Sometimes when the summer sun burns its brightest, it conjures up memories of a time before home air-conditioning, spending summer days in search of a cool retreat.
As a lifelong bookworm, the public library always made that list, especially if there was a summer reading challenge involved.
Libraries around the region are holding their own summer reading challenges and programs, and this week we wanted to see if this year’s summer readers are as ravenous as we remember. We talked to a few librarians to see how their summer reading has been going.
Kristen Wallo, Director, Valley Community Library
BOOKMARKS: So, what have you been doing for summer reading at the library?
WALLO: There's been so much going on at the library. So, recently we've had so many wonderful programs, including Experience Pottery Workshops, our Rebellious Readers Book Club, which is really great. It's a book club where we have a theme, we meet quarterly, and then you just come to your book club and talk about which books you've been reading that fit that theme. So there's not one specific book that everybody's required to read. Also our cookbook club has been very popular and our puzzle swap.
BOOKMARKS: You also have an adult summer reading challenge that’s wrapping up this week, correct?
WALLO: We love the summer reading challenge. The goal is for adults to read 500 minutes and to do eight activities, and we had 150 adults register here at the library this summer for that. And I'm really excited that it seems like everybody is doing such a great job in participating in that program. Not everybody's able to finish the challenge, but it's at least getting people to try and to start out and do it, and even though they might not hit their goal, they can still earn raffle tickets for our prizes as they go.
BOOKMARKS: How have people been doing with the challenge this year?
WALLO: They've been doing really great. We even have a really cool bulletin board here at the library where we have three large dinosaurs, and we're kind of tracking how much the teens, the children, and the adults are reading. So for every hour you read, we're encouraging our patrons to put a circle sticky on the dinosaur to see who can fill up the dinosaur the fastest, and it looks like our adults are in first place, then followed by children and teens.
BOOKMARKS: Why is it important to involve adults in summer reading?
WALLO: I think that reading is just such a fun activity, and it's something you could do to relax. Or I don't know. Sometimes some of those like thriller books or murder mysteries-they're not exactly relaxing, but they are entertaining. I think every book is a learning opportunity. You're learning new vocabulary, learning about different cultures or history, so many different things. So it's only good for you, basically, and it's enjoyable.
BOOKMARKS: So what are some of your favorites that you’ve read this summer?
WALLO: So I've been rereading a couple of the books that I have read in the past that I've really enjoyed. Have you ever heard of V.E. Schwab?
BOOKMARKS: Absolutely, yes.
WALLO: I'm so excited because I just recently reread their books “Vicious” — that's part of the “Villains” series — and the sequel to that, which is “Vengeful.” I had to reread these to prepare myself for the new book. These are the first books that I've read by V.E. Schwab, and I really, really enjoyed them. And I've been recommending them to everybody because I forgot how enjoyable they are because they have those morally gray characters, and like you kind of root for them, but you know they're not exactly good people, but they do good things sometimes.
Gillian Gerega, Youth Services Manager, Lackawanna County Children’s Library
BOOKMARKS: How has summer reading been going?
GEREGA: It's really been a wonderful summer so far. We've had a great response from the families here, and it's really exciting to see so many children staying engaged with reading while school is out. Our summer reading program that we're having at the library right now, is "Summer Quest: Unearth a Story." It's not just about logging books; it's about helping the kids discover stories that they love, and building that kind of confidence as readers, and make them feel like reading is a part of their everyday lives and something that's fun rather than something that is like a chore and just dedicated to school.
BOOKMARKS: In your experience as a librarian, how important is it for kids, especially school-aged kids, to do some summer reading that's beyond the list that their school may have assigned?
GEREGA: I think it's so important for kids to come to the library and figure out what kind of books that they like. I know I remember myself very well that you know there were sometimes titles that you didn't necessarily jive with, and while it is necessary to read all sorts of things to figure out what it is that you like, I always want the library to be a resource for kids to know that we are here for them, and we have a variety of titles that they can ask us for. I really believe that there's something for everybody at the library.
BOOKMARKS: I'm sure that you get some major reading done during the summer as well. Do you have a favorite that you've tackled this year?
GEREGA: I just read a really wonderful book. It's called “Theo of Golden.” It was really beautiful. I just loved that it was a very like, not coming of age, but very small town feel. It was very upbeat and positive, and just it really tugs at your heartstrings.
Rachel Goldstein, school librarian, Dingman-Delaware Elementary School
BOOKMARKS: As a school librarian, you’re not typically putting on any summer reading challenges. But what have you been doing to keep reading during the summer?
GOLDSTEIN: I actually joined a couple challenges, kind of through StoryGraph, which is what I use to track my reading, and then a couple groups on Facebook. I've been doing the 52 Book Club challenge. Every January they post a list of 52 books. So the goal is to kind of read a book a week.
BOOKMARKS: Any favorites so far this summer?
GOLDSTEIN: I did “Hemlock & Silver,” by T. Kingfisher. That one was definitely like a five-star read. I loved it. I've been picking up a lot more of T. Kingfisher and really loving what she's writing. It's fun because you're starting to see more in the fantasy genre of not just like teens going on adventures. T. Kingfisher’s been doing a lot of middle-aged people going on adventures. So this one was fun.
BOOKMARKS: You're getting all this reading done over the summer. What do you hope that your students are doing over the summer as well?
GOLDSTEIN: I hope they're still reading. I work in Pike County, and Pike County Library does a great job. They have different summer programs, and they have a bunch of different branches. So I'm just hoping that they're getting to visit the library. Just keep reading and you know, finding that love and just keep going.
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That's all for this edition of Bookmarks! Join us again on Aug. 22. We'll end the summer by once again talking about some favorite school-assigned reads.
