Events Calendar

Tech Help @ the Library
May
16

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Story Time
May
16

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Story Time
May
17

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Tech Help @ the Library
May
21

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Foodie Cookbook Club
May
22

Foodie Cookbook Club

#1 New York Times Bestseller

Crazy delicious recipes for your crazy busy life from the #1 New York Times bestselling author and Food Network favorite, Ree Drummond the Pioneer Woman.

For home cooks, nothing beats preparing a long, leisurely dinner for your family, stirring slowly, seasoning gradually, and savoring every flavorful step.

Screeeeeech! Reality check! Okay, let's face it: With school, sports, work, obligations, and activities pulling us in a million directions, not many of us can spend that amount of time in the kitchen anymore! What we really need are simple, scrumptious, doable recipes that solve the challenge of serving up hearty,satisfying food (that tastes amazing!) day after day, week afterweek without falling into a rut and relying on the same oldrotation of meals. Cooking should be fun, rewarding, and itdefinitely should feed your soul (and feed the people in yourhousehold in the process)!

Here are some of my favorite make-it-happen dishes, pulled from my nonstop life as a busy wife, mother of four, and lifelong lover of food! The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! includes more than 120 of my best solutions for tasty, wholesome meals (with minimal fuss!) for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. (And let's not forget the glue that holds it all together: desserts! There are some dandies in here, friends.)

With a mix of categories and flavors that will please everyone, this book has everything you need to whip up delicious, downhome recipes that you can get on the table without a lot of stress. Now that's something to get excited about!

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Tech Help @ the Library
May
23

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Story Time
May
23

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Tech Help @ the Library
May
28

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Tech Help @ the Library
May
30

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Story Time
May
30

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Island House Readers Book Club: "The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden
Jun
5

Island House Readers Book Club: "The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

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Island House Readers Book Club: "Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver
Jul
3

Island House Readers Book Club: "Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

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Island House Readers Book Club: "I Must Betray You” by Ruta Sepetys
Aug
7

Island House Readers Book Club: "I Must Betray You” by Ruta Sepetys

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

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Island House Readers Book Club: "The Warsaw Orphan” by Kelly Rimmer
Sep
4

Island House Readers Book Club: "The Warsaw Orphan” by Kelly Rimmer

In the spring of 1942, young Elzbieta Rabinek is aware of the swiftly growing discord just beyond the courtyard of her comfortable Warsaw home. She has no fondness for the Germans who patrol her streets and impose their curfews, but has never given much thought to what goes on behind the walls that contain her Jewish neighbors. She knows all too well about German brutality--and that it's the reason she must conceal her true identity. But in befriending Sara, a nurse who shares her apartment floor, Elzbieta makes a discovery that propels her into a dangerous world of deception and heroism.

Using Sara's credentials to smuggle children out of the ghetto brings Elzbieta face-to-face with the reality of the war behind its walls, and to the plight of the Gorka family, who must make the impossible decision to give up their newborn daughter or watch her starve. For Roman Gorka, this final injustice stirs him to rebellion with a zeal not even his newfound love for Elzbieta can suppress. But his recklessness brings unwanted attention to Sara's cause, unwittingly putting Elzbieta and her family in harm's way until one violent act threatens to destroy their chance at freedom forever.

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Island House Readers Book Club: "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride
Oct
2

Island House Readers Book Club: "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.

As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.

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Island House Readers Book Club: "1776” by David McCullough
Nov
6

Island House Readers Book Club: "1776” by David McCullough

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence—when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.

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Books on Tap
May
14

Books on Tap

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

A limited amount of copies are available for check out at the library and on Libby. Copies can also be requested through MEL.

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Tech Help @ the Library
May
14

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Story Time
May
10

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Story Time
May
9

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Tech Help @ the Library
May
9

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Antrim Writer’s Series: Fiction Short Story Writing Workshop
May
8

Antrim Writer’s Series: Fiction Short Story Writing Workshop

Register here to attend the non-fiction writing workshop with Brittany, focused on creating short works of fiction. To be held at the Happy Camper Coffee Shop.

Brittany Cavallaro is the New York Times best selling author of A Study in Charlotte and the Charlotte Holmes series, the historical fantasy duology Muse, and other books for young adults from HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. A poet and writing teacher, she lives in Traverse City, Michigan.

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Antrim Writer’s Series: Author visit and book discussion.
May
7

Antrim Writer’s Series: Author visit and book discussion.

Register here to attend the reading and discussion of Brittany Cavallaro’s Study in Charlotte, the first book in a new series about a brilliant new crime-solving duo: the teen descendants of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. To be held at Bos Winery. Register early and get a free copy of the book in advance!

Brittany Cavallaro is the New York Times best selling author of A Study in Charlotte and the Charlotte Holmes series, the historical fantasy duology Muse, and other books for young adults from HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. A poet and writing teacher, she lives in Traverse City, Michigan.

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Tech Help @ the Library
May
7

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Pokemon Club
May
5

Pokemon Club

Pokemon fans meet at the library the first Sunday of the month to talk, play and craft all things Pokemon. New fans are welcomed! No sign up required, just drop in.

 
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Story Time
May
3

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Story Time
May
2

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Tech Help @ the Library
May
2

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Island House Readers Book Club: "The Bohemians” by Jasmin Darznik
May
1

Island House Readers Book Club: "The Bohemians” by Jasmin Darznik

In this novel of the glittering and gritty Jazz Age, a young aspiring photographer named Dorothea Lange arrives in San Francisco in 1918. As a newcomer—and naïve one at that—Dorothea is grateful for the fast friendship of Caroline Lee, a vivacious, straight-talking Chinese American with a complicated past, who introduces Dorothea to Monkey Block, an artists’ colony and the bohemian heart of the city. Dazzled by Caroline and her friends, Dorothea is catapulted into a heady new world of freedom, art, and politics. She also finds herself falling in love with the brilliant but troubled painter Maynard Dixon. As Dorothea sheds her innocence, her purpose is awakened and she grows into the artist whose iconic Depression-era “Migrant Mother” photograph broke the hearts and opened the eyes of a nation.

A vivid and absorbing portrait of the past, The Bohemians captures a cast of unforgettable characters, including Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams, and D. H. Lawrence. But moreover, it shows how the gift of friendship and the possibility of self-invention persist against the ferocious pull of history.

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Tech Help @ the Library
Apr
30

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Unemployment Assistance Drop-in
Apr
29

Unemployment Assistance Drop-in

Autumn VanderMolen, our region's Community Liaison from the State of Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency, will be available at the Elk Rapids District Library on

Monday April 29th from 10am to 4pm to assist and answer questions.

No appointment is necessary, just stop by!

For a speedy process, be sure to bring your Michigan Driver’s License or State of Michigan identification card along with a Social Security card or birth certificate or U.S. passport.

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Story Time
Apr
25

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Tech Help @ the Library
Apr
25

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Foodie Cookbook Club
Apr
24

Foodie Cookbook Club

The Moosewood Cookbook has inspired generations to cook simple, healthy, and seasonal food. A classic listed as one of the top ten best-selling cookbooks of all time by the New York Times, this 40th anniversary edition of Mollie Katzen's seminal book will be a treasured addition to the cookbook libraries of fans young and old.

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Tech Help @ the Library
Apr
23

Tech Help @ the Library

Free tech support from our resident guru and technology coordinator, Aaron Hill. Whether you’re having trouble with your computer, phone, or anything technology-related, Aaron will do his best to help you figure it out! This is a free program for all library members.

 
 
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Story Time
Apr
19

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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Story Time
Apr
18

Story Time

Join us each week as we read stories, practice early literacy skills and do a craft activity. Thursday and Friday story times will be identical; pick whichever fits your schedule best! This story time is designed for kids 0-5, but all are welcome.

 
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