Johnson City Symphony to teach classes for Little Musicians

The Unicoi County Apple Festival is finally here! Be sure to stop by our booth in front of Union St. Gallery during the festival for handmade crafts and treats. As always, the library will offer vendor parking in our lot for $15 per space Thursday, Oct. 1, through Saturday, Oct. 3, as well as $5 public parking on Friday and Saturday. Our parking is so close to the festival at the cheapest price in town! We hope to see you there! Here's what's happening at the library this week:Homeschool Headquarter: Marshmallow EngineeringWednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.Call to register for our engineering homeschool program using marshmallows. Register for one of our two time slots by calling (423) 743-6533. Little MusiciansThursday, Oct. 1, at 11 a.m.Johnson City Symphony will teach this new event and hands-on class for ages birth to 5 years old each first Thursday of the month, engaging little ones in the basics of music. Tech Help Drop-In Thursday, Oct. 1, from 2 to 3 p.m.Need assistance with your phone, tablet, laptop or another device? Stop by during our weekly Tech Help Drop-In for one-on-one assistance with basic technology questions. No appointment is necessary. We are unable to assist with password recovery or troubleshoot broken devices. Library Closed for Apple Festival Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3The library will be closed both days so our staff can participate in and support the festival. We hope to see you at our booth or to park at the best spots in town! Tiny Tales Lap-Sit Storytime Monday, Oct. 5, at 9:45 a.m.Designed for babies and toddlers aged birth to 18 months, Tiny Tales features stories, songs, and movement activities that encourage early literacy and caregiver-child bonding. Intro to Engineering Monday, Oct. 5, at 3:30 p.m. Presented by BWXT, this hands-on, engaging class is perfect for introducing kids to what engineering looks like in the real world. This class is for ages 8 to 12. Registration is required, so call (423) 743-6533 to sign up. Preschool Moon Storytime Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 10:30 a.m.Preschoolers will enjoy moon-themed stories, songs and activities as they explore the night sky. Teen Painted Acorns Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 4 p.m.Teens are invited to get creative and paint their own acorns during this fun fall craft. Upcoming Book Club SelectionsCozy Book Club: (Oct. 12, at 4:15 p.m.) "Run, Rose, Run" by James Patterson and Dolly PartonBYO Book Club: (Oct. 21, at 4 p.m.) Read a book with the theme of "Fall Vibes" (read a book with a cozy autumn feel) and come discuss your read with the group. Bring a snack to share or just yourselfCookbook Club: (Nov. 21 at 11 a.m.) Bring your own recipe month. Bring a dish from any cookbook to share with the groupGraphic Guild: Kids' Graphic Novel Club (Oct. 19 at 4:30 p.m.) TBD Weekly Book Recommendation"Country People" by Daniel Mason is the library's weekly book pick. Miles Krzelewski is a devoted husband, a doting father beloved for his outlandish bedtime stories and the proud owner of a truffle-hunting dog in a land with no truffles. He is also a bit lost, 12 years late with his doctorate on Russian folktales and increasingly haunted by a sense that he's become a disappointment to his family. So when his wife, Kate, accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college in the faraway forests of Vermont, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life. But Miles is a man of many enthusiasms, one who possesses, in Kate's words, a great capacity "to fall in with anyone, anywhere." And no sooner does he arrive than he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colorful as those of any of his folktales, from a ghostly tree surgeon to a scythe-mad biochemist, from a Shakespearean temptress to a photographer of snowflakes obsessed with chronicling, on thousands of index cards, the world's delusions in an Inventory of Wrong Ideas. The new friends, the enchanted woods, the histories: sure, no doctorate, but all good fun. Until Miles stumbles upon a bizarre — perhaps ridiculous — local legend, which, he soon suspects, might not be just a legend after all. Joyous, absurd and life-affirming, "Country People" is a luminous exploration of marriage and parenthood, the nature of belief and the power of stories, and the ways in which we find connection in an increasingly fragmented world, according to information from the publisher. We hope to see you at the library soon! For more information on any of these programs, stop by the library or give us a call at (423) 743-6533. ••• Morgan Olson is the director of the Unicoi County Public Library.