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!