Richmond Public Library issued the following announcement on July 30
THERE ARE HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES ALMOST EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH – SO MANY REASONS TO CELEBRATE.
I’M NOT SAYING THERE SHOULD BE CAKE EVERY DAY, BUT I’M NOT SAYING THERE SHOULDN’T BE CAKE EVERY DAY, EITHER.
AUGUST CELEBRATIONS
American Artist Appreciation Month
Check out the eVideo of the PBS series Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century. You will need your RPL library card to access these streaming videos from Hoopla. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here. Then check out the companion book to the PBS series – Art 21 by Thelma Golden. Or check out Simon at the Art Museum – a picture book by Christine Davenier about a little boy who isn’t quite ready to appreciate art.
Happiness Happens Month
Check out Happiness Becomes You by Tina Turner – a guide to changing your life for good from a global icon of hope.
National Inventors Month
Check out Inventology by Pagan Kennedy – an enthusiastic overview of inventions and the researchers that study them.
Read a Romance Month
Find some great romances (and more) on the RPL Readers page. If booklists aren’t enough, ask The Bookologist for a hand-crafted, “bespoke” reading list. The Bookologist service requires an RPL library card. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
Be Kind to Humankind Week – August 25-31
Check out Humankind by Rutger Bregman – a hopeful history and a new argument about the essential nature of human beings.
Psychic Week – August 2-6
Check out Spoonbenders – humorous fiction by Daryl Gregory about a family of psychics both blessed and burdened by their abilities.
The Dog Days of Summer wrap up in August (July 21st through August 19th). August 5th is Work Like a Dog Day. International Assistance Dog Week is August 1st-7th, and August 26th is National Dog Day. Whether you have a hard-working dog, a lazy good-for-nothing dog, or something in-between, check out these dog-centric booklists:
Going to the Dogs – a fiction sampler featuring “man’s best friend”
Good Good Dogs – nonfiction titles about companionship, love, and loss
No No Bad Dog – training for you and your good good dog
Working Dogs – dogs with jobs, all sorts of jobs
August 1st
National Friendship Day
Check out Friendship by Lydia Denworth – the evolution, biology, and extraordinary power of life’s fundamental bond.
National Girlfriends Day
Check out Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, hosts of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriend.
National Sisters Day
Check out The Doctors Blackwell by Janice Nimura – nonfiction about two pioneering medical women. Or a trio of funny contemporary romances by Talia Hibbert, each featuring a Brown sister: Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown. Also available as eBooks from OverDrive or Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 2nd
Dinosaurs Day
Browse the library shelves at 567.9 to find nonfiction books about dinosaurs like Dinosaurs: Fact and Fable by Seymour Simon for children, or The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, an adult history of a lost world by Stephen Brusatte..
National Coloring Book Day
Customize your very own coloring books with printable coloring pages – for every age and interest. Try a Google search with the terms “free printable coloring pages <your interest>” to find sites like this one from Crayola, or coloring pages plus drawing tutorials and more from SuperColoring.
August 3rd
Clean Your Floors Day
Check out How to Clean a Floor – an article from The Spruce, an online source for practical, real-life tips and inspiration to help you make your best home.
August 4th
Lizzie Borden Took an Ax Day
Check out See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt, a fictional account of what happened that sweltering August Day in Fall River, Massachusetts. Also available as an eBook from OverDrive and from Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 5th
National Underwear Day
Check out The Adventures of Captain Underpants, the first book in the hilarious children’s series by Dav Pilkey.
August 6th
Wiggle Your Toes Day
Check out Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes Calm My Jitters Down by Lindsey Rowe Parker – a book about sensory differences told from a child’s perspective.
First Woman to Swim the English Channel
Check out this PBS article and video about Gertrude Ederle, who was the first woman to swim the English channel (and broke the men’s record while doing so!) Or try America’s Champion Swimmer by David Adler – a children’s biography of the young swimmer.
August 7th
Sea Serpent Day
Check out The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry – fiction about a London widow in 1893 who investigates the reappearance of a sea serpent in coastal Essex. Also available as an eBook from OverDrive and and eBook and eAudio from Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
National Lighthouse Day
Check out Lamplighters a novel by Emma Stonex, inspired by a haunting true story. Or maybe you would prefer the DVD of The Lighthouse, a 2019 motion picture written and directed by Robert Eggers.
August 8th
Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night
Check out How to Grow Zucchini, an eBook by Linda Gray, available through Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here. Or maybe you’d prefer the DVD My Life as a Zucchini.
Digital Nomad Day
Check out Rootless Living – the online magazine for digital nomads. Then try Nomadland – a book by Jessica Bruder about surviving America in the 21st century. Also available as an eBook from OverDrive and an eAudio from Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 9th
Book Lovers Day
Every day is book lovers day at the Richmond Public Library. Come by any branch and browse the shelves for something good to read for any age or interest. Overwhelmed by too many choices? Ask any friendly staff member for assistance – we’re here to help! Find RPL-curated reading suggestions online for adults, teens, or kids. And you can always ask The Bookologist for handcrafted, bespoke reading suggestions. You will need your RPL library card for access to The Bookologist. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
Robert Gray – 1st successful voyage to circumnavigate the globe, 1790
Check out this article from the Massachusetts Historical Society. Then, for fun, read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making – a young adult novel by Catherynne M. Valente.
August 10th
Smithsonian Day
The Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, was established with funds from British scientist James Smithson. President James K. Polk signed an act into law on this date in 1846 to organize the Smithsonian Institute. Today, the many buildings are slowly reopening to the public, but they also offer a plethora of online digital resources.
National Lazy Day
Check out Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price – a defense of the exhausted, exploited and overworked.
August 11th
Global Kinetic Sand Day
Kinetic sand is regular sand that has been coated with Silicone oil, so the sand sticks to itself, but not anything else, making it really fun to play with. Check out Krazy Kool Kinetic Sand by Gail Kollmar – an eBook available through Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here. There are also lots of DIY kid-friendly recipes for alternatives to kinetic sand you can make at home.
August 12th
Home Sewing Machine Day
Isaac Singer was awarded patent 8294 for a commercial sewing machine on August 12, 1851. Check out Machine Sewing by Debbie von Grabler-Crozier – 25 quick and easy projects to build your skills.
August 13th
International Left Handers Day
Check out The Left-Handed Booksellers of London – a young adult eBook by Garth Nix, available from OverDrive. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 14th
National Financial Awareness Day
Browse the library shelves in the 332 call number area to find nonfiction personal finance books like Get Good With Money by Tiffany Aliche.
National Bowling Day
Check out Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken. Also available as an eBook from OverDrive and an eAudio from Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 15th
National Failures Day
Check out You are Awesome by Neil Pasricha – how to navigate change, wrestle with failure, and live an intentional life.
National Relaxation Day
Check out Pantsdrunk (Kalsarikanni) by Miska Rantanen – a tongue-in-cheek book about the Finnish path to relaxation (drinking at home alone in your underwear).
August 16th
Surveillance Day (originally Wave at Surveillance Day)
Check out Security – a tense thriller about high-tech surveillance by Gina Wohlsdorf. Also available as and eBook and eAudio from Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 17th
National Black Cat Appreciation Day
Check out What Cats Want by Yuki Hattori – an illustrated guide for truly understanding your cat (of whatever color).
August 18th
Bad Poetry Day
The definition of an inferior poet is poetaster. Check out the Hoopla eBook by Ben Johnson called Poetaster, or, His Arraignment. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 19th
National Potato Day
Check out Sweet Potato Soul by Jenne Claiborne – 100 easy vegan recipes for the southern flavors of smoke, sugar, spice, and soul. Or, just for fun, try Frito Lay by Kaitlyn Duling, a children’s book about the ubiquitous potato snack food company.
August 20th
National Radio Day
Check out a pair of radio show fiction titles – The Ex Talk is a sparkling romantic comedy about public radio co-hosts by Rachel Lynn Solomon, and A Little Bit of Karma features a husband and wife who are co-hosts of a widely successful call-in radio show going through a messy and public break up.
August 21st
Alexandria library sit-in anniversary
Read more about one of America’s first sit-ins that took place at the public library in Alexandria, Virginia in 1939.
August 22nd
National Senior Citizens Day
Check out The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman – a humorous mystery set in a cozy retirement village. Or, take a look at the booklist Adult Children, Aging Parents for nonfiction books on swapping roles with dignity, humor, and respect.
August 23rd
Ride the Wind Day
Check out The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – a novel about the miseries of the Dust Bowl years.
August 24th
Strange Music Day
Check out Strange Music by Alan Dean Foster – a Pip and Flinx adventure.
2006 – Pluto Demoted
Check out Pluto Gets the Call by Adam Rex – a children’s book about an unhappy Pluto taking an Earthling on a tour of the solar system.
August 25th
National Kiss and Make Up Day
Check out Kiss and Make up – an eAudio book by Robin Neeley available from Hoopla. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
August 26th
National Women’s Equality Day
Check out Jailed for Freedom by Doris Stevens – first-person accounts of the militant fight for women’s rights, originally published in 1920. For a more modern look, try With Her Fist Raised by Laura L. Lovett, a biography of Dorothy Pitman Hughes and the transformative power of Black community activism. Also available as an eBook from OverDrive. You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
National Park Service Anniversary 1916
Congress established Yellowstone National Park with a March 1, 1872 act. Read a quick history of the NPS here. Just for fun, check out artist Amber Share‘s vintage-inspired travel posters of every national park based on actual one-star yelp reviews.
August 27th
National Just Because Day
Check out Just Because by Mac Barnett – a children’s picture book about a child too full of questions about the world to go to sleep.
August 28th
International Read Comics in Public Day
Visit any RPL branch to browse collections of Manga and graphic novels. Or go to Hoopla to find so many comics! You will need your RPL library card for access. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
International Bat Night
Check out The Pollinator Victory Garden by Kim Eierman – a how-to book to attract and support bees, beetles, butterflies, bats, and other pollinators.
August 29th
Individual Rights Day
Check out a pair of human rights books – The People vs. Democracy by Yascha Mounk, and On the Other Side of Freedom by DeRay McKesson.
August 30th
National Grief Awareness Day
Check out Grieving is Loving by Joanne Cacciatore – compassionate words for the bearing the unbearable, or The Night Lake by Liz Tichenor – a young priest maps the topography of grief.
August 31st
National Matchmaker Day
Check out The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli – fiction about one devoted modern girl and her meddlesome, traditional grandmother. Or perhaps Queen Victoria’s Matchmaking by Deborah Cadbury – about the royal marriages that shaped Europe.
Whitechapel Murders begin 1888
Check out The Five by Hallie Rubenhold – the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.
Be sure to peruse the RPL Online Resources page for access to digital books, movies, music, magazines and so much more. You will need your Richmond Public Library card to access this premium content. Don’t have a library card? Find out how to get one here.
Stuck in a reading rut? Looking to read outside your comfort zone? If you want hand-crafted reading suggestions, check out The Bookologist – a bespoke readers advisory service for adults, teens, and kids.
Original source can be found here.
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