Barbara Rinella, a former teacher, defines herself as an “academic entertainer.” For many years she has been celebrating literature and learning through her delightful programs on current books. New program for Spring 2020 is a dramatization of The Queen's Fortune by Allison Pataki, an amazing historical fiction novel of the life of Desiree Clary! Current programs  include  "A Tribute to Barbara & George H. W. Bush" based on two wonderful books by their granddaughters: George and Barbara Bush, A Great American Love Story by Ellie LeBlond Sosa and Kelly Anne Chase, and Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, plus  a dramatization of Fly Girls, How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds And Made Aviation History by Keith O'Brien. Come meet Barbara  and George Bush or Amelia Earhart, and her four terrific, brave lady friends: Ruth Elder, "the Bravest of the Fair and the Fairest of the Brave," Ruth Nichols, "the Flying Debutante," Louise Thaden, the "small town dreamer," and Florence Klingensmith, the "Darling of the Northern Plains."  For 2020, Cleopatra is returning, as many groups have requested that Barbara again bring to life Stacy Schiff's wonderful biography,  Cleopatra: A Life! New in 2020, will be a program on The Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin! Barbara is also still presenting her timely program on "A Visit with the Royal Ladies."  Princess Diana, Camilla, Princess Kate, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex will all appear to celebrate Prince Charles:The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life by Sally Bedell Smith and, of course, Meghan's new baby!!  Other wonderful characters that still come to life are Julia Dent Grant from Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini , Sophie de Vincennes from Where the Light Falls, A Novel of the French Revolution by Allison Pataki and Owen Pataki, and Eliza and Alexander Hamilton from The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs.

Non Fiction:

1. Fly Girls, Keith O'Brien 
2. George and Barbara Bush, A Great American Love Story, Ellie LeBlond Sosa & Kelly Anne Chase
3. Sisters First, Jenna Bush Hager & Barbara Pierce Bush
4. Educated, A Memoir, Tara Westover
5. Speak, Love Your Story. Your Audience is Waiting. Sally Lou Oaks Loveman
6. Grant & Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow
7. Prince Charles:The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Sally Bedell Smith
8. Megan, A Hollywood Princess, Andrew Morton
9. Me, Elton John
10. Becoming, Michelle Obama
11. The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates
12. Wright Brothers, Wrong Story, William Hazelgrove
13. The Wright Brothers , The Pioneers, The Path Between the Seas and The American Spirit, David McCullough
14. In the Eye of the Hurricane, Nathaniel Philbrick
15. Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8, Robert Kurson
16. Beauty in the Broken Places, a memoir by Allison Patak
17. From the Periphery, Real -life Stories of Disability, Pia Justesen 
18. First Women,The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies and The Residence, Inside the Private World of the White House, Kate Andersen Brower
19. Elizabeth the Queen,The Life of a Modern Monarch,  Sally Bedell Smit
20. Churchill, Walking with Destiny, Andrew Roberts
21. Catherine, the Great: Portrait of a Woman,  Robert K. Massie
22. Let’s Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage, Lisa Beamer
23. The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved, Christopher Andersen
24. Not in Front of the Corgis, Secrets of Life Behind the Royal Curtains, Brian Hoey
25. What Your Dog’s Breed Says About You, Jo Hoare
26. Coco Chanel,An Intimate Life, Lisa Chaney
27. The Chicago Picasso, Patricia Balton Stratton
28. Save Me the Plums, My Gourmet Memoir, Ruth Reichl
29. Sisters & Champions, The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams, Howard Bryant (young readers)
30. Alexander Hamilton, The Outsider, Jean Fritz (middle school)
31. Aaron and Alexander, The Most Famous Duel in American History, Don Brown (Young Readers)
32. Harmony, A Vision for Our Future, The Prince of Wales(Young Readers)
33. The Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever,  Larry Kay & Chris Perondi

 Fiction: 

1. The Queen's Fortune, Allison Pataki 
2. The Mistress of the Ritz, Melanie Benjamin
3. The Guardians, John Grisham
4. The Summer of '69, Elin Hilderbrand
5.  Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule,  Jennifer Chiaverini
6. Where the Light Falls, A Novel of the French Revolution, Allison Pataki &Owen Pataki
7. The Traitor’s Wife, The Accidental Empress & Sisi, The Empress on Her Own, Allison Pataki
8. The Hamilton Affair, Elizabeth Cobbs 
9. Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule, Jennifer Chiaverin
10. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
11. Lost Roses  & Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly
12. The Nickel Boys,  Colson Whitehead
13. The Lost Girls of Paris, Pam Jenoff
14. Meet Me in Monaco, Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb
15.  Karolina’s Twins, Saving Sophie, Once We Were Brothers, Ronald H. Balson
16. When Life Gives You Lululemons, Laura Weisberger
17. The Island of Sea Women, Lisa See
18. Manhattan Beach, Jennifer Egan
19. The Dutch House, Ann Patchett
20. The Last Romantics, Tara Conklin
21. The Secrets We Kept, Lara Prescott
22. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
23. A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility, Amor Towles
24. All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr ( Pulitzer Prize 2015)
25. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
26. Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
27. Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel, C. W. Gortner
28. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy
29. Wonder, R.J. Palacio (young readers or adults)
30. The Story Orchestra, The Nutcracker, Illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle (music)
31. Nelly Takes New York, Nelly Takes Paris, Allison Pataki (young readers)
32. Atrocious Poems A to Z, Thomas L.Vaultonburg and Jenny Mathews (young readers)
33. NoisyPets Peekaboo book, toddlers 
34. Our Great Big Backyard, Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager (young readers)
35. Poems to Learn by Heart and A Family of Poems, Caroline Kennedy