Coloring for Adults

Remember what it was like when you were a kid and got a brand new coloring book with crayons that were never used?  Oh, the excitement of having a blank book just waiting for you to bring it to life with colors of your choosing!  And those pointy crayons with that familiar wax smell!  Coloring books and crayons were the keys to taking you away to a blissful world (and giving your parents a few hours of quiet!).

If you're missing those coloring days of your youth, you can re-live them again through the library's Coloring Club!  For one hour once a month, you can join your fellow adults in the library for coloring while you listen to soothing ambient music.  We supply the coloring sheets (which have a monthly theme), the coloring pencils, and the music.  You supply yourself and a desire to escape from the stresses of life for a short spell.

Ever since Johanna Basford came out with The Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book, the adult coloring craze has taken the country (and many libraries) by storm.  I remember at first being skeptical about coloring for adults, but it's something that so many of us need.

Coloring is like meditation--your mind clears as you focus on your hands maneuvering the pencils, filling pages with color.  It's a short break from whatever is going on in your life and a subconscious return to the happy, carefree days of childhood.  It also allows you to connect with your artistic side, something many of us have left by the wayside when we grew up and entered the adult sphere.

The library's Coloring Club meets the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.  Why not take a break, relax a bit, and get in touch with your inner child?  After all, adults need to have some fun, too!

With ever colorful greetings from the perch.

10 Reasons Why Is the Library Important

This week is National Library Week, and it got me thinking: with information available electronically at our fingertips, why is the library still important?  There are many reasons the library has relevance in today's age, but for now I'll give you 10:

1. You can check out items for free.  Let's start with the basics.  You can check out everything including books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, and more for free.  How many places loan things without charging a dime?
2. You can get free e-books and e-magazines.  Have an e-reader or tablet?  You can download books and magazines to your device for free as well.
3. Someone can show you how to use your electronic gadget.  Suppose you don't know how to use that e-reader or tablet you got as a gift.  The people at the store are in the business of selling products, not teaching how to use them.  Enter the library staff, ever willing to help for free.
4. The computers and Internet are free to use.  Maybe times are tough and you don't have a computer or are able to pay your Internet bill.  The library offers free use of their computers and Internet.  And if you do have an electronic device, you can use the library's Wi-Fi free of charge.
5. There are free programs and classes.  Want to learn how to knit or crochet?  Walk with other walkers?  Learn how to do computer basics?  The library has programs and classes to teach you these things and more.
6. It's the new community center.  Where can you get together with other people?  Where can you find out what's happening in the community?  You got it--the library, the modern town square!
7. There are still some things you can't get online.  Although a lot of things have been digitized, there are still so many more things that can only be found in print.
8. Librarians can proctor tests.  Taking a college class online?  Perhaps you need to take a proctored exam.  Well, library staff can serve as proctors.  For free!
9. It promotes literacy.  Maybe this is a no-brainer, but the library is in the reading business.  It has storytime programs for babies and for preschoolers.  Additionally, there are book clubs for young kids, teens, and adults.
10. It's both entertaining and useful.  If you're bored, you can always find something at the library to keep you entertained.  Something for home, something for that vacation you're taking.  If you want to learn, get information, apply for a job, or whatever, the library can help you do what you want to do.

The library is as essential as ever with its various offerings, most of which are free.  And not that you need any more incentive to come into the library, but this week in honor of National Library Week, we're giving away free book bags and other goodies, so come on in!

Yours truly from the perch.

Get Hygge!

Are you like me?  Getting a little tired of the dark, gloomy, rainy weather we've been having for ages?  Having enough of all the water flooding the fields and roads?  Seeing too much gray and brown than vibrant colors?

Then look to our friends, the Danes, for some inspiration.  In winter they have up to 17 hours of darkness a day in Denmark, yet they're some of the happiest people around.  Why?  That's because they have a secret, and that secret has finally gotten out.  What do they have that we desperately need?  HYGGE!

So, what the heck is hygge, you ask?  There's no direct translation into English, but hygge (pronounced "hoo-ga") is a sense of coziness, of having the warm and fuzzies of the soul.  It's the feeling you get when you're wrapped up nice and snug in a soft afghan, sipping a cup of tea, and watching the rain beat against the window.  It's the feeling you get when you're getting together with a few of your good friends over a candlelit dinner.  It's the feeling you get when you're curled up in the corner of your sofa reading a good book.  Simply put, it's taking pleasure in little, everyday things and creating a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Hygge has become the big trend of the moment.  There are a number of books on the subject, including The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking of the Happiness Research Institute (yes, they really research happiness).  There are also various articles on hygge and how to put a little more of it in your life:

• The Art of Danish Hygge
• The Hygge Conspiracy 
• Hygge House
• The Year of Hygge, the Danish Obsession with Getting Cozy  

So, until the weather turns warm and the flowers start blooming, light those candles, make that cocoa, put on those fuzzy socks, cuddle in that blanket, and enjoy that pastry!  And of course, stop by the library to get some good books to read and put more hygge in your life!

Wishing you much hygge from the perch.

Kindergarten Rules

Unless you've been on Mars for the past 6 months, I probably don't have to tell you how politics have been a hotter topic than usual.  People either love or hate the new leadership and they have no problem voicing their opinions.  There have been protests.  There have been demonstrations.  There have been fights.  Things have gotten downright ugly, really ugly.

It's human to disagree sometimes.  It's divine, however, to listen to and respect others even if their beliefs differ from our own.

I can't help but think back to the lessons learned in kindergarten.  There were kids you didn't like and kids who didn't like you.  I remember my teacher saying that you didn't have to like the other person, but you did have to get along with him or her.  I'm sure I wasn't the only one to hear that somewhere while growing up.  What happened?  Did so many people forget that lesson?

There's a small group of us here at the library.  We all had different opinions about the election and while we voiced our opinions, we didn't shout and get nasty.  We listened to each other and we respected what we had to say, even if we disagreed.  Isn't that the way how things are supposed to work?

If you ask me for my ever humble opinion, I think we can all revisit the basic rules of kindergarten, the rules of showing respect, being polite, and acting courteously.  Don't shout and don't be mean.  Try to be helpful.  Clean up your mess.  For other lessons, take a look at Robert Fulghum's modern day classic, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.  It's alright to disagree, but do so in an appropriate manner.

Ever respectfully yours from the perch.

Beating the Winter Blahs

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm so winter-weary it's not funny.  It seems like winter started in November with frigid temps which were soon followed by one snow storm after another, and here we are 4 months later with no end in sight.  If you're a snow bunny, then I guess this must be your dream winter, but what about the rest of us?  What should we do to beat the winter blahs until the crocuses start poking up?

Well, here's your friendly neighborhood perch librarian to offer you some ideas to help you make it to spring.  In no particular order (and with, perhaps, some slight bias):

• Go to the library
• Read a book
• Watch a movie
• Listen to beach music
• Knit or crochet
• Draw or start a new hobby
• Take a yoga class
• Hang out at a bakery cafe
• Walk outside (even though it's cold)
• Cook a new recipe
• Try a new restaurant
• Get a massage
• Sleep or nap
• Work on a puzzle
• Do that home reno project
• Visit the local museum
• Have a 1-night getaway out of town
• Get together with some friends
• Take a bubble bath complete with candles and wine
• Get some extra Vitamin D (either natural or pills)
• Do some aromatherapy
• Meditate
• Eat some dark chocolate
• Clean your house
• Keep a gratitude journal
• Turn on more lights
• Plan your next vacation
• Play old-fashioned board games
• Color an adult coloring book

I'm sure there are other things that can be added to the list.  Maybe you have some ideas of your own?  If you do, please share!

Wishing you early and warm spring wishes from the perch.

Gifts from the Heart

Believe it or not, Valentine's Day is looming on the horizon, just a week away.  Maybe you've already gotten something for your sweetie.  Maybe you've already made reservations for that popular restaurant.  Maybe you've got something special planned to demonstrate your love.  If you're all set for V-Day, that's great and we're happy that you don't need to read the rest of this post.  If you still don't know what you're doing, then read on.

Perhaps you're a little short on cash or you just want to do something from the heart.  Homemade Valentine's Day things are the way to go!  Remember when you were a kid and you made Valentine's Day cards in art class to give to your mom or that special crush in your class?  Who says that a homemade card isn't something that would make your sweetie melt?  After all, it's something YOU made that can't be bought in any store.  Not too creative?  Take a look at some of these samples for ideas.

Want to make a homemade gift to go with that handmade card?  There are plenty of things to make that your sweetie would absolutely love because it's from you!  Personally, I think the love rocks and coasters are great things that even the artistically-challenged can make, but there are a lot of different ideas.  If those ideas don't do anything for you, maybe some of these might do?  Or perhaps these?

Remember, Valentine's Day is all about telling that special someone how much you care.  It doesn't have to be about how much you spent.  Heck, probably the best thing you can give your sweetie is just some time and affection.

Wishing you warm and fuzzy feelings this Valentine's Day from the perch.

Author! Author!

Not too long ago, one of our library patrons wanted to self-publish a book, which she eventually did not once but twice (and counting).  It got me thinking that there may be more budding authors out there interested in publishing their books but have no idea where to start.

Once upon a time, you wrote a book and then tried to get an agent who would present your book to publishing houses that would hopefully accept it for publication, put out X many copies of it, get it into bookstores, market it, etc., etc.  That still happens today, but with the increasing costs of publication, fewer and fewer publishers want to take a risk on a new and unknown author.  This is where self-publishing comes in.

Self-publishing allows new authors a way to publish their books easily and without the middlemen of agents and publishers.  Some famous writers have done it, including Edgar Allan Poe, Beatrix Potter, Mark Twain, and Virginia Woolf.  More recently, Lisa Genova and Christopher Paolini self-published Still Alice and Eragon, respectively.

It does take a bit of work to self-publish because you have to edit, revise, and format your book yourself, rather than have others do it for you.  However, you have more control over your product and get a higher royalty.  There are a number of authors who have even switched to self-publishing some of their books, such as Stephen King and J. K. Rowling (but keep in mind that they published traditionally first and no longer need to market their names).

If you're interested in self-publishing a book you wrote, there are a number of self-publishing platforms available to give you a start.  The following are just a few of the platforms out there:

• CreateSpace
• Light Switch Press 
• Lulu
• Smashwords
• Xlibris 

So, good luck to all you budding authors out there!  I can't wait to see some of your work!

Wishing you literary success from the perch.