Summer Fun

Summer reading is known for its playful and escapist qualities, and in honor of that, roll the metaphorical dice and come play Greenopoly on the 3rd floor.

Our summer trivia game acknowledges the greenness of our fair city along with the diversity of materials on the Readers' Services floor.

It's simple to play and each week through August 1st there are 8 new questions to answer. That means many chances to win a $25.00 gift card to one of the "green" retailers in our area. Many thanks to the Friends of the Des Plaines Library for supporting this program.

Here are some details.

OBJECT OF THE GAME:
Celebrate the abundant natural and other green gifts of Des Plaines.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
The 3rd floor of the Des Plaines Public Library.

DIRECTIONS TO PLAY:
Pick a question about a Des Plaines Park or other Des Plaines location and find the corresponding “board piece” on the 3rd floor. Answer the question and drop it in the TOP HAT.

PRIZES:
Gifts cards to Pesche’s Flowers, Lurvey’s Garden Center, Joe Caputo & Sons Fruit Market and the Des Plaines History Center.

New Questions and Prizes Every Week! Stop by the Information Desk on the 3rd Floor for more details.

Greenopoly and Summer Reading Club 2010 are made possible by the generous sponsorship of The Friends of the Library.

Miners Wanted

There are eleven days left to EXPLORE! The Adult Winter Reading Club ends on February 28th.

Let me clarify the above two sentences. The Adult Winter "READING" club is not just about reading. It's about listening and watching as well. And it is about exploring new things and there is never a time limit on that.

The theme this winter has been Read-a-Likes and View-a-Likes and we invite you to explore alternatives to your favorite authors and genres. The Readers' Services staff has compiled information for you in the form of bookmarks and posters to help you.

Come up to the third floor and discover eight stations of suggestions. At each you will find a raffle ticket for a drawing for a gift certificate for a local restaurant or business. Thanks to the Friends of the Library and their generous donation, these certificates are fabulous. $25.00 to Cheeseburger in Paradise, Dotombori Japanese Restaurant, Little Villa Restaurant, Mexico Restaurant, Pesche's Flowers, Silver Stallion Restaurant, Thai Square Restaurant and Via Roma Italian Eatery.

No hard hat, flashlight or complicated rules for mining the vast array of materials. Just visit the 3rd floor and EXPLORE.

EXPLORE
* a New way to Read with MyMediaMall
* View-a-Likes for Popular Movies
* Classical Music
* Marley & Me Read-a-Likes
* a New Era in Historical Fiction
* World Music
* Teen Reading for Fun, Not School
* Gentle Reads

In the Name of Friendship

When a friend or family member says, "You must read this book." Must you?

Many of the books I've read lately have come to me by the way of friends. They are not books that I've researched or read about in the many magazines or online sources privy to those in the business. When I get these suggestions sometimes I want to say, "Recommending books -- that's MY job."

Most of us behind the desks at libraries have a long list of books we want to read. We don't "need" suggestions. When a friend's suggestion dovetails with my list, then life is good and that title moves up in order. But often I read the suggested book as an act of friendship.

The last three books I read were not recommended after a series of questions about my reading preferences or interests. Instead they were given to me with wide eyes and smiles big enough to make me happily stray from my methodically prepared list. It's hard to resist the opportunity of a shared experience under such pleasant circumstances. And happy I was. All three - different but engaging. One mysterious, one thoughtful, one funny...mirroring the good friends that recommended them.

The Help A debut novel by Katherine Stockett that portrays black maids' perspectives of working for white folks in 1960s Mississippi.

Sharp Objects
A city news reporter goes back to her small rural hometown to write a story about unsolved murders. A suspenseful, psychological story by Gillian Flynn.

Foreskin's Lament Shalom Auslander writes his memoir about growing up in contemporary America as a male in a Jewish Orthodox community.