How We Get Books With Libraries Closed

At the corner of our street is a "Little Library" where we found Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans, In the Dark by Brian Freeman, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.  I read Promise Me a long time ago but my husband didn't.  He read about halfway and gave up on it.

I have loaded several that I have not gotten to yet because before the Senior Center closed, I took a couple from there to read.  I just finished Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult and am currently reading Water From My Heart by Charles Martin.

With the libraries closed due to the Corona Virus, we've been reading books that we had from the library before it closed.  They were Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware, Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah, A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer, Bravelands--The Spirit Eaters by Erin Hunter.   We both Liked Turn of the Key and A Heart So Fierce and Broken best.

I also have loaded some to my Kindle that I have not read yet but which I plan to read.  My husband read Her Last Breath by J. A. Schneider; however, he prefers to hold a book.  He does not like having to press the lever to advance the pages.

Finally, to our surprise, a neighbor of our who is a librarian dropped off If It Bleeds by Stephen King for us yesterday.  It actually has four short stories.

We are managing to continue reading but still look forward to getting back to the library when it opens.

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You Never Know What You'll Find at the Library

Created by Malcolm Cochran

It's been quite a while since I've been in the Cleveland Public library downtown and was really surprised to see this big bronze piggy bank.  I had to take a picture.  Then googled it to see why they had it.  Here is what I found:

Big Pig Bank, 1997 Bronze, electric clock 36" x 73" x 34" Malcolm Cochran created a bronze piggy bank located at the Cleveland Public Library, Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium. Originally, the piggy bank was placed in a window facing the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Cochran stated "he was inspired by the piggy bank as a symbol of fiscal responsibility."

Oscar the Grouch

 I also checked out the puppet exhibit that is there.  It was very impressive with all sorts of puppets and marionettes from Punch & Judy to really tall ones and from other countries.  They even Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street in the trash can talking to people.  That was really funny! 

There was also a video running on puppetry techniques and a puppet theater set up with hand puppets available for people to play with.  When I was there during my lunch hour, I enjoyed watching a father and daughter having some fun putting on a little puppet show.  One guy actually sat down on the benches in front to watch them and two security guards were entertained by them as well. 

Libraries are a great place to go and they are free!  When was the last time you visited a library.  We usually go once a week.

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4 Things I Learned This Week #88 (Thumblebus, blogging, memory, books

Thumblebus

At Christian Mommy Writer I found out what aThumblebus is. Have you ever heard of it? It's a gutted school bus that has been filled with playground type things to amuse children.

Blogging Challenge

Thanks to Kristin-The Goat's comment on my "Why Do I Blog? Good Question" post, I learned that tons of people participate in National Blog Posting Month (NaBlPoMo) which is a challenge to write one blog post a day for a month and the official month for that is November.

Libraries

Over at Reading Teen I found a very funny video made by librarians called "Libraries Will Survive." I was going to embed it here but thought the Reading Teen should get the credit for it so just gave you the link. It's worth the visit.

Memory Loss

By reading Flight to Heaven by Capt. Dale Black,I learned that "Often people with head trauma may remember events, but they will not remember the faces of the people in the events. Another type of amnesia, called source amnesia, is when people can recall certain information, but they don't know where or how they obtained the information. Since different parts of the brain store different types of memories, the more pervasive the damage, the more types of memories are affected."

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Libraries Are So Much More Than Books

One of the few places a person can go for free entertainment is a library. Gerard never went to libraries before we were married but I introduced him to the one by our home and then we looked at others in the area as well. Now he goes every week and encourages other people to get a library card too. He used to buy books all the time but now fins them at the library.

With this recession, libraries have seen an increase in the number of patrons. There is so much more to libraries than just books! We have seven in our area that I can think of just off the top of my head, two within walking distance of our house and one within walking distance of my office where I work.

The one nearest to us has CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes and even children’s games that can be borrowed. It has a variety of activities for kids including game days where kids can come and play games together such as Chess, Checkers, Monopoly, etc. Sometimes they’ll even have a Wii set up that people of all ages (even me!) can come and play during family times. This is where I went to try Wii bowling one Saturday morning.

Another nice thing is that they have computers for the public to come in and use for free. If I want to work on my blog or go on pogo, Facebook, Twitter or a discussion forum, I can do it at lunch time at the Main Cleveland Public Library since work doesn’t want us using those sites at work. I do have a cell phone but not the Internet connection on it because I’m cheap. The phone already costs plenty just to use for basic phone calls--$60 a month! I am seriously considering switching to Revel the end of this year since it’s much cheaper because it’s only local which is fine for us. Usually there is a long waiting list but I get about 20 minutes in generally. I also used the computers at the library near our home when my computer was in for repair which was when I first learned how to sign up for them.

Some libraries have authors come and speak about their books or other special classes. The one Main Cleveland Public Library in downtown Cleveland recently had knitting group in the library garden on a Saturday open to anyone. They even taught beginners how to do it for free! You never know what you’ll find at the library. Today there was a little band at the library garden playing music and box lunches were available for $10 each (not in my budget).

Occasionally, after playing tennis behind the library in North Royalton, it's always nice to stop in just to cool off, use the restroom and get a drink on a hot day.

We go to the library practically every week. Did you know you can go on the web site and request books that you’d like to read? If your particular branch doesn’t have it on their shelves, they can order it from another branch for you. We love this service! The library is a real good place to go. When was the last time you visited a library near you?

Ohio has one of the best library systems in the country and now our Governor is planning to cut their state funding by 50%! This is very distressing, especially since our library tax proposals always get passed. Log on to saveohiolibraries.com to stop him. Call the governor of Ohio at 614-466-3555 or 614-644-4357.