Adult Programs


MARCH

Backstage at the Bushnell
Thursday, March 7 at 6 PM

Experience the beauty of the Bushnell through a live, interactive presentation at the library. Bushnell tour guides will show you backstage spaces, talk about the history of the venue, and tell stories about their favorite shows and performers!

Registration required; click here to register

Beginning a Memoir: A Workshop
Three Mondays: March 11, March 18, March 25 at 2 PM

Please join Orlene Allen Gallops for a three-part workshop that will explore some of the elements of writing a memoir. Orlene is the author of “Hiding in Plain Sight: Bringing Our Jewish Family’s Truth to Light”. Her family research spanned five years in a relentless search for answers, taking her around the globe to places and meeting people she never could have imagined.

Workshop participants will:

  • Understand what a memoir is and looks like
  • Explore their goals in writing a memoir
  • Examine examples from Orlene’s book
  • Define their goals in writing a memoir
  • Have the opportunity to experiment with writing for a memoir and gain feedback from other participants as well as the facilitator

Registering for this program is registering for all three sessions. 

Registration required; limit 15 participants.
Click here to register

Paul Pender & Deidre McMorrow In Concert
Tuesday, March 12 at 6:30 PM

Hailed as “joyous fun” and a “wonderful music experience”! Join us for a concert that features a mix of classic and contemporary Irish and international folk songs and ballads sung by guitarist Paul Pender and traditional Irish music played by Irish fiddler extraordinaire Deirdre McMorrow.

Click here to register

Navigating Hearing Loss
Thursday, March 28 at 6 PM

Join Dr. Jennifer Micacci, Audiologist and owner of Best Life Hearing Center, for a program about navigating hearing loss. Dr. Micacci will discuss when to get your hearing checked (signs of hearing loss), how to know if it’s just wax, and what to do if you are diagnosed with hearing loss (available treatments).

Perfect for those interested in their own possible hearing loss or hearing loss in loved ones.

Click here to register

APRIL

The Solar Eclipse & The Spring Sky
Monday, April 1 at 6:30 PM

Get ready for the upcoming Solar Eclipse and spring stargazing!  Learn how to safely view the upcoming Solar Eclipse and explore the sky this spring observing events and objects from within our atmosphere to beyond our galaxy. Learn what can be seen and how to locate them with your eyes, binoculars, and the library telescope. Open to adults, teens, and upper-elementary children (or younger ones with a passion for astronomy) with their families. Every attendee will receive a pair of eclipse glasses to view the eclipse on April 8th.

Speakers:
Jim Mazur and Laurie Averill are long-term members of the Astronomical Society of New Haven and guide people in observing and understanding astronomical events and objects. Jim is a life-long amateur astronomer.  Laurie also volunteers as a Solar System Ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Click here to register

Introduction to eBooks & eAudiobooks
Thursday, April 4 at 2 PM

New to eBooks and eAudiobooks? Love them, but want to learn more about how to access them for free? Join us for a program all about eBooks and eAudiobooks and how to access them for free from the library through Hoopla, Libby and OverDrive!

Bring your tablet, Kindle, iPad or similar device and we’ll make sure you’re set up before you go home!

Click here to register

Book Launch: Death in the Details
Thursday, April 18 at 6 PM

Join us as local author Katie Tietjen launches her debut mystery novel, Death in the Details!

About Death in the Details:

Inspired by the real-life mother of forensic science, Frances Glessner Lee, and featuring a whip-smart, intrepid sleuth in post-WWII Vermont, this debut historical mystery will appeal to fans of Victoria Thompson and Rhys Bowen.

Maple Bishop is ready to put WWII and the grief of losing her husband, Bill, behind her. But when she discovers that Bill left her penniless, Maple realizes she could lose her Vermont home next and sets out to make money the only way she knows how: by selling her intricately crafted dollhouses. Business is off to a good start—until Maple discovers her first customer dead, his body hanging precariously in his own barn.

Something about the supposed suicide rubs Maple the wrong way, but local authorities brush off her concerns. Determined to help them see “what’s big in what’s small,” Maple turns to what she knows best, painstakingly recreating the gruesome scene in miniature: death in a nutshell.

With the help of a rookie officer named Kenny, Maple uses her macabre miniature to dig into the dark undercurrents of her sleepy town, where everyone seems to have a secret—and a grudge. But when her nosy neighbor goes missing and she herself becomes a suspect, it’ll be up to Maple to find the devil in the details—and put him behind bars.

Drawing inspiration from true crime and offering readers a smartly plotted puzzle of a mystery, Death in the Details is a stunning series debut.

Click here to register

The Art of Writing a Murder Mystery with bestselling author Lucy Burdette
Saturday, April 20 at 11 AM, with a PALS-sponsored mini mystery book sale from 10 AM – 2 PM

Have you ever dreamed of writing a mystery?
You’re in luck! Lucy Burdette (a.k.a., Roberta Isleib), author of the USA Today bestselling Key West food critic mystery series, will discuss the secrets of hatching ideas for and then writing a murder mystery. Clues, red herrings, shady characters, plot twists and turns—she’ll share all her secrets. Or at least some of them.

Bio: Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleib is the author of 23 mysteries, including USA Today bestseller A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS (Crooked Lane Books.) Both the twelfth book in her Key West series, A DISH TO DIE FOR, and the tenth, THE KEY LIME CRIME, won the Florida Book Award’s bronze medal for popular fiction. Her first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS and her first thriller, UNSAFE HAVEN, have been published by Severn House. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a past president of Sisters in Crime, and currently president of the Friends of the Key West Library.

After the talk, the author will be happy to sign books. In addition, PALS, the Friends of the Durham Public Library, will be hosting a mini-book sale featuring used mystery and thriller novels.

Click here to register

MONTHLY MEETUPS


Cookbook Club
Meets monthly on the 3rd or 4th Friday of the month at noon. This is a combination of a book club and a potluck lunch. Each month, we will choose a cookbook which each of the participants will select a recipe and prepare it for the group to taste and discuss. Click here for a list of upcoming dates. Registration required.

Durham Public Library Book Club
Meets at the library once a month on Mondays at 6:30 pm.
Click here for a list of upcoming discussions.

Drop-In Mah Jong
Meets every Tuesday from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Whether you’re a novice or a pro, join us to play Mahjong on Tuesday afternoons! If you have a set, please bring it. Drop in; no registration required.

French Conversation Group
Meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month from 5:00 to 6:30 pm, via Zoom. Expand your speaking skills by practicing the language in a welcoming atmosphere. Open to all levels of speakers. Email Lauren at lredfield@durhamlibrary.org for registration information.

Spanish Conversation Group
Meets biweekly on Fridays from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, via Zoom. Expand your speaking skills by practicing the language in a welcoming atmosphere. Open to all levels of speakers. Email Lauren at lredfield@durhamlibrary.org for registration information.

Our special programs and events are sponsored by PALS: The Friends of the Durham Public Library.