Spend April Fools' with These "Tricksters" |
Many cultures around the world have folklore focused on a “trickster” character. The Native American Coyote, Japan’s Kitsune, Europe’s Reynard the Fox. In celebration of April Fool’s Day, here is some contemporary fiction inspired by the trickster:
Joanne Harris has written two novels featuring Scandinavia’s mischief-making god Loki, The Gospel of Loki and The Testament of Loki. Neil Gaiman’s American Gods features Low Key (Loki) Lyesmith as a major character, while his Anansi Boys introduces Mr. Nancy (Anansi) and his twin sons. Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning, set in Navajo country, has the trickster Coyote interacting with main character Maggie Hoskie. In Tom Robbins’ novel Villa Incognito a kitsune is the companion of one of the main characters, Tanuki, while the Chinese classic Journey To the West has SunWukong, the Monkey King, as one of its central characters. Foxy Reynard appears in a variety of forms in Hal Duncan’s “Book of All Hours” duology, Vellum and Ink.
Less interested in tricks than something laugh-out-loud funny? Try Donna Andrews’ wonderful Meg Langslow mystery series, starting with Murder With Peacocks. Now up to 28 titles and counting (2 more books are scheduled for 2021) the series features a family of lovable eccentrics orbiting around the always sensible Meg and multiple madcap adventures all while solving an intriguing mystery.
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5 Fun-Filled Film Favorites for April Fools Day |
Romance, suspense, comedy and a confusion of identities occur in Paris when Audrey Hepburn is being chased by several men in search of a fortune they believe her husband (who is dead) had stolen. She finds herself leaning on a suave, charming stranger (Cary Grant, of course!) whose motives are unclear.
In this Civil War-set silent comedy classic that gets better and better with every passing decade, engineer Buster Keaton single-handedly (and hilariously) takes on the Union spies who stole his beloved locomotive The General, pursuing them straight through enemy lines.
Alec Guinness stars as a mild-mannered transporter of gold bullion who has spent 20 years moving gold bars to banks in an armored truck. One day he simply decides to help himself to a million British pounds’ worth of the gold in this delightful comedy from Ealing Studios.
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Trying to reverse a family curse, West Virginia family man Jimmy Logan teams up with his one-armed brother Clyde and sister Mellie to pull off an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Steven Soderbergh came out of retirement to direct this amusing heist comedy.
A small-town girl goes overboard with wartime patriotic zeal and marries a soldier she’s only met once. He disappears after one night, then she thinks she’s pregnant – but she just can’t remember her husband’s name! This is perhaps the greatest comedy triumph from writer-director Preston Sturges.
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Humorous Reads for a Humorous Day |
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American Red Cross Blood Drive |
Friday, April 8th, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
Every 2 seconds, someone in the US needs blood. Please consider donating at the American Red Cross Blood Drive taking place at the Library. Click here to schedule an appointment.
There is also an emergency blood drive happening tomorrow, April 2 at the New Rochelle Fire Station 1 (45 Harrison Street) from 12 pm - 3 pm. Register for the April 2nd drive here.
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AARP Virtual Free Tax Assistance Extended Through May 4th |
AARP Tax-Aide help will be remote this season (there will be no in-person tax help at the library), requiring clients to use computers, scanners and the internet to complete their returns with them. AARP is offering free tax assistance online now through May 17th, learn more here.
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FIVE TOWNS: ONE BOOK. Bringing our communities together for important conversations around Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson. Register for all of the events below at caste.eventbrite.com.
Featuring a virtual visit and discussion with the author, Ms. Wilkerson, on April 25th 4-5pm, in addition to four facilitated talks that dive deeper into the themes of the book.
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Curbside Pick-Up at NRPL and HCL! |
The Main Library and Huguenot Children's Library are currently open for curbside service only. For more information, visit our website. To reach our curbside service desk at the Main Library, call (914) 813-3718.
The hours for Curbside Pick-up at the Main Library are Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 12 pm and 2 pm - 5 pm. There will be additional Curbside Service hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 pm - 8 pm.
The hours for Curbside Pick-up at HCL are Mondays and Wednesdays: 2 pm - 6 pm, Thursdays: 12 pm - 2 pm and Fridays: 10 am - 2 pm. To reach the curbside service desk at HCL, call (914) 632-8954.
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