Dream Big - READ!

“I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”
― John Lennon



Dream Big, READ! has been the theme for this summer's reading program.  There is only another week until the program ends in both Marble and Coleraine.  (I run both.)  Next week kids will turn in book logs and collect their prizes.  Between now and then, I have to figure out how to run the prize give away. 

For the past couple years, the reading log has been either lines to write the books read on, or a clock to fill in the time spent reading.  This year, instead of a clock for time it's a star.  If you're 7 & under a star equals 15 minutes of reading.  Eight and older, 30 minutes of reading is required before you can color in that star.  I'm not real picky about what kids are reading.  Read a book, magazine, the newspaper, or the back of the cereal box.  Avid readers will read books, and reluctant readers may just read the cereal box.  It takes a lot of cereal boxes to be able to color in a star though.  Our final story time of the summer happens next Tuesday in Coleraine at 10:00 and in Marble at 2:00.  If your child has a book log and you just can't make it to story hour, feel free to drop off the book log and we will find you a few prizes to take home. 

Next week we also have Magician, Star Michaelina coming to the libraries.  She'll be in Coleraine at 1:00 and in Marble at 4:00.  This is a free Kids' Stuff event sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System.  We've been pretty fortunate this year, and have gotten a few different programs sponsored in part by the Legacy Foundation.  We had a dreams workshop for adults that was interesting, physical comic Kenny Ahern brought us some laughs, and now a magician.  I love magic, so this should be fun!

In Marble next week we have our tween book club meeting to discuss Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.  We'll see who all shows up, but we'll squeeze that in between story hour and Star Michaelina.  There are still a couple of copies available to check out at the Marble Public Library.  I read it, and really enjoyed it. 

The summer reading program may be almost over in Coleraine and Marble, but there are still some fun and interesting things to be found at the library.  Stop in and find out!

“If your dream is a big dream, and if you want your life to work on the high level that you say you do, there's no way around doing the work it takes to get you there.”
― Joyce Chapman

Real Fun vs. Fake Fun

Life ain't easy. Terrible things happen to everyone. You have to keep your sense of humor, give something of yourself to others, make friends who are younger than you, learn new things, and have fun.
-George Vaillant

Fun:

–noun
1. something that provides mirth or amusement: A picnic would be fun.

2. enjoyment or playfulness: She's full of fun.

A&N in the waves, a photo by aawikstrom on Flickr.

So that's what fun is! What's fun for one person may not be fun for another. My dad would often say, "Hey, kids, let's go have some fun!!" which would be met by groans from my siblings and I. My dad's version of fun often involved picking rock, fixing fence, and making wood. That was not fun for us. Now, of course, it is kind of fun for me to haul wood. It's an activity that gets me moving in the crisp autumn air. It's "real" fun. I'm accomplishing something, I'm moving, I'm enjoying the outdoors.

I had a bit of an epiphany the other day as I was playing a game online. It occurred to me that what I was doing was fake fun. I sat like a rock on my chair, playing a game without any physical interaction. Fake fun. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not about to get offline anytime soon. Facebook and I are about as tight as two friends can be. I have just come to the realization that I should spend more time having real fun than fake fun.

So, what is the difference between the two? I'm not really sure. I would think that real fun is something where you are having a good time, with other people or alone, doing something tangible, smiling, laughing, and moving. (Even if it's just moving the coffee cup from the table to your mouth.) Adults have a different idea of what fun is than kids do. I suppose all the various stages of life have their own ideas of what fun is. Candyland is fun when you're 3, but not much fun when you're 38 and playing Candyland for the fourth time in a day. Fun is sitting outside watching the bees buzz around your flower beds when you're 38, but as boring as watching paint dry for a 7 year old.

Reading can be fun. Right now I'm reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith and it's FUN! A lot of years ago I read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. That wasn't fun. But I did it anyway. There are books that are fun, books that are a struggle to get through, books that teach you things, and books that spark thought. We've got them all here at the library. I have a tendency to do more fun reading in the summer. There's something about laying in the warm summer sunshine with a good book.

Go outside and have some real fun. Go ahead and leave a comment on your thoughts on real fun vs. fake fun. What is real fun for you? What is fake fun for you? Let us know, it would make for some fun reading for me!

There is something self-defeating in the too-conscious pursuit of pleasure. ~Max Eastman