By KATHY McGILBERRY
Are you ready for another great year at McAlester Public Library? We are, so please grab a nice mug of hot tea and join us as we review all the interesting, educational and fun activities planned for you this January. After all, January is Hot Tea Month. You’ll be steeped in this kind of knowledge once you come in to pick up a January calendar, or check our website at www.mcalesterlibrary.net.
Either that, or you’ll have 2014 in the bag. You won’t be a drip. You get the picture.
It’s also National Be On-Purpose Month, and we’ve purposely created this list of programs for you and your family. Take a look:
*Thursday, January 2—The holiday season isn’t over until The Bookies book club says it’s over. And once the group has discussed Dorthea Benton Franks’s The Christmas Pearl at 1 p.m., the holidays are most assuredly complete. Join The Bookies for fun, friendly talk and tasty refreshments, too. Then at 3:45, teens gather for Game Time on this and every other open-for-business Thursday in January.
*Tuesday, January 7—Teen Challenge begins at 4 p.m. upstairs. Get more information on the Teen Blog at http://www.mcalesterlibraryteens.blogspot.com/.
*Wednesday, January 8—Three activities are on the schedule. First, Frances Walker teaches a free How to Knit Socks class from 1-2 p.m. in the Conference Room every Wednesday from Jan. 8-29. You should have basic knitting skills to enter this class; that is, you should already know how to knit and purl. Spaces are limited, so call us at 918-426-0930 to register. Then from 1:30-3:30 p.m., the Free Crafts Workshop will be meeting in the Whiteacre Room to create do-it-yourself toning sticks. You’ve seen those $25-$30 noisemaker sticks used in exercise classes. These are inexpensive replicas, and we’ll have lots of fun making them. Call ahead to register. If you want to attend both the knitting and crafts classes, don’t worry. We’ll let you join us after knitting class is over. Then at 6 p.m., come to the Whiteacre Room to join a new Adult Anime Fans group. You’ll leave wide-eyed with wonder, having seen a fantastic movie and enjoyed some free popcorn. You might even find a new friend.
*Saturday, January 11—You’ll want to bring the whole family—and any spare minions you have–to Second Saturday Cinema this month, when Steve Carrell reprises his voice role as Gru in a PG-rated movie sequel. We’ll have free popcorn as always. Don’t be despicable; come to the free movie.
*Monday, January 13–It’s a nightmare world for those on the lower level, and heavenly bliss for those up above. Join us for Arthouse Theater at 6 p.m., when Matt Damon and Jodie Foster star in an R-rated futuristic thriller.
*Tuesday, January 14—The Teen Yu-Gi-Oh club meets upstairs at 4 p.m.
*Wednesday, January 15—The How to Knit Socks class continues in the Conference Room at 1 p.m., and teens meet at 4 p.m. upstairs for their monthly Craft Explosion program.*Thursday, January 16—The library will be closed for our annual in-service staff training.
*Monday, January 20—It’s the regular meeting day for the Light Readers book club, who will discuss Jim Kraus’s The Cat That God Sent. It’s also Dr. Martin Luther King Day, and for this special occasion, we will also have a free screening of a special movie at 6 p.m. in the Whiteacre Room. Jurnee Smollett and Mackenzie Astin star in a Disney film, based on the true stories of two real-life Selma, Alabama schoolgirls who were inspired by Dr. King to march against discrimination. Clifton Powell portrays Dr. King in this story of one of the most historically significant events in the struggle for civil rights.
*Tuesday, January 21—Friends of the Library will meet for their regular monthly noon luncheon. A donation of $3 is requested but not required for a tasty meal and an interesting program. Then at 6:30 p.m., the Night Readers will meet in the Conference Room to discuss Gillian Flynn’s psychological thriller Gone Girl. If you read the book last year, or if you’re looking forward to the upcoming movie based on this book, join us for freewheeling discussion.
*Wednesday, January 22—The How to Knit Socks class continues this week and one more week at 1 p.m. in the Conference Room. Then at 6 p.m., the Adult Steampunk group meets in the Whiteacre Room. Want to find out what’s involved in the steampunk movement? Come join this group!
*Thursday, January 25—One of the four regularly-scheduled movies each month is the fourth-Saturday Documentary Matinee. This month, we look at a PG-13 rated 2002 film that depicts the struggles of black South Africans against the injustices of Apartheid, through the use of music.
*Monday, January 27—The (usually) last movie of each month is the final-Monday Film Movement independent movie. These films are usually foreign, and always award winners. January’s movie is Shun Li and the Poet, from Italy, presented in Italian and Mandarin with English subtitles. Here’s how Film Movement describes the movie: It is “the story of Shun Li, who works in a textile factory near Rome. She is slowly paying off the broker who brought her from China to Italy, while saving money so she can bring her young son to join her. She is suddenly transferred to work as a bartender at a pub in a small town along the Venetian Lagoon. The pub is the hangout of the local fishermen, including Bepi, a handsome old Slav immigrant nicknamed ‘the Poet.’ A tender, delicate friendship grows between Shun Li and Bepi. But gossip soon threatens their innocent relationship, a bond that had once transcended two very different, yet not at all distant cultures.”
*Tuesday, January 28—Socrates Café meets on the final Tuesday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon in the Conference Room. A nice brunch is enjoyed while participants discuss questions of philosophy. You are welcome to join. Then at 4 p.m., the Teen Yu-Gi-Oh club meets upstairs.
*Wednesday, January 29—The How to Knit Socks wraps up the four-week course with a 1 p.m. session the Conference Room. Then at 4 p.m., the Teen Book Club meets to discuss Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter.
You’ll also find all the regular children’s activities on the printed calendar at the front desk.
Hope to see you at the library.
McBook 