Dayton Memorial Library

111 S. 3rd Street, Dayton

Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri., 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.;

Tues. & Thurs., 12-8 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Storytime: Wed., 10 a.m.

“Fabulously Fractured Fairytales,” by Jade Wolff (adult fiction) – Fairytales are meant to be fractured, or changed. Some fairytales are drastically diffrent than they were over a thousand years ago.Following this unique storytelling tradition “Fabulously Fractured Fairytales” gives you seven new spins on old favorites. And if you ever wondered about the origins of the tales, you’re in luck. Each story begins with an overview of the history and evolution on the tale. So get ready to learn, laugh and be totally taken by surprise! Cinderella has a secret, and it keeps her from living happily ever after. Snow White is Chinese and starts the trend of tiny feet. Rapunzel is a prisoner to a crazy woman that sells her hair for profit. Goldilocks ends up at the Bear’s by being in the witness protection program. Hansel and Gretel and reborn as Mexican children trying to make a better life for themselves by taking on the dangerous journey to America, alone. Rumplestilskin runs a sweatshop with the children he bargains for. And Red Riding Hood becomes mixed up with a wolf in sheep’s clothing when she tries to grow up too fast. Once upon a time fairytales were for all ages to enjoy, and now they are again!

“Mushrooming Without Fear,” by Alexander Schwab (nonfiction) – Novices eager to collect tasty wild mushrooms will find this unique guide invaluable. Unlike others, it focuses only on those types that are both safe to eat and delicious. Most important, it presents the eight rules of mushroom gathering in a straightforward fashion—including “Never, never take a mushroom with gills” and “If a mushroom smells rotten, it is rotten.” Among the many mushrooms covered are the cep; the red-cracked, larch, bay, and birch boletes; hen of the woods, chanterelle, trumpet chanterelle, hedgehog fungus, common puffball, horn of plenty, and cauliflower mushroom. Each is identified with several color photographs and identification checklist, and there’s also information on mushroom season, handling, storage, and cooking, complete with recipes.

“A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles (adult fiction) – From the New York Times bestselling author of “Rules of Civility” — a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel. In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

“The Inquisitor’s Tale,” by Adam Gidwitz (juvenile fiction) – On a dark night, travelers from across France cross paths at an inn and begin to tell stories of three children. Their adventures take them on a chase through France: they are taken captive by knights, sit alongside a king, and save the land from a farting dragon. On the run to escape prejudice and persecution and save precious and holy texts from being burned, their quest drives them forward to a final showdown at Mont Saint-Michel, where all will come to question if these children can perform the miracles of saints. Join William, an oblate on a mission from his monastery; Jacob, a Jewish boy who has fled his burning village; and Jeanne, a peasant girl who hides her prophetic visions. They are accompanied by Jeanne’s loyal greyhound, Gwenforte . . . recently brought back from the dead. Told in multiple voices, in a style reminiscent of “The Canterbury Tales,” our narrator collects their stories and the saga of these three unlikely allies begins to come together.