Get College Financial Aid Tips at Mentor Library

Get suggestions on how to afford college during the College Financial Aid program on Oct. 20 at Mentor Library.

Getting a college degree can be expensive—frighteningly, mind-numbingly expensive.

As of 2014, the average, in-state public college costs more than $23,000 before you got a 4-year degree; and the average private school is twice as expensive.

That price tag is enough to make your eyes cross.

Of course, there are funds available to help, including loans and scholarship, but you still have to know how to get them.

Fortunately, the experts are here to help.

On Oct. 20, a representative from Lake/Geauga Education Assistance Foundation (LEAF) will talk about financing a college education at Mentor Public Library. They will discuss loans, grants and scholarships, explain the differences between the three and tell students the best way to get them.

The talk will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the library’s Main Branch.

The program is free and open to the public, including teens, parents and adults who want to go back to school.

The library asks that people register for the program beforehand. They can do so by calling (440) 255-8811 ext. 215 or by visiting Mentor Library’s event calendar.

Spend a Day at Hogwarts (by way of Mentor Library)

Make your own wand and take a magic class this Friday, Oct. 16, at Mentor Public Library.

School's out this Friday, Oct. 16, for NEOEA Day, so why not spend the day at Hogwarts?

For one day only, Mentor Public Library's turning its Main Branch into Harry Potter's wizarding school.

Kids (from ages eight to 13) can take a magic class with Mr. Zap or a potions course with Ms. Kim. They'll also be able to make their own wand and enjoy a snack in the Main Hall.

The program is free and open to the public, but parents need to register their kids for it beforehand. They can do so online at Mentor Library's website or by calling the library at 440-255-8811 ext. 221.

Other Halloween events the library has upcoming include:

• a Zombie Party for teens on Monday, Oct. 12, at its Lake Branch. Teens can just bring themselves. The library will provide the zombie makeup, “brains,” fog machine and laser show.
• a Ghost Hunting talk on Monday, Oct. 12, at its Main Branch. Join members of the Banded Spirits group as they talk about their adventures ghost hunting.
• a special Goosebumps-themed party on Monday, Oct. 26, at its Lake Branch.
• Mr. Dennis’s annual Halloween puppet show on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at its Headlands Branch.

Finally, kids can trick or treat from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MPL's Main Branch on Friday, Oct. 30.

House points to everyone who attends.

Gail Ghetia Bellamy discusses her own Cleveland Memories

Gail Ghetia Bellamy—the author of the Cleveland Memories series—visited Mentor Library recently to discuss her books.

Bellamy is a renaissance woman—a poet, scholar, author and magazine editor who is a certified culinary professional with her doctorate degree in creative writing. Her writing, which includes everything from poetry to journalism, has been published in books, anthologies and magazines.

While at the library, Bellamy discussed the value of nostalgia and how it can bring people closer.

She also explained what her poetry has in common with the Cleveland Memories series.

For more author interviews, check out Mentor Library's YouTube page.

Zombies are invading Mentor Library

Zombies are invading Mentor Library's Lake Branch on Monday.

We're throwing a Zombie Party and people will by dying to get there.

Teens can get made up as the undead and get their photos taken in our Zombie Photo Booth.

There will also be games, a laser light show, and snacks—brains for the undead, cupcakes for the living.

The party starts 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, at our Lake Branch.

Teens can register for the zombie party on our website.

Read DC, Vertigo, Dark Horse & Image comics for free on Hoopla

Read Neil Gaiman's Sandman and more for free on Hoopla.

We've talked about Hoopla before. It's a cool digital service we offer that lets you stream music, TV shows and movie anywhere and at any time for free.

It's also gradually accumulated one of the best comics collections that you can read for free.

We've mentioned Hoopla's comics offerings previously; but, since then, they've added comics from DC, Vertigo, Image and Dark Horse to their collection. That means you can read some of the best comics ever written and drawn from the comfort of your home (or anywhere else.)

Here are 10 of our favorites from their collection—which, not to belabor the point, you can now read for free.

1. Sandman: I don't think I'm exaggerating when I call this the most celebrated comic series ever. The stories of Dream and his ageless siblings won't just change the way you look at sequential art. They'll change your perception of everything from Shakespeare to Thor to Death herself.
2. Invincible: Every comic writer is trying to create the next Spider-Man, the snarky teen hero with great power and greater responsibility. Robert Kirkman, with Invincible, comes closer to recreating the magic than anyone else. (You may have heard of Kirkman's other series, Walking Dead, which is, by the way, also available on Hoopla.)
3. Fables: What if Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Little Boy Blue, Cinderella, Pinocchio and all their other fairy-tale friends were living undercover in New York? Judging by Bill Willingham's opus, Fables, it would be endlessly entertaining.
4. Hellboy: Hellboy takes the story of Ragnarok (an unavoidable apocalypse) a step farther. Now, not only is the end of the world coming, it will be the hero Hellboy's fault. If that sounds depressing, then you'll be surprised how much humor Mike Mignola can fit into his story of well-intentioned (but doomed) misfits.
5. Y: The Last Man: Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra tell the story of Yorick, the last man on earth. During his odyssey, he tangles with pirates, secret agents, misanthropic biker gangs and an unhygienic monkey named Ampersand.
6. Saga: If you liked Y, double-down on Vaughan and read his epic about literal star-crossed lovers. Two fugitives from warring worlds fall in love and flee their respective governments (and a bunch of bounty hunters,) while trying to raise their infant girl.
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: You loved the show and weren't ready for it to end. Fortunately, the story continues in the comic. And there's no squabbling over what is or isn't canon, because the comics are overseen (and often written by) Joss Whedon himself.
8. Suicide Squad: Do your research now before the movie blows everyone away. Suicide Squad is the story of C-list villains forcibly enlisted into a government black-ops group. And, as you probably guessed from the title, the whole team almost never makes it back.
9. Watchmen: Not an exaggeration to call this one of the most important comics ever. Alan Moore wrote a story that changed how a generation perceived the violence, morals and "heroics" of superheroes. Watchmen and Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns forced comics to mature as a medium. They also happen to be really good stories.
10. Batman: The Long Halloween: The best Batman story ever. That's just my opinion and your mileage may vary, but you can read it for free to see if you agree.

Fair warning: As you probably gathered from some of these descriptions, these titles aren't all appropriate for your young ones. For the younger crowd, I'd recommend the Fraggle Rock or Adventure Time comics. (Both of which are also free on Hoopla.)

So get reading, and don't be shy about telling us your favorite reads on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Pumpkin Painting & Getting Ready for Halloween

Peyton gives her pumping the Jackson Pollock treatment during the Pumpkin Decorating program at Mentor Library.

The wind is blowing, the leaves are turning and everything edible now comes in a Pumpkin-Spice variety.

It must be October.

At Mentor Library, we're ready for autumn and Halloween, in particular.

On Wednesday, families decorated pumpkins together at our Main Branch.

When your kid wants to paint but you don't want to wash paint stains from his shirt...

And the fun's just begun. We have several Halloween programs coming up in the next few weeks including:

• A Day at Hogwarts on Friday, Oct. 16, at our Main Branch. Kids can make their own wands and take potions and magic classes.
• a Zombie Party for teens on Monday, Oct. 12, at our Lake Branch. Teens can just bring themselves. We'll bring the zombie makeup, "brains," fog machine and laser show.
• a Ghost Hunting talk on Monday, Oct. 12, at our Main Branch. Join members of the Banded Spirits group as they talk about their adventures ghost hunting.
• a special Goosebumps-themed party on Monday, Oct. 26, at our Lake Branch.
• Mr. Dennis's annual Halloween puppet show on Wednesday, Oct. 28, our Headlands Branch.

Finally, kids can trick or treat at our Main Branch from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at our Main Branch on Friday, Oct. 30.

Might as well get as much use out of their costumes as possible.

Presenting 'Pride & Prejudice' at Mentor Library

The actors of Geauga Lyric Theater will reprise their performance of "Pride & Prejudice" Oct. 13 at Mentor Library's Main Branch.

Jane Austen's work has been recreated as movies, miniseries, webisodes and zombie romps, so it's unsurprising that her stories made their way to the stage.

As part of Austen in Autumn, Geauga Lyric Theater will perform vignettes from Pride & Prejudice at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at our Main Branch.

The actors are reprising their roles from Austen's classic, which they performed as part of their summer season.

You can see Elizabeth, Jane, Darcy and more during this one-night-only encore at Mentor Public Library.

The performance is free and open to the public. You can register for it on Mentor Library's website.

We have several other Austen in Autumn programs coming up as well, including our Austen film series. Tonight, we’re hosting a free screening of Clueless (which is a remake and modernization of Austen’s Emma) at Great Lakes Mall Atlas Cinemas.

We also have programs on silhouette art, world history during Austen’s life and a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies party for teens on Oct. 12. Teens can practice their skulking and celebrate Halloween a little early when they party like the undead.

For more information on Austen in Autumn, visit www.mentorpl.org/austen.