Summer Reading Program is Winding Down

This is fair week in Dubuque county.  And the weather couldn't be better.  70 degree days and cool nights are unbelievable in late July.  So get out there and enjoy it.

My family is on "baby watch."  No, not St. Mary's in London waiting for the new heir to the British throne. We will be heading to St. Mary's in Madison, Wisconsin.  My oldest daughter is due with our second grandchild any day now.  We are so excited.

Summer reading is winding down at Dubuque County Library.  But don't forget to keep reading and filling out your calendar because the prize for meeting your goals at the end of July is a free paperback book!!  Come choose from a great selection of books waiting for you at your local branch.

Summers go so fast.  Before you know it, it will be time to pack those backpacks and lunch boxes and start back to school.  Summer was fun.  Summer reading participants got to look at alligators, snakes, and turtles, big construction machines, composting worms, canoe down the river, learn about soil and water conservation, and be amateur paleontologists and dig for dinosaurs.  We hope you enjoyed all the programming the library provided this summer.  Our staff loved bringing all these new experiences to you. 

Speaking of new, the Library Board welcomed two new members at their July meeting:  Duane Cottingham and Deb Roth.  Mr. Cottingham lives just outside of Peosta and is retired from A.Y.McDonald.  He is a regular Asbury library user and besides reading, he also enjoys gardening. Duane has seen this part of the county grow over the years.  He went to a one-room school close to his family home.  Ms. Roth works for Kendall Hunt Publishing and lives in Asbury.  She served on the Asbury City Council for six years and was a member of the original Asbury Library Group.  Deb also loves to read and play golf.  Thank you Duane and Deb for offering your service to the Library.

So, I will keep you posted on baby watch.  Have a great weekend.   Dawn

 

Stay Cool at the Library

It must be summer.  Fincel's is selling the best sweet corn around, it's hot and muggy, and my birthday is next week.  It's a milestone birthday and I don't mind one bit.  I have a great job, great husband, great children, a wonderful grandson, and a new granddaughter arriving any time now.  Who could ask for more?

Summer programs are winding down, but we have a special opportunity at our Peosta Branch.  You can bring your children to "Read with Grandma Lynn."  Stop by any Monday or Wednesday morning (10am-12pm) or Thursday afternoon ((2-4pm) in July to catch up on your reading.  Grandma Lynn is a volunteer at Peosta Elementary School and so many of you already know her.  She loves to listen to young readers.  Get your students ready for school by reading with Grandma Lynn.

Last evening our library book discussion group met to discuss "A Thousand Acres" by Jane Smiley.  I had read the book many years ago and it was interesting to re-read it.  I liked it much better the first time around.  The novel was a 1992 Pulitzer Prize winner but during our discussion we took it down a peg or two, or three.  That's why I love talking about books!!!

Up next month is "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett.  The setting is even steamier than Iowa in July.  Here's what Amazon says about the novel, ". . . pharmaceutical researcher Dr. Marina Singh sets off into the Amazon jungle to find the remains and effects of a colleague who recently died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. But first she must locate Dr. Anneck Swenson, a renowned gynecologist who has spent years looking at the reproductive habits of a local tribe where women can conceive well into their middle ages and beyond. Eccentric and notoriously tough, Swenson is paid to find the key to this longstanding childbearing ability by the same company for which Dr. Singh works. Yet that isn’t their only connection: both have an overlapping professional past that Dr. Singh has long tried to forget. In finding her former mentor, Dr. Singh must face her own disappointments and regrets, along with the jungle’s unforgiving humidity and insects, making State of Wonder a multi-layered atmospheric novel that is hard to put down." 

My husband loved the book.  He is a scientist and really appreciates novels where the science is as interesting as the story.  Before, I had a chance to read it, my son-in-law who is also a life scientist, grabbed it.  Now I get my chance.  The discussion will be Thursday, August 15th at 6:00 p.m. at our NICC/Peosta Branch.  Copies of the book are available at your local branch.  Please join us.  We would love new members.

In September, we will be talking about Elizabeth Gilbert's, "Eat, Pray, Love" that was made into a motion picture starring Julia Roberts.  You won't want to miss this one.

The heat wave continues, so be sure you stock up on books and DVDs.  We will be here waiting for you.  Have a nice weekend.   Dawn

Summer Activities at the Library

Wow!!  We had 175 visitors for "Snakes Alive" at the Epworth branch last Monday.  That is a whole lot of people.  The presentation was great and then anyone who wanted could have their picture taken with the alligator.  Jill, our children's librarian, took lots of photos and we will be posting them on our website.  Last Sunday my husband took our 5-year-old grandson to the "Snakes Alive" program at the Mines of Spain.  When he came home he said, "Grandma, he had an alligator, cool."  There is just something about kids and animals, and that's wonderful. 

And the fun just keeps on coming, "Rockin' Reptiles & Awesome Amphibians" will be at our Farley Branch on Monday, July 15th at 10:00.  Come here about the critters at the National Mississippi River Museum and even meet a few.  The program is free and open to the public.



Tomorrow is Music in the Park at Asbury.  The activities begin at noon and continue until midnight.  Stop by the City of Asbury booth from 12-5.  We are hosting the Duck Pond with lots of cool prizes.  Also, we will have City official and Library Friends members to talk with you about the Asbury Library Project.  Come see the building design and join our campaign to make the new building a reality.  There will lots of free games and performances by local dancers, bands, etc.  Music in the Park is a real family event and a tradition in Asbury.


The Friends of Dubuque County Library are gearing up for fall.  They will be sponsoring a raffle.  One of the prizes is a lovely, lap quilt created by Friends from our Epworth branch. Watch for details in the next few weeks.

Remember to keep reading and filling in your July calendars.  If you reach your reading goals, you will receive a free paperback book.  Have a great weekend!!

Dawn

 

Snakes Alive

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July.  Summer reading is still going strong so don't forget to stop by and pick up your July calendars.  Check our website for lots of great programs.  Remember, Snakes Alive is coming to Dubuque County Library on Monday, July 8th at 2:00 at our Epworth Branch.  You won't want to miss the show.    This reminds me of one of my girls favorite poets, Shel Silverstein.  He had a short poem about boa constrictors!

Boa Constrictor by Shel Silverstein

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .

See you next week at the Library!!  Dawn