Summer Reading Program 2025:
Level Up At Your Library – Adults
July 7th – August 15th, 2025
This summer, we are all about conservation! Join Rogers Free Library’s Summer Reading Program: Read, Renew, Repeat. We’ll focus on protecting species and the environment, how to improve our habits, and reading books to help us learn and grow!
Beginning July 7th, log your reading, participate in library programs, and win fantastic prizes!
How it Works
Step 1: Pick up a SRP goody bag including a bingo card and reading log from Main Circ.
Step 2: Fill out one raffle ticket for every book you read, library program you attend, or bingo you complete.
Step 3: Deposit your tickets in the raffle jar on the main floor.
Weekly Drawings and Grand Prize*
There will be weekly prize drawings every Friday, and a Grand Prize drawing at the Summer Reading Banquet.
Weekly prizes = small games-related household items accompanied by books
Grand Prize = 2 large gift cards, and a surprise gift.
*You must have a Rhode Island library card to participate.
Click each heading below to see the programs happening in each category
SRP Kickoff Party
Saturday, July 12, 12:00pm – 2:00 pm, at Linden Place
Come celebrate the start of the 2024 Summer Reading Program with us! This program is designed for all ages.
Music
Free Del’s Lemonade (while supplies last)
Crafts
Free Books
& more…!
Bridge in the Afternoon
Monday, July 14, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, on the Main Floor
Bridge is back at RFL!
In bridge, the only thing more complex than the bidding system is the secret language of the players, where a simple nod can mean “I have a great hand” or “I’m just bluffing!”
Come alone or bring a partner. We hope to make this a regular event.
Film Night: Game Night
Tuesday, July 15, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
In line with our summer reading game theme, we’re showing Game Night starring Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler and Jonathan Goldstein.
Max and Annie’s weekly game night gets kicked up a notch when Max’s brother Brooks arranges a murder mystery party — complete with fake thugs and federal agents. So when Brooks gets kidnapped, it’s all supposed to be part of the game. As the competitors set out to solve the case, they start to learn that neither the game nor Brooks are what they seem to be. The friends soon find themselves in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn over the course of one chaotic night.
Directed by John Francis Daley
Rated R | Runtime 1 hr 40 min
Please register for this fun movie on the library’s website.
The August Film Night will be “The Biggest Little Farm”. However it will not be listed here as it occurs on August 19, after the Summer Reading Program ends.
Video Games for Adults: Minecraft 101
Thursday, July 17, 6:00 – 7:00 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
If you haven’t played a video game since Pong – or if you’ve never picked up a controller! – this talk is for you. Expert Minecrafters Jordan, Miles, and Dylan will answer questions like:
- What do my kids and grandkids see in this game?
- How can Minecraft be used as a teaching tool?
- Can video games really be peaceful?
Join us as we discuss the bestselling video game of all time – what you learn might surprise you! No gaming experience required.
Lawn Game Night
Thursday, July 24, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, in the Courtyard Garden
What could be more fun that a game of Cornhole, Chess or Connect 4 on a lovely summer evening? Come alone or bring a friend.
No experience necessary
Please register on the library’s website
After-Hours Murder Mystery
Friday, July 25, 5:00 – 7:30 pm,
in the Upstairs Conference Room
This is an interactive program where every character matters! Please do not sign up unless you plan on attending and participating.
Registration will close on 7/22 to allow us time to assign and send out characters.
Join us after closing for a thrilling murder mystery! Take on the role of one of 12 characters attending a gala at the crumbling and possibly haunted Devonshire Manor, then after the night takes a turn for the deadly, collect clues and work together to find the killer, who could be anyone–even you!
Costumes are highly encouraged! Light refreshments will be served.
For ages 14 and up.
July Craft: Make Your Own Mini-Puzzle
Monday, July 28, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
Bring your creative spark! We’ll have blank puzzles for you to paint, draw on and make sparkle.
Ages 8+
All materials will be supplied.
Please register on the library’s website.
The August Craft Night will be Woven Friendship Bracelets. However it will not be listed here as it occurs on August 25, after the Summer Reading Program ends.
Dungeon Master Academy
Wednesday, August 6, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
Calling all fantasy adventurers and aspiring storytellers! Join professional Dungeon Master Brandon Morgan for this crash course in the subtle magic of running a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Learn to run published adventures, and how to write your own!
All ages are welcome.
Brandon Morgan is a professional Dungeon Master and creator of all original program content. Midsummer Games has been providing Youth RPG Programs since 2019, serving the state of Rhode Island and beyond. attending via a computer or laptop with access to a microphone and speakers, and preferably, video.
3rd Annual Rogers Free Library Chess Tournament
Saturday, August 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
Welcome, once again, to the 3rd Annual RFL Chess Championship!
32 players will compete for the title and a grand prize!
All participants MUST register. Teens and adults welcome.
Bring your best game and good luck!!
End of Summer Reading Banquet
Thursday, August 14, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
Join members of the community to celebrate the end of the summer! As a thank you to everyone who participated in the Adult Summer Reading Program, we invite you to grab your Journals and join us for a banquet with light refreshments, book giveaways and the Grand Prize drawing.
Registration is required. See you there!
Monthly Matinee: Free For All: The Public Library
Friday, July 18, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
Free for All: The Public Library (2025) tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen. From the pioneering women behind the “Free Library Movement” to today’s librarians who service the public despite working in a contentious age of closures and book bans, meet those who created a civic institution where everything is free and the doors are open to all.
Directed by Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor.
Rated TV-14 | Runtime: 1h 25m
No registration necessary
“The August Monthly Matinee will be “That’s Dancing!” However it will not be listed here as it occurs on August 22, after the Summer Reading Program ends.
Authors Unplugged: Pria Anand – The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains
Thursday, July 31, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
This talk will NOT be hosted on-site at the library. It is online only.
You’re invited to a fascinating conversation with neurologist and author Pria Anand to chat about her new book The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains (forthcoming June 10, 2025).
The Mind Electric speaks to the stories we tell ourselves about our brains, and the stories that our brains tell to us.
A girl believes she has been struck blind for stealing a kiss. A mother watches helplessly as each of her children is replaced by a changeling. A woman is haunted each month by the same four chords of a single song. In neurology, illness is inextricably linked with narrative, the clues to unraveling these mysteries hidden in both the details of a patient’s story and the tells of their body.
In The Mind Electric, neurologist Pria Anand reveals—through case study, history, fable, and memoir—all that the medical establishment has overlooked: the complexity and wonder of brains in health and in extremis, and the vast gray area between sanity and insanity, doctor and patient, and illness and wellness, each separated from the next by the thin veneer of a different story.
Moving from the Boston hospital where she treats her patients, to her childhood years in India, to Isla Providencia in the Caribbean and to the Republic of Guinea in West Africa, she demonstrates again and again the compelling paradox at the heart of neurology: that even the most peculiar symptoms can show us something universal about ourselves as humans. Register now to join this intriguing virtual conversation!
Mushroom Talk & Tasting
Thursday, July 31, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
Learn all about fabulous summer fungi! Recommended for adults and mature kids; to actually participate in the cooking demonstration, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a guardian, or at least have the guardian sign a waiver on their behalf. Registration required.
The heat of summer brings on a myriad of mushroom species, and many of them are not only edible, but easy to identify. If you learn how, you can safely enjoy their astonishing flavors. Newcomers are welcome–Ryan and Emily will go over the safety rules of mushroom hunting, and then discuss with the audience about how the 2025 spring season went. Then they will build on this, diving into a whole new array of edible species, with a brand-new slideshow to emphasize the best summer mushrooms of Rhode Island’s forest habitats.
You’ll even get to see some of these mushrooms as “live specimens”…and you can taste them for yourself, during a special cooking demonstration!
About the Instructors: Ryan T. Bouchard is the author and photographer of the influential book Gourmet Mushrooms of the Northeast 2019. Emily Schmidt also studies our local mushroom species (and wild plants as well), and teaches creative cooking that highlights their many unique flavors. Together, they created The Mushroom Hunting Foundation, and have educated thousands of people about safely enjoying America’s incredible wild foraging.
Book Chat
Wednesday, August 13, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, in the Herreshoff Room & on Zoom
What are you reading? Share your book recommendations in a relaxed atmosphere.
There’s no assigned reading for this group! Simply come prepared to summarize your book selection and explain why you would recommend it. It can be fiction or nonfiction.
Optional: If you have time to locate an excerpt to read aloud to the group – that would be welcome.
This program is also offered via Zoom for those who register.
The July Book Chat was not be listed here as it occurs on July 9, before the Summer Reading Program starts.
Ulysses Reading Group
Every Tuesday, 5:15 – 6:15 pm, in the Reading Room with the magazines
Calling all Joyceans, and aspiring Joyceans! Join librarians August and Tom as we take on James Joyce’s colossal literary classic Ulysses on a journey that will be equal parts challenging and rewarding.
Pace and structure to be decided on our first meeting on July 1.
Bristol Writing Group
Every Tuesday, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, in the Herreshoff Room
Do you like to write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, letters to the editor, or very detailed grocery lists? Would you like to join a community of writers who write together and share work with each other? Become a founding member of the Bristol Writing Group today! We will meet for weekly sharing/critique and co-writing sessions.
All levels of experience are welcome.
Registration is not required.
Library Knitting Circle
Every Wednesday, 1:30 – 4:00 pm in the Quiet Study South
This program is for anybody who loves a good game of chess. We are a fun group of players. We like a competitive match, but we are not too serious!
People of all levels are welcome.
No registration is necessary.
Chess Club
Every Wednesday, 5:30 – 7:30 pm & Every Saturday, 2:00 – 4:00 pm in the Herreshoff Room
This program is for anybody who loves a good game of chess. We are a fun group of players. We like a competitive match, but we are not too serious!
People of all levels are welcome.
No registration is necessary.
Tech Help
Drop-in Hours
Every Tuesday
3:00 – 6:00 pm & Every
in the Quiet Study South
By Appointment
Every Friday
in the Quiet Study South
Click HERE to make an appointment
At the Senior Center
2nd Wednesday of the month
12:00 – 1:00 pm
At the Benjamin Church Senior Center
Do you have questions about computers, mobile devices, or e-readers? Our staff and volunteers can help!
Don’t forget to bring your device and make sure you know your passwords.
We help you with:
– Filling out online forms
– Basic computer/phone/tablet skills
– email (setting up, sending, attachments)
– Social media tools
– Internet searching
If you have any questions about the adult summer reading program please call or write to Ann Kathrin Weldy or August Thompson: 401 253 6948, [email protected], [email protected]
We also have programs for children & teens! To learn more visit our Children’s SRP & Teens SRP webpages.