West End
Neighborhood Library

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It's Kind of a Funny Story Book Cover

Mental Health in Young Adult Literature

The ability of young adult literature to address issues of identity in an open-handed and egalitarian way can't really be underestimated. Part of the appeal of young adult books is the opportunity they provide authors in allowing them to create characters to be earnest which sparks true, often pure, feeling in the reader. When characters are included who experience mental illness, a vehicle is provided for people to accompany someone on a journey to a conclusion - open-ended or not, happy or sad.

NMWA logo

DC Women Artists

Women's History Month March 2016

Come and join the celebration of Women's History Month by attending an invigorating lecture by the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA). A representative from NMWA will be visiting a few DCPL branches to discuss local women artists. No registration is required. Just show up, and bring your friends while you're at it. Takoma Park Neighborhood Library ​Tuesday, March 29 at 7 p.m., Meeting Room downstairs Lamond-Riggs Neighborhood Library

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles

Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

Life is a series of connections; and these books, with their depictions of how we either miss the mark or somehow manage to land on the same page demonstrate (among other things) the ways in which our relationships dictate our paths. Some of them find a person slipping away from themselves while some demonstrate connections that give us clarity as we see ourselves mirror-reflected back. Some of the books also demonstrate relationships that are a part of our lives in order to provide a touchstone that lines the direction we ought to be walking, acting as sources of strength.

Book cover for Julian Barnes's "Sense of an Ending"

Book Club Pick 'o the Month

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

The West End Fiction book Club will meet Tuesday, December 15, at 12:30 p.m. to discuss The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes--"a novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single sitting, with stunning psychological and emotional depth and sophistication."   Copies ar

Picture of Nancy Bearg, a coauthor of "The Retirement Boom"

Author Talk: Nancy Bearg

Speaking on "The Retirement Boom"

Nancy Bearg will speak as a coauthor on her new book The Retirement Boom: An All-Inclusive Guide to Money, Life, and Health in Your Next Chapter (Career Press, 2015) on Monday, December 7, at 7 p.m. 

Image of book cover for "Yellow Birds" by Kevin Powers

Book Club Pick 'o the Month

"Yellow Birds" by Kevin Powers

The West End Fiction Book Club will meet Tuesday, November 17, at 12:30 p.m. to discuss The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers--nominated for the 2012 National Book Award and praised by writer/journalist Tom Wolfe as "The All

Portrait of John Philip Sousa

Marching Along with John Philip Sousa

An evening with the famous "March King"

The library will present a special performance by local actor Dwane Starlin as he embodies the life and spirit of the great American bandmaster and composer John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), known for his military and patriotic marches such as "The Washington Post," "Semper Fidelis," and "Stars and Stripes Forever" and who was born in Washington DC, on Wednesday, November 4, at 7 p.m.

Global image of retirement and related issues

Retirement Cafe

Let's talk about retirement

The library will be hosting a Retirement Cafe on Tuesday, October 13, at 12:30 p.m.  It will be an open-ended discussion of the joys/challenges/pitfalls of retirement, in areas such as life planning, finance, health care, estate planning--or in any other areas that people want to talk about--and with coffee and sweets.  It's a chance to compare notes and discover/rediscover retirement as a new adventure, a rite of passage, or as something else.  Some of us are near retirement, and some of us are already there.  Join us for the Retirement Cafe and let's talk

Image of book cover for "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

Book Club Pick o' the Month

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The West End Fiction Book Club will meet Tuesday, October 27, at 12:30 p.m. to discuss the national bestseller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.  Copies are available at the library.  Pleas

Podcast: "What Are You Reading Now?"

Interviews with DC readers

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