The library both slows down and speeds up during December.  The Woman’s Club of Bridgeport will be here this week to decorate the annual Christmas trees, and our traditional concerts by the Bridgeport High School Jazz Band and Orchestra are scheduled,  but for our patrons whose lives reach epic levels of activity this month as they try to keep up with programs, shopping, baking, and visiting,  their reading levels tnd to drop.  Since reading is a stress reliever, you might want to schedule that on your to-do list as well.  

 

The Bridgeport High School Jazz Band performs their annual visit on December 16th at 6 p.m. while the Orchestra will be here on December 12th also at 6 p.m.  If you have never heard either groups, they are pretty amazing.

 

The library’s book groups continue throughout December.  Book Talk is having a holiday party as well as a recap of the books that they read this year on December 18th at 4 p.m.  Read in Red, the mystery book club, is also having a holiday party where they will discuss “Rest You Merry” by Charlotte MacLeod on December 27th at noon.  Real Reads is doing the same but is branching out to read their first graphic novel, “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei (Lt. Sulu of Star Trek fame) as he recounts his experience when his family was interned during World War II. The date is December 30th at 5 p.m.

 

Nesting Knitters meets every Wednesday, December 4, 11, and 18 from 10-1 p.m. while Colorful Yarns continues Tuesdays, Dec. 3, and 17 at 6:30 p.m.  Tea & Talk is celebrating the holidays on Monday, December 9th at 1 p.m. with homemade desserts and plans to discuss “Sanditon” which begins on PBS on January 13th. 

 

Puzzling Puzzles continues December 17th at noon where participants will be able to work on a puzzle by themselves or as a group.  

               

The ereader workshop is scheduled for Tuesday December 3rd at 2 p.m. for those who want to learn how to download eBooks, eAudiobooks and digital magazines for free from the library.  Crafters will want to register for Holiday Gnomes on Tuesday, December 10th at 2 p.m. to learn how to make their own gnomes.

 

Movies are scheduled throughout the month.  On Friday, December 6th at 1 p.m., you can watch Cate Blanchette in “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” and on Monday, December 9th at 6 p.m. you can see how Charles Dickens relies on his vivid imagination to bring Ebenezer Scrooge to life in “The Man Who Invented Christmas.”

 

On Friday, December 13th at 1 p.m., viewers can learn about a true incident during the brutality of trench warfare of World War I when Christmas brings enemies together in “Joyeux Noel.”  And on December 23rd at 5 p.m., everyone can enjoy the classic beauty of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

               

Just remember when the hectic craziness of the holidays drives you to the breaking point, you can always visit your library, take a stack of magazines and retire to a quiet table and chair.  Or you can take advantage of our online services to download a book or watch a movie even though it is 11 p.m. on a Saturday night.  (If it is quiet you are looking forward to, please don’t come when the Jazz Band or Orchestra are performing since you can hear them in every nook of the library.)

               

The library will close early on December 20th at noon so employees can attend the City of Bridgeport Christmas party.  We will be open on December 21st from noon until 5, and on December 23rd from 10-8, but we will be closed on December 24th and 25th for the holiday.  We will also be closing at 4 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and all-day New Year’s Day 2020.