Fall at the Eden Prairie Library: New reads, resources and activities await

Summer 2023 was busy at Eden Prairie Library with programs in the library, out in city parks, playing games with teens, and engaging readers with book displays and book clubs. Reading, writing and music activities are scheduled this fall for children, families, teens and adults. Registration and information for fall programs are on the Events web page.

New features to the library include a canopy in the Reading Garden shading the patio facing Franlo Road. Kanopy of another kind is an online resource offering thousands of streaming movies and documentaries. Kanopy is available to Hennepin County residents with a free library card.

Reading suggestions for all ages online can be found under Browse, and Eden Prairie Library staff have curated lists of what we’ve been reading, including the following titles.

Heather Fawcett’s whimsical romp, “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries,” centers on two academic grumps from Cambridge who study the fair folk. This fantasy novel is packed with witty one-liners, silly footnotes, and offers a unique take on fairy tale relationships.

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The newest title from Becky Albertalli, known for “Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,” is “Imogen, Obviously.” It offers an endearing and heartfelt look at labels in the queer community, who is welcome, and what it means to question one’s identity.

In “The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho,” Joseph Paterson offers an entertaining and skillfully written historical fiction novel. It’s based on the life of Ignatius Sancho, who started life enslaved but became an esteemed valet, a respected shopkeeper, and an accomplished writer and composer. He holds the distinction of being the first British African to vote in a general election, which he did in 1774.

In “Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age,” Katherine May searches for ways to lift herself out of her post-lockdown funk, explore the restorative properties of the natural world, and find moments of gratitude and wonder in the everyday.

In “More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew,” John Blake recounts his upbringing in Baltimore as a biracial child. His father, a frequently absent Merchant Marine, and his white mother, who exited his life at an early age, shaped his experiences. The revelations Blake makes about his mother and her family demonstrate the complexity of race relations. You really get a sense of how Blake gets to know himself better by learning more about his family members. There is also a faith component that I much appreciated.

Library books are available in regular or large print, or downloadable from the Libby app.

Editor’s note: This seasonal column provides news and events at the Eden Prairie Library. The writer, Carrie Brunsberg, started as a librarian at the Minneapolis Central Library of the Hennepin County Library system and has been an adult services librarian at the Eden Prairie Library for 11 years.