Story Tags

StrangerintheWoods

Solitude

A Life Apart From The World

Everyone, at some point or another, seeks out some alone time—to get away from the noise, to escape the pressures and stress of everyday life. Solitude has a healing quality that renews, strengthens and fortifies. There are some people that choose a life of solitude for any number of reasons and others that find themselves alone through no choice of their own. The following are some recent and classic accounts of the solitary life.

1968 Book Display

1968

Book Display

Cover of Alias Grace.

Netflix's Best Book Binges

Great books that made great shows

The Way

Walking The Way

The Allure of the Camino to Santiago de Compostela

For centuries pilgrims have walked the Camino to Santiago de Compostela (The Way) in northwestern Spain. The cathedral in Santiago is believed to be the resting place of St. James the Apostle, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. During the Middle Ages making a pilgrimage was a popular form of piety. Pilgrimage to Santiago became one of the three main pilgrimage destinations after Rome and Jerusalem.

The warmth of other suns

Home is Where the Hatred is

Stories of Brutality at the Hands of Your Own Country

We often think of bigotry in terms of individual failings. We shame individuals who perpetuate racism and homophobia as people separate from a well-meaning whole. Instead, we should think of them as members of society that allows such attitudes to continue. These books explore how societies are very much complicit in the veils we claim to reject.

Presidents

The Great Oscar Nominee Book Swap

Like this movie? Try reading this...

Who doesn’t love a great story? Whether it’s told on the page or on the screen, there’s nothing quite like curling up under a fuzzy blanket, popping some popcorn and falling into a well-told tale. Or sharing an epic cinematic experience in a dark movie theater. The best movies can inspire a fervent passion for similar storytelling and luckily, this year’s most buzzworthy films have plenty of read-alikes out there, whether you’re craving more guerrilla journalism, World War II heroism, or the awkward bumblings of life and love as a teenager.

Paula Y Shelton publicity photo

Author Talk: Paula Young Shelton

What was like to be part of the civil rights movement as a child during the 1960s? 

Cover of the January 16, 1969 Washington Free Press, an illustration of a protest at the U.S. Capitol

Historic Washington Free Press 1967-1969 online

Digitized counterculture newspaper now available in Dig DC

DC Public Library Special Collections recently published The Washington Free Press Collection in Dig DC, the library's portal to digital local history archives. The collection contains issues of the underground newspaper the Washington Free Press published from 1967 to 1969.

Black Films Matter

Black Films Matter

Six Provocative, Rarely-Seen Films

Youth continue to be at the heart of every social movement. What are today's teens thinking about current and past African American social movements?  From 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. every Thursday from January 18 to February 22, 2018, teens at the Parklands-Turner Library will watch and discuss films that show little-known occurrences of the past that are relevant to what they see happening in society today. 

Image of Black History Buttons

Be the Message Maker

DIY Button and Book Marker Making

Want to wear your message to the world on your shoulder?  Don't wait until February to make your mark.  Come to a special post-Kwanzaa/Get-Ready-for-Black-History-Month DIY craft for teens at the Parklands-Turner Library. Saturday, Jan. 13 from 1 - 3 p.m., teens will immortalize powerful, meaningful images and words as they design their own buttons and book markers to wear during Black History Month and beyond.  

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