Learn to Play Mah Jongg!

Our first Learn to Play Mah Jongg class is this Tuesday from 1-4! If you already know how to play, come and join one of our tables! We have drop-in Mah Jongg every Tuesday 1-4pm.

Who Knew? 

Based on Ted’s long-running “Who Knew” series on “Chronicle,” this talk shares some of Ted’s favorite people and places which manage to fly just below the radar for most folks.

From Boston to the White Mountains, Providence to Salem, Ted turns a spotlight on things that fascinate, amaze, and inspire. Meet the man who faithfully keeps the clock high above South Station running on-time. (Well, actually three minutes fast.) Meet the woman who was an actual real-life Indiana Jones—and has a peak named after her in South America to prove it! Learn that none other than Rudyard Kipling spent four years in the hills of southern Vermont—and find out what drove him out, never to return. And be awed by the “Sistine Chapel of North America”—right there in downtown Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

It’s all enough to make you say, “Who Knew?” Over and over again. 

This event is sponsored by the Topsfield Town Library Art Committee. No registration required.

This week's events:

Topsfield Library events in purple (View the Topsfield Library's calendar here)

Storytime: Tue 4/25, 10:30am: Join Ms. Eileen and her trusty sidekick, Scout, for rhymes, games, stories, and fun! This event is geared toward toddlers, but younger and older siblings are also welcome! Please register online. By registering, you agree to our Storytime guidelines. Register here!

Mah jongg: Tue 4/25, 1-4pm: Drop-in Mah jongg. All levels welcome, no sign-up necessary. ***NOTE*** Today you can also join our 'Learn to Play' group!

CFCE of the North Shore - Music and Movement Playgroup: Wed 4/26, 10:30-11:30am: Coordinated Family Community Engagement (CFCE) manages and runs this fun event! Music and movement are important at every stage of a child’s development and can be brought together in this fun, interactive program. CFCE's programs include music with activities to further refine children's fine and gross motor skills.

Library of Things On Display!: Wed 4/26, 2pm- Fri 4/28, 2pm: Have you been curious about our Library of Things, but find the boxes and bags they are stored in a little boring to browse? Well come on down to view some of our most popular Library of Things items set up and out on display in the Activity Room! Try out the giant 'Four in a Row', peer inside our telescope, or play a tune on one of our Ukuleles! 

Stephen McCauley Author Talk: Sat 4/29 11am-1pm: Join us as we welcome author, Stephen McCauley to speak at the Topsfield Library! There will be a Q&A and refreshments will be served. Thanks to the Friends of the Topsfield Library for sponsoring this event! For more on Stephen, click here.

Virtual Cooking Class!

It's time for brunch!

Join Chef Kelcy on May 4th, just in time for Mother's Day, for a BYOB {build your own Benedict} workshop! Learn the secret to a perfect poached egg and how to make a luscious hollandaise sauce (along with tips for fixing a broken one). Of course, we are going to get a bit creative in the kitchen, and Chef Kelcy will be showing you how to make one of her signature savory scones as the base of this Eggs Benny. Paired with tender roasted asparagus, this class will surely deliver a delicious and impressive brunch.

This program will be held on Zoom, Register HERE! Recipes will be emailed to registrants in advance for those who may want to cook along!

Staff Picks!

See what the Topsfield Library staff have been reading this month!

Floaters: Poems

By Martín Espada

Floaters - the winner of the 2021 National Book Award for Poetry, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and the 2021 Mass Book Award for poetry - contains masterfully written poems of protest, defiance, grief, and love. Some poems are intense, some are sweet, all are profound. -Roz

Pines (Wayward Pines #1)
By Blake Crouch

Inspired by the TV show, Twin Peaks, this is a fast-paced, eerie thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. It definitely gave off the creepy ‘what is going on here’ vibes I wanted. If you love a suspenseful thriller, a book that wastes no time getting you into the action, and a wild twist ending, pick this one up. It won’t disappoint. Perfect for fans of the aforementioned Twin Peaks, or The Twilight Zone. -Becca

Saint X

By Alexis Schaitkin

Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men – employees at the resort - are arrested. Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. As Claire doggedly shadows Clive, hoping to gain his trust, waiting for the slip that will reveal the truth, an unlikely attachment develops between them, two people whose lives were forever marked by the same tragedy. –Lindsey

Click Here for more information.