In this Issue

• To Taste Life Twice Seminar

• Crafternoon: Stamped Tea Towels

• This Week at the Library

• Upcoming Program Highlights

• Staff Review: The Backyard Bird Chronicles

• Teen Book Beat: Escape from Aleppo

• Ask a Librarian

See our full calendar here.

Story Time: Cinco De Mayo

Monday, May 5

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Children's Library

Lunchtime Language: Spanish



Monday, May 5

12:00-1:00 p.m.

Idaho Room

Conversational Spanish-Offsite!



Monday, May 5

1:30-2:30 p.m.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo at

La Cabañita restaurant in Ketchum.

Beginning Knitting



Monday, May 5

4:30-6:00 p.m.

Foyer Fireplace

Crafternoon:

Stamped Tea Towels

Tuesday, May 6

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Children's Library

Book Launch: Another Way

with Dave Whorton



Join Executive Director Jenny Emery Davidson in conversation with author Dave Whorton for a discussion of Another Way: Building Companies that Last … and Last … and Last. With Bo Burlingham, Whorton introduces an alternative to the "cash in, cash out, walk away" business model.

Tuesday, May 6

5:30 p.m.

Lecture Hall + Livestream

English Language Learning



Tuesday, May 6

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Idaho Room

Regional History Open Hours

Visit the Reading Room to ask Regional History Librarian Liam Guthrie your questions about the storied history of

the Wood River Valley. Ongoing drop-in hours on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Wednesday, May 7

Friday, May 9

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Betty Olsen Carr Reading Room

Virtual Creative Writing Workshop

Wednesday, May 7

12:00-1:00 p.m.

Zoom

Register here for Link

Pop-In Poetry

This Week:

Their boo-boo was fixed by Chairman Mao's doctor. This exile blossomed a peach.

Thursday, May 8

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Learning Commons

Anna-Marie McLemore

To Taste Life Twice Keynote

Join us for the opening keynote talk of the 2025 To Taste Life Twice Seminar. This talk is open to all, whether or not you're participating in other TTLT events over the weekend. Registration requested.

Thursday, May 8

5:30 p.m.

Lecture Hall | In-person only

Writers Roundtable and

Writing Workshops

Come explore new methods, strengthen your writing, and connect with others. Writing workshops are limited in size but open to all levels. Registration for workshops is required.

Friday-Saturday, May 9-10

Times and locations vary

More/register here

To Taste Life Twice

Closing Storytelling Event

To close out the 2025 To Taste Life Twice Seminar, all attendees and the public are invited to hear readings from participants and workshop instructors. The event is open to all seminar attendees, family and friends, and the entire community!

Saturday, May 10

5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Lecture Hall | In-person only

Community Speaker Series

Registration is OPEN for the 2025 Community Speaker Series presented by The Community Library and the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. Join us for two free lectures at The Community Library.

Advance registration is required to attend.

Seating is limited.

Ruth Reichl: Wednesday, July 16

Sonia Purnell: Tuesday, July 22

More/register here.

Librarian Andrea Nelson recommends The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. Unapologetically dedicated to birders everywhere.

Birds. My husband calls them flying rodents—lovingly, of course. But birders. OMG, right? They’re everywhere, blocking trails while pointing at treetops, sketching in their annoying little weatherproof journals, breaking every rule of fashion imaginable. My twenty-something self would flounce by them in her little jean skirt and crop top thinking, “I will never, ever, be seen in public in a canvas fishing hat, staring at the sky with binoculars around my neck.”

So, my book review is about... Hold on, is that a Yellow Warbler? It’s WAY too early in the season for those. Or is it?

I grab my worn copy of Birds of the Rocky Mountains and my binoculars simultaneously. While fumbling through the pages, I silently beg the bright little bird to stay put. Then it hits me. Somewhere along life’s journey from youthful arrogance to—let's just say late middle age—I’ve become a birder. I even have a life list. I have proudly embraced my inner dork, and more power to her. She sees things the sorority girl did not. She appreciates even the tiny, feisty, jewel-toned little Rufus Hummingbird dive-bombing her head and giving her the stink-eye when she comes near its feeder.

Which gets me to my book choice: Amy Tan’s The Backyard Bird Chronicles...

Read Andrea's entire review here.

Find more staff book recommendations here.

Hi! My name is Reese. I like hanging out with friends, skiing, and playing softball. For my Book Beat review, I read Escape from Aleppo by N.H. Senzai.

In the book Escape from Aleppo by N.H. Senzai, you follow the journey of a young girl who is fighting her way through the war in South Sudan.

In the start of the book, 14 year old Nadia’s house is bombed, and she is separated from her family. She is living in the war-torn country of Sudan during the civil war between the president and the rebel forces.

Nadia has to find her way back to her family while trying to stay alive in these times of war. As Naida tries to make her way across the state lines to Turkey, she meets new people who are in the same position as her.

One of the main characters that she comes in contact with and comes to like very much is Ammo Mazen, a traveler who has a secret job as a collector of precious items...

Read Reese's entire Book Beat review here.

See all Book Beat Reviews here.