MHL will be closed on Monday, October 9th. An increasing number of states and towns observe the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day. If you'd like to learn more about the history of indigenous peoples of North America, here are some great books to check out. (Just make sure to pick them up over the weekend--we'll be open our usual hours of 9am-5pm on Saturday and 1pm-5pm on Sunday before being closed for the day on Monday the 9th.)
Spooky Stories by Latinx Authors
Hispanic Heritage Month continues through October 15th, which is well into spooky season. Here are some spooky stories written by Latinx authors for teens and adults, perfect for this time of year!
Artist of the Month: October 2023 – Leah Spencer – Odd Duck Gallery
Leah Spencer is the illustrator of Odd Duck Gallery and hails from Andover. The collection combines traditional techniques, contemporary aesthetics, and a subtle wink of humor. Although accessorized, each species is portrayed without exaggeration to highlight the inherent charm and character of animals.
October 2023 Book of the Month
Called a "mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy," The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is our pick for the October Book of the Month.
October 2023 Puzzle: Celebrity Heroes
This month's crossword features famous people who've done action-hero type things in real life. If you're worried about missing out on the action taking place at the library, sign up for library news by email!
2023 Pura Belpre Awards
Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15-October 15, which makes this an especially great time to check out this year's Pura Belpré Award and Honor books. The Pura Belpré Award, "established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth."
Bi Visibility Day
September 23rd is Bi Visibility Day, a day to celebrate bisexual and biromantic people. Here are 15 recent novels with bi characters. You might also enjoy this previous list of YA novels with bi characters.
Memoirs for Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15-October 15. This month is specifically designated to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, here are some great memoirs written by authors with Hispanic heritage.
September 2023 Mid-Month Sudoku
This puzzle becomes available in September, the month in which International Talk Like a Pirate Day has been observed every year since 2002. Did you know Mango Languages has a six-lesson course on how to talk like a pirate? (Mango can help you learn over 70 other languages, so why not?) Anyway, to commemorate the occasion, we leave you with this joke to tell a friend:
Library Books
OK, yes, all of our books are library books. But these library books are also set in libraries! September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, so what better time to visit the real library and use your library card to read about a fictional library?