CHAPTER CHATS

Shea Diamond, a Black woman, sits by herself at a table covered in a red striped cloth. She's wearing a yellow sundress, hoop earrings, and a bracelet. Her chin rests in her hands as she looks toward the camera from the edge of her eye. The wall behind her is a weathered blue.

Where Black Music Month and Pride Month Intersect

by Ash B. As a passionate lover of music and self-proclaimed band nerd for life, I love analyzing the music I listen to. I enjoy paying attention to all the choices that go into a work of music – the chord structure, time signature, melody, instrumentation, and so on – and I love identifying the possible musical influences that affected those choices. Music is fascinating, … Continue reading Where Black Music Month and Pride Month Intersect →

by ashbakerhcls June 21, 2021

The Other Black Girl

By Rohini G. This book defies genre. Is it a sly satire or a hard-hitting social commentary? Is it a sharp page-turning thriller or contemporary literature at its best? A witty and playful debut or a manual for code-switching? I could not slot it into just one category. It is the book you will be … Continue reading The Other Black Girl →

by Rohini G. June 16, 2021

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

By Gabriela P. In 1926, Agatha Christie could have had Hercule Poirot, her own creation, scratching his head. Her 11 day disappearance has no credible explanation to this day, and remains shrouded in conjecture. In her book The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, novelist Marie Benedict gives readers an exhilarating glimpse into what Christie may have … Continue reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie →

by juliefitzreader June 14, 2021June 14, 2021

An Indian woman wearing an elaborate red and multi-colored embroidered dress raises her arms, with her hands flexed above he head. Background is purple and blue.

Classical Indian Dances – Kathak and Bharatnatyam

by Piyali C. Dance is an ancient and celebrated cultural tradition in India and its origins go back into the ancient times. There are eight schools of classical Indian dance, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. Register to join us on Wednesday, June 16 at 7 pm to learn more about these dance forms from Jaya Mathur. … Continue reading Classical Indian Dances – Kathak and Bharatnatyam →

by madammommy June 11, 2021

The book cover, a photograph rendered in shades of black and white, is of a wintery night in a parking lot, with scattered lampposts with bright lightbulbs, a handful of cars, snow on the ground, and a solitary figure in black trudging towards a building. Across a snow-covered road in the distance are more trees, cars, and buildings.

Last Night At The Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

by Aimee Z. No one would understand more about the restaurant layoffs and closures of the 2020 pandemic than Manny DeLeon, the heart beat of Stewart O’Nan’s touching ode to America’s working poor, Last Night At The Lobster. I love anything by Stewart O’Nan, but this tiny, haunting novel – about the lives of a … Continue reading Last Night At The Lobster by Stewart O’Nan →

by Kristen B. June 9, 2021

A figure in a yellow top and blue pants appears in front of Earth. The "O" in Space Boy looks like a big white oval.

Everyone Has a Flavor

“In space, the stars don’t twinkle. Apparently, twinkling only happens when you look at the stars through the atmosphere of a planet.“ Oliver For months I had noticed the Space Boy series by Stephen McCranie on the graphic novel shelves, and while it looked interesting, I never picked it up. That all changed a couple … Continue reading Everyone Has a Flavor →

by Peter N. June 7, 2021June 7, 2021

On a bright green rectangle, white banners with distressed type read "Tails And Tales." A blue seahorse in a spatter style illustration listens to a book via its digital device.

Tails and Tales: Summer Reading at HCLS

Howard County Library System invites you to participate in Summer Reading 2021: Tails & Tales! It keeps your family motivated to read all summer as you accomplish Missions each week. Summer Reading began June 1, and it runs through August 23. Track your reading and play fun educational mini-games as you complete missions full of … Continue reading Tails and Tales: Summer Reading at HCLS →

by Kristen B. June 4, 2021

The image says "Pride! Picks for Big Kids" and has a collage of six book covers. Better Nate than Ever shows the title character leaping into the air in front of a stylized New York City skyline which includes the Statue of Liberty, with the name "Nate" lit up with light bulbs resembling a theatre marquee. Be Amazing shows a character in drag, posing with hand on hip and one arm in the air as if on a catwalk, wearing a dress and hat in gold, orange, and black, with a blurry rainbow-colored background resembling butterfly wings. The cover of Witch Boy shows the purple silhouette of a dragon looking over the title character, who is reading by candlelight against a pink background. The cover of Queer Heroes depicts famous queer celebrities and artists, including Freddie Mercury, Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker, and Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. The cover of Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World shows the backs of two girls as they face a whirlwind rising up to the sky with words in cursive, presumably the contents of Ivy's letter, swirling within. The cover of Rick shows the title character with his back to the reader, wearing a grey shirt and a lavender backpack covered in stickers, including an alien, a spaceship, a smiley face, and a rainbow. The title is in rainbow letters against a white background.

Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month with #ELKReads

By Elkridge Branch Staff For the past 50 years, June has been celebrated as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The celebrations began with the first Pride march in New York City, on June 28, 1970. That date celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a six-day period of unrest, sparked by a police raid of a … Continue reading Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month with #ELKReads →

by elianahcls June 2, 2021

A blue cover with a an image of Jupiter in the background features a flotilla of different spaceships framing the title across the middle of the image.

Found Family in Speculative Fiction

By Kristen B. There’s an old saying that while you can’t choose your family, it’s lucky that you can choose your friends. Some of my favorite stories include found family, where the characters forge tight bonds that go beyond simple friendship into family feeling. These are often the books that live on my comfort reads … Continue reading Found Family in Speculative Fiction →

by Kristen B. May 28, 2021

The cover shows a royal blue bluebird against a pale blue sky and a cityscape of buildings in shades of white and grey.

Wordless Joy

By Eliana H. Many stunningly beautiful picture books are available to readers these days. Even if you don’t have young children in your life, you might be surprised at how much you appreciate picture books as an adult! Picture books can include a wide range of writing styles, sometimes with sparse or rhyming text aimed at younger … Continue reading Wordless Joy →

by elianahcls May 26, 2021

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