The Book Seller

Thanks to the proceeds from your continued support of our used book store The Book Seller, we are once again excited to offer Sunday hours through April 2024!

Learn More About The Book Seller

Embrace Love in the New Year: A Heartfelt Conversation with Rebecca Serle

Wednesday, Jan 10th
8-9pm
Zoom

Register

Rebecca Serle is the New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer, In Five Years, The Dinner List, and the young adult novels The Edge of Falling and When You Were Mine. Serle also developed the TV series Famous in Love, based on her YA series of the same name. She is a graduate of USC and The New School and lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

Join us as we talk to Serle about her her writing process. In a special sneak peek, Serle will speak with us about her new novel Expiration Dates, which will be published on March 5th. Expiration Dates is a gripping, emotional, passionate, and heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of these things for ourselves.

Talking TED @ Home

Thursday, Jan 11th

7-8pm

Adults

Zoom

Register

Join librarian Cindy Haiken on Zoom to watch and discuss a popular TED talk. Once registered, you will receive an invitation to the Zoom meeting via email on the day of the event. In January, we will watch and discuss Talithia Williams’s “Own Your Body’s Data.”

The new breed of high-tech self-monitors (measuring heart rate, sleep, steps per day) might seem targeted at competitive athletes. But Talithia Williams, a statistician, makes a compelling case that all of us should be measuring and recording simple data about our bodies every day—because our own data can reveal much more than even our doctors may know.

Underground New England 
Human Trafficking Community Forum

Tuesday, Jan 16th

7-8pm
Community Room

No registration required

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and everyone has a role to play in combating this dark societal problem. Recognizing the signs is the first step to identifying a victim. 

But what is human trafficking? Why is it happening? Where is it happening? What can we do to make it stop? The answer to these questions and many more will be addressed in The Underground New England’s panel discussion on human trafficking. Members of the panel will share what human trafficking looks like, offer awareness and prevention strategies, discuss the prevalence of trafficking in Connecticut and suggest things you can do to help. There will be time for Q&A at the end of the presentation. No registration required!

Connecticut & Prohibition: Bootlegging in the Nutmeg State

Wednesday, Jan 17th

7-8pm

Zoom

Register

Find out what Connecticut was like in the Roaring 20’s! When the U.S. decided that alcohol was no longer benefiting society, every state—except two—voted to amend its Constitution to outlaw the manufacturing and sale of liquor. Connecticut did not support the change. When the ban on booze became the law of the land, many people in the state—including those in Wallingford—found creative ways around it, and the Long Island Sound coastline afforded many opportunities for bootleggers. Hear the whole story through a presentation by Mike Allen, the producer and host of the podcast “Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut’s Beaten Path.”

Let It Snow: Six New England Poets on Winter 
(A Three-Part Series)

Wednesdays, Jan 17th, Jan 24th­, & Jan 31st

3-4:30pm

Collins Room

Register for each class individually

As global warming threatens the existence of our traditional New England white winters, we have all the more reason to celebrate our regional literary tributes to the season. In three ninety-minute classes, we will explore how six classic New England poets use snow as a subject in six wonderful poems about winter.

The poems to be discussed are Emily Dickinson’s “It Sifts from Leaden Sieves” and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Snow-Flakes” (class one); Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “The Snow Storm” and Robert Frost’s “Desert Places” (class two); and Wallace Stevens’s “The Snow Man” and Maxine Kumin’s “Cross-Country Skiing” (class three). Attendants are encouraged to read these poems in advance, but no prior exposure is required. This class will be interactive, so you will be encouraged to participate as the spirit moves you. 

Separate registration is required for each class. Patrons are not required to attend every class; they can sign up for the one(s) that interest them.

Resume Fundamentals

Wednesday, Jan 17th

7-8pm

Zoom

Register

Has it been a while since you’ve written a resume? Do you need to put together a resume soon and don’t know where to start? Are you wondering what information employers are looking for in a resume? Join Librarian and Career Specialist Sarah Eiseman to learn how to write a quality resume. We’ll go over general guidelines and find out about some free resources to help you put together a resume that makes you shine! Wallingford library card (or card from another subscribing library) recommended. Non-WPL participants are welcome. Please check with your home library to see if they subscribe to JobNow! before registering. 

This is a great session to attend before a one-on-one session with Sarah for those who want to create a new resume.

An Introduction to Funeral Planning

Thursday, Jan 18^th, 3-4pm

Community Room

Register

Do you get overwhelmed when thinking about death or funeral planning? It’s completely normal to feel uneasy when faced with topics or processes you aren’t familiar with. Despite death being the one thing we all have in common, we almost never engage in conversation about it. Funeral planning should be done ahead of time—logically, not emotionally. Let our team help you confront, explore, and prepare for death so you can get back to living life. This program will be presented by the B.C. Bailey Funeral Home.

One-on-One Career Counseling

Sign up today to schedule your virtual appointment with our career specialist Sarah Eiseman!

Get personalized help with crafting a resume or cover letter or preparing for your big interview. 
Visit to get started or contact Sarah Eiseman at [email protected]. You will be contacted shortly to schedule your Zoom appointment.

Register

LIBRARY GATHERINGS

Spanish Conversation Group

Thursdays| 4:30-5:30pm

Improve your Spanish in a friendly and non-judgmental space! Some knowledge of Spanish recommended. Just drop-in!

French Conversation Group

Mondays | 4:30-5:30pm

Improve your French in a friendly and non-judgmental space! Some knowledge of French recommended. Just drop-in!

Our ukulele programs have been so popular that we’ve decided to make them a regular thing! Join Local Ukulelist Steven Lazarus for one of two ukulele clubs, each of which is aimed at a different experience level. If you have any questions you can contact Steven at [email protected]

Beginners Ukulele Club

Second Monday of each month

10-11am|Collins Room | Drop-in

Join our new Beginners’ Ukulele Club which will meet the second Monday of the month at the Wallingford Public Library! Adult patrons who have not played before or who are just starting out are welcome to attend. Local Ukulelist Steven Lazarus will lead and facilitate the club. Please bring your own instruments.

Intermediate Ukulele Club

Second Wednesday of each month

7-8pm|Collins Room | Drop-in

Join our new Intermediate Ukulele Club which will meet the second Wednesday of the month at the Wallingford Public Library! Adult patrons with previous experience playing a ukulele are welcome to attend. Local Ukulelist Steven Lazarus will lead and facilitate the club. Please bring your own instruments.

Knit @ WPL
Second and Fourth Monday of January

(First and Third Monday of Other Months)

Monday, Jan 8th & 22nd

6-7:30pm

Board Room

No registration required
Knit @ WPL is a place where knitters and crocheters can practice their work in the company of others. Newcomers are welcome to join, but knitting experience is required.

WPL Play Readers

First Wednesday of Each Month

Wednesday, Feb 7th

6:30-8:30pm

Collins Room

No registration required

The Wallingford Public Library Play Readers bring and share poetry, prose, famous speeches and documents, monologues, as well as original material! Come check us out. All are welcome to read and/or listen. 

Open Sew

First Tuesday of Each Month

Tuesday, Feb 6th

6:00-8:30pm

Adults & Teens in Grades 9+

Drop-in

Collaboratory

Do you like to sew? Join people who enjoy quilting and sewing at a casual “drop in” program. Bring your unfinished projects, either hand sewing or machine. There are 4 portable sewing machines (or bring your own) and lots of sewing supplies and tools provided by the library for your use. 

Saturday Mornings with Poetry

Second and Fourth Saturday of Each Month

Saturday, Jan 13th & 27th

9:45am-12noon

Collins Room

No registration required

A meeting of people who love reading and writing poetry. SMwP provides poetic opportunities for anyone to share their poetry, discuss the literary works of poets known and unknown, and expand skills in writing and editing poems in the shared camaraderie of comfortable, supportive members. 

FRIDAY NIGHT FLICKS

Dumb Money [R]
Friday, Jan 12^th, 6pm
Drop in, Community Room

A David vs. Goliath tale about everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (the video game store) into the world’s hottest company.

What Happens Later [R]
Friday, Jan 19^th, 6pm
Drop in, Community Room

Willa and Bill are ex-lovers who see each other for the first time in years when they find themselves snowed in and stuck at an airport overnight.

UPCOMING BOOK CLUBS

Thursday Night Book Club: Straight Man
by Richard Russo

Thursday, Jan 18th

6:30-8pm

Collins Room & Zoom

Contact Cindy Haiken to participate: [email protected]

Writing teacher Hank Devereaux Jr. is chair of the English department at a second-rate college in Pennsylvania. His daughter is having husband trouble. The state legislature is threatening to wipe out his department’s budget. His crushes on several women complicate his devotion to his no-nonsense wife. He might have prostate cancer and he’s suspected (with good reason) of murdering a goose. Russo’s hilarious send-up of academia’s infighting and petty intrigue is the basis for the AMC TV series Lucky Hank.

Hibernation Book Club: Homer's The Odyssey
translated by Emily Wilson

Tuesdays,

Jan 9th & 23rd,

Feb 6th & 20th,

Mar 5th & 19th

5:30-7pm

Collins Room and Zoom

Contact Cindy Haiken to participate: [email protected]

If you have always wanted to read some great big classic books but have been daunted by their length and supposed complexity, we have a book club just for you! In the Hibernation Book Club, we will read one long classic novel every winter, dividing it up into shorter sections and meeting six times over the course of three months to work our way through it. Our title for the winter of 2024 is Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey.

The epic poem The Odyssey is told in 24 books and shares the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who spends a long ten years trying to get home after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus’ journey takes him via Africa and southern Europe as he battles mystical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus stave off the suitors who are vying for Penelope’s hand and Ithaca’s throne and continue to hope for Odysseus’ return.

Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of the oldest great adventure story in the Western canon is the first by a woman. In this six-part program, we will read The Odyssey in installments of four books each and meet every other week to talk about the poem and the story.

Truth Be Told: Nonfiction Book Club Being Mortal
by Atul Gawande

Thursday, Jan 25th

7-8:30pm

Collins Room & Zoom

Contact Cindy Haiken to participate: [email protected]

Modern medicine can perform miracles, but it is also mainly concerned with preserving life rather than grappling with end-of-life issues. Drawing on his experiences working with terminally ill patients, Gawande offers a timely, hopeful account of how modern Americans face the realities and challenges of declining health and mortality.

Classics Book Club: Lady Chatterley’s Lover
by D.H. Lawrence

Thursday, Feb 1st

6:30-8pm

Collins Room & Zoom

Contact Cindy Haiken to participate: [email protected]

Constance (Connie) Chatterley is married to a wealthy landowner who is paralyzed from the waist down and is absorbed in his books and his estate. After a disappointing affair with a playwright, Connie turns to the estate’s gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors, who awakens her passions. D.H. Lawrence’s last novel, which was the subject of a landmark obscenity trial in London, reflects his belief that men and women must overcome the restrictions of industrialized society and follow their natural instincts towards love.

We are so excited to share that the library has been selected to benefit from Stop & Shop’s Community Bag Program, which makes it easy for customers to contribute to their local community.

For the month of January, whenever a $2.50 reusable Community Bag is purchased at the Stop & Shop located at 930 North Colony Road, $1 will be donated to The Wallingford Public Library. This is a great way to broaden awareness and support the Library.

Scheduled Closings:

Martin Luther King Day
Monday, Jan 15th