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Are you interested in Johnson County’s history? Want to read about it from the comfort of your home, car, or wherever you are on your phone? Check out the Museum’s collections on JoCoHistory.org – a collaborative resource with digitized photographs, maps, newspapers, newsletters, and more! Learn more in this month’s #JoCoHistory Blog post. »

Dec 5, 2023

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of No Wait Wednesday, where we take a look at a title on our New Release shelves at one of our Libraries that's sitting there, just ready and waiting for a lucky patron to discover it. Today's book is How To Be Remembered by Michael Thompson, a thoughtful, heartwarming debut novel with magical elements that draws comparisons to last years' breakout hit The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab as well as the book group smash The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. A book that both enlightens and entertains, excellent for book groups looking for deep, discussable themes as well as casual readers just looking for a good book. Either way, be sure to get this one on your holds list.  

Tommy Llewelyn has a problem. A very unusual problem, as a matter of fact. For every year, as long as he can remember, Tommy's life resets. Meaning that every year on his birthday he wakes up and everyone he has met in the previous year has forgotten everything about him. Friends, family, lovers, teachers, employers, casual acquaintances - all of them have forgotten ever meeting him or knowing anything about him while he still remembers everything. Documents, photos, or any sort of paper that he's accumulated trail simply disappear and are gone forever. It's an odd and terrible sort of magic - every year of Tommy's life, he has to start over completely from scratch. Even though Tommy has (almost) gotten used to it, that doesn't stop him from trying to find out why this happens and to try to discover a way to get out of this unusual and heartbreaking situation. Also, he's trying to reconnect to a girl he fell in love with during his stay at an orphanage, Carey, who is his constant north star, and the dream of reconnecting with the love of his life sustains him through all of his difficulties. He's hoping against hope that they'll meet again, and that this time, she'll remember him.

Even though the setup for this novel sounds utterly horrifying, this is a story of human resilience, as Tommy keeps his idealism alive through all the difficulties that this unusual life throws at him. This is a story of a boy - and then a man - who is desperate to be acknowledged and remembered by the universe, but instead, he evolves, comes to terms with his situation, and somehow uses it to find the ending - and the legacy - that he wants. Readers who love time slip novels that rely on deep characterization and fulfilling life lessons will snap this up as well as those book groups that we mentioned earlier that are hungry for readable novels with deeper themes. 

This week at the Library, you can join us at:

Meet the stARTists! With Becky Blades – Tuesday, Dec. 5, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Hear the stories behind the bold starts and finishes of Kansas City STARTist Laura Schmidt, creator of notes to self® socks, and Cam Awesome, of Awesome Talks, both featured in the book Start More Than You Can Finish: A Creative Permission Slip to Unleash Your Best Ideas (Chronicle Prism, Nov. 2022) by Becky Blades. Learn about these creative initiatives – those that finished well and those that didn’t. The conversation will inform and empower you to act on your ideas and embrace the power of starting.

Scribbler Society – Wednesday, Dec. 6, 1 – 2 p.m.

Young writers ages 10-14 are invited to this one-hour collaborative writing club at the Antioch Library. Writing prompts, activities, and encouragement will be provided as we confront the blank page and build a community of writers with monthly meetings. Registration is required each month.

The Past is Prologue: Confronting the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools – Thursday, Dec. 7, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

The Past Is Prologue is a bimonthly program that highlights topics often left out, glossed over or misrepresented in our history books. For our December topic, Dr. Eric Anderson from Haskell Indian Nations University will present on the legacy of Indian Boarding Schools in the United States. 
This program will be hosted using the meeting software Zoom. A Johnson County Library staff member will contact registrants via email the day before the meeting with instructions on how to access the Zoom meeting. You do not need to download any software or create an account.

Become an Author Before Lunch Workshop with Becky Blades– Saturday, Dec. 9, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Are you one of the 80% of Americans who want to write a book? Then don’t miss this program at the Central Resource Library with  Becky Blades, author of Start More Than You Can Finish: A Creative Permission Slip to Unleash Your Best Ideas (Chronicle Prism, Nov. 2022), has a fast, fun way to make that dream come true. In this two-hour workshop, you’ll write and maybe even illustrate your first book in under an hour. Then you’ll make connections with a room full of new authors. It may not be your first bestseller, but it will be your first step to building your starting muscles, a writing habit, and a whole new mindset about acting on your ideas.

And there’s much more happening this week … 

Already have a busy week?  Remember, you can watch recordings of many of our programs at your convenience with Library OnDemand. 

Hear the stories behind the bold starts and finishes of Kansas City STARTist Laura Schmidt, creator of notes to self® socks, and Cam Awesome, of Awesome Talks, both featured in the book Start More Than You Can Finish: A Creative Permission Slip to Unleash Your Best Ideas (Chronicle Prism, Nov. 2022) by Becky Blades. Learn about these creative initiatives – those that finished well and those that didn’t. The conversation will inform and empower you to act on your ideas and embrace the power of starting.

No registration necessary!

Tuesday, Dec. 5
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Central Resource Library

The Founding Mothers of Johnson County Library 

The “founding” of Johnson County Library started with the Prairie School Library Committee in 1951 and lasted at least five years – through the referendum campaign in 1952, followed by the problem of funding the newly-authorized library, to the transition from volunteer libraries to staffing by paid library employees, which concluded in 1956. At that point, the Library Committee was evolved into the Friends of the Library. Many of the women originally involved in leading the effort moved away in the years after.

Read the full article on the JoCoHistory Blog. »

Hello and welcome to another edition of No Wait Wednesday, where we take a look at a title that's sitting on our New Release shelf just waiting on a lucky reader to check it out. (And the best part? Just like it says in the title: no waiting.) With the post-Thanksgiving season upon us and the days getting shorter and shorter, some of our patrons might need something bright, funny, and romantic to spice up those dark and chilly nights. Luckily, we have a delightful, charming, and refreshing romance novel in Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid to do just that.

As the novel begins, Mickey Chambers is going though a bit of a tough time. As a part-time professor at a local university, she's not teaching as many classes as she would like - or as many as she needs to survive financially. She's also dealing with some chronic thyroid issues that require medication that's on the pricey side. But with a sunny, sassy, can-do attitude, she looks around for a flexible gig to supplement her income, and lands on the seemingly perfect solution - a part-time bartender job. There, she meets her new boss and owner of the bar, Diego Acosta. Diego's also going through a rough patch, as his wife died several years ago and he's having trouble keeping his neighborhood bar open, with employees coming and going. He's also trying to better himself and make good on a promise he made to his wife, so he takes some classes at the local college to finish his degree - which is when he discovers that his English professor is the serving drinks in his very own bar. 

Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up is at its best when Reid plays with the power dynamics between Diego and Mickey, who each have influence in their own spheres - Mickey confidently calls the shots in the classroom, while Diego is the boss at the pub where they work. The interplay between them adds plenty of spice to the romance, and Reid excels at witty banter that never feels rote or cliche - the sparks on the page feel both genuine and earned. Mickey and Diego are fully three-dimensional characters, as both have to navigate their own obstacles, with Mickey's frustration with her lack of classes on top of her hyperthyroidism and Diego's reluctance to open his heart after the tragic passing of his wife. Also, the ages of the two protagonists are significant - Mickey is in her thirties and Diego is in his forties, so both go into the relationship with eyes wide open and experience guiding - and, sometimes, burdening - them. In any case, the sparks between the two are absolutely undeniable, and Reid's grumpy/sunshine pairing will melt the hearts of readers. This refreshing, steamy build will absolutely satisfy, and romance readers of all stripes should give this one a try and put it on their hold lists.