysteries

Take a trip through England and history by reading historical mysteries set in various eras of Britain’s past. Explore the dawn of British common law in the Plantagenet era, religious upheaval in the Tudor era, the beginnings of formal police services and investigation in the Victorian era, and social change in the Edwardian era, all while trying to figure out 'whodunnit' with citizens turned sleuths.

Family Fang cover

Your Friday Five

Dark Comedies

My two favorite kinds of books are those that make me laugh and those that make me supremely uncomfortable. If a book can do both, it has my heart forever.  If you find dark comedies as satisfying as I do, you might want to try one or more of the following titles: The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

History of the World

Your Friday Five

Brain Food

My goal everyday is to try and learn something new. Often the Internet will teach me a thing or two, but I also have found a few books that help with these daily lessons. The books listed below are great pick-me-ups, and I mean this in the literal sense. Pick them up and get your daily dose of knowledge in just a few minutes. It could be right before bed, waiting for a doctor's appointment, or out at lunch. Sometimes it might just be a refresher on that subject you forgot about, and sometimes it offers that great tidbit to bust out at the next cocktail party.

Image of woman thinking

Weekly Online Trivia Contest!

Women's History Month

Join us in celebrating Women's History Month, and win fantastic prizes! Every Monday in March, a new trivia question will be posted on Twitter (@dcpl) and Facebook.  Respond by Friday with the correct answer using #herstoryDCPL, and get entered to win a different prize each week!  We'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the week.

Yoga at Lincoln Memorial

Free Yoga!

Fitness fun inside and outside the library

Our recent series of classes on downloadable content from the library website have been a great success. Every class, we hear someone say some version of "I didn't know the library had this!" The classes have also highlighted some of the fabulous fitness videos available with your library card -- the perfect complement to our in-library programs.  

Feminism Unfinished

Your Friday Five

Women's History Month

Women's History Month starts in just a few days! We have lots of events planned all over the city that teach about overcoming the challenges that women face now and the challenges women faced in the past, told via films, historical reenactments, and storytelling for adults and children. In celebration of the activists, feminists, and women who came before us, here are five excellent feminist-themed reads that will make March more enlightening. 

When Mystical Creatures Attack

Your Friday Five

Bridge books: YA to adult fiction

Grown-up books are so boring. They're long and slow. Their covers are boring. I'm never going to find a book I like.  Do these phrases come out of your teenager's mouth? Or perhaps your friend's? Don't fret. You may not believe it but I, your neighborhood librarian, once uttered the very same words. Friends, I was a reluctant adult reader. For most of high school it was school reading and magazines only. 

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Friday Five: Yours and Yours Alone

Some Books about Solitude for Valentines Day

Valentines Day is the perfect time to think about.... solitude. At this time of year when we feel all kinds of pressure to find the perfect match, it can be healthy to reflect on what it means to be ok with yourself, to be happy in your own company. So, even though we are hosting a slate of speed-dating sessions this month, allow me to also suggest five books that lift up our capacity for solitude and self-reliance. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

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