Friends of the Montecito Library

09/30/2026

For October, we will be reading The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. We will meet Tuesday, October 26th at 2 PM.

The novel alternates between the stories of a group of friends—most of them gay men diagnosed with AIDS—in Chicago during the mid-’80s to the early ’90s—and the story of a woman searching for her estranged daughter in Paris, 30 years later.

Copies are available for check out at our branches, along with digital editions on Palace Project and Libby. If you finish your copy quickly, please return it to me so someone else might get the chance to read.

Hope to see you soon!

Happy Reading,
Cindie

08/31/2026

Montecito Library Book Club 📚

For September, we will be reading What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. We will meet Tuesday, September 22nd at 2 PM.

What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. She is no ordinary librarian. Naturally, she has read every book on her shelf, but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of anyone who walks through her door. Sensing exactly what they’re looking for in life, she provides just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it.

Every borrower in her library is at a different crossroads, from the restless retail assistant – can she ever get out of a dead-end job? – to the juggling new mother who dreams of becoming a magazine editor, and the meticulous accountant who yearns to own an antique store. The surprise book Komachi lends to each will change their lives forever.

08/24/2026

📚 Back to school, back to books! ✏️

As backpacks get packed and lunches get made, don’t forget one of the best tools for a successful school year: your library card! Reading just 20 minutes a day builds vocabulary, sharpens focus, and fuels imagination — skills that carry into every subject.

Stop by Montecito Library this week to stock up on chapter books, graphic novels, and homework helpers for every grade. Our librarians are ready with recommendations! 🎒

08/09/2026

Happy National Book Lovers Day! 📚 There’s something quietly powerful about a good book. It can transport you somewhere new, introduce you to a character who feels like an old friend, or hand you the exact words you didn’t know you needed. Reading slows us down in the best way. It builds empathy, sparks imagination, and keeps our minds sharp, curious, and endlessly growing. Today, we’re celebrating every page-turner, every well-loved paperback, and every reader who knows that a great story is its own kind of magic. 💛

07/30/2026

For August, we will be reading The Thing With Feathers by Noah Strycker. We will meet Tuesday, August 25th at 2 PM.

The Thing With Feathers explores the astonishing homing abilities of pigeons, good deeds of fairy-wrens, influential flocking abilities of starlings, deft artistry of bowerbirds, extraordinary memories of nutcrackers, lifelong loves of albatross, and other mysteries—revealing why birds do what they do, and offering a glimpse into our own nature.

Copies are available for check out at our branches, along with digital editions on Hoopla and Libby. If you finish your copy quickly, please return it to me so someone else might get the chance to read.

Hope to see you soon!

Happy Reading,
Cindie

07/24/2026

🎉 End-of-Summer Celebration at Montecito Library! 🎉

Summer reading may be winding down, but we’re going out with a bang! Join us for a magical afternoon celebrating everything you’ve accomplished this summer.

✨ Live Magic Show featuring magician Mark Collier — get ready to be amazed!

🍦 Free Treats for Readers! Kids who bring in their completed Reading Adventure Logs get a free popsicle or ice cream cone (while supplies last), so don’t forget to bring yours!

📅 Saturday, July 25th
🕚 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Montecito Library

Bring the whole family for an afternoon of wonder, sweet treats, and one last celebration of summer reading. We can’t wait to see you there! 🌞📚

07/16/2026

🎨 Hot Off the Press: Watercolor Workshop
📅 Thursday, July 23 | 10:00am–12:00pm
📍 Montecito Library

Grab your brushes! Join us for a special summer watercolor workshop — learn the basics of watercolor painting, then head outside to paint a scene from nature. Every registrant who attends gets a FREE mini watercolor kit, generously provided by the Friends of the Montecito Library. 💙

⚠️ This event is currently at capacity — but you can still register to join the waitlist! Spots may open up as the date approaches.

Join the waitlist 🖌️✨https://calendar.library.santabarbaraca.gov/event/hot-press-watercolor-workshop-28936?source=ev

Learn more about upcoming events at the Montecito Library: https://calendar.library.santabarbaraca.gov/events/upcoming

07/10/2026

07/07/2026

🌱 Join UC Master Gardeners at Montecito Library on Friday, July 17 (10:00–11:30am) for a free talk on Container Gardening.

Whether you’re working with a small patio or just want to try something new, you’ll learn:
🪴 Why container gardening works even when you have ground space
🪴 Choosing the right potting mix & fertilizer
🪴 Right plant, right place
🪴 Drainage do’s and don’ts
🪴 Which edible plants thrive in pots

Bring your questions — Master Gardeners will be on hand after the presentation. See you there! 🌿
📍 Montecito Library, 1469 East Valley Road
🕥 Friday, July 17 | 10–11:30am
Free & open to all adults

06/26/2026

For July, we will be reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

Project Hail Mary is a science fiction story about Ryland Grace, a middle-school science teacher who wakes up aboard a spaceship with amnesia. As he slowly regains his memory, he realizes he is Earth’s only hope, tasked with a desperate, one-way mission to stop a microscopic alien organism from consuming the Sun.

Copies are available for check out at our branches, along with digital editions on Palace Project and Libby. If you finish your copy quickly, please return it to me so someone else might get the chance to read.

Hope to see you soon!

Happy Reading,
Cindie