Unreliable Narrators | Christy, Kim, Shannon, & Briana

Diving into a novel usually involves a level of trust. We assume that the characters on the page are telling the truth, or at the very least, we trust that the narrator will inform us when someone is spinning a web of lies. But what happens when the narrator is the deceiver? Unreliable narrators may lead us astray due to a variety of reasons; deliberate deception, mental illness, flawed memory, bias, or a limited or skewed perspective. Sometimes the reader finds themself deep into a story before realizing that they've been lied to all along, forcing them to rethink every single page! In today's episode, Briana speaks with Kim, Shannon, and Christy about the novels and narrators that left them questioning everything they thought they knew. These books will keep you guessing long after the last page has been read. 

Book Recommendations

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Atonement by Ian McEwan 

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Intro Music by nikitsan

Transcript

Unreliable Narrators

Briana: [00:00:00] Welcome to Top Shelf with the librarians of Russell Library. I'm Brianna Gagnan, joined by Shannon Barry. Larry. Hey, Kim Bachman. Hi, and Christie Billings. Hello. Thank you for joining us today. On Top Shelf, you'll hear about compelling reads from the people who know books best. Our librarians will share titles that connect to a unique theme each episode.

Briana: This show will also invite you to learn about the many services offered here at Russell Library. If you're not local, no worries because chances are high that your local library will have similar gifts to offer. We are very excited to turn the page with you. The focus of today's show is unreliable narrators, who are the authors that write them?

Briana: And do we actually believe these narrators, unreliable [00:01:00] narrators have a long history? First, what is the definition of an unreliable narrator? An unreliable narrator can be defined as one that misleads readers either deliberately or unintentionally. This unreliability can stem from a narrator's deliberate deception, misinformed perspective, mental illness, or even a flawed memory.

Briana: And it serves to test reader assumptions about the narrative's, truthfulness, and engage them more deeply with the story. While authors have been using unreliable narrators all the way back to medieval times, think Canterbury Tales, the term was first used by literary critic, Wayne Booth in 1961, in his book, the Rhetoric of Fiction.

Briana: Some examples of an unreliable narrator include the yellow wallpaper. By Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which was actually my first experience with an unreliable narrator that I can remember, and I've always really loved the story. And, and Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins. Two that I've read recently that I, one I really enjoyed.

Briana: One, not so much, uh, bunny [00:02:00] by Mona a wad is. Incredibly popular on social media right now. I read it because I saw it on social media and it was recommended to me by one of my bookstore Ramer friends, and it was insane. 

Christy: Did you listen to it? 

Briana: I read it and I got to the end and everything was like, my brain just exploded and I had no clue what I was thinking and Oh wow.

Briana: You, I rethought every single thing I read. Mm-hmm. Um, and that's Oh, fun. It was a wild ride. Highly recommend. Um, and The Silent Patient by Alex Michel Yes. Is another very popular. Um, unreliable. Narrator 

Shannon: isn't gone, girl. 

Briana: Yes. Yeah, because I read Gone Girl. Yeah. Yep. 

Shannon: Actually, I listened to Gone Girl. Oh, which was actually really entertaining was when I was getting books on CDs.

Shannon: Wow. Yeah. But Chaucer though. 

Briana: Yeah. Love it. Like you cannot go wrong with Chaucer. You can't. He just keeps coming back. Oh, Jeffrey.

Briana: Well, I'm really looking [00:03:00] forward to hearing what books you all brought to talk about today. So let's get to it. Let's start with Kim. Can you tell us what you're reading along with a brief description of the book? 

Kim: I brought Donna Tart's novel, the Gold Finch, and I brought it because many unreliable narrators are revealed by a twist at the end that brings their entire story into question.

Kim: So like Bunny or Turn of the Screw, or Lolita. Um, the Gold Finch is protagonist. Theodore Decker is an unreliable narrator from the start at the beginning of the book. Theo is a teenager when a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art kills his mother. In the aftermath, he takes the Goldfinch, a 17th century Dutch painting.

Kim: The story follows Theo through a move to Las Vegas with his father. Theo's eventual returned to New York and an action packed attempt to recover. The painting in, in Amsterdam. So yeah, it's, so people have described it as like [00:04:00] five different books. It is, and you know, there's like the New York part and the Vegas part and you know, the prep school part.

Kim: And then we're back to New York and then we're in Amsterdam. And uh, so I always say, you know, you're probably gonna at least like two out of the five books that are the gold fich. 

Shannon: I loved the gold Fich. I, well, 

Kim: yeah, I was five out of five. 

Shannon: Yeah, I loved every single one. I think Christine, I talked about it.

Shannon: She read it in a weekend. Read it over Easter weekend. Wow. Easter weekend. 

Christy: To be fair, it was good Friday. So like I had, I had a little, yeah, it was a long weekend. Long weekend. We were talking about it though, too. Yeah, because just what a book could not put it down. 

Shannon: Yes. Oh, I love Donna Tart. If you ever read the Secret History as well.

Shannon: Oh yeah. Oh, so good. Uh mm-hmm. 

Briana: I haven't read either of them, but I know they're very well liked. You definitely 

Shannon: should. 

Briana: I'll TB 

Shannon: Secret history is like dark academia and the Goldfinch is like, you mean being an unre, unreliable narrator. It is so much of a [00:05:00] lot of things. It's not, you can't pinpoint it.

Shannon: Nothing 

Christy: else. Yeah. It is absolutely like nothing else out there. No. And just when you think you know what's happening, you don't. No. I love books like that. It's a big book, but I would be like, just try it. Just dive in. Yeah, absolutely. You'll be a hundred pages in and be like, what is happening? It's a good big book.

Christy: It's a quick read. What drew 

Kim: you to picking The Goldfinch? So actually the Goldfinch was. A cultural phenomenon when it came, um, out in 2013. So, you know, Donna Tart is kind of controversial. Um, she still is controversial and so she had had success at a young age, so everybody was really interested to see what she was gonna come out with in her third book, especially since her second book was.

Kim: Not well received. 

Christy: Sophomore slope. 

Kim: Sophomore slope. I feel like every 

Briana: author experiences that it's, oh, it was not good. It's a rite of passage. What was the second book? 

Shannon: Uh, the little Friend. The 

Briana: Little Friend. The little friend. And I've never heard of it neither. 

Shannon: Trust me. 

Briana: It's okay. That sounds creepy. 

Shannon: It is creepy.

Shannon: [00:06:00] Sorry. God, it's heart. We do love you. But we do. Yeah, 

Kim: well 

Shannon: you can't, there's just, don't even worry about it. 

Kim: So, yeah, I was definitely somebody who was really waiting for, um, the book to come out. And it's interesting because it really wasn't until I listened to an audio book version that I realized that the narrator was just making stuff up.

Kim: I'm like, oh my God, he is lying. He is lying to me. I don't believe a word that he's saying. 

Briana: So was that easier to pick up when you listen to it or when you're reading the text? Is it like a parent that 

Shannon: No. 

Briana: No. Okay. When you're 

Christy: reading it, no. Interesting. Not 

Shannon: at 

Christy: all. We're all answering pro you were a book.

Christy: It's all new to me. In my experience, I did not know I was being lied to

Kim: and yet, um, when I heard it, I definitely could tell that he was not on the level. Interesting. 

Briana: We may have touched on it already, but how did [00:07:00] you feel about this book? 

Kim: Okay, bear with me 'cause I might get a little like woo woo. Um, because the way that the Goldfinch describes art really resonated with me.

Kim: Um, sometimes when I look at a painting, I feel a deep sense of connection. That's hard to put into words. So it's like trying to describe the way music makes you feel. So Theo Decker talks about art and dreamlike phrases punctuated with vivid descriptions, and sometimes that writing can be too much, right?

Kim: It's like, please get to the point. But the way these observations intersect with a plot is really beautifully done. So one of the main questions in the Goldfinch is once Theo had the painting, why didn't he return it? And at one point he tries to explain, so bear with me. I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things and have looked out for them and pulled them from the fire and sought them when they were lost and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along, literally from hand to hand.

Kim: Singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of [00:08:00] lovers. And the next, I mean, come on. Like with writing like that, um, I wasn't really focused on the details. Um, yeah, it took me, uh, you know, it took me on a, an emotional journey, let's say. Yep. Um, so, you know, and there are a lot of reasons that Theo is an unreliable narrator.

Kim: He's only 13 years old when the bombing happens, and he really doesn't know how to process his trauma. And so, you know, he goes through a lot. He moves to Las Vegas. He, you know. Copes with what he's going through with a lot of drugs and alcohol falls into the wrong 

Shannon: crowd. 

Kim: Oh my gosh. Yeah. Uh, but there was a cute dog.

Kim: There was. 

Briana: Mm-hmm. Love a cute dog. Tail legs. So Kim, do you believe your unreliable narrator was misleading readers deliberately, or was it unintentionally? 

Kim: I don't think he knows. Hmm. I think he's trying to process what happened to [00:09:00] him. Yeah. I don't think there are huge holes in his memory that he fills with these like, beautiful phrases.

Kim: So yeah. I, I don't think he knows, but I, if I had to choose, I would say, um, that he was doing it on purpose. 'cause in the end, you know, he forges art for a living, you know, he's trying to. Workout what happened, but he's also trying to, to say it in the best possible light. 

Shannon: Yep. He's very coy. Yes. Okay. Yeah.

Shannon: Theo's coy as an adult for sure. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. 

Christy: And the painting's not that big. No, no. It's a small, it's I think probably similar size to moral, Lisa. I don't remember exactly, but not a big painting. So it's not like when you picture art in a museum, it's like. Something ginormous, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Christy: And this, he managed to hide this sucker because it was not that painting. Wow. 

Shannon: Well, people can hide paintings all the time. Yeah. Or maybe it's the books that I read when you like steal art and it's like [00:10:00] hiding in plain sight. Yeah. Like constantly. And it just, I have lots 

Christy: of paintings hiding in plain sight in my apartment, but True.

Christy: Right? Yeah. Like, and he did, he like was so drawn to these paintings. Mm-hmm. Very, very cool. 

Briana: Mm-hmm. 

Kim: Now, Kim, would you recommend this book and if so, to who? Oh, 100%. I'd recommend it to people who really like, you know, intricate plots, good writing and characters that are not always likable. Um, and the audio book version I definitely recommend because it lends itself, uh, to the sometimes meandering prose and lingering descriptions.

Kim: So it, it becomes very lyrical and it's really nice to listen to. 

Briana: I know I'm probably gonna add it to my. Um, TBR and listen to it 'cause yeah, I love a good audio book, so I'm excited to check this one out. Yay. 

Kim: Um, thank you. And just one last thing, um, definitely stay away from the movie as an adaptation. It didn't even come close.

Kim: It was so mad to know. Good. I rented it from the library. I. [00:11:00] Mm. Yeah, I'm glad I rented it. 

Briana: The books are always better. Shan, you're next. Can you tell us what you're reading along with a brief prescription of the book? 

Shannon: Yeah. Uh, the book I brought today is Atonement by Ian McEwen. Just wanted to say it that way.

Shannon: Yeah. Uh, the novels about love war class and the loss of innocence brought together from the viewpoint of a 13-year-old girl named. Now, this is how I said it in my head, Brony. I don't know if that's how you pronounce it, but Brony Tallis, um, who has the knack for writing? It was a hot summer day in 1935 England when Brony witnesses her older sister, Cecilia and Robbie, the son of a servant, come together as young, passionate people do.

Shannon: Oh. From then on, as the readers travel through time, they see a crime unravel, accusations, thrust upon people, all due to the viewpoint of an imaginative 13-year-old child. 

Briana: Wow. 

Shannon: Dun, dun dun. I don't wanna give too [00:12:00] much away. You go on like a very big journey. Mm-hmm. Love story. There is some heavy triggering points to it.

Shannon: So the case that comes about somebody was assaulted, a young person was assaulted, and fingers started to get pointed. Oh, and certain directions due to what Bronny witnesses. So interesting. I think that's the best way I can put it without unraveling too many things. Yeah. But yeah. So what's it really? So what's 

Christy: like Shocking.

Shannon: Shocking at the 

Christy: time? Mm-hmm. I would say, you know, a book that people were talking about because they just couldn't believe it. No, exactly. 

Briana: What drew you to this 

Christy: book? 

Shannon: Oh, I remember when the movie came out. I'm gonna be totally honest. And it was James McCoy Voy and um, what's her name? Kira Knightly. Kira Knightly.

Shannon: Mm-hmm. And the preview played like every day on cable television when we used to watch cable television. So I picked it up. I didn't know what to read one day, and I saw Atonement just [00:13:00] sitting there and I said, well. Maybe I should give this a read. I remember seeing the movie. Yeah.

Shannon: And honest, I was not disappointed. It is. I blew through this. I think I read it in three days. Not even. Wow. Not even. Yeah. 

Briana: How did you feel about the book when you finished it? What were some thoughts? 

Shannon: Oh God. It's depressing. Beyond belief, um, as I'm gonna just keep like. Referencing that this is, so you grow up with Bronny and you mm-hmm.

Shannon: See how the story unravels throughout time and how it's affected people. And I'm just gonna keep saying she is a writer. 

Briana: Yeah. So she's 

Shannon: gonna write a story. She's a storyteller. Mm-hmm. And it's very like, you know, like when you cry and it's like kind of the heave crying that you're like, oh my God, this is so depressing.

Shannon: Yeah. That's how I finished the book. Oh God. So just heads up there. Wow. 

Kim: Very cathartic. Good to know. It's very [00:14:00] cathartic. 

Shannon: If you need like a really good cry. And that's the one for you. 

Briana: Good to know. 

Shannon: Yeah. 

Briana: Was your unreliable narrator misleading readers? Deliberately or unintentionally? I know she was 13, so I wonder like how you answer that question when you're thinking of the.

Briana: A teenager. 

Shannon: It starts when she's 13 and then progresses. Mm-hmm. Um, 

Kim: just like yours actually. Yeah. Just like the goldfinch. 

Shannon: Yeah. They're telling a story. Yeah. And they're gonna try and tell a good story. I don't wanna give too much way. I know, I don't. He's just gonna unravel everything. Let's just say that.

Shannon: His pros is amazing. Yeah. Um, he writes so well. And the plot is what just keeps you turning the page. Yeah. Because you're just enticed from the next thing to the next thing through all these different characters and how they're affected. 

Briana: Mm-hmm. 

Shannon: Um, from what bro's telling you, and it's a tragic love story.

Christy: You say, there's definitely a tragedy. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Oh. But I didn't wanna give anything away. 

Shannon: I know. I [00:15:00] don't wanna, I'm not gonna say a word. I think everyone just read it. And the movie's actually good too. 'cause I watched it after. Oh, 

Briana: good. 

Shannon: But I also love James McCoy. I don't, James McAvoy, I call him James McCoy Voy.

Shannon: Yeah. Close enough. So he's, I love him. He's great. He's great. 

Briana: I love Ki Knightley too. Like anything she's in, she just kills it every time. Yeah, love her. Would you recommend this book, and if so, to who? 

Shannon: I would a hundred percent recommend this book to who, as I said, like if you need a cathartic cry, if you wanna read a good piece of writing, but if that is kind of not.

Shannon: In your vibe right now. Um, and you wanna just read kind of like a good romance. Do not read this, 

Briana: don't read this for the romance. Don't 

Shannon: read it for the romance. Um, but I will say that the name atonement goes a long way. The title is very purposeful to the plot of the story. 

Briana: Okay? 

Shannon: So, um, that was a very purposeful [00:16:00] title.

Shannon: That kinda is the essence of what this book is. 

Christy: It's kind of what you think about when you're not reading it. 

Shannon: Mm-hmm. 

Christy: Mm-hmm. 

Briana: Definitely. Yeah. Let's finish things off with Christie. Christie, can you tell us what you're reading along with a brief description of the book? So 

Christy: I picked up Listen for the Lie by Amy, Amy Tinter.

Christy: Uh, the story opens with Lucy Chase losing her job. Her boyfriend asking her to move out of their LA apartment because a popular troop crime podcaster. Uh, the podcast is called Listen For the Lie, is interviewing people to talk about Lucy's involvement in her best friend's death. At her grandmother's request, Lucy returns to her Texas hometown, the place she did vow never to set foot again to answer the podcast inquiries, but most of all, to solve her best friend's murder, even if she may be the one that murdered her.

Shannon: Ooh. Ooh, I like that you found a podcast one. 

Christy: I was, [00:17:00] oh my gosh. I was so excited about this. So I read it. I, I know we talked about listening. Mm-hmm. That you listen to it, Brianna. Yeah. And um, I might go back and do some listening 'cause I think it would be a fun thing, even though I know some of the answers to this.

Christy: But, um, I love the podcast aspect 

Briana: and it's really cool, like we've discussed previously, like they actually make it sound like you're listening to a podcast when they do the podcast parts of the book. Oh, cool. And I loved that element. Because it was like you're re you're. It's like you're listening to one thing and then listening to the other.

Briana: It all comes together. It's so good. It's such a good book. 

Christy: What drew you to this book? Well, listen for the Lie has been on my TBR for a little bit because it was recommended by more than a few people. Um, you don't have to love podcasts to love this, but I think it just adds a really nice element to it.

Christy: Definitely. How did you feel about this book? I really enjoyed Lucy's story. She was funny. She was sarcastic. She didn't react the way people wanted her to. I felt like despite her being a [00:18:00] murder suspect, she was very relatable. Honestly, she was though. 

Briana: That's a really good point. 

Shannon: But that's good because then it's kind of like.

Shannon: Allowing you to relate as a reader to something of that manner. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Mm-hmm. I wanted, it makes it fun. 

Christy: I wanted to know more about her. I wanted her to be okay. I wanted to find out who had killed her friend. I never, you cared about her? Yeah. I never believed that Lucy did it.

Briana: Mm-hmm. 

Christy: But she's 

Briana: unreliable. Mm. Was your unreliable narrator, misleading readers, deliberately or unintentionally? 

Christy: So Lucy suffered a traumatic brain injury the night that her best friend is murdered. So she has lost her memory of all the events of that evening. So she is an unreliable narrator through no fault for own.

Christy: But I will say it wasn't like a soap opera where it's like, oh, she had amnesia. Oh yeah. You know, it was really like she had a traumatic brain injury. Mm-hmm. And nobody really. Took the care of her that was necessary. They all just kept peppering her with questions. Mm. [00:19:00] And wanting to know what had happened.

Christy: So, um, I did not feel like. It was not real. Like I never was like, oh great, this is a stupid plot, or anything like that. Yeah. I really felt like this was relatable and I wanted to know what happened. 

Briana: Would you recommend this book, and if so, to who? 

Christy: So I would recommend this book to people who love a strong female lead, a good thriller and some gossipy insight into people who live in small.

Shannon: Oh fun. Oh, I'm 

Kim: gonna put that on my tv. 

Shannon: That sounds good. I think in the audio book might be fun. 

Briana: Definitely recommend going that route. It's just, it makes it all the more interactive, like I'm sure reading the text, it still was really good like, 'cause you read that. You read it that way and it was good.

Briana: But the audio book just elevates it so much more. 

Kim: Yeah. 

Briana: Like, okay. I loved that book so much. Do I remember anything about it? No. So thank you for talking about it. So I'm remembering things. There you go. 

Shannon: Wait, you know what's so funny? We all have read these books, like all of us. Like, yeah, I've read the Gold Finch.

Shannon: I read those. Christie's, [00:20:00] read The Goldfinch. You've read Atonement? Did you read Atonement? I did. Kim Read Atonement. And you both have read Christie's book. 

Briana: Yeah. Yeah. So there is, yeah, that overlap of some of us have actually all 

Shannon: read these books. Yeah. 

Briana: Right. 

Christy: We must like 

Shannon: I definitely do. 

Briana: To a point. It's, we just make it so much more fun.

Shannon: Well then you get to the end and you're like, and your brain 

Briana: explodes. 

Shannon: That didn't happen. That wasn't true. Or did it 

Briana: happen but, or wait? 

Shannon: Did it happen? Depending on how it's ending. Mm-hmm. From the 

Christy: narrator. Did anybody go back and reread sections of their book after I did. Yeah. I think unrelatable, narrators, like you wanna go back and be like, oh, I wanna see where they lied.

Christy: Yes. I wanna see where that point was. Or with Goldfinch, I know I rerun. Pieces. Yes. Yeah. Especially the Vegas section, because I was just like, oh my God. 

Kim: Yeah. That was, the Vegas section was crazy intense. [00:21:00] Yeah. 

Shannon: I'm thinking with atonement, you get to the end and you know, you know, when it happens, it's not so 

Christy: much a 

Shannon: twist, but it's, it's not a twist, but it, you don't want it to be that.

Shannon: You don't want that to be what the ending is. That's when. You ugly cry? Yes. Mm-hmm. You ugly cry. It's true. 

Christy: Brianna's gonna be putting all these on hold immediately. I know. My brain is, is just like, yep. 

Briana: We're we're gonna get to these. I don't know when, but I will, I will get to these. 

Kim: Brianna, I have a question for you.

Kim: Yes. So is TBR for audio books A TBL? 

Briana: I think TBR just goes for everything. Okay. Actually, but TBL is a new one. I've not heard someone use that term. Yeah. So I guess you could have two different ones. Mm-hmm. The TBL and the TBR, sorry to b. B listened to be listened was like, what 

Shannon: does this acronym mean right now?

Shannon: Because I know to be read 

Christy: two B L's a Russell acronym. We just made 

Briana: it up. We love it. We just made it up. You heard it here first. Folks, libraries are so much more than [00:22:00] books, so we want you to know what's happening off the shelf this month at Russell Library. September is library card signup month, and we're super, super excited to celebrate everything you can do with a library card.

Briana: Here at Russell Library you can print, fax, and scan. And we're proud to brag that our prices here are much cheaper than Staples, like way cheaper. So don't go to Staples anymore when you can go to your local library if you have a staples near you. 'cause I don't know if everybody has Staples. Staples is like nationwide, right?

Briana: Oh yeah, 

Shannon: yeah. 

Briana: So go. Don't go to your local Staples when you can go to the local library. And what we have at Russell, which a lot of libraries are starting to get our video game. Which I help curate. Here at Russell, we have PS four and PS five, Xbox and Switch, and switch. Two. We're just starting to get our switch, two games, so why spend all the money on buying a game that you might play once and ever play again when you can just borrow it?

Briana: It's one of the most cost, cost-effective ways to enjoy video games. They're very popular. [00:23:00] So popular, very popular, like they're flying off the shelves every day. I have borrowed them myself because I am chronically that kind of person who will start a game and then never finish it. Forget about it. So why spend the money?

Shannon: Because they're expensive. 

Briana: They're so expensive, they're so expensive. So expensive. If you have young children in your family, you can also borrow Tony Boxes and figurines as well as Yodas. Um, we have both of those at the library and they're completely free. Borrowing the, um, I guess the player part of it.

Briana: Is gonna save you at least a hundred, 200 bucks out at the very least. And it also saves you from, if you do actually have, like if you already have a Tony box, the library has all the little Tony figures so that you don't have to go out and buy them. You like borrow it. 20 bucks. Like 20 bucks. Yeah. Like that's a lot of money.

Briana: That's a lot of money. So borrow them, enjoy them, and then bring them back and you can get new ones. We also offer free notary services here at the Russell [00:24:00] Library, which is a huge thing that a lot of people have to pay for. Um, so make sure to check out your local library and see if they're also offering this kind of service.

Briana: 'cause this is another easy way to save money. And probably the biggest, most obvious thing you can do with your library card is borrow books from. Like eBooks, audiobooks, print books. Um, why buy them when you can borrow them? Now I'm all for buying my own books because I do, but I also like knowing that I can just come to the library and borrow it.

Briana: And if I didn't like the book, then I didn't waste $30. Mm-hmm. And I can just return it. 

Briana: Mm-hmm. 

Briana: Or if I loved it, then I can just go out and buy it if I wanted that bad. So getting a library card is a great way to save money and utilize your resources around you. Um, and uplifting libraries is a huge thing.

Briana: Um, we're seeing a lot more people coming in and getting library cards and using our resources. So if you haven't already, go sign up for a card 'cause it's free. And in honor of library card signup month, the Russell [00:25:00] Library is hosting its second annual library card crawl on September 20th from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Briana: Having a library card gives you special access to this event, which celebrates having and signing up for a library card. And just so you all know that if you are a library card holder, you're probably one of the coolest people to ever exist on planet Earth. And if you wanna be in that group, like I said before, sign up for a card, be a library user.

Briana: Yeah, this event basically just celebrates that. So you can come in. We're gonna have a really cool live animal program. We're gonna have vendors from around Middletown, like Fresh Monkey, 

Christy: with free samples, with 

Briana: free samples. The Wesley and rj Julia Bookstore will be there. We're gonna have the Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society.

Briana: So if you ever wanted to meet a paranormal investigator, this is your chance. And we're also gonna have the fire department come with potentially the fire truck, which is really cool, and countless other giveaways, and a really fun scavenger hunt with prizes that we are [00:26:00] super excited to give away. If you complete the scavenger hunt.

Briana: Um, so like I said, super fun event and if you're not local, your local library is probably doing something about library guard set up month to celebrate it. Um, so keep an eye on what your local library is doing and go celebrate the fact that you are a library user, um, and put that card to good use and get some really great free resources.

Christy: Awesome stuff. 

Briana: Awesome stuff. 

Christy: You can pick a color too. We have a 

Briana: lot of color options here 

Christy: and a brand new, I love Russell Library card, so there's lots of different options. You can come the day of the crawl or if you can't get here that day, you can come anytime in September. They are limited. Run the I love Russell Cards.

Briana: Yep. Get them while you can, 'cause they are gonna go quick. It is time to close the book on today's episode. If you like what you've heard here, please subscribe to the show. This ensures that you won't miss any episodes. And if you have a moment, kindly rate and review the podcast. This [00:27:00] helps other bookish people like yourself.

Briana: Find the show. Tune in next month to find out what else is on the shelf. Bye-bye bye.