50 Book Challenge?

As perch librarian, I fly through various websites, checking out what's interesting and useful to my wonderful fans out there.  Perusing different sites on books and reading, I couldn't help noticing that quite a few of them have what's known as "The 50 Book Challenge."

Never heard of that challenge before?  Don't worry--I've only just heard of it myself.  It's a challenge for setting book goals, like reading 50 books in a year.  It's not compulsory to read 50 books (you could read more, you could read less), but 50 is the target number.

I realize each person is different and has his or her own approach to reading.  In my ever so humble opinion, however, I think some of the fun is taken out of reading if "goals" are set.  Something that is normally fun and relaxing can become unenjoyable and stressful.  It's one thing to tell yourself that you want to read more; it's another thing to give yourself a quota and a deadline.

If you ask me, reading should be an ongoing activity, like breathing.  It's something that simply continues, and depending on the material chosen, you may read quickly or you may read slowly.  I relish rushing through a new Harry Potter book because I just HAVE to know what happens next, but I slowly savor the poetic prose of a Willa Cather novel.

With reading, it's the journey that really matters, not the destination.  Take the time to internalize the words and the imagery they evoke.  Whether you're a fast reader or a slow one, be sure to live in the moment of the book you're reading.  The next book will come soon enough in its own due time.

My always modest 2 cents from the perch.

The Big Read

In different parts of the country, libraries bring people together through a community-wide reading program that encourages everyone to read a selected book.  Discussions of the book and other related events are intended to promote understanding and enhance enjoyment of the reading material.

Happily, we have a such a reading program going on during the month of February here at our library.  The Big Read is a program we're participating in along with other libraries in Spokane County.  And the book selected is Jack London's The Call of the Wild.

The classic is told from the perspective of Buck, a dog that's a St. Bernard-Scotch Collie mix.  He lives a rather idyllic life with a good, caring family in California at the turn of the 20th Century.  That is, until the gardener's assistant takes and sells him.  Buck becomes a sled dog in the Klondike region of Canada, getting clubbed into submission, fighting other dogs, and learning how to survive.  Eventually, after one of his masters is killed by members of an Indian tribe, Buck follows his wild instincts and joins a pack of wolves, living with his new animal companions in the wilderness.

You can get free copies of The Call of the Wild at our library.  We will have a book discussion on February 24 at 6:30 p.m. as well as a music program on February 28 at     2 p.m. featuring songs from the Klondike Gold Rush.   For children, there is a fun event called "Who's Scat is That?" on February 21 at 1 p.m. that teaches how to identify different animal scat.

So, there's no need for the winter blahs this February.  We got plenty of interesting things to get you out of your cave and into civilization.  Come out of hibernating and get into the library!

Gettin' my "Wild" groove on at the perch.