Author: Reading

The library has free passes available for the American Precision Museum in Windsor, the Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, the Fort at No. 4 Living History Museum, and the Vermont History Museum, with branches in Montpelier and Barre; and we have reduced-price passes for Echo Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington.

We also offer a pass for many of Vermont’s state parks, good for free entry into designated park day-areas for up to eight people in a vehicle. The pass can be checked out for two days and is good at Ascutney, Plymouth, Wilgus, and Silver Lake state parks, among others. We’ve got a similar pass for half a dozen Vermont historical sites, including the Eureka Schoolhouse in Springfield, the Old Constitution House in Windsor, and the Calvin Coolidge Birthplace at Plymouth Notch.

Our “Books Have Legs” display has three new anecdotes. David Rowlee, Milde Waterfall, and Maryann Allcroft each shared thoughts about some special books. Stop in and take a look on the wall above the stairs leading to the children’s room. We will continue to highlight additonal entries as they come in. If you’d like to share a few sentences about a book that played an important role in your life, you can pick up an entry form at the library.

We have added about eighty-five DVDs to our collection—classics, comedies, dramas, the whole gamut. They’re all available for check-out. The Vermont Movie is available as well for folks who’d like to see the documentary but couldn’t attend the library’s showing.

The town library provided nine of the ten nominated Red Clover picture books to the school for the kids to read and vote on in class. About a dozen of the kids, in turn, provided the town library with written reviews of the books. The kids’ reviews are laid out atop the bookcase in the library’s children’s room as a guide to parents. We also sent many of the nominated Dorothy Canfield Fisher books over to the older elementary students to read and vote on in class. We very much enjoy working with the school and want to thank the teachers and administrative staff for encouraging the collaboration.

In that spirit, we are working with some of the sixth graders, who are organizing and running a family movie night here at the library. As of this writing, we haven’t yet settled on a specific movie, but it will be shown on Saturday, June 6, at 6:30. Kids may bring pillows and sleeping bags or blankets. They can attend in their pajamas if they like and can bring along a doll or stuffed animal. Popcorn and lemonade will be served.

Cordially,
Tony

On Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m., Reading Public Library will host a free program, “Menus, Memories & Memorabilia.” Jane Soule, owner of South Woodstock’s Hyacinth House B&B, will share menus, memories, and memorabilia from the 1940s and ‘50s, when her aunt ran the place as a guest house. Jane will share handwritten recipes and menus from those years, along with old recipe books, records of where folks did their shopping, and the names of local farmers and food suppliers from the period. Refreshments reminiscent of the mid-twentieth century will be served. Join us for an exploration of how life and eating habits have changed in Windsor County. For more information, call the library at 484-5588.

 

Cordially,

Tony

 

 

The Reading Public Library is currently showing Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie, the first-ever documentary series about the state. The six-part film is a collaboration of over four dozen VT filmmakers. The film is thematic, not chronological, exploring themes in the state’s history that recur and circle back, from 1777 to the present. Each part is approximately 80 minutes long. The remaining parts will be shown on the following Fridays at 7 p.m.

March 6 – Part 3: “Refuge, Reinvention and Revolution” (exploring innovation, interstates, and counter-culture).

March 20 – Part 4: “Doers and Shapers” (exploring progressivism in education and state law, from Act 250 to civil unions).

April 3 – Part 5: “Ceres’ Children” (exploring participatory democracy and ethics in conservation and farming).

April 24 – Part 6: “People’s Power” (exploring contemporary tensions over energy, independence, climate, and the state’s future).

The popcorn and the program are free.

We have set up a display inside the library for three of our “Books Have Legs” anecdotes. Sharon Harkins, Libbet Downs, and Esther Allen each shared thoughts about some special books. Stop in and take a look on the wall above the stairs leading to the children’s room. We will display three new anecdotes next month. Thanks to all who participated. If you’d like to share a few sentences about a book that played an important role in your life, you can pick up an entry form near the display.

This winter’s book-discussion series features Remembrance of Things Past, the multi-volume novel by Marcel Proust. In March we will be discussing the second volume, Within A Budding Grove. Call the library for the meeting time and date. For those who have a Kindle or an iPad with a Kindle app, you can purchase the entire novel for $2.99 at Amazon. Or you can read it online at openculture.com. I also have one copy of the novel to loan; and the library has a Kindle with a copy of the novel on it. I would probably be able to get one copy via interlibrary loan, as well.

 

Cordially,

Tony