Category Archives: Adult Services

Madeline Miller – Virtual Author Talk

Madeline Miller, Virtual Author Talk

Thursday, March 27, 2025

6:30 – 7:30 PM via Zoom

Register Online!

We are excited to partner with the Lynnfield Public Library in hosting award-winning, best-selling author Madeline Miller! Madeline will be discussing her novel Circe, a dazzling retelling of the myth of Circe told from her perspective.

About Circe: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world.

About Madeline: Madeline Miller grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. She attended Brown University, where she earned her BA and MA in Classics. She has taught and tutored Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over fifteen years. She has also studied at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought, and in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms. She currently lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Song of Achilles, her first novel, was awarded the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a New York Times Bestseller. Miller was also shortlisted for the 2012 Stonewall Writer of the Year.

Her second novel, Circe, was an instant number 1 New York Times bestseller, and won the Indies Choice Best Adult Fiction of the Year Award and the Indies Choice Best Audiobook of the Year Award, as well as being shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Circe also won The Red Tentacle Award, an American Library Association Alex Award (adult books of special interest to teen readers), and the 2018 Elle Big Book Award.  Miller’s novels have been translated into over twenty-five languages and her essays have appeared in a number of publications including the GuardianWall Street Journal, Washington Post, TelegraphLapham’s Quarterly and NPR.org.

Presented in collaboration with the Lynnfield Public Library.

Fun on Creativebug


March Fun on Creativebug!

Create and celebrate the legacy of women in craft and history while sparking your own creativity! Explore the newest Creativebug classes!

Using your library card and PIN, create your own account for FREE and nurture your creative side with 1000+ video classes in painting, knitting, crafting, sewing & more!


Collage Homage: 15 Women Artists to Know – March 1

In this joyful tribute to exceptional collage, explore into the work of fifteen female-identifying artists who have embraced this medium as part of their artistic practice. Each session begins with an introduction to the life and work of one of these remarkable women, spanning both historical and contemporary figures. Artist Erin McCluskey Wheeler is an experienced teacher of this unique blend of art history and hands-on creation and finds joy in watching students transform inspiration into their own distinct style. While the focus is on developing your own personal collage style, understanding how these artists approached shape, color, and composition will enrich your creative vocabulary. By exploring the practices of these 15 artists, you’ll build your own “artist family tree” and discover your artistic lineage.
This 15-day practice will be released every other day this month. 

Design & Crochet a Top-Down Bobble Sweater – March 5

In this adventurous class, artist Twinkie Chan shows you how to design and crochet your very own top-down sweater with a circular yoke and cute bobble sleeves. Forget following a pattern—Twinkie gives you all the tools to make your sweater uniquely yours. You’ll learn how to choose the yarn and hooks, determine out your gauge, and take the necessary measurements. Then, decide on fit, sleeve length, and top length, and translate all that info into the right number of stitches and rounds. The stitch pattern is super simple—half double crochet—so you can focus on the fun part: designing and building your garment. If you’re familiar with basic stitches and shaping, you’re all set! Get ready to sketch out your dream sweater and start crocheting it up. 

Digital Portrait Painting in Procreate – March 12

Procreate is a versatile tool for digital painting that offers a range of benefits. Its diverse selection of brushes and tools allows for experimentation with endless colors, textures, and styles, while offering the freedom to instantly correct any mistakes. David Tenorio, a skilled illustrator and art instructor, shows you how this program can be used to enhance creativity and produce remarkable results. Designed to guide you through the stages of a painting, from initial sketch to the rendering and refining, he leads you through the traditional principles of art and design, such as “mother color” and “thick to thin” techniques. By synthesizing all of these elements, students learn how to create a digitally painted portrait that achieves accurate proportions and likeness. 

CB Mixtape: 8 Collage Techniques – March 19

The scavenger-hunt aspect of collage is irresistible to so many Creativebug artists. Whether using it as their primary artistic medium or as an exercise to loosen up stuck creativity, the eight artists in this collection bring their own unique take on the medium. If you’re feeling inspired, check out the full Daily Practice series of each artist below:

Visible Mending Workshop – March 26

In this 3 hour workshop, you will explore Visible Mending with Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou. We all have that favorite pair of jeans or a well-loved sweater – no matter how baggy or worn they might become. In the movement against throw-away culture and fast fashion, learn how to pick up a needle and rediscover the forgotten techniques and the joy of mending. We will cover the technique of weave mending, seed stitch and scotch darning and learn different ways to patch woven fabrics from the front and back.

A History of Guinness Beer – Virtual Program

A History of Guinness Beer with Guinness Brewery Ambassador, Mike Reardon

Monday, March 31, 2025

7:00 – 8:00 PM via Zoom

Register online!

We’re so excited to chat with Mike Reardon, a Guinness Ambassador – a highly trained beer expert and storyteller who captivates Guinness lovers and audiences with the beer, culinary, and cultural history of this fantastic beer. So, sit back, relax, grab a pint (if you’re over 21), and join us for this wonderful discussion to close out St. Paddy’s Day month!

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program

About Michael: Mike is a native New Englander, born and raised just north of Boston. Following a successful hospitality and performing arts career, Mike spent the last decade as a beer educator and quality specialist – including the past six years as a Guinness Brewery Ambassador. In this role, he lives and breathes all things beer and shares his deeply rooted love for Guinness and authentic Irish pubs.

In addition to his role as a Guinness Brewery Ambassador, Mike is an accomplished home chef, gardener, history enthusiast, and oyster expert. His background in performing arts is evident in his artful storytelling every time he engages an audience. Follow Mike on Instagram


This program is brought to you in collaboration with the Chelmsford, Groton, and Tewksbury Libraries. We’re also thrilled to be partnering with a multitude of additional MA & NH Libraries to bring this program to our communities.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.

Virtual Author Hour: Marie Benedict

AUTHOR HOUR IN MASSACHUSETTS: Bestselling Author Marie Benedict

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

7:00-8:00 PM via Zoom

Register online!

Bestselling author Marie Benedict will discuss her new historical fiction mystery, The Queens of Crime, in this installment of “Author Hour in Massachusetts.”

About Marie: Marie Benedict is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Queens of Crime, The Mitford Affair, Her Hidden Genius, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, The Only Woman in the Room, Lady Clementine, Carnegie’s Maid, The Other Einstein, and with Victoria Christopher Murray, the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian and the Target Book of the Year The First Ladies. All have been translated into multiple languages, and many have been selected for the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Target Book Club, Costco Book Club, Indie Next List, and LibraryReads List. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

About The Queens of Crime: London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.

May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there is an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they’re stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden.

Inspired by a true story in Sayers’ own life, New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict brings to life the lengths to which five talented women writers will go to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of letters as they unpuzzle a mystery torn from the pages of their own novels.

About Author Hour in Massachusetts: “Author Hour in Massachusetts” is a series of virtual author talks this spring featuring some of the publishing industry’s top trending writers. These webinars — held from 7pm (ET) to 8pm (ET), Monday through Thursday — are free and open to all. This series, which runs through June 20, 2025, is being promoted by more than 50 public libraries in Massachusetts. 

Virtual – Historical Fiction Book Recs with Jane Healey

Virtual – Historical Fiction Book Recs with Bestselling Author, Jane Healey

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

6:30-7:00 PM via Zoom

Register Online!

Love Historical Fiction but not sure what to read next? Join bestselling author, Jane Healey, monthly for 30 minutes of pure book recommendations – the best of historical fiction out there! We’re sure you’ll find something to like from Jane’s many enthusiastic reviews.


Jane Healey is the author of The Beantown Girls, a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller, The Secret Stealers, which was an Amazon First Reads Editor’s Pick and a Historical Novel Society’s Editors’ Choice, and her debut, The Saturday Evening Girls Club. Goodnight from Paris is her newly released novel from Lake Union Publishing. Jane is also the host of Historical Happy Hour, a monthly webinar and podcast featuring interviews with premier historical fiction authors and their latest novels. She and her family lives outside Boston. We can’t wait to hear what Jane will be recommending – be ready for your TBR pile to fall over! 

A list of all recommendations will be shared for those who register. There will also be recordings of each meeting uploaded to the Ashland Public Library YouTube Channel.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and is in collaboration with a multitude of MA and NH libraries. 

Mass Center for the Book 2025 Reading Challenge

How it Works:

  1. Choose a book that fits the monthly challenge. If you are stuck, please ask a library staff member for some ideas!
  2. Each month, after you read, fill out a short form to tell us about the book.
  3. That’s it!
    • Mass Center for the Book will host a year-end party to celebrate participants committed to the challenge.
    • There will be monthly drawings for free books.
    • If you read a book in each of the 12 months, you will be entered in a drawing to win a tote filled with books and other bookish goodies.

January: A book published or about the year you were born


February: A book with the name of a city in the title

March: A book about someone with a marginalized identity

April: A book about books, bookstores, or libraries


May: A book with a first sentence of eight words or less


June: A book that spans multiple generations

July: A book you were drawn to by its cover


August: A book with a protagonist who is a teenager or senior citizen


September: A book told in non-chronological order


October: A book published by a Massachusetts press


November: A cookbook or book about food


December: Another book by an author you’ve already read   

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