Happy New Year, everyone!  

Neuse Regional Libraries are starting off the new year by providing awesome recreational adult programming for our community members.  We have two monthly observances that we will celebrate in January and February, one of which is Winter Reads!

Winter Reads will run from Tuesday, January 17 to Tuesday, February 28.  The theme for this year is “North Carolina Living".  Patrons can register at any library and receive an Activity Pack filled with NC-themed activities that they can complete at home.  Winter Reads participants can complete these activities to earn tickets and possibly win prizes.  Each completed activity is worth one drawing ticket with the exception of Community Read Reviews and Program Reviews, which are worth five tickets each.  Participants can enter their tickets at any Neuse Regional Libraries location.  Each participant will get the chance to win one of five Prize Packs that each fall into a theme; the themes are Travel, Movies, Knowledge, Lighthouse and Cooking.  The Prize Packs are on display at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library.  Our Prize Pack Drawing will be held in the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Libraryon Tuesday, March 7, and it will be streamed live on Facebook. 

We have chosen five novels to be our Community Reads this year.  Each selection was written by a popular author from North Carolina.  As part of the program, you can read each novel at your own pace and write a review to earn the aforementioned tickets.  The five Community Reads selections are: The Wish by Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Redemption Road by John Hart, and Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain.

 We also have fun and enlightening activities lined up as part of this year’s Winter Reads. “Shag Dancing” will take place on Monday, January 30 at 6:30 p.m.  at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, and it will be led by the  talented Sharon Veitch.  Mrs. Veitch is is a phenomenal dance instructor and the owner of Academy Street Ballroom, located in Richlands, N.C.  "North Carolinian Cooking with Kelly Tyndall" will take place on Thursday, February 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Kinston library.  Kelly Tyndall is the Family and Consumer Science Agent for the N.C. Cooperative Extension’s Lenoir County Center, and she plans to demonstrate how to cook a few dishes that have origins in North Carolina.  

Our second monthly observance will be Black History Month, which we will celebrate with a program entitled “Studying Black Love: Romance in Print in the 1980’s”.  UNC-Chapel Hill Ph.D. candidiate Alexandra Odom will lead a fun and interactive presentation on how multiple Black magazines have depicted African-American relationships.  Her research expands to 20th Century African-American sociology, gender studies, and print culture.  This program will take place on Thursday, February 2 at 6:30 p.m. in our auditorium.  Registration is encouraged, so stop by our Information Services desk or call 252.527.7066 ext. 134 to reserve a seat.

We hope that our programs bring you great joy over the coming weeks.  For more information regarding these programs, feel free to call (252) 527-7066 ext. 140.