Who Do We Honor and When?

When it comes to honoring our military, past and present, it can get confusing. Today we celebrate Memorial Day which, for many, signals the start of summer. Though it may be the start of the summer season for many of us, this day is meant to honor those men and women that served in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in defense of our country.

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was started in the late 1860s as a nationwide day of remembrance for the many soldiers that lost their lives during the Civil War. As America became involved in other wars: World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the day evolved into a holiday to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars. For decades, the holiday was May 30, but in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for Federal employees. This change went into effect in 1971, and since that time, Memorial Day has been set as the last Monday of May.

So now we know, Memorial Day is not to honor existing military personnel or to honor individuals that previously served in the military but to REMEMBER THE FALLEN, those brave men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. If you wish to celebrate someone currently serving in one of the five military branches, National Armed Forces Day is the third Saturday in May. To honor military veterans, Veterans Day is November 11.

As we participate in picnics, reunions, etc., this weekend, let us remember that many have given their lives for the freedom we enjoy.

What I Learned from Four Russians and a Syracuse Professor

Librarians love to learn. If they say they don't, then their career choice is questionable. Most times, the pendulum swing from learning too much to never learning enough can be overwhelming, but one thing is for sure - the quest never stops. Such is the case of A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders and the idea for an adult book club.

The responsibility of planning and hosting a monthly adult book club at a CMRLS branch can be challenging. Book clubs take many forms, such as each member reading the same book and sharing insights, or selecting books following a certain theme or genre, or choosing books by a specific author or about famous (and infamous) people. The one common denominator is that each participant should learn something, so librarians do their best to make book clubs interesting, engaging, thought-provoking, and memorable.

As the branch manager of the Forest Public Library, I know the process well. When I started reading A Swim in a Pond in the Rain at the same time the Covid restrictions eased for resuming adult book clubs, I knew I had been given a fresh perspective. What could I learn about MYSELF in a book club? Could a book club answer the small questions, such as, what makes a reader keep reading or what makes the reading experience satisfying and what doesn't? What do the answers to those questions say about me as the reader? Could a book club answer the big questions? Consider this quote from the author in the book's introduction:

"We are going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn't specifically endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art - namely to ask the big questions: How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it? How can we feel any peace when some people have everything and others have nothing? How are we supposed to live with joy in a world that seems to want us to love other people but then roughly separates us from them in the end, no matter what?

(You know, those cheerful, Russian kinds of big questions.)

He follows that paragraph with another question: If a story drew us in, kept us reading, made us feel respected, how did it do that? That is the question we want to answer during the next six months. The first chapter is entitled "A Page at a Time," and consists of a story, discussion, and afterthoughts. During the month of June, book club participants are asked to share one page from any book they have read or are currently reading, tell the group why they selected the page, and comment on what curiosity the page creates. Using the book as an impromptu guide, the book club format will follow the accompanying reading exercise of each chapter. Sharing only one pre-selected page, "we'll take stock of where we find ourselves. What has that page done to us? What do we know, having read the page, that we didn't know before? How has our understanding of the story changed? What are we expecting to happen next? If we want to keep reading, why do we?

According to Saunders, that's the million-dollar question: What makes a reader keep reading? We can answer because we want to, but why do we want to? Each month's book club discussion will be followed with afterthoughts on the CMRLS news blog, along with an introduction to the next month's reading exercise. Registration for the Forest Public Library book club is required. Space is limited to 12 participants for each Tuesday time slot. Prepackaged snacks, canned drinks, and bottled water will be provided. 

The more we learn, the more we connect with others. One final quote from the book as we embark on this six-month learning experience:

"These days, it's easy to feel that we've fallen out of connection with one another and with the earth and with reason and with love. I mean: we have. But to read, to write, is to say that we still believe in, at least, the possibility of connection."

Never Judge a Book by Its Cover

Many strange things happen in library land on a daily basis. One thing that the library offers is notary services, and sometimes we get an odd one or two. 

One day I found myself sitting at a table assisting a library patron in my job as a notary for the public library. I looked up at the patron I was helping with a notary document. The patron had a  10-year-old child with them, who looked up at me with curious eyes. This person did not look like the type to need the document I was working on.  

I finished notarizing the document and handed the paperwork to the patron. It was a carry and conceal application for a firearms permit. 

The grandmother took the documents, paid $3.00 for the notary service, gathered her paperwork and started walking out of the library. She called to her grandson and the little boy got out of his chair and followed his grandmother.

I returned to my office to finish my lunch and read the latest news on the computer. Never judge a book by its cover folks. It will always surprise you. 

The Flowood Library offers notary services for a nominal fee of $3. Notary services are available Monday - Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30 - 5:30; 10 - 7 on Thursday. Additional times are also available by appointment.  

Learning a new craft is easy at the library

 

One of the fun things I have found about being a librarian is the need to research for ideas that will be interesting to others. Pinterest becomes your friend. After finding a new idea you experiment with it to decide if this is something maybe others in your community would find interesting and would like to try. A couple of simple paper crafts that I discovered were quilling and iris paper folding.

 

Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper is rolled, looped, curled, twisted, and otherwise manipulated to create shapes that make up designs to decorate with. This art form has been around for centuries. This craft can be simple or extremely difficult depending on your skill and creativity. My creativity is the type that follows other people's plans with just a little twist of my own. I did a couple of classes about quilling and know at least one who it became a fun art form for her.

                                            quilling                        iris paper folding

 A new craft I have found is called iris paper folding. Iris folding is a papercraft technique that involves folding and taping strips of colored paper in such a way as to form a design. The center of the design forms an iris—a shape reminiscent of the iris diaphragm of a camera lens. Iris paper folding originated in 20th-century Holland.

 

Iris folding is done with a pattern. The crafter uses the finished product to decorate the front of a greeting card, as a scrapbook embellishment, or to decorate with. Strips of colored paper are folded and taped in place following a specific pattern. In February, here at Raleigh, we did a valentine card with a heart on the front. This June there will be available a kit to make an elephant. The finished product will be 8 ½ by 11 inches. It gives the appearance of being difficult but is an easy craft to do once you understand the simple concept.

 

I have always wanted to be artistic but just don’t have the gene for it, so I find it fun to create using the ideas that those who were creative before me have shown the way. Why not check out your library to see what new creative skills you can learn.

Stephen King fans rejoice! Lisey's Story will be released on Apple TV+ June 4th

You read it right, Constant Readers! 

Stephen King's 2006 novel Lisey's Story has been picked up by Apple TV+, and the best part? Stephen King himself is involved in the writing and directing, so it'll be a vision of the Master of Horror himself. 

Julianne Moore plays the titular role, and the series will also star Clive Owen, Dane DeHaan, Joan Allen, and Ron Cephas Jones.

Lisey's Story is one of my favorite books. King has also stated that it is his favorite of all his books. What I like about Lisey's Story is that the heart of the story is about writing itself. Especially when writing horror, your mind has to travel to some dark places to imagine what your characters are dealing with and visualizing how they might act in certain situations. Writers often talk of going places in their mind for ideas, but what if there was an actual place of ideas? A pool of some sort. And what if you occasionally got stuck there? 

Lisey's Story focuses on Lisey after her novelist husband Scott Landon dies. It's been two years, and Lisey still hasn't been able to bring herself to clean out his study. After a professor visits and pleads with her to release all of the late author's papers, she declines. When crazy fan Zack McCool insists there must be a hidden manuscript and starts threatening Lisey to turn over Scott's papers, things get ugly. The more Lisey starts to remember about her own past and secrets learned early in her marriage, the closer Lisey gets to Scott's not so imaginary writer's retreat. 

The story is part horror, part romance, and part sci-fy. The story portrays marriage, grief, sibling relationships, and resurfaced memories. It's got something for everyone, and that's what makes it very relatable to the human experience. 

For more information about the series, check out this article.

To place a hold on a print copy of Lisey's Story, click here.

To place a hold on Lisey's Story in audible form, click here.

-Morgan Lee Hedglin, Pearl Branch Manager 

June Happenings at the Morton Library

 

Summer Reading is almost here! Registration begins May 17th! We have programs and contests for all ages. We are virtual again this year but starting in June we will have our first in-person program! It will be June 10th at 5 p.m. and it will be a Family Story Time. You have to pre-register for this event and we can't have over 12 people per event. We are excited to have an in-person event again so be sure and call to reserve your family's spot for the event. All social distancing guidelines will be followed.

We have been reworking the shelves in the library to make room for all of the new books that we have been getting so be sure and come check out our new selections.

Fit Kits are available for checkout again! We have a lot of good choices of exercise equipment to check out.  Did you know we also have cake pans that you can check out? We have a lot of cute character-shaped cake pans and regular cake pans that you can check out like a book. This way you don't have to buy a pan to just use one time. 

We hope to see you soon!

 

Reading with Audiobooks

The end of school and summer is upon us. Your child has made advancement in their reading skills but what now? Summer can be a time to continue to grow in reading skills or not. What can you do as a parent to help?

I had a reading expert tell me that she recommends audiobooks where the child can listen to the book as they follow along with reading. Audiobooks offer an enjoyable way for your child to improve their reading skills. Using audiobooks along with actual hard copies of books allows kids to follow the words on the page with their eyes as they listen to the words being read. The shared visual and audio reading experience provides extra support for readers: They learn to pronounce new words, hear fluent reading, and get to enjoy a new story. It's a win-win!

Guess what? Your public library is a good place to pick up a book in your child’s interest and there may be an audiobook available too. At Raleigh Library we have several popular physical books along with the audiobook available to check out. There are several audiobooks available on Axis 360. You can stop at your library to get a physical copy and check out the audiobook on Axis 360.

Audiobooks can also be a motivation to your reader. As they follow along to the end, they might realize they just “read” a book above their grade level. This might encourage them to keep trying when the reading gets hard.

Why not try this summer. Maybe you will surprise your child’s teacher when your child shows up next school year reading better than when they left school.