Blackwell Public Library

08/31/2026

08/27/2026

NEW RELEASE: Everything is Poison by Joy McCullough

Early seventeenth-century Rome . . .

For as long as she can remember, Carmela Tofana has desperately wanted one thing: to be a part of La Tofana’s, her mother’s apothecary in Campo Marzio, Rome. When she finally turns sixteen, she’s allowed into the inner sanctum: the workroom where her mother and two assistants craft renowned remedies for their customers. But for every sweet-smelling flower extract in the work-room, there’s another potion requiring darker ingredients. And then there’s Aqua Tofana, the apothecary’s remedy of last resort. In all Carmela’s years of wishing to follow in her mother’s footsteps, she never realized one tiny vial could be the death of them all.

08/27/2026

🍂📚 NEW SEASON. NEW BOOKMARKS. NEW REASONS TO READ. 📚🍂

Fall is creeping into the Blackwell Public Library, and that means NEW Blackwell Public Library bookmarks!

Whether your ideal autumn read involves swoons, screams, witches, vampires, pumpkin spice or unspeakable horrors lurking beneath a New England fishing village, we've got a bookmark — and a book — for you.

We've paired some of our newest fall bookmarks with books that perfectly match their vibe:

👻 FOR THE SPOOKY GIRLIES
📖 Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper
🔖 Paired with: "Hey Boo"

Witches, romance, revenge and a magical tournament. Emmy Harlow returns to the enchanted town of Thistle Grove and gets pulled into a plot to take down the local heartbreaker — only to find herself increasingly distracted by the devastatingly charming witch helping plan his downfall.

Basically: come for the witchy vengeance, stay for the sapphic yearning. 💅🔮

🧙 FOR THE WITCHY GIRLIES (AND WIZARDS, TOO)
📖 Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
🔖 Paired with: "Witch Aesthetic"

It's 1970, and a group of pregnant teenage girls have been sent away to the Wellwood House, where they're expected to surrender their babies and forget any of it ever happened.

Then a librarian gives one of them a book about witchcraft.

Suddenly, the girls have power of their own — but power always comes with a price. From the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group comes a dark tale of witchcraft, friendship and girls fighting back.

🏰 FOR THE GOTHIC YEARNERS
📖 Dracula by Bram Stoker
🔖 Paired with: "Gothic Castle"

A crumbling Transylvanian castle. A mysterious count. Letters and journals filled with mounting dread. Foggy English nights. Blood. Repressed Victorian desire.

Do we really need to sell you on this one?

It's Dracula. 🧛

☕ FOR THE FALL LOVERS
📖 The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
🔖 Paired with: "In My Fall Reading Era"

Jeanie inherits a cozy café in the small town of Dream Harbor and sees the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. Logan is the grumpy local farmer who wants absolutely nothing to do with the relentlessly cheerful newcomer.

Naturally, you can probably guess what happens next.

Small town. Grumpy x sunshine. Cozy romance. Pumpkin spice lattes.

This book basically IS fall. 🍁

🐙 FOR THE HORROR HOUNDS
📖 Shadows Over Innsmouth edited by Stephen Jones
🔖 Paired with: "Trick R Treat"

Ready for something a little darker?

Inspired by the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft, Shadows Over Innsmouth gathers terrifying tales from some of horror's biggest names — including Ramsey Campbell, Kim Newman, Brian Lumley and Neil Gaiman.

Expect eldritch creatures, forbidden rituals, monstrous secrets and things from the depths that mankind was probably better off never discovering.

🎃 FOR THE COTTAGECORE GIRLIES
📖 The Fare Witch of Foxe Holler by Ellen Pauley Goff
🔖 Paired with: "Pumpkins"

Steel Magnolias meets Practical Magic in this cozy contemporary fantasy about Honey Frost, a kitchen witch who can heal ailments with the right recipe.

When she's summoned to cure a mysterious reclusive warlock, Honey finds herself with access to his incredible library of spellbooks, a gorgeous kitchen and the troubling realization that the warlock himself might be...kind of handsome?

Unfortunately, there's also a soul-stealing Widow Witch on the way.

You can't have everything. 🎃✨

📚 Find your fall reading personality, grab a book and pick up one of our new bookmarks during your next visit to the Blackwell Public Library!

Which one are you?

👻 Spooky Girlie
🧙 Witchy Girlie
🏰 Gothic Yearner
☕ Fall Lover
🐙 Horror Hound
🎃 Cottagecore Girlie

We're not judging if the answer is all of the above. 🍂📖

08/27/2026

In Memory of Dolly Parton
While the world mourns the loss of a music icon, Dolly Parton's passing holds a particularly special sadness for libraries and readers around the world.

Dolly was far more than a country music legend. She was a songwriter, actress, author, philanthropist, ally, champion of literacy and, perhaps most importantly, someone who believed deeply in the power of putting a book into the hands of a child.

Through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, hundreds of millions of books have been gifted to children around the world. It is a legacy that will continue introducing new generations to the joy of reading for years to come.

That legacy is especially meaningful here at home. Blackwell Public Library is proud to partner with the Blackwell United Outreach Foundation to bring Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to children in our community.

In honor of Dolly's extraordinary life and the countless lives she touched, we've created a special memorial display featuring books celebrating her life, music and unmistakable style, along with some of her most beloved films.

📚 Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics

In her own words, Dolly takes readers behind 175 songs spanning more than six decades, sharing the stories and memories behind classics including "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You." Filled with photographs and memorabilia from her archives, Songteller offers an intimate look at the songwriter behind the superstar.

✨ Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones

The hair. The heels. The makeup. And, naturally, the rhinestones. Dolly shares the stories behind the unforgettable looks that helped make her an American icon, accompanied by hundreds of photographs from her private costume archive.

📖 Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business

Dolly tells her own story, from leaving home at 18 with dreams of becoming a singer to building one of the most remarkable careers in entertainment history, while reflecting on her marriage, friendships, beliefs and the experiences that shaped her.

🌹 Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton

A young singer arrives in Nashville with talent, ambition and a dangerous past she desperately wants to leave behind. Dolly joined bestselling author James Patterson for this suspenseful novel set in the world she knew better than almost anyone: country music.

🎶 She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh

Author Sarah Smarsh explores Dolly's connection to working-class women and the ways her songs gave a voice to people whose struggles were often overlooked, examining the intersections of gender, class, culture and country music.

🎬 9 to 5

Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin take on an egotistical, sexist boss in the hilarious 1980 workplace comedy that became a cultural touchstone — and gave us one of Dolly's most unforgettable songs.

🌸 Steel Magnolias

Dolly joins Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts in the beloved story of friendship, family, laughter, love and loss in a small Louisiana community.

Dolly Parton leaves behind an extraordinary catalog of music, movies and stories. But here at the library, we'll also remember a woman who understood something fundamental:

A book can change a child's life.

Millions of children opened their mailboxes to discover a book because Dolly Parton believed they deserved one.

Some of those children live right here in Blackwell.

That's a legacy worth remembering.

Please stop by the Blackwell Public Library to visit our memorial display, check out one of these titles and help us celebrate a life that gave the world an immeasurable amount of music, laughter, kindness, and books.

1946–2026

08/27/2026

NEW RELEASE: For the first time ever at the Blackwell Public Library!

The Old Farmer’s Almanac makes every day “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor” as it has since 1792, and, with the 2027 edition, it continues this tradition. Trusted by generations from all walks of life for its accuracy and honesty, the Almanac delivers fun facts, predictions, illustrated articles, and advice across many interest areas to readers who live—and aspire to live—close to the earth, with the intent of helping them to make informed decisions based on time-honored wisdom.

As a calendar of the heavens, it provides detailed daily astronomical data (Sun/Moon rise/set times, length of day), tide times, and planet/star sightings for every sky watcher across North America, from novice to expert. As a calendar of the year, it presents annual and seasonal events, holidays, anniversaries, and timely trivia, as well as astrological Best Days and cycles. As a time capsule of the year, it contains cultural trends; weather forecasts and seasonal trends; useful articles on topics such as gardening, home arts and remedies, amusements and contests, history, husbandry, nature, cooking and recipes, folklore, pets, and sports; and much more for the curious and the clever.

Long recognized as North America’s most beloved and best-selling annual, this versatile little yellow book is often imitated yet never equaled. It’s an icon that instills in readers a feeling of connection to the history and landscape of North America and its people.

08/27/2026

Just in time for September (and not a moment too soon) the Blackwell Public Library is READY for all your cozy fall vibes with new displays, decor, and BOOKMARKS.

NEW DISPLAYS:

🔴 Fall is for New Beginnings
Fall is a time of change, and with these reads you can fall in love with new chances at life and happiness sometimes found in the most unexpected places.

🔴Cozy Reads
These comfy books are the perfect companion under a blanket when the leaves start to change.

🔴It's Never Too Early For a Good SCARE
Halloween is just around the corner, and we've picked some of our most hair-raising books to get you in the mood for candy, horror movies, and costumes. If it gets too real, you can always turn it off.

🔴Hispanic Heritage Month (Adult & YA)
September is Hispanic Heritage Month, and we have curated a selection of fiction and nonfiction titles across our adult and YA - Middle Grade catalogues featuring Latino voices, culture, and stories.

🔴Let's Go To The Fair (YA)
It's almost fair time, and we have some titles here that are perfect to read between funnel cakes and rides.

08/27/2026

Did you know? The Blackwell Public Library has a book club that meets every month!
For September, our book will be Colleen Hoover's "Verity" which is set to be adapted into a major motion picture releasing in October!
Let us know if you plan to join.

08/26/2026

This majestic yet simple picture book follows a crow’s flight from dawn to dusk, inspiring readers to observe and experience the world from a bird’s-eye view.

Perched in a tree, a crow waits in anticipation, eyes alert and ready. As dawn breaks, the crow sets off! But where is she headed?

Strong winds blow, but the crow flows with ease. She glides and swoops low, until she comes to a field where food grows. But instead of kindness, she finds anger and a harsh NO! However, in a beautiful display of resilience, she flies back to her nest in an ending that can only be described as tender and breathtaking.

Through sparse text limited to one word per spread, and luminous illustrations, author-illustrator Tjitske Kamphuis invites readers to journey through a day in the life of a crow, leading up to a surprise reveal, in this gorgeous read-aloud.

08/26/2026

The world feels a little less bright today.

The Blackwell Public Library joins millions around the world in mourning the loss of Dolly Parton—a remarkable artist, humanitarian and lifelong champion of children’s literacy.

While Dolly’s music brought joy to generations, one of her most enduring legacies will be Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Founded in 1995, the program mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age 5, regardless of their family’s income.

The Blackwell Public Library is incredibly proud to be an Imagination Library partner. Through Dolly’s vision and generosity, children in our community have been able to experience the excitement of receiving books of their own, helping families build home libraries and encouraging a love of reading from the earliest years.

Dolly understood that placing a book in a child’s hands could open the door to a lifetime of imagination, learning and possibility. Her kindness will continue to live within every page opened, every bedtime story shared and every young reader who learns to dream a little bigger.

At the family’s request, those wishing to honor Dolly may make a donation to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at www.imaginationlibrary.com.

Thank you, Dolly, for the music, the laughter, the stories and the millions of books. Your light will continue to shine through generations of readers. 💗📚

Read the Parton family’s memorial announcement

08/26/2026

NEW RELEASE @ BLACKWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY

They Say A Girl Died Here by Sarah Pinborough

IN THIS TOWN, EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYONE. BUT SOMEBODY KNOWS MORE THAN THEY THINK...

Anna Maybourne dropped out of university to move to the farming town of Harper's Creek with her mother, sister and grandmother. They don't talk about why.

They hoped being back home might help Grandma's dementia. But it only descends deeper - while Anna becomes obsessed with the murder of two local girls, exactly three years apart. The case was closed, but as the next three-year anniversary looms, the town prays, worries, and waits.

But Anna believes that the killer is watching - and that Grandma somehow knows more than she should. They say both are, in their own ways, mad. Because when Grandma speaks, only Anna understands that instead of being over, the mystery seems like it's starting again...

A murder mystery unlike any other: full of secrets, suspense, and a shocking twist that could only come from the mind of Sarah Pinborough...