Here at the Smiley Library, we are dedicated to providing lifelong learning experiences. To this end, we will be offering two educational programs in the near future.
On Saturday, February 29 at 2:00, Alpha Delta Kappa will hold their sixth annual Melinda Stevens World Understanding Book Club. This book club meets once a year to discuss books that open minds and broaden horizons through greater understanding of countries and cultures throughout the world.
This year, the book club will discuss The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See and For All the Tea in China by Sarah Rose. Both books bring attention to the history of China. Special guest Lisa See, author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and many other bestsellers, will join the discussion via Skype at 2:15 to answer questions and discuss her book. This book club is free and open to the public. No reservations are necessary. You are not required to have read the books in order to join in the discussion.
March is Women’s History Month, and there is much to celebrate this year. On Saturday, March 7, at 1:00, University of Redlands history professor Kathleen Feeley will present “Securing the Vote: The History of Women’s Suffrage in Redlands and Across the Nation.” This program honors the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment. We invite you to drop in for this lively, interactive presentation and learn about this vital part of women’s history. This program is also free and open to the public, and no reservations are needed.
Come on over and learn something new at the Smiley!
Remember Miss Scarlet and Professor Plum? This book is a totally modern, thoroughly edgy, perfectly spine-tingling take on the classic game…one that finds prep boarding school students Scarlet Mistry, Finn Plum, Beth “Peacock” Picach, Vaughn Green, Samuel “Mustard” Maestor, and others stranded in a school dorm after a violent winter storm. Things get worse when the teens discover the dead body of their school headmaster, Mr. Boddy. In the Hall with the Knife is a good old-fashioned murder mystery, teeming with a familiar yet fresh cast of characters, all of whom have shady secrets and dark motives that spill out in tantalizing bursts as the story unspools. Warning: this novel is the first in a trilogy, so don’t expect to breathe a sigh of relief after the last page.
Next, if you dressed up like the character Eleven for Halloween (a.k.a. you’re a superfan of the Netflix series Stranger Things) you must read the graphic novel series 
love about the book is that these women’s stories are told in depth, not just as accessories or sidekicks, or a list of heroic accomplishments, but as real people whose experiences often aren’t rosy. These women had to defy cultural expectations to get things done and they did. If you want to epitomize cleverness during Women’s History Month in March, namedropping defiant women from around the globe, get cracking on reading this book now.
If history along with celebrity gossip catches your attention, “
is February 9th, then come and visit A.K. Smiley Public Library and check out some of the Oscar nominated films on DVD.
Oscar nominations, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. “Joker” is the origin story of the DC comic book villain the Joker. This film is a darker take on the character, which people are not as accustomed to seeing. Joaquin Phoenix has already won the Golden Globe and the SAG for Best Leading Actor in this role, but judge for yourself and come and check out this dark interpretation of “Joker.”