Mercer County Library Blog

We can all use more humor in our lives, especially during times of stress. There is an old saying that tragedy plus time equals comedy, and many different people have said this over the years. The website Quote Investigator refers to an American print example from a February 1957 Cosmopolitan interview with comedian, writer, and actor Steve Allen, in which he says: “Man jokes about the things that depress him, but he usually waits till a certain amount of time has passed…. I guess you can make a mathematical formula out of it. Tragedy plus time equals comedy. ” The site also goes on to reference earlier writings, including “the prominent English novelist Thomas Hardy penn[ing] a letter in 1889 containing the following thematically related statement: All comedy, is tragedy, if you only look deep enough into it. ” This explains the adult tendency towards “dark humor;” those jokes about things that we might consider serious or even tragic in other contexts. Laughter and humor can be use...

There is something magical about discovering a new book that you then find impossible to put down. A book that transports you into the world the author has created, and lets you get to know the characters as if you have known them your whole life. The characters are written in such a manner that they feel real, and the emotions they project make the reader feel those same ways. When you discover your new favorite book, it isn’t just the enjoyment of a well written story, you're developing a connection and relating to the characters or the plot of the book. I discovered one of my new favorite books recently. The book is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, and it was just a phenomenal read. The book takes place in the town of Hallowell, Maine, between November 1789 to April 1790. You are introduced to a woman named Martha Ballard, a well-respected midwife and healer in the town. She is called upon late in the night to help out with a serious matter: a man's body was found in the ...

Here are some of the events and programs from around the Mercer County Library System for the month of April. For a complete list of events at your local branch, visit the MCLS Events Calendar , and check out the flyers in this post! National Poetry Month Events Celebrate National Poetry Month with readings, workshops, and open mic sessions that inspire creativity and expression. For Adults Poetry Reading & Open Mic Thursday, April 3, 2025, 6:30 pm Lawrence Branch Poetry Writing Workshop Saturday, April 5, 1:00 pm Hickory Corner Branch Poetry Circle: Poetry Month Reading Thursday, April 10, 2025, 6:30 pm Lawrence Branch Poetry Writing Workshop Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 2:30 pm Lawrence Branch Rule of Three Reading Group: Poetry Thursday, April 17, 2025, 6:30 pm West Windsor Branch A Poetry Happening: Mercer Poets Read Monday, April 28, 2025, 7:00 pm Virtual Program For Kids Blackout Poetry All month long Ewing Branch For All Ages Blackout Poetry Wall All...

Some people describe reading as a hobby. Then there are true bibliophiles, for whom literature is an obsession, something without which life is unimaginable. People’s attitudes towards whisky could be categorized these same ways. As literature can be divided into forms and genres, so too can whisky be divided by style. Single malt whisky is distilled exclusively from malted barley. Single pot still whisky is made from a mash of both malted and unmalted barley. Single grain whisky is made from a mash which might include any combination of grain, often corn. And while many American whiskies technically fall into this single grain category, in Ireland and Scotland single grain whisky is typically used for blending with single malt or single pot still to make a more affordable bottle. Single pot still is perhaps the most iconically Irish style, while the best whiskies from Scotland are certainly single malts. If you’re looking for a recommendation from your neighborhood librarian, I espec...

I have often visited the big tourist cities of the world like Venice, Rome, and London. But I also like to escape the crowds when I’m travelling by going to the odd, forgotten, and out-of-the-way places neglected by other tourists. If you’re tired of art museums and group tours, you can find your way to little corners of obscurity in even the most visited places in the world. One way to escape the crowds is to visit the most peaceful places in the urban jungle – cemeteries. Roaming through a cemetery may seem an odd way to get to know a city, but they contain as much art and history as some of the greatest museums, as well as being calm and pleasant spaces. And you get the chance to visit a lot of celebrities, although they probably won’t be able to sign an autograph for you. Some of my favorite travel memories are seeing the tombs of famous people like Oscar Wilde and Marcel Proust in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, and Stravinsky in the cemetery island of San Michele in the Ven...

Since its launch in 2020, the MyMCLSNJ app has evolved to better serve our library community. After the outage of 2023-2024 (which was due to a contract dispute between the primary vendor and the software provider over the underlying software behind many other public library apps, “BLUEcloud Mobile”), the app has now been upgraded to the latest version — “BLUEcloud Mobile2”. This update brings improved functionality, enhanced performance, and a more seamless user experience. I’ll provide a quick overview of the most common features: Home Screen Upon logging in, you’ll land on the Home screen. At the top, you’ll see a friendly welcome message. In the middle, you’ll also see “Library Locations” with relevant branch addresses, social media links, and approximate distance from your location—useful if you’re deciding which branch to visit. At the bottom is your current account summary—fines and fees, the number of holds, and any current checkouts. This is a good at-a-glance summary if yo...

The Mercer County Library Teen Advisory Board is an active group of high school students who complete projects throughout the year to promote books and reading. Please enjoy this book review by Teen Advisory Board member Sharon, a high school junior with a passion for mystery books and a library full of them. SPOILER ALERT! Do you ever feel pressured by so many different factors that you just want to take a break from all the stress? That’s exactly how Chinese-American girl Lydia Lee felt in Everything I Never Told You . The book begins with the heartbreaking news that Lydia is declared dead by drowning in a nearby lake. A star student with plans to follow in her mother's dreams, Lydia’s death was unforeseen by her peers. Her parents, Marilyn and James, as well as her siblings, elder brother Nathan and younger sister Hannah, never see life the same again as they find different ways to cope and recover from this tragic event. Each one has their own theories as to what happened: Nat...

If you stop by the Robbinsville Branch on a Wednesday evening, you may walk by a room with children learning how to play chess. The room is filled with chess boards on tables, children sitting at chairs in front of the boards, high school student volunteers perched at the ends of tables monitoring games and instructing how to play, and parents sitting around the sides of the room or up close watching their child’s game. Children, ages 5 and up, pair up and play a game and then look for another open game when they finish. Sometimes a child is able to play up to three games in one program, or sometimes they may not even finish one game, depending on how the pieces are moved. The Queen’s Gambit Netflix show in 2020 sparked a renewed interest in chess. Children have told me that they learned chess from Bluey and insist on calling the rooks castleheads (it’s Season 3, Episode 10, titled “Chest” if you’d like to watch it). But chess is a timeless game. People have been playing it for 1,500...

One of my colleagues at the library went on vacation last summer and told me about a cool activity she and her family tried – railbiking! I was intrigued. As you may know from reading other posts I’ve written, I’m a big hiker. I used to bike a lot when I was younger but have gotten out of the habit – this sounded like a way I could do some biking but in a completely new way. A railbike looks a lot like an old-fashioned railroad handcar – one of those things you might remember seeing in Westerns or cartoons. Instead of having to pump a handle to move, you and one-to-three of your friends sit in a recumbent bike position and peddle. The railbike has special wheels – like what’s on a train – so it can ride on railroad tracks. There are many railbiking companies around but the one I used is Revolution Rail in North Creek, New York. They also have a railbike tour in Cape May, New Jersey . Once railbiking was decided upon, the next step was to build a trip around that activity. North Cree...

This may sound a little cliché, but Great Britain always has a special place in my heart. It’s not because I’m an Anglophile or a big fan of the Royal family, but more because of my dad and connections to my family. My dad grew up in England, so I was exposed to the history and culture of the land more times than I can count. I will be going on a trip to England and Scotland in the latter part of March with my older sister. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been there, as I’ve been to England a few times over the years. The last time, I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon, home to the famous bard, William Shakespeare. I also went to Whitby, whose abbey features in the Bram Stoker classic, Dracula. This is the first time I’ll be going to England without my dad and the first vacation I’ll be taking with just my sister. While we’re there, we will visit family members, go sightseeing, and have a good time eating the local cuisine. My sister went full steam ahead on planning this trip (funn...