The Case Files No. 2: Cozy Mystery

By Dan Eells, deells@newtonplks.org Today in The Case Files, I will be investigating the world of “cozy mysteries.” The best-known example of a cozy mystery detective is Jessica Fletcher – you know, the “Murder She Wrote” lady. Cozy mystery (a.k.a. cozy or cozies), sometimes called traditional mystery, is a mystery subgenre in which the books…
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Documentary picks on Hoopla

By Dan Eells, deells@newtonplks.org For weekend watches this week, I’ll be jumping into the documentary category on Hoopla. Hoopla has 2,675 different documentaries just in the movies category. I went overboard trying to find some gems for you to watch. (Hoopla is available free with your library card. Don’t have a library card? You can sign up…
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The Case Files No. 1: Historical Mystery

By Dan Eells, deells@newtonplks.org Sunflower eLibrary, Hoopla, Cloud Library, and RB Digital are full of mystery ebooks and audiobooks you can borrow digitally. In The Case Files, I will break down some popular mystery sub-genres and give you some great recommendations to read. In part one, I’m highlighting historical mystery. What is historical mystery? Simply…
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Access 132 years of National Geographic magazine

By Sam Jack, sjack@newtonplks.org Today, National Geographic is best-known for photo features that transport readers to remote corners of the world. But the first issue of the magazine, published in October 1888, didn’t have any photos at all. “Nat Geo” began its history as a rather dry scholarly journal. The first National Geographic photo feature,…
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Book-to-movie picks on Hoopla

By Dan Eells, deells@newtonplks.org Dan here with another weekend list of must-watch movies and TV shows on Hoopla! This weekend, I’m highlighting movies based on books! (Hoopla is available free with your library card. Don’t have a library card? You can sign up via email or Facebook message.) Mr. Holmes (2015) (PG) From Hoopla: See the world’s…
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Middle-grade audio ‘Bonus Borrows’ from Hoopla

By Sharon Cepeda, scepeda@newtonplks.org Many middle-grade audio books are among the “bonus borrows” (they don’t count toward your monthly choices) available now on Hoopla.  Hoopla is one of the digital resources provided free with a Newton Public Library card.  Email the library if you need help getting started with Hoopla (library@newtonplks.org), or join Dan for video…
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Make tonight a Hoopla movie night

By Dan Eells, deells@newtonplks.org Make this Friday night a movie night: I have gone through the Hoopla movie catalog and found some gems for you or your family to watch. (Hoopla is available free with your library card. Don’t have a library card? You can sign up via email or Facebook message.) Carrie (2002) (TV-14)…
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1918 flu epidemic parallels today’s experience

By Sam Jack, sjack@newtonplks.org NOTE TO READERS: This article first appeared in the April 2020 issue of East Wichita News and WestSide Story. To research it, I used a database of historic newspapers from the Kansas State Historical Society – readily accessible from home. Stay tuned for a video where I’ll explain how you can…
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NPL’s Reading Challenge for April: Read Some Poetry!

By Sam Jack, sjack@newtonplks.org Each year, libraries, schools, and individual poetry-lovers celebrate April as National Poetry Month. That’s why Newton Public Library’s staff chose “Read a Book of Poetry” as the April challenge for NPL’s 2020 Reading Challenge. When we planned out the 2020 Reading Challenge, none of us knew that April would dawn as…
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