Tag: reading

Keeping Up with the Resolutions

Image Floyd County Library

Like many, I made New Year’s resolutions, knowing I would fall off the resolution wagon around about now. True to form, I have lost no weight, have eaten no extra daily vegetables, and walking every day is… well hey, it’s -13C with a windchill and ice. There is, however, one resolution that I am pretty close to on track with, ie, to read a book a week, every week for 2025.

This is not a new habit. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been a reader ever since I learned to read. If I’m not writing, I’m reading. It’s my escape from reality, and God knows we all want to disappear from that right now.

In the recent past, my reading habits have taken a beating. You might wonder how can that be? I work in a library. I am surrounded by wordy temptation every time I enter my workplace. Well, the pandemic hit. We suddenly became ‘essential workers’, coping with all sorts of situations that we’d never faced before and for which we were under-trained, both in and out of the workplace. Somehow, the effort of starting a new novel became too much. I wasn’t alone. Many others struggled to keep up their reading routines both then and now. I knew that once the burned-out phase and the shock were over, I’d get back into my reading groove. It was spotty at first and took a while. Then came time for the New Year’s resolution.

On Library Launches

With the release of her new novel ‘The Almost Truth’ looming, my friend author Anne Hamilton chose a local library in her hometown of Edinburgh as the location for her book launch.  I work in a library on the other side of the Atlantic and, while we have hosted a few book launches for local authors, I’m surprised that more don’t take advantage of our facilities.

There are plenty of benefits.

Library staff know all about books and their peripherals. In some cases, they are more knowledgeable than your local bookshop. They get asked for recommendations by patrons every day. If they host a book launch for you at their branch, they are much more likely to recommend your title over some overblown bestseller, especially if you provide cake. The personal connection is everything.