January 4, 2024

A Letter from Abraham

Library staff recently contributed a piece to LehighValleyNews where we recommended our favorite books we read this year. One of the top choices was Abraham Verghese’s Covenant of  Water, recommended by Michele. Through a friend of his who coincidentally lives in the Lehigh Valley, Mr. Verghese was able to read the piece which discussed how well […]

Book recommendations
May 31, 2023

Patron Picks: Nicole Gencarelli

Nicole Gencarelli is a frequent collaborator of ours through her work as Visual Arts Manager at the (second) coolest place in town: The Banana Factory. She’s also a regular site in our stacks and at our  book sales hunting for a new read. She’s always got at least one book going — usually more than […]

Book recommendations
February 23, 2022

From the desk of Lady Whistledown

Ah, the Bridgertons! The show that everyone’s grandmother and mother watch on Netflix. I mean, it’s got everything; romance, intrigue, and over-the-top drama! Who wouldn’t like it? It’s another version of Downton Abbey, really. Best of all: it’s based on Julia Quinn’s book series. If you want more you can read more instead of waiting […]

BAPL News, Book recommendations
December 20, 2021

BAPL’s Best Books of 2021

It probably comes as no surprise that we’re a bunch-loving bunch here at BAPL; the only thing we love more than reading books is recommending them to others. So we asked library staff what was the best book they read this year. It can be a new best-seller, an old classic, or something in between. […]

Book recommendations
July 23, 2021

Summer Reading – A Place for You!

Entries in the Book Review Raffle cover a wide range of books – what a great way to find something new to read! Lauren B. tells us about Fatima Farheen Mirza’s first novel, A Place for Us: A Place for Us is the debut novel of a young author and what a debut it was! […]

Book recommendations, Summer Reading
April 5, 2021

Try something New in 2021 with the Toni Morrison Book Club!

Join the conversation about one of America’s most important novelists. The series is a collaboration between BAPL and Lehigh University. Moderators are Stephanie Powell Watts, Jasmine Woodson, Stacie Brennan, and Rayah Levy, Head of Adult Services at BAPL. Levy notes that despite being works of fiction, Morrison’s works powerfully represent the voices of the voiceless. […]

Book recommendations, Community, Programs at BAPL
January 8, 2021

The Best Books We Read in 2020

We asked BAPL staff members the question: “What was the best book you read this year?” and are happy to share the answers here. Maybe you’ll find your next great read! Here’s to a healthy and happy 2021. Ellie and Dawn both chose Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. It is full of drama, humor, surprises […]

Book recommendations
June 30, 2020

No Waitlist or Holds on Important Anti-racist Books

You may have seen the new stories on how the demand for antiracist literature has been skyrocketing at libraries, ours included. It’s a good problem to have! But it’s also kind of annoying when there is a long wait time for the book you are interested in. Well, good news! Overdrive has donated unlimited copies of […]

Book recommendations
June 29, 2020

Antiracist Resources

The Bethlehem Area Public Library is committed to actively supporting essential conversations and actions to confront racism in America. This page will feature antiracist resources available in our collections, links to external resources, and information about library programs that promote antiracist conversation within our community and with our patrons. In our collections Antiracist reading Stamped […]

BAPL News, Book recommendations, Programs at BAPL, Reference
March 18, 2020

Staff Picks: Comfort Reads

When Mr. Berk talked to Lehigh Valley With Love yesterday, Tyler mentioned that he was not exactly enjoying the kind of heart-pounding books he’d normally read these days. He was in the mood for something a little more… gentle. And who can blame him? So we thought we’d poll BAPL staff for their favorite comfort […]

Book recommendations
March 10, 2020

BAPL Librarians Read Mean Book Reviews: Catcher in The Rye

In this episode of BAPL’s “Librarians Read Mean Book Reviews” we have Valerie and Clare sharing some one-star reviews of J. D. Salinger’s 1951 classic The Catcher in the Rye. Valerie and Clare are not having your mean reviews about their favorite book. Not having it at all! Original video idea by Clearwater Public Library […]

Book recommendations
March 3, 2020

Librarians Read Mean Book Reviews, Episode 1 (BAPL)

Clearwater Public Library had this great idea to have library staff read one-star reviews of their favorite books. It was such a good idea (and we are a library after all) so we borrowed it! For this first BAPL episode, the readers are: Matt W, Brenda, and Janine of BAPL. We asked them each to […]

Book recommendations
December 27, 2019

End-of-year Recommendations 2019

We asked BAPL staff members the question: “What was the best book you read this year?” and got a wonderful range of answers. See their responses below and maybe you’ll find your next great read! David recommends: IF CATS DISAPPEARED FROM THE WORLD by Genki Kawamura, trans. by Eric Selland. When a young postman is […]

Book recommendations
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