PlayMakers Repertory Presents Shakespeare’s Macbeth on Sept. 20

Chatham Community Library will host a free performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on Thursday, September 20, beginning at 6:30 pm in the Holmes Meeting Room.

PlayMakers Repertory Company will bring their mobile touring company for a sizzling 90-minute performance of the Bard’s psychological thriller. In this production, brilliant young general Macbeth has pulled off a glorious victory in battle, but before he can return to King Duncan’s court, he encounters a most enticing prophecy. Spurred on by his ambitious wife, Macbeth sets his sights on the throne, but as blood begets blood, he soon learns there is no rest for the wicked.

Through partnerships with area non-profits, community organizations, and local schools and libraries, in locations across the Triangle, PlayMakers presents professional-quality, bare bones productions of Shakespeare plays and more, cut to ninety minutes or less connecting with new audiences in their own spaces, truly meeting them where they live. By revealing theatre to be accessible, relevant, and vital, PlayMakers Mobile builds a new audience for these timeless plays and allows PlayMakers to foster new relationships throughout the region.

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Library to Host “Titanic: Ship of Dreams” Program on September 13

Chatham Community Library will host Titanic: Ship of Dreams on Thursday, September 13, at 6:30 pm in the Holmes Meeting Room. This program will be presented by Dr. Melinda Ratchford, an NC Humanities Council Road Scholar.

Take a glimpse into 1912 and the 2,228 amazing people who boarded the most luxurious and largest ship in the world and sailed off into immortality. Having traveled to all the sites that have connections to the R.M.S. Titanic (Belfast, Southampton, sinking site in North Atlantic, Halifax, NS et al.), Dr. Ratchford takes the audience on a voyage in time to learn about the Titanic, as well as to see her extensive collection of Titanic memorabilia. She will “introduce” listeners to the young Robert Spedden and his Stief bear, Polar; the world’s richest man and his beautiful new wife who had to leave New York society under a cloud of shame; and the elderly man and wife who tested the vow of “til death do we part”. This program will offer the chance to experience the world of courage, fear, love, and cowardice that is still alive over one hundred years after the Titanic’s sinking.

A native of Kannapolis, NC, Dr. Ratchford received her B.S. in Social Science and a Sixth Year degree in Curriculum from Appalachian State University.  She received her Masters in Library Education from UNC-Greensboro.  She also attended UNC-Chapel Hill where she received her Doctorate in Education. Her avocation has been a 60-year interest in the study of the R.M.S. Titanic and her history.  She has given presentations to over 225+ groups on the topic.

This program is brought to you in conjunction with the NC Humanities Council and is free and open to the public.

eBook Friday: The Hero and the Crown

The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley

In Robin McKinley’s Newbery Medal–winning novel, an outcast princess must earn her birthright as a hero of the realm
Aerin is an outcast in her own father’s court, daughter of the foreign woman who, it was rumored, was a witch, and enchanted the king to marry her.
She makes friends with her father’s lame, retired warhorse, Talat, and discovers an old, overlooked, and dangerously imprecise recipe for dragon-fire-proof ointment in a dusty corner of her father’s library. Two years, many canter circles to the left to strengthen Talat’s weak leg, and many burnt twigs (and a few fingers) secretly experimenting with the ointment recipe later, Aerin is present when someone comes from an outlying village to report a marauding dragon to the king. Aerin slips off alone to fetch her horse, her sword, and her fireproof ointment . . .
But modern dragons, while formidable opponents fully capable of killing a human being, are small and accounted vermin. There is no honor in killing dragons. The great dragons are a tale out of ancient history.
That is, until the day that the king is riding out at the head of an army. A weary man on an exhausted horse staggers into the courtyard where the king’s troop is assembled: “The Black Dragon has come . . . Maur, who has not been seen for generations, the last of the great dragons, great as a mountain. Maur has awakened.”

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Every Friday, we highlight a title from our collections at
http://e-inc.overdrive.com,
 http://nckids.overdrive.com/, or http://chathamconc.oneclickdigital.com. Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

eBook Friday: Bird Box

Bird Box, by Josh Malerman

Written with the narrative tension of The Road and the exquisite terror of classic Stephen King, Bird Box is a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat horror thriller, set in an apocalyptic near-future world—a masterpiece of suspense from the brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.

Something is out there . . .

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?

Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

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Every Friday, we highlight a title from our collections at
http://e-inc.overdrive.com,
 http://nckids.overdrive.com/, or http://chathamconc.oneclickdigital.com. Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

RBG Film Screening & Discussion Slated for September 8

Chatham Community Library will host its first screening of the new film RBG on Saturday, September 8 beginning at 1:00 pm in the Holmes Meeting Room.  The screening and discussion will be facilitated by District Court Judge (15B) Sherri Murrell.

RBG is a 2018 American documentary film directed and produced by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, focusing on the life and career of United States Supreme Court of the United States Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. After premiering at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the film was released in the United States on May 4, 2018.

Judge Murrell served as an assistant public defender in Chatham and Orange counties before being elected in 2016.

This event is free and open to the public. Funding for this program is made available by the Friends of the Chatham Community Library.

eBook Friday: Moxie

Moxie, by Jennifer Mathieu

Moxie is sweet, funny, and fierce. Read this and then join the fight.”—Amy Poehler


An unlikely teenager starts a feminist revolution at a small-town Texan high school in the new novel from Jennifer Mathieu, author of The Truth About Alice.

MOXIE GIRLS FIGHT BACK!

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with an administration at her high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes, hallway harassment, and gross comments from guys during class. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.

Viv’s mom was a tough-as-nails, punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, and now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond. As Viv forges friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.

Moxie is a book about high school life that will make you wanna riot!

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Every Friday, we highlight a title from our collections at
http://e-inc.overdrive.com,
 http://nckids.overdrive.com/, or http://chathamconc.oneclickdigital.com. Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

OverDrive magazines are back!

OverDrive magazines

OverDrive magazines are back! You now have access to 50 different magazine titles through OverDrive with your Chatham County library card. Check out The Atlantic, Popular Mechanics, HGTV Magazine, Yoga Journal, OK!, Newsweek, Clean Eating, and many more! These checkouts do not count against your usual loan limits for eBooks and audiobooks. Access the magazine collection through a web browser at http://e-inc.overdrive.com, or with the Libby or OverDrive apps. Need help getting started? Call the reference desk at 545-8086.

eBook Friday: Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens, by Eddie Izzard

New York Times Bestseller
“Izzard is one of the funniest people alive, a talented actor, a sharp cross-dresser, an experienced marathon runner, and a great writer. You will have to read this if only to find out what a jazz chicken is.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer

With his brand of keenly intelligent humor that ranges from world history to historical politics, sexual politics, mad ancient kings, and chickens with guns, Eddie Izzard has built an extraordinary fan base that transcends age, gender, and race. Writing with the same candor and insight evident in his comedy, he reflects on a childhood marked by the loss of his mother, boarding school, and alternative sexuality, as well as a life in comedy, film, politics, running and philanthropy.
Honest and generous, Believe Me is an inspired account of a very singular life thus far.

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Every Friday, we highlight a title from our collections at
http://e-inc.overdrive.com,
 http://nckids.overdrive.com/, or http://chathamconc.oneclickdigital.com. Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!

Chatham Community Library to Host ANTI-Bullying Workshop

Every day, more than 16,000 kids miss school because of bullying. 45% of kids experience bullying before age 18. And 38% of kids believe that their school doesn’t take bullying seriously. 

Children entering grades K-5 and their parents/caregivers are invited to attend a 90-minute anti-bullying workshop presented by Bullyproof Pittsboro.

In this 90-minute interactive parent/child Bullyproof America workshop, presenters Alex Changho and Cat Zohar will clearly define what bullying is, and what it is not.  They will help simplify the situation by providing clear boundaries for understanding how bullying takes place, what kids can do when bullying takes place, and how parents can help their kids be more empowered to deal with bullying.  Alex and Cat teach these lessons through foundational martial arts techniques and skills that have been proven to boost self-esteem and confidence in children.  

The workshop also includes anger management and self-control practices that help keep emotions in balance when frustration and sadness set in from bullying.  These skills are essential to controlling the imbalance of power that occurs as a result of bullying.  Participants of a Bullyproof America workshop will leave with usable skills and knowledge to help better prepare them for a positive school year and how to respond appropriately in a bullying situation.  

The ANTI-Bullying Workshop will be presented at the Chatham Community Library, 197 NC Hwy 87 N, Pittsboro on Saturday, August 25, at 1:00 p.m.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Katy at (919) 545-8085 or [email protected].

eBook Friday: Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

The 40th anniversary edition of the classic Newbery Medal-winning title by beloved author Katherine Paterson, with brand-new bonus materials including an author’s note by Katherine herself and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo.

Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie’s house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief.

Bridge to Terabithia was also named an ALA Notable Children’s Book and has become a touchstone of children’s literature, as have many of Katherine Paterson’s other novels, including The Great Gilly Hopkins and Jacob Have I Loved.

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Every Friday, we highlight a title from our collections at
http://e-inc.overdrive.com,
 http://nckids.overdrive.com/, or http://chathamconc.oneclickdigital.com. Let us know what you think of these selections, and tell us about eBooks you’ve enjoyed – we may feature them here!