Flu Season - also, COVID Tests are Here!

It's that time of year again.  It's getting cold outside and we're starting to feel the effects of the dry air.  We're huddling up inside in close proximity, and before you know it, the whole house is sneezing and coughing.

Yup.  Flu season.

Getting the flu is always unpleasant, but there are ways to make it less so.

Read on to find out ways to ready yourself for this annual nuisance, and how to help prevent catching it or spreading it to others - just remember that none of this is a substitute for medical advice from a qualified and licensed professional.

National Novel Writing Month

 Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month?

There's even an official non-profit NaNoWriMo organization.

Every year, thousands of writers (amateur and professional both) sit down on November 1st and begin working on a daunting challenge: to write an entire novel in just 30 days.

Book Review: Such Sharp Teeth

 It's been about a year since I read Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison and I still find myself thinking about it from time to time.  Especially now that Halloween is coming up.

(Okay, sure, I read it in December, but winter is as good a time for werewolf stories as fall. Better, even, since it's too cold to go out and frolic in the woods in search of real ones.)

If you like books, then you may be pleased to know this is a book.

The story follows Rory (Aurora) Morris, a young woman who begrudgingly moves back to her hometown to help her twin sister, Scarlett, who is expecting a baby.  While she is there, she is attacked by a creature in the night - as she recovers, she finds herself slowly changing - she's growing stronger (supernaturally so), developing a strong craving for meat, and developing an aversion to silver.

Savvy readers will recognize these as hallmark traits of a werewolf.  This will likely not be much of a surprise to those who read the first part of this post where I mentioned werewolf stories, but I'm not going for shock value, here.

The story doesn't treat this like some huge surprise twist, either.  If I remember correctly, Rory knows werewolf stories and is able to piece together what's happening to her (though the reality of the situation is naturally unsettling).  Rather, the story follows her emotional transformation as well, as she navigates not only her physical transformation and everything that comes with it, but also her duties as a sister and soon-to-be aunt, and deals with the more metaphorical monsters that haunt her memories of her hometown.

I really liked this book.  It provided a fresh take on the classic story of a werewolf without changing too many of the traditional details (nobody in this one sparkles or becomes supernaturally attractive, for example), while weaving it together with the story of a woman who, despite her fantastical circumstances, is down-to-earth and relatable.

Her story is not unfamiliar to many women, and I'm sure nearly everyone has things in their past they have trouble grappling with.  Just as Rory is able to transform her werewolf curse into a source of emotional strength, we have the ability to grow from our own circumstances and become strong in our own way.

It's also just a really well-written book.

I highly recommend this title, during the Halloween season or any other.  I first read it back in December, and I'll likely end up rereading it within the next year (definitely not this month because I already have a stack of unread library books at home... oops).

We do have a copy available at the library, so if you'd like to read it, come on in!

What do you think?  Is this a book you'd like to pick up?  Let me know in the comments.

If you've read it and feel like I missed or misconstrued something, let me know that, too!  Did you love it?  Did you hate it?  Did it put you to sleep?

Tell me, please!

Horror Movies! (that started as books)

 Halloween tradition dictates that one spend at least one evening in the month of October watching scary movies.  Or at least, I think it does.  And even if you're not a Halloween fan, there can be no doubt that sometimes, it's fun to get good and scared with a good movie (or TV show), a cozy blanket, and maybe a bowl of popcorn.

Alas, it is the observation of many a horror fan that sometimes, the plot of their scary movie pick just isn't that good.  Now, some might not mind having thrills and chills at the expense of the story, but we here at PDL deeply enjoy a good narrative, so... what to do?

Well!  I, your fearless (usually) blogger, have taken it upon myself to identify the surest marker of good storytelling in a horror movie: films that are based on horror books.

Be not afraid of boring stories with cheap scares, and focus more on, uh... being afraid... of... what's happening on screen.

Read on, if you dare, and trick-or-treat yourself to these selections of horror-themed watchables that started off as books.

Autumn Chills & Domestic Thrills

 October is here at last, and with it begins what is affectionately known as the "spooky season".  Ghosts, werewolves, vampires...  There are all sorts of terrors lurking in the dark ; sometimes, on a dark and stormy night, the only place you really feel safe is in your own home, surrounded by your loved ones.

But... are you?

I'm sorry to say that the following list is not for those seeking comfort while tucked cozily into their beds.  Rather, these domestic thrillers (compiled with the help of our own Ms. Shannon) will leave you questioning whether home really is a safe place, after all.

Sometimes, a haunted house is less scary than one that's lived in.

Waiting for Hoover

One cool thing about working at the library is you get to see what people are reading.  You also get to notice when a book is popular - a few books have spent weeks on the reserve list, being returned just to get marked for the next patron line.

One author I've seen repeatedly on our reserve shelf, and no more than twice in the actual fiction section, is New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.

I honestly don't think there's another author for whom we have this sort of demand in the library.  It's not like Hoover only has one or two books; we have twelve, yes twelve, of her books, and it is a very rare occasion that any of them are on the shelf.  That's how popular she is.

The best way to check one of these out is to reserve it, either through our online catalog or simply by visiting us and asking a staff member for help.

But what on Earth is there to read during all that waiting?  Or what if, perish the thought, you've already read Hoover's books, and don't know what to read next?

Well, we at the library have got your back.  Read on to see a handful of great titles to hopefully fill that gap in your book-loving heart.

Back to School

Well, it's that time of year again.  The youth department is quiet once more, until classes let out and students flock from their school building to ours, desperately yearning for more education...

Okay, yeah, that's probably not what's happening.  But school in Portland has started up again, and we miss the kiddos already!  Luckily, there's still plenty of time for the library after school, especially when you consider us part of the curriculum!

I wonder if there are any teachers who don't like apples.

I've got one of my own at home (starting third grade already!) and it's been a bit of an adjustment.  Thankfully, we haven't had to worry about any homework or tests or anything yet, but experience tells me it's going to be a bit of a struggle to focus while sitting at the kitchen table with distractions all around.

This is where the library comes in handy!  Though we are far past the days of shushing every patron who makes so much as a peep, the library does tend to be a more peaceful place than many - perfect for sitting down with a book or some notes and getting your study on.

Do grade schoolers still do book reports?  (No, seriously, do they? I'm hopelessly out of touch.)  Well, at any rate, we've got books!  Need to do a research project?  Try the non-fiction section, or ask a librarian for help finding web-based sources!

This isn't even to mention that all our books and programs are a fantastic way to help reinforce lessons learned both in and out of the classroom.

This isn't just for the younger kids, either.  Tweens and teens can use our space and resources for their own projects and test prep, and even college students if they don't feel like hanging around campus to get things done.  I know I could never study at home during any of my years of education, so having a quiet but familiar spot away from home is seriously helpful.

So if you (or one of your young ones) could use some study space away from home, come on in.  It's just one of the many wonderful things we have to offer!

Books We... Hated!?

Those of you stopping in to the library during the month of August may find an unusual display in the adult reference area.

Yeah, not every book's a winner.

Truth is, not everyone likes every book.  Even we, the dedicated book lovers and readers staffing the library, have those books that we just really don't like.  From books we were forced to read in school as teenagers (like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald) to so-called classics that seem to drone on and on without making much of a point (like Moby-Dick by Herman Melville) to a variety of otherwise popular novels that just didn't hit the spot for us, there's just as much to dislike as there is to enjoy in the library.

But that's where you come in!

Some of our least-favorite books might end up being your favorites!  Or maybe there are books you can't stand that other patrons would love!

That's why this display is fully interactive - if you find a book in our collection that you didn't like or that you wouldn't even recommend to your annoying neighbor, feel free to let us know when you check it in that you'd like it displayed - or just bring it from the shelves to the reference desk if you happen across it!

(I'm sure it goes without saying, but we can only display library books that are currently in circulation. After all, how else are others going to discover their new best/worst book friend?)

And if reading terrible books has left you hungry for just about anything to get the taste out of your mouth, check out our fill-a-bag book sale going on from today until August 18th!  All the books/CDs/DVDs that you can stuff into a grocery bag for $2 - some from donations, and others recently taken out of our own collection.

Seriously, please help us make room for new books!

Busy Days at the Library

 It's been a few weeks since I've been able to write a post on this blog, but there's been so much going on that I'm excited to finally have a moment to share some of what we have on our agenda!

So much to do, so little highlighter ink!

Learning from Fiction

I mentioned in a previous post that I've been mixing a lot of fiction into my reading lately, because just focusing on non-fiction was starting to become a bit tiresome.  Strangely, though, I feel just as if I'm getting just as much education, if not more, from reading fiction than reading non-fiction alone.  And no, that's not because I'm taking everything that happens in a fantasy novel as fact!

"Is this a true story, Grandma?"

"Yes, sweetheart. And then George Washington fought a giant dragon while riding a bald eagle..."

Now, plenty of much more competent writers than I have talked about the benefits of reading fiction (one article I might recommend can be found here), so instead I'm going to focus on a couple of examples.

Books and Gardens and Seeds, Oh My!

Libraries are a great source of all kinds of resources - books, films, research, arts and crafts, and at PDL, even seeds and vegetables!

So much potential in such a compact area - just like the seeds themselves!

I remember when I was living in Ypsilanti and first encountered the seed collection at the public library.  I was very intrigued, but had absolutely no idea how any of that worked and was too shy to ask.

Naturally, I was thrilled when I began working here just in time for the preparation and launch of our own seed library.  It's much simpler than I thought it would be - and it turns out that library staff are generally very friendly and more than willing to answer questions for folks.

Between the seed library and our children's sensory garden, you'd definitely think that everyone here has a green thumb.  Sadly, I am about as proficient at gardening as I am with auto-repair; that is to say, not very.

But there really is something very magical about gardening, isn't there?  It's a great way to get ourselves outdoors and into the sunshine.  It helps us feel proud of our efforts and our environment, since we go to the effort of caring for and cultivating our plants.  And, if you're inclined to grow fruits and vegetables, it's also a good way to get some bonus nutrition in.  After all, what's more satisfying than cooking or eating food you grew all by yourself?

So I'm wondering if maybe I should look at what I still have time to plant this season (I'm told there's still enough time to plant lettuce) and get to pulling some weeds to give gardening another try.  After all, we have plenty of seeds here at PDL!

For those who want to enjoy garden-fresh herbs and veggies but don't have a garden at home, stop by the library on or after July 10 for our Fresh Food Bonanza!  You will also be able to share pictures of your kitchen masterpieces for the chance to win a prize - look for more details on our Facebook or here at the library!

Do you garden at home?  Are you curious to learn more about the seed library?  Any garden stories you'd like to share?  Tell us in the comments below!

No Time to Read!

"I just don't have time to read."

I've heard that a lot from family and friends.  I've caught myself thinking it as well, when things get busy - how can I dedicate myself to sitting down and doing something as mentally engaging and (dare I say it?) unproductive as reading a book?

I have to go to work, do chores around the house, make sure my child is doing alright, watch a movie, play video games, and --

Oh.  Wait a second.  Something strikes me as odd about that list.

Gosh, I'd love to sit down and read, but I'm too busy looking for my glasses.

I think it's easy for us to forget that reading is easily swapped in for more passive forms of entertainment. I've also noticed that a lot of folks put a certain amount of normative weight - that is, an expectation of something they should be doing - on what is for many a source of fun and relaxation.

If you feel don't have time to read, think about why that may be.  Do you find the idea of reading an entire book to be a bit overwhelming?  Have you been reading a lot of technical or difficult material for work or school?  Are you currently invested in beating a video game, watching the next episode of a series, or checking social media?

Reading isn't something I like to encourage people to do because they should be reading, or because it's somehow "better" than other forms of entertainment.  I like to encourage people to read because it's an imaginative experience, an informative experience, and a fun experience.

Of course, like any other kind of fun, different styles of books and different reading paces work better for different people.

If you're like me, and you tend to look at the big picture, and like to finish things in one go, you might look at a large book and say, "There's no way I can read that whole thing right now!  I should wait to start until I have time!"  I often feel like if I break a story into smaller chunks, it'll break my immersion, or I won't remember what happened as clearly.

However, I've recently started reading a chapter book with my eight-year-old every night, and we can easily get through one or two chapters before bed, and pick it up the next night.  Sometimes we even skip a night, if it's someone else's turn to read a different book - but we always pick up right where we left off, and the details come right back to us.

And so for me, the only hard and fast rule now is to avoid reading when I can't fully focus on it.  Reading on the bus has never worked for me, because I always need to break my concentration to make sure I didn't miss my stop.  Reading during a TV commercial doesn't work because I split my attention off as soon as the show is back on - or I just end up ignoring the show.  It's okay to only read a little bit at a time - as long as you're able to really pay attention to it.

I also remember getting burnt out on all the nonfiction I was reading.  It wasn't super fun and I was getting to the point where I could only absorb so much more information before my head got too heavy to hold up anymore.

Then I picked up a novel - possibly even a teen novel, well below my "reading level" - and suddenly, reading was fun again.  I didn't have to apply everything to my life or analyze or critique advice or think too hard - I got to immerse myself into the story and enjoy the ride.  I think we get so caught up on reading as being educational and informative that we forget we can just read for fun - and that fun books are also good for our brains.

Nowadays, I always make sure that for every nonfiction or educational book I read, I follow it up with a piece of fiction, to make sure I'm maintaining a good balance between "work" and "play" in my reading - or at least skewing more to the side of play.

Honestly, making it more fun for myself and being honest about what feelings I'm having that make it seem like there's not enough time or energy to read (or do anything else, for that matter!) makes carving out time to do it in mindful and creative ways much more manageable.  Plus, sometimes, "just two chapters" can easily turn into an entire afternoon of reading, because it's a lot easier to keep something going than to get started.

But sometimes we do just feel like doing other things.  We want to play the new Legend of Zelda game (and some of us may have already logged more than 120 hours into it...).  We want to chat with our friends on Facebook or Instagram, or we want to binge a new series that we just found on Netflix, or even in the library's DVD collection.

And that's okay!

It is absolutely fine to take something you enjoy, like reading, and say, "This isn't a priority for me right now."  Trust me when I say that it is so, so much better to admit you want to take a break from something to do other things than to just let yourself keep feeling bad that you don't ever get around to it.

And you know, sometimes, if "this isn't a priority for me" doesn't feel like the right thing to say, it can be a good motivator to rearrange some other things on the docket.

Now, if you're the sort of person who thrives with external motivators, we do have our Summer Reading Program going on right now.  (The kickoff event this past Friday was AMAZING, by the way!)  It's open to all ages, with some minor differences between age groups, and it can be a great way to incentivize your own reading.  I, personally, am so excited to get through my own reading backlog for the program, though really I've had all year to do it already!

But I think, at the end of it all, "I don't have time to read," really just means, "I'm not sure how to get started," or "I'm not sure how to balance the things I want to do."  Those are things I think everyone struggles with from time to time.  Take your time.  Whether you make a plan for an hour of reading, or make a split-second decision to reach for a book instead of the remote, or even just admit that you don't want to read the book that's been staring at you from the coffee table for a week, remember that it's supposed to be fun.  It can be something you want to do instead of something you're "supposed" to do.

Have you been putting off reading any books because of your busy schedule?  Do you have a trick to get yourself to read even when you're feeling a little lazy?  Is there any hope left at all for me to get through the mountain of books that's rapidly taking over my living room?  Tell me in the comments!

Summertime Kick-Off!

Wasn't it just March?  My calendar says June 3rd, but I swear it was just snowing and they were still selling leftover Valentine's Day candy at Rite Aid.  Now all the trees are green, the weather is sunny and warm (or rainy and warm), and stores are putting out rainbow flag merchandise for Pride Month. Just where does the time go?

Maybe it's flown by so fast because we've been so busy. Portland Creates has just finished up its voting period (results still pending) and we've been zipping around getting ready for our annual Summer Reading Program. I can't tell you how many prizes we've stamped or bagged up or otherwise arranged just for our kickoff event, not to mention all the decorating that's been done in the youth department downstairs.

Once we've kicked off Summer Reading, it'll be business as usual for a while, but something about rewarding folks for spending more time reading has a way of making people, well, spend more time reading. More time reading equals more books read; more books read equals more books borrowed; more books borrowed equals a busier library. It's definitely not a boring time of year, and it's a great chance to see some of our patrons who don't visit as frequently during the rest of the year.

It's a lot of fun! But fun makes the time fly by, and it'll be fall before we know it. I'm not ready for cool winds and orange leaves! I haven't even gone swimming yet!

My top summer tip: get a pair of sunglasses, lounge in your favorite lawn chair or hammock, and read outside! If you wear regular glasses like I do, you can get prescription sunglasses, or a pair of sunglasses that fits over your normal frames. I dunno if the chunky over-the-glasses look is in right now, but who cares about fashion when you have a stack of library books to get through?

What are you looking forward to this summer? Any great reads I should take out on the lawn? Let me know in the comments!

English is Weird

Take a look at the English words scale, scale and scale.

Scale, as in "to climb up" comes from the Latin scala, meaning "ladder".  A musical scale is probably derived from this definition, because the notes go up and down.

Scale, as in "a moveable plate on the skin of a fish or lizard" comes from the Old French escale, meaning "shell or husk".

And scale as in "measuring device" comes from the Old Norse skal, a drinking cup sometimes used as measuring device.

That Old French escale ultimately comes from the Frankish word skala, which has a similar meaning to the Old Norse skal, and most French is derived from Latin, which means that the Latin scala is likely an influence in either or both of those words as well, so what we have here is a big old chicken-and-egg problem of linguistic origin.

The upshot of all this is that we have four (and more) words in modern English with exactly the same spelling and pronunciation, but completely different meanings.

The fancy word for this is homonym, meaning "same name".

The sheer scale of absurdity (do you see what I did there? Huh? Huh?) within English is magnified when you look at words like cough, thought, through, and drought - each with a different pronunciation - or words like knight and knife, with a silent letter for seemingly no reason.

Well... in truth, those -ough words all most likely used to rhyme. And the Ks in knight and knife were originally pronounced - actually, all the letters in knight were, giving us something that sounded like "k-NEE-gt".  So what the heck happened there?

Well, in the Middle Ages, English underwent something called the "Great Vowel Shift", where the pronunciations of a lot of words changed very drastically under a relatively short period of time.  Language is a living and flexible thing, so this isn't unusual of itself, but the timing was very strange, since the printing press had very recently been invented, so English had, for the first time in its history, had the spellings of most words standardized, meaning that they were to be spelled the same way by every writer (I suppose before that it was sort of a free-for-all, figure-it-out-yourself kinda thing).

So it's not so much that English is a strange language with a bunch of arbitrary, made-up rules about pronunciation, so much as our writing system was standardized for a pronunciation of English that nobody speaks anymore.  I bet that if the Great Vowel Shift had happened about a century earlier, our spelling would look much, much different - knight and night could both be spelled nite, for example, and your doctor would say that you ott to bie some coff syrup when you're going thrue a cold.

So the next time you're tempted to say, "English doesn't make any sense!", bear in mind that it does - you just need to have a good head for history to understand it.  And if all else fails, just pretend that what you speak and what you read are two different languages - because they sort of are!

Into the Swing of Spring

In my house, we often say spring is close at hand when these little guys start showing up again: 

The American robin is not merely a harbinger of spring:
it is also the state bird of Michigan.

Sure enough, I have seen enough robins in the past week to sense that spring may indeed be on its way.  Other signs are the beautiful (if still a tad chilly) weather we've had the past couple of days.

Michigan does have trouble making up her mind, of course, hence the bursts of rain and even snow we've had between the sunny days.  I was actually looking outside at a robin on Wednesday when the snow came swirling down - it didn't seem terribly bothered, of course, and it did brighten up considerably that afternoon - but the irony of seeing the symbol of spring in wintry winds didn't escape me.

With the weather hopefully becoming more fair going forward, it's a great time to start on new projects.  Spring cleaning and airing out the house are a great tradition, as are getting some good sunshine and exercise outdoors.

And if you're artistically inclined, here at Portland District Library, we are proudly hosting the annual Portland Creates! competition.  Entry forms have been available all through March, and today, April 1, is the first day we can accept submissions!

Each person can submit up to two artworks, and there are prizes to be won - in each of our four age categories, 2 winners will be selected by our panel of volunteer judges, and 1 winner will be selected by popular vote.  Personally, I've never won an art competition and don't see myself starting now (we library staff do have our own category, though!), but it's still fun to get creative and see what your fellow Portlandians can do!

More information on Portland Creates!, including submission guidelines, and our other spring programming can be obtained at our Circulation and Youth Desks, as well as on our Facebook page (linked in the sidebar to the left).  Call us or stop on by!

Graphic Novels - not just for kids!

 Over the past several weeks, I have been occupied with finding new titles for one of our more overlooked collections - adult graphic novels!

See our grandfather clock in the background?
It says it's reading time.

When you think of graphic novels, you may think about comic books - Batman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman and other superheroes.  Maybe you think about the various teen manga series that we have on offer in our Teen Room, or about the popular Dog-Man comics and other graphic novel series we have for our youth patrons.  However, graphic novels can be an expressive and artistic mode of storytelling even for adults; everything from memoirs to horror stories to romance can be expressed in this uniquely visual medium.  It's not all just superheroes or kids' books - there are some truly impressive and sophisticated stories out there.

Of course, having graphic novels aimed at adults does also mean that parents who are unaware of their contents run the risk of accidentally checking out materials they don't find suitable for their children.  It is important to always check which collection a book is part of, and to make sure to discuss any concerning material with your children.

The adult graphic novel collection can be found next to the teen fiction shelves outside of the Teen Room - and new titles are soon to be added!

We have all kinds of DVDs available at the library--feature films, television shows, instructional videos, children's videos--but one category that I'm not sure people realize we have is faith-based films. Did you know, for example, that there's a faith-based crime drama series? It's called Vindication, and we have both seasons so far. And everyone has heard of the big names, like God's Not Dead, and Heaven is for Real, but there are so many other options available! We have inspirational sports movies, historical dramas, family films, and so much more. Our staff would be happy to help you find any of these films, so stop in anytime and ask!

Open Access Literature at the Library

 

Open Access makes scientific and scholarly literature more accessible than ever.

Students in high school and college are often tasked with writing research papers, and though the standards might vary by grade level and subject matter, it's generally important to have reputable sources at hand to provide information and evidence to their claims.  At Portland District Library, we're lucky to have a robust non-fiction section in both our youth and adult areas, as well as a selection of teen offerings to bridge the gap between the two sections.

However, as much as we'd love to, we don't always have the most up-to-date information about all topics on our shelves.  As a public library, we can provide information for a wide variety of general topics, but we are limited in what specific kind of texts we can keep on our shelves.  And back in the old days, students may have had to travel to an academic library at a university (maybe MSU?) to access scholarly research beyond what was on their local library's shelves.

But we have the internet! And something very exciting has been happening in the world of academic literature.

I remember writing a research paper and finding what looked like a perfect article online to get more information - but oops, it wasn't available through my library.  I would've had to pay to get access to just that one article, and it might not even have the info I needed!  As I'm writing this, I'm looking at an article in the Journal of Library Administration that costs $50 to access the one article - if I wanted to read the whole journal issue it came from, it would be $230.  And that's not for life, either - that's for 48 hours (for the one article) to a month (for the issue).  Needless to say, I won't be reading the whole thing, if only because I plan on buying groceries next week.

This is super common as costs rise across universities and academic publishers.  If your library or university doesn't pay for a subscription to an online journal, you can't read it without forking over serious dough yourself.

This is why I'm so thrilled about Open Access. Open Access Journals are free to read for anyone, be they a student writing a paper or just a person trying to learn as much as they can about a subject.  You can read scholarly papers, the kind that you know is going to be a trustworthy source for your research, without having to pay a crazy price just to read a single article.

There are a number of sources you can use to find these Open Access articles.  MeL has a database called "Academic Search Complete", which can be found at this link.  Not all of those articles are Open Access, but if you Google the name of the journal it's from, you can quickly find out if there's a free-to-read version.

There's also the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), which can be found at this link.  All of the sources listed on this directory are Open Access, which means they're free to read and cite.

So if you or someone you know has to write a research paper for a class, or just research a new topic for fun, Open Access is going to be your best friend.  And if you need any help citing your sources, figuring out your search terms, or even just making sense of what you're looking at, then Portland District Library is here to help.

Groundhog Day

How anyone could not love this guy is beyond me, but how reliable
is his weather report?

I don't know how much stock I place in Punxatawney Phil, the nationally famous groundhog with unquestionable lovability but highly questionable divinatory powers.  But it is Groundhog Day, and tradition dictates we heed his warning about what the next six weeks hold in store.

It appears that it was sunny enough out there for Phil to see his shadow, presaging six more weeks of unforgiving winter. And as dubious as I find it that a groundhog in western Pennsylvania can predict our famously inconstant Michigan weather, the fact remains that it was sunny enough in Portland this morning for local Michigan groundhogs to see theirs, as well.  And with the way our winters have been, I suppose wouldn't surprise me if the cold did last six weeks longer than we like.

It does afford us a little more time to build snowmen, snow forts, and armies of snowball-wielders, but if cold and snow don't fit into your idea of a good time, then Portland District Library has something you're sure to love: indoor heating books!  Even though our 2022/23 Winter Reading Program is behind us, there's no reason not to spend some snowy hours curled up under a blanket with a good book.

What are you reading this winter to keep warm and cozy? And do you think Punxatawney Phil is worth his salt as a meteorologist?  Comment below!

Cozy at the Library

After a wet and mild couple of weeks, we finally have some snow in Portland!  I'm sure I've said it before, but one of my favorite things about snow (and rain and whatever the sky wants to drop on us) is getting to watch and listen from a comfy place indoors.

The fireplace in the apse, aka the big windowed space at the end of the building, is one of my favorite places to cozy up with a book on a quiet, snowy day.  There's just something so nice about just being warm and protected from the elements - a sort of happy, romantic feeling.

National Letter Writing Week

(Clip Art courtesy of The Old Design Shop [olddesignshop.com])

Did you know that the second week of January is National Letter Writing Week?  Neither did I, until it was already upon us!  As I went about my work at the library, trying to think of how to celebrate this unique occasion (aside from penning a letter or two of my own to friends and family), I realized that Portland District Library has the perfect thing for any occasion - books!

If you are participating in our Winter Reading Program (which is running until January 28th - if you aren't, there's still time!), then you're likely already reading anything you can get your hands on to fill your reading time.  But if you're open to suggestions, here's a list of books for every age level to get the whole family excited about letters, from their writing to their contents: