We were so impressed by the great turnout to our first Relaxed Readers Meetup Event last week! Thank you to everyone that came and talked about books with us. The conversation was interesting and engaging and the food was yummy!
The next event we have planned for our Relaxed Readers Meetup Group is on Wednesday, January 8th from 5:30 – 7:30pm at Mexican Village Downtown St. Cloud.
We will have an optional “we’re all reading it!” book; you can vote for your choice here. (This is optional – we are fine if you bring yourself and a book or two you’ve read.)
RSVP here! These events are open to anyone that likes to read, not just CMLE members. As our name implies, we are not going to quiz you about books or tease you about what you like to read. We encourage enjoyment of all books, and love to hear what others are reading!! 📚
The Bonneville Salt Flats! I didn’t see cars racing, but it was pretty cool here.
Wow – this is a really big country! There are so many great states, and it’s great to see a book from each state. We are admiring each state in the order I drove to visit them this year, and enjoying a book from each state. (It’s not “the” book to represent an entire state – just one that will let you do some armchair travel while you plan out your own fun trips!
This week we are going to travel through four more states: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada. These were fun states to visit, with lots of wide open space to pass through and lots of beautiful things to see. There were mountains, there was a great salt lake, there were deserts – it was great.
And for our travel tip this week: Cruise Control. Really, what else needs to be said? I think we can all agree that only monsters refuse to set their cruise control, thereby baffling everyone else on the highway who are just all trying to move the same direction. Monsters, I tell you!
(As always, the links below take you to Amazon.com for more book information. If you buy anything while you are there, Amazon will give us a small percentage of their profits. Thanks, in advance! We could use the money more than Jeff Bezos can!)
Wyoming
This was my first trip to Wyoming! So it was a little extra exciting for me to stay in Cheyenne. I love the Longmire series, and though it takes place on the other end of the state from my trip it was still cool to know I was in the same state as Walt! This is the first in the series, but they keep going, so no worries about running out of Western mystery adventures.
“Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love this outstanding first novel, in which New York Times bestselling author Craig Johnson introduces Sheriff Walt Longmire of Wyoming’s Absaroka County. Johnson draws on his deep attachment to the American West to produce a literary mystery of stunning authenticity, and full of memorable characters. After twenty-five years as sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire’s hopes of finishing out his tenure in peace are dashed when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two years earlier, Cody has been one of four high school boys given suspended sentences for raping a local Cheyenne girl. Somebody, it would seem, is seeking vengeance, and Longmire might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 rifle.With lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and a cast of characters both tragic and humorous enough to fill in the vast emptiness of the high plains, Walt Longmire attempts to see that revenge, a dish best served cold, is never served at all. “
Colorado
I’ve said this (many times) already, but: I used to live here! Colorado is amazing and beautiful, and if you have not yet been there – please go. It’s an old one, but I really enjoy this book- and I’ve been to the hotel the story is based on: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.
“Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.”
Utah
This was the first time I’d been i n Utah, except for being in the airport. It was beautiful; the Great Salt Lake Desert was very odd to drive through – like a negative image of driving through Minnesota lakes.
“When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey’s Road and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah. This is a rare view of a quest to experience nature in its purest form — the silence, the struggle, the overwhelming beauty. But this is also the gripping, anguished cry of a man of character who challenges the growing exploitation of the wilderness by oil and mining interests, as well as by the tourist industry. “
Nevada
I spent the night in an incredibly hot, flat campground. Incredibly. HOT. The desert is a very warm place to be in August!
I love this book series! Only part of the book is set in Las Vegas, and if you like this one, there are a bunch more out there!
“Fifty million dollars has disappeared into thin air from the accounts of one of the richest men in the Philippines, Tommy Ordonez. His one hope is Ava Lee – sleek, capable forensic accountant and sleuth. With the help of her Triad-connected partner, Uncle, Ava follows the money trail from San Francisco to Costa Rica to the casinos and illegal gambling dens of Las Vegas. Meanwhile, a vengeful adversary from Ava’s past has put out a contract on her life, and the shadowy hit man is close at her heels every step of the way.
Will Ava recover the stolen cash without stepping into the crosshairs of a growing list of enemies? The first book of an electrifying new series, Ian Hamilton’s The Disciple of Las Vegas introduces Ava Lee: a deadly martial artist with a taste for luxury and a mind like a steel trap.”
Working in libraries and serving your community can be exhausting. Take a moment for yourself!
It seems like this is always an extra-stressful time of year: holidays, end of semesters, rushing to finish things before the end of the year.
So we want to help! CMLE cares about you, our members and library communities, and we want to see you through this season as healthfully as possible! 😊💕
We’ve talked about ways to tackle stress in the world of libraries before (check out our podcast episodes on the topic: Linking Our Libraries Episode 12 and a bonus episode on Stress Management) and have written a post with some relaxing reading suggestions.
From this excellent Bustle article: “Self-care means taking care of yourself in every aspect: Emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually, and relationally.” The article offers 12 ways to engage in self-care.
Psychology Today shares some ways to begin taking better care of yourself in this article.
Oprah has this article filled with expert self-care suggestions.
Mindful.org shares their five rules for self-care in this article.
In case you’d like more reading suggestions, Real Simple has this list of books to help you relax.
Plus, the U of M has this article explaining the benefits of reading for stress management!
CMLE created this article full of links and skills to help you combat workplace stress.
When all else fails, wrap yourself up in a blanket and/or find a nice animal to snuggle. See below:
Reading With Libraries has paused, and we will start new episodes of Linking Our Libraries this Thursday. Be sure you are subscribed, to get all the good info we have this season!
And when you are subscribed to Reading With Libraries, you are not abandoned! We will be dropping short episodes each Tuesday, to be sure you have plenty of book ideas.
” Sasha Chapin is a victim of chess. Like countless amateurs before him–Albert Einstein, Humphrey Bogart, Marcel Duchamp–the game has consumed his life and his mind. First captivated by it as a member of his high school chess club, his passion was rekindled during an accidental encounter with chess hustlers on the streets of Kathmandu. In its aftermath, he forgot how to care about anything else. He played at all hours, for weeks at a time. Like a spurned lover, he tried to move on, but he found the game more seductive the more he resisted it. Â Â Â Â And so, he thought, if he can’t defeat his obsession, he had to succumb to it. “
Is your school getting your E-rate money??? Check! If not, you probably should get it to provide broadband to your community. ) If your school is not currently getting E-rate dollars, talk to us. We can either provide some help in getting that set up, or potentially provide a consortium to reach out to a group of schools!
From the FCC website: “The schools and libraries universal service support program, commonly known as the E-rate program, helps schools and libraries to obtain affordable broadband.
Eligible schools, school districts and libraries may apply individually or as part of a consortium. Funding may be requested under two categories of service: category one services to a school or library (telecommunications, telecommunications services and Internet access), and category two services that deliver Internet access within schools and libraries (internal connections, basic maintenance of internal connections, and managed internal broadband services). Discounts for support depend on the level of poverty and whether the school or library is located in an urban or rural area. The discounts range from 20 percent to 90 percent of the costs of eligible services. E-rate program funding is based on demand up to an annual Commission-established cap of $4.15 billion.”
And, to make it even better, the FCC has listened to the American Library Association and done some work to make E-rate even easier!
Check out this excerpt for some great information about the upcoming changes.
“A number of ALA’s recommendations were adopted in the final order, which includes changes intended to encourage more libraries to apply for their share of the $4.15 billion program. Changes that will take effect in the 2021 funding year include:
The funding floor will increase from the initial $9,200 to $25,000,
which should make a real difference for small libraries deciding whether
to take on the application process.
There will be a single square-foot formula of $4.50 for all
libraries—a significant improvement for small libraries, but short of
the $6 that ALA had endorsed for larger libraries.
The five-year budget cycle will be adjusted for inflation at the start of each five-year period rather than every year.
The budget will be made at the library system (and school district) level instead of at the individual library branch.
In addition to PPAO, member leaders on ALA’s E-Rate Task Force and
others contributed to policy formation on this issue. ALA Senior Policy
Fellow Bob Bocher has aided E-Rate policy development both for ALA and
for his home state of Wisconsin through his work with the Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction. The FCC appointed Bocher to the board
of the Schools and Libraries Committee of Universal Service
Administrative Company (USAC), which administers the E-Rate program.
Bocher’s second term on the USAC board is ending, and ALA has
recommended the FCC appoint Amber Gregory, current coordinator of E-Rate
services with Arkansas State Library and chair of the E-Rate Task
Force, to succeed him.
As libraries continually make upgrades to meet the ever-increasing demands on their Wi-Fi, ALA is working with federal regulators and local libraries to ensure the E-Rate program works. For more information about the E-Rate program, visit USAC’s website. To learn more about how to apply for E-Rate funding for your library, contact your state’s E-Rate coordinator.”
Get your money! Provide great services! It’s kind of the whole mission of a library! (Call us if you need help!)
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
