Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - April 28, 2023

Dear Reader

It's been a fun week celebrating National Library Week. I hope you have enjoyed our online celebration, but the party's not over yet. I have one more prize to offer. If you work at a library (or retired from a library), enter to win a ”Just One More Chapter” Colorful Pop Socket (a little stand for your phone or tablet). To enter, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Library Memories from Readers…

“Hi Suzanne: I like telling my personal ‘Library Story’ and appreciate your asking us to share our personal tributes.

I had just turned 8 when my family moved from our small town to a home in the country. I went from a street full of kids to play with every day, to farm fields and dirt roads, and, to my young mind, boredom and nothingness. I moped and whined a lot. One day my Dad came home from work and said he was taking me to a special place called a library. When we walked in, he asked the librarian to direct us to the Children’s Section. Then he said I could borrow as many books as I could read in one week, and next week we would return those books and get some more. It was a life-changing moment in my life when I fell headlong in love with endless new friends: books. I quickly advanced from the Children’s Section to the whole of the library. With every book, I fell into an enchanted place of stories and characters and learning and inspiration and hope and life and love.

I remain grateful to my father and the public library for introducing me to the awe-inspiring world of books. That passion has sustained me for 6 decades, in a way that no person, or other place, or anything else could. Thank you, Dad. Thank you, libraries.” – Debbie D.

“Since my daughter was able to walk I took her to storytime at the library and we always came home with armfuls of books for both of us. When she was a teenager she told me ‘thanks for making me a nerd Mom,’ I love to read. Before the Kindle was  on the scene we would take turns purchasing James Patterson's books and mail them from NJ to California.  My daughter now lives in Europe and unfortunately it's too expensive to mail books but when she comes home there is always a book waiting for her in her room. I still love to read and visit the library and wish young kids would put their cellphones down and pick up a book. LIBRARIES ARE THE BEST!!!!” – Maryann C.

“Hi Suzanne, I was an early reader, so the library has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. Our library required card holders to be at least six years old. As far as I was concerned, the MOST important activity on my sixth birthday was getting my own library card. How delighted I was to write my name and address on that card! I still have it, too.

Now my library card just has a barcode, but that may be the only 14-digit number I ever have or ever will memorize, by choice anyway. Thank you for the book club and especially for sharing your wonderful self with us all. It's so good to read with friends!” – Warm regards, Melanie M.

If you work at a library (or retired from a library), enter to win a ”Just One More Chapter” colorful pop socket (a little stand for your phone or tablet).

Go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 27, 2023

Dear Reader,

It's a week-long celebration, National Library Week!

It's a National Library Week party every day this week--with fun giveaways for librarians. If you work at a library (or retired from a library), enter to win an I'm A Librarian What's Your Superpower? coffee mug, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

A thank you from the heart always makes someone's day. Take a minute to thank the librarians in your city. Drop off a handwritten note to any librarian and ask him/her to share it with everyone. Send an email, bake chocolate chip cookies, deliver a balloon along with a thank you note, or simply walk into the library, shake a librarian's hand and say, "Thank You. Happy National Library Week!"

Library Memories from Readers…

“When I was around 6 years old, I had to go with my mother to a laundromat in a small strip shopping center. It was really boring for me. On one nice day, she let me venture outside to look at the other 3 or 4 storefronts in the center. One was very intriguing–there were shelves and shelves of books. I ran back to my mom and wanted to show her what I found. She explained it was a library. You could borrow some books, take them home and read them; and then bring them back and get some more. And it was all for free! I could not believe that anyone would be able to look at all of those books and it did not cost anything! I was hooked for life!

As I grew up, I retained my love of libraries. After over 20 years in the advertising industry, I decided I really wanted to work in a library. I then spent a dozen years serving at the Circulation and Reference desk of a public library system. I enjoyed all aspects of that job. Now that I am retired, I continue to enjoy and appreciate our public library. I have never gotten over the thrill of what I might find on my next library visit! I enjoy your newsletter so much. Thank you, Suzanne!” – Julie B.

“Good morning my friend Suzanne, I am the events coordinator at my library. I am the lucky one that plans the events for the kids, storytimes, the huge summer reading program and other fun activities that go on at our library. I love to get kids coming to the programs when they are little and watch as the kids grow up. I have been at it for many years. I have seen kids grow up from crawling at storytimes to starting to drive cars and going off to college. We get to see patrons from young and older. I know for the employees at our library we all love our patrons and love to see them when they come in for their next book, book on CD, movie or just to read the new paper. I have the best job ever!!” – Sheri M., Wilson County Public Library, Floresville, TX 

If you work at a library (or retired from a library), enter to win a I'm A Librarian What's Your Superpower? coffee mug, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 26, 2023

Dear Reader

Every day this week in honor of hard working librarians everywhere, we are celebrating National Library Week. Librarians (or retired folks from library service), can enter to win fun giveaways.

Today’s giveaway is a two-piece, My Weekend is Booked, Tote Bag and zippered Cosmetic/Pencil Case. To enter, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Library Memories from Readers…

Good morning, Suzanne. Your columns [about National Library Week] inspired me to get the word out to our library patrons.  

I have been working in my local library for about sixteen years, fifteen of them part-time. Now I am the Circulation Supervisor which my last boss summed up as the Concierge of the Library. I love this job, and try to do as much as I can to make it a place for people to feel welcome. So when I read your column, I thought that library week would be a great opportunity to really welcome people. Based on the theme, There’s More to the Story, I invited our patrons to tell us their own library story. The staff at our library is creative, and enthusiastic, and were definitely on board with making my idea come to life.

We have posted fliers, reached out on our Facebook page and on our library website inviting people to come in to fill out their own story card. We have asked that they share with us their own story–have they been inspired by a book, is there a librarian who has gone beyond the basic library tasks, have they made friends at the library? We hear these stories every day from our patrons, but thought that if we could get people to share their experiences it would encourage others not only to share, but to appreciate the library. We have themed our library community bulletin board, and are all set to put this into motion starting on Monday (as we are not open on Sunday) and going through to Saturday (we may keep it up longer if it proves successful).

Our library really does a good job not only with providing library materials but with other events such as exercise classes, seasonal Book Bingo (patrons have three months to make bingos based on book prompts), hands-on gardening events, we recently learned about Korean culture with a short film and a lotus lantern craft, and the list goes on. Right now our small branch is waiting for a new director as ours has recently retired. I am proud to say that the staff has shown how much we care by continuing on with her work and dedication. Our Youth Services Director has been carrying the torch with her support and encouragement; she has her own workload and programming schedule, yet she takes time to listen (and to help implement) other event programming. The latest project was inspired by your column, and with that endorsement she just had to say yes!

In closing, I have many library stories, but thought it was about time to hear from library patrons.

All the best,

Robin B., Huntington Branch Library, Shelton, Connecticut. 

Librarians (or retired folks from library service), enter to win today’s giveaway, a two-piece, My Weekend is Booked, Tote Bag and zippered Cosmetic/Pencil Case. To enter, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 25, 2023

Dear Reader

It's a National Library Week party every day this week--lots of fun giveaways for librarians. If you work at a library (or retired from a library), enter to win today’s giveaway, a set of Bibliophile Note Cards: 20 Different Notecards & Envelopes. It's simple to enter, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

 Please welcome to the book club today’s guest author, and a dear friend of mine, Jessica Keener. Her bestselling debut novel, Night Swim, was followed by an award-winning collection of stories, Women in Bed. Her second novel, Strangers in Budapest, was an Indie Next pick, and Entertainment Weekly best new book selection, and a Southern Independent Bookseller Association bestseller.

She has been the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council artist grant, a Jakobson scholarship from Wesleyan University, and a fellowship from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

The tenth anniversary edition of Night Swim was released in March...

Night Swim is about a dysfunctional Jewish family set in New England in 1970. At the center of the story is sixteen-year old Sarah, who along with her three brothers must find ways to deal with a tragic event that sends their family into a tailspin of chaos, anger, and grief. In a timeless tale that embraces the complexities of love, the story is a reminder that a family, bound by heartache, can learn to rise up and overcome.

Thanks for joining us at the book club Jessica… 

 

Golden Chain Tree

One spring, when I was about eight or nine, my father told me he wanted to show me something. I followed him across our long, grassy backyard to the ledge where the woods began, mostly pines, and the hill that sloped down to a private road below. I stood next to him; the ground padded with fallen pine needles.

"See that?" Dad pointed to a thin, unremarkable tree in the shade. A few yellow petals dangled from its reedy limbs.

"It's a golden chain tree. I'm going to transplant it to the front yard, where it can get sun. Here, hold this will you?"

He handed me his shovel, then reached for the trowel in his back pocket and began one of his favorite activities: digging dirt. I stood back, his apprentice, awaiting further instruction.

During this process, I listened to his grunting and watched sweat beads spin into the air. Everywhere, dirt--on his pants, face, hands, and tousled black hair. Messes in the garden didn't  disturb him at all. (Messes inside the house, however, drew out the frightening side of him.) But in the garden, he became my father on a joyful mission--sharing his delight with me. He had found a jewel.

I watched as he maneuvered, pushed, tugged, and carved a trough around the tree, until all the threads of the tree's roots released, and he eased the sapling out like a babe from a womb.

"Ready?" he said, his face dripping. "Take the shovel."

He swathed the roots in burlap and with a hike and adjustment of his shoulders, lifted the tree and carried it--horizontal--out of the woods, across the backyard to the front yard of our brick Tudor house.

"There," he said, stopping. He pointed to the anointed place two stories below my bedroom window. He had already dug a hole to prepare for the tree's arrival. Positioning the tree upright, he placed the swaddled roots into a cradle in the ground.

Next came Dad's foot stamping dance, moving round and round the tree, tamping down the soil to close the hole. For the final touch, he got down on his knees, and with square-shaped hands kneaded the remaining loose clumps of dirt, making things snug and anchored for the tree.

Over the years, our fledgling matured into a full adult--from a few dangling petals to a lush array of shimmering blossoms, a flowering chandelier that brightened my childhood days.

-- Jessica Keener

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 24, 2023

Dear Reader,

It's a week-long celebration, National Library Week!

What's a celebration without gifts? To celebrate National Library Week, I have lots of fun giveaways for librarians. If you work at a library (or retired from a library), today we are starting out with a chance for you to win a set of seven Enamel Book Themed Pins. They’ll look great pinned to your shirt, jacket or book bag. They really are so cute, with sayings like ‘Books are Magic,’ ‘I read Banned Books’, ‘The Book Was Better’ and ‘Books Turn Muggles into Wizards.’ It’s simple to enter, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Celebrating National Library Week is a tradition at the book club, and last week I asked readers to send their favorite library memories. To make things fun, everyone who shared a story was entered in a drawing for a set of four Vintage Library Card Coasters...and the winner is…Tracey N. Watch for your prize to arrive Tracey.

Readers Love Their Libraries…

“I was of an age in the 1950's when I could ride my bike for hours with no supervision. One of my favorite places was to go to the library and choose books of exotic places and tall tales. My library was surrounded by a cobblestone street. It very much felt like Oz and I was never disappointed by a fake wizard. My books were treasures and I was only able to return them without crying as there was a whole treasure chest in my castle to explore. I now ride in a Ford Bronco and the magic is still there.” – Alice S.

“I have been going to libraries since I was old enough to take a bus to town and now I am 77 so have been doing it for many years. Books have always taken me to wonderful, thought provoking places I have never been. My library made it possible to get books even during Covid when we couldn’t visit and reading became even more important. I love the grandeur of my library. It is an older building but looks much like the one I visited as a child and of course all the staff is always there to help you find a book. I expect the library and books will be there for all my future travels and adventures.” – Ada S.

“My favorite thing about my library is discovering an author who I haven't heard of before and who has written a book that is nearly impossible to put down.” – Jeffrey R.

If you work at a library (or retired from a library), be sure to enter the drawing for a set of seven Enamel Book Themed Pins. It’s simple to enter, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 21, 2023

Dear Reader,

Today’s the last day to enter the April Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. If you're a winner, please send a photo, and if you share the cookies with a friend I'd love to hear about it. To enter this month’s cookie giveaway, and to see photos of recent winners, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/cookiegiveaway-2/

I read a lot of books. I have to. It's my job. The word "job" makes it sound like it's a chore, doesn't it? But it's really not. However, there are some problems that I occasionally encounter because I read for a living.

"I read for a living." Hmm, strange sentence. Stranger thought.

It's one of those fantasies that people dream about. I know because they ask me all the time, "How can I get a job reading books?" It appears flawless and sounds romantic, but when it's your day job or night job (in other words I'm always on the job--reading in the bathtub, at the hairdresser, and at stop signs…) in no time at all, a bit of the romance is replaced with the reality there is only so much time to read and oh, so many books.

I realize I've gotten myself sidetracked and off the point here, which isn't too difficult for me to do. For me, the hardest part about getting sidetracked is recalling exactly where it was that I took a detour, so I can get back on the main road--or in this case, reconnect with my main thought...which was....so you see, sometimes I have a real problem "settling in.' It even happens to me sometimes when I first begin to read a book. I can be five pages in and suddenly it will dawn on me that I have no idea what was on them, because I was thinking about something else I needed to do later in the day.

Determined to regain control, and start reading and comprehending, I flipped back to page one, and prepared to begin again. It was a slow start, but soon I was consumed in the magic of a great book. And I didn't put it down again until I finished page 257…

"The End."

* Get ready to hoot and holler, we're gonna have an online party! Join me next week in celebrating National Library Week at the book club. This year librarians have chosen the theme, There's More to the Story. I’ll be sharing readers’ favorite library stories and of course there will be library inspired gifts.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 20, 2023

Dear Reader,

My oven's preheated and I'm baking, so be sure to enter the April Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. If you're a winner, please send a photo, and if you share the cookies with a friend I'd love to hear about it. To enter this month’s cookie giveaway, and to see photos of recent winners, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/cookiegiveaway-2/

 

“No buying birthday gifts for adults anymore.” 

One of my family members, on his own decision, made that announcement last year at one of our family birthday parties.

“Well, maybe not for you,” I quickly replied, “but I like to get birthday gifts. I’m not agreeing to the ‘new rule’!”

Yes, I like to get gifts and I enjoy celebrating my birthday. True, it might be more difficult to come up with a clever gift idea for an adult, but frankly my teenage grandchildren absolutely love it when I give them a gift card. I don’t know if they look at a gift card the same way I do, but after I untie the birthday bow, if there’s a gift card to the local plant nursery inside, I’m thrilled!  The next day I head to the nursery and I shop guilt-free. Do I really need another plant? It doesn’t matter, I have a gift card, ‘Happy Birthday to me!’

I’m not the only adult who’s looking forward to a birthday gift.

There was a knock at my front door. The woman standing on the stoop started talking about my bubble machine. (If you’re new to the book club, for the past 13 years I’ve been turning on a bubble machine in front of my house for eight hours every day. Why? Simply for the fun of watching the bubbles and sharing the joy with people who walk and drive by. I’m known as the “Bubble Lady” in Sarasota.)

The woman told me her husband was turning 80 in a couple of weeks. “What do you get someone, who really has everything he wants, for his 80th birthday? It’s a challenge. But I actually think my husband wants a bubble machine like you have. He’s even been dropping little hints.”

Just yesterday, when we were driving past your house, he pointed it out right away. “See that bubble machine The Bubble Lady turns on every day? That’s quite the thing, isn’t it? I bet it’s a lot of fun. I wonder where she got it. I really enjoy seeing it every time we drive by.”

So the woman told me she’s decided to get a bubble machine for her husband. Could I tell her what kind of machine I have and where to buy one?

“Come on in,” I told her. “I can fill you in with everything you need to know”...and 20 minutes later the woman knew everything about the machine, what kind of bubbles were the best and where to buy them. 

She was so excited. “My husband is going to love this! He can sit down by the end of our driveway, turn on the bubble machine and I know our neighbors, adults and kids, will stop by to chat. This is the perfect gift!”

I was excited, too. Talking with her made my day. I only wish I would have asked for her address. I would have loved to stop by and chat with the new “Bubble Man” of Sarasota. 

“No gift for adults anymore! I don’t think so!” 

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 19, 2023

Dear Reader,

My oven's preheated and I'm baking, so be sure to enter the April Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. If you're a winner, please send a photo, and if you share the cookies with a friend I'd love to hear about it. 

To enter this month’s cookie giveaway, and to see photos of recent winners, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/cookiegiveaway-2/

Get ready to hoot and holler, we're gonna have an online party! Join me in celebrating National Library Week (April 23-29) at the book club. This year librarians have chosen the theme, There's More to the Story. 

As part of our National Library Week celebration, I'd like to share your story about how your library, and the librarians who work there, have made a difference in your life. When did you start using the library? Did your parents take you to the library when you were a child? What's your favorite thing about the library in your city? Or maybe you're a librarian--what do you love about your job, what are your greatest challenges or share a favorite memory of working with a patron.

Please send an email and share your stories. I'll be sharing readers' emails during National Library Week. This is a fun opportunity to join in the celebration. And of course, a party needs gifts. When you send me your thoughts about libraries, I'll put your name in a drawing for a set of four Vintage Library card coasters.

We're gonna have a party! 

Email me at: [email protected] and put THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY on the subject line.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 18, 2023

Dear Reader,

Today’s guest author, David R. Samson, is an associate professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of Toronto. An interdisciplinary scholar investigating major behavioral and physiological transitions in human evolution, he has worked with a range of primate species and studied sleep in different types of human societies. David’s research has been internationally profiled in venues such as BBC, Time, the New York Times, The Smithsonian, CBC, NPR, and National Geographic. 

In his spare time,  David is a practitioner of a medieval martial art in the Society of Creative Anachronism. He is the author of Our Tribal Future: How to Channel Our Foundational Human Instincts into a Force for Good.

Enter the drawing to win one of three copies of Our Tribal Future send an email with your preferred shipping address to: [email protected]

The Friendship Spell

The memory of my first friendships is now decades past, but it remains vivid and bright to this day. I was only a young teenager, but I could sense the gravity of the moment. My oldest friends were upset because I had fallen in with another high school clique. After some planning, they absconded me from my home, blindfolded me, and took me to a small copse of woods in an unknown forest. There, they told me of their quest to renew our friendship. Though they knew it not, they were about to use an ancestral identity ritual that involved ancient and powerful magics to achieve this end.

I can still hear the heavy metal ballad of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters playing in the background of the portable stereo they brought. They removed my blindfold and told me to kneel. The stainless-steel sword tip touched my left shoulder, then my right, and then after an ascending arc, it came to rest on a lock of my unkempt teenage hair: "Arise, Sir Davers, a [redacted] of the order of [redacted]," my friend said. We shared a sacred, secret handshake known only to our group, and after the ritual was complete, I stood up and we embraced, feeling a love and acceptance that was identical to familial bonds.

Those friends, my first true and time-tested friends, remain by my side to this day, and they still call me "Davers." Our secret society, which I would learn about only later as an anthropologist, was called a sodality. A sodality is an identity group that uses ritual, symbols, music, codes, nicknames, and other secrets as a currency of trust. I learned that these types of relationships serve a critical survival function for our ancestors. They provide a sense of belonging, support, and love that can only be found in a close-knit community. Moreover, they serve as a kind of insurance guild for trusted members, where the human and social capital of a group can be easily called. My friends were manifesting in the theatrical act of ritual an instinct honed over millions of years.

These friends remain among the most important relationships in my possession. They shaped who I am today and helped me navigate the challenges of my teenage years. I will always cherish the memories I have of those early days and the bond we formed. But it’s not just about the halcyon days of past. We remain  brothers in arms, united by a common identity and goal in sum they are a major cornerstone of my life’s sense of meaning and purpose.

-- David R. Samson

Enter the drawing to win one of three copies of Our Tribal Future send an email with your preferred shipping address to: [email protected]

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - April 17, 2023

Dear Reader,

Get ready to hoot and holler, we're gonna have an online party! Join me in celebrating National Library Week (April 23-29) at the book club. This year librarians have chosen the theme, There's More to the Story.  

As part of our National Library Week celebration, I'd like to share your story about how your library, and the librarians who work there, have made a difference in your life. When did you start using the library? Did your parents take you to the library when you were a child? What's your favorite thing about the library in your city? Or maybe you're a librarian--what do you love about your job, what are your greatest challenges, or share a favorite memory of working with a patron.

Please send an email and share your stories. I'll be sharing readers' emails during National Library Week. This is a fun opportunity to join in the celebration. And of course, a party needs gifts. When you send me your thoughts about libraries, I'll put your name in a drawing for a set of four Vintage Library card coasters.

We're gonna have a party!

Email me at: [email protected] and put THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY on the subject line.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]