Marvelous Books, Music & Movies to Explore for Goat Yoga, Trivia & Tea Blending

Posted on March 2, 2022 at 6:00 am

By Sheri Boggs

Did you know that for every library program we offer there are often dozens, sometimes hundreds, of related books, CDs, DVDs, and digital resources available from the library?

Here are just some of the materials you can check out to get ready for upcoming programs, explore after attending, or dive into when you can’t make it to a program.

Tea Blending & Cozy Reads

The Tea Blending class offered by Spokane’s own Brambleberry Cottage & Tea Shoppe is back by popular demand on March 15 29 (rescheduled). In addition to receiving your own hand-mixed tea blend, you’ll also get some great book recommendations during the program. But you don’t have to wait! Here are a few cozy mystery series that are set in teahouses.

The Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery series by Kate Kingsbury launched in 2021 with In Hot Water, and a second book is due out later this year.

Vicki Delaney’s Tea by the Sea Mysteries series is another great choice for a cozy mystery.

And Jennifer Hawkins’ Murder Always Barks Twice might be the cozy mystery of my dreams. It takes place in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, and features a Corgi named Oliver. The main character Emma is asked to cater the local Daphne DuMaurier Literary Festival and ends up plunged into a murder mystery.

If teatime without the mystery is what you’re looking for, you can borrow Afternoon Tea at Home: Deliciously Indulgent Recipes for Sandwiches, Savories, Scones, Cakes, and Other Fancies, by Will Torrent.

With hoopla, found in our Digital Library, you can browse eBooks, streaming music, audiobooks, television series, and more. Here are some tea-inspired things to check out.

Tea Cocktails, by Abigail R. Gehring, is exactly what it sounds like: a mixology book that incorporates the many flavors and colors of tea.

Modern Tea, by Lisa Boalt Richardson, and Tea: A User’s Guide, by Tony Gebely, are comprehensive books of tea history, culture, preparation, and presentation.

For kids, look no further than American Girl Tea Parties, by Weldon Owen—full of delightful full-color photographs of American Girl dolls and their humans enjoying a variety of teas and treats.

Also found in our Digital Library, you can try an interesting craft (out of hundreds) found in our Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center. Once you’ve accessed the Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center with your SCLD library card login, search using the keyword “tea” and select “Projects” in the Source Types menu on the left of your results. There you’ll find 920 tea-related activities, including Tea Bag Ladies, which uses dried, used teabags as miniature canvases for portraits, featured in the March 2017 issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine.

Trivia & Downton Abbey

Spring brings you three different trivia events. The first is:

Trivia: Downton Abbey
For adults
ONLINE
Thursday, Mar 24, 6:30–7:30pm | REGISTER

While the release date of the second Downton Abbey film, Downton Abbey: A New Era, has been pushed back to May, you can still catch up on all things related to the Crawley family and everyone in their household by checking out the DVDs of the television series and first Downton Abbey film.

You might also want to take a look at Nancy West’s Masterpiece: America’s 50-Year-Old Love Affair with British Drama, a gorgeous book that explores the significance of PBS’s long-running Masterpiece series and how it paved the way for Downton Abbey with such offerings as The Forsyte Saga and Upstairs, Downstairs.

Whip up a delicious Dundee Cake, Filets Mignon Lili, or even some Toad-in-the-Hole (if it’s been an overworked butler kind of day) with the Official Downton Abbey Cookbook, by Annie Gray.

Over on hoopla, be sure to check out The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Book and The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book for various liquid refreshments.

And while you’re mixing up a beautifully chilled Old Pal (whisky, vermouth, and Campari), why not listen to The Downton Abbey Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Downton Abbey: Original Music from the Television Series, or Downton Abbey: The Essential Collection?

Trivia & Fantastic Beasts

April’s trivia is an all-ages event everyone can get excited about:

Trivia: Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
For all ages
ONLINE
Friday, Apr 29, 7–8 pm | REGISTER

With Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore coming out on April 15, you may want to spend some time with the books and DVDs of the Fantastic Beasts universe.

Kids curious about the gorgeous fashions and sleek hairstyles of the Roaring Twenties will love the book What Were the Roaring Twenties? by Michele Mortlock, which is part of the wildly popular What Was/Who Is series.

If beautiful illustrations and mythological creatures are what you’re after, look no further than Stephen Krensky’s The Book of Mythical Beasts & Magical Creatures. On hoopla and OverDrive, you can listen to star Eddie Redmayne narrating the audiobook version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And hoopla offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes audio documentary of the making of the second film: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Makers, Mysteries and Magic.

Trivia & Hamilton

Trivia night in May is devoted to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical and the founding father who inspired it, Alexander Hamilton.

Trivia: Hamilton
For all ages
ONLINE
Wednesday, May 25, 6:30 – 7:30pm | REGISTER

With Hamilton coming to Spokane in May, you may want to revisit the Hamilton soundtrack to relearn the lyrics to “The Room Where It Happens,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” and “Who Lives, Who Dies, and Who Tells Your Story,” also available on hoopla.

Martha Brockenbrough’s YA biography Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary, on OverDrive, is a great resource for learning more about the man whose face adorns our 10-dollar bills.

For adults, be sure to check out the book that inspired it all—Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow.

If you’re curious about whether or not your ancestors were part of the founding of the United States, you can start exploring your genealogy with HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition.

You can even try your own trivia night at home with trivia books on various topics available on hoopla, including Washington Trivia, Incredible History Trivia, or The Narnia Trivia Book.

Yoga & Goats

The return of the wildly popular Outdoor Goat Yoga happens in May and offers the opportunity to stretch, relax, and tune in to your body while supporting Higher Ground Animal Sanctuary.

Outdoor Goat Yoga
For all ages
HIGHER GROUND ANIMAL SANCTUARY
16602 N Day Mt Spokane Rd (Mead)
Saturday, May 21, 9–10am | REGISTER

Keep your yoga practice going with some of the great yoga videos on hoopla!

• For beginners or those returning to yoga after a long break: Gaiam: QuickStart Yoga – Season 1
• Various options in the My Yoga Series: Vinyasa Yoga, Yoga in Bali, Hatha Yoga, and even yoga to help you kick your coffee habit
• For athletes and those looking for sports yoga challenges: Yoga for Runners, Yoga for Strength, Yoga for Flexibility, Yoga for Power, and Yoga for Conditioning
• Additional yoga choices: Hot Yoga, Yoga for Busy Moms, and Storyland Yoga for kids

For a look at the spiritual roots of yoga and its envisioned path where social justice and equity take their place in this enduring practice, check out the nonfiction book Yoga Revolution, by Jivana Heyman.

And don’t forget we have the magazine Yoga Journal, available in print and in the digital version from Flipster.

If your family is more interested in the goat part of Goat Yoga, see if the backyard goat life might be right for you with City Goats, by Jennie Grant.

There are many kids’ books about goats available through hoopla, including:

• Baby Goats, by Spencer Brinker
• Go Goats, by Kama Einhorn
• The Goats of Anarchy series, which are adorably illustrated tales of real goat rescues, by Leanne Lauricella

Finally, I can’t say enough how much I love the Sweet Pea & Friends picture books, by John and Jennifer Churchman. These books are wonderful—a combination of photography and digital collage that showcases the adventures of Sweet Pea the sheep and her animal friends at the Churchman’s picturesque Vermont farm.

Tags: adults, all ages, books, CDs, Downton Abbey, DVDs, Fantastic Beasts, goats, Hamilton, hoopla, kids, Libby app, movies, music, mysteries, overdrive, reading, tea, tea blending, teens, trivia, yoga