books
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Five Tips to Help Maximize the Number of Books You Read
Reading. The most enriching activity an individual can perform – if you do not include cooking or frolicking through a field of freshly grown sunflowers. As a bibliophile, I find that my mind is constantly overcome with thoughts about how I can read more, despite my best attempts to focus on how to flip an…
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Imagine Your (Scary) Story This Summer
In February 2019, the Horror Writers Association, (a global group of horror writers and publishing professionals), announced its inaugural reading program, Summer Scares, to book lovers and libraries everywhere. The program, now in its second year, is designed to connect libraries with horror creators and to promote the genre as a wonderful option for satisfyingly…
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Become Your Best Self with the Enneagram
I never expected to benefit from yet another personality test but as it turns out researching my Enneagram type was a wise choice. With a limited investment of time, you can learn a ton about yourself and the people you love. The Enneagram types, represented by numbers one through nine, are more than personalities. They help to explain a person’s worldview, self-image and motivations. For example, I learned that people of my type, the Four, strive to be unique and authentic. They tend to…
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We’ve Got Questions for Dhonielle Clayton and Tim Dorsey
Dhonielle Clayton is the author of The Belles and its follow-up The Everlasting Rose. She is a former elementary and middle school librarian, and co-founder of CAKE Literary, a creative kitchen whipping up decadent – and decidedly diverse – literary confections for middle grade, young adult and women’s fiction readers. She is also Chief Operating…
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Read It! Don’t Lose It: How to Regain Your Focus While Reading
Imagine you have just picked up a book from your “books I need to read” list. You prepare your favorite beverage and find the comfortable spot on your couch. Enthusiastically, you open the book and begin to read it, scanning the words, feeling the pages on your fingertips every time you turn to the next…
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The Macomber Miracle
Debbie Macomber’s love of books began in earnest when she received her first book at the age of 4 or 5 from a children’s librarian in her hometown of Yakima, Washington. “My mom said that when I was handed the book, I grabbed hold of it with both hands and put it right next to…
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In Anticipation of Mister Rogers on the Big Screen
The Orlando area is one of a handful of spots in the world that has the right to anticipate A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with a bit more fervor than the rest of the planet. Inspired a 1998 Esquire article by Tom Junod, the film finds a cynical journalist assigned to do a profile…
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NEA Big Read is Coming to OCLS
One of the most unbeatable things about reading is that every now and then our passion for it is renewed by something unusual, or unique, or just exceptionally good. That is the opportunity Big Read offers. The NEA Big Read is a grants program, managed by Arts Midwest, which annually supports approximately 75 dynamic community…
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Sunshine State Author Series: A Conversation with Zack Loran Clark & Nick Eliopulos
Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos are the co-authors of The Adventurers Guild, winner of the Sunshine State Young Readers Award for grades 6–8. The Adventurers Guild tells the story of two best friends as they battle monsters to protect one of the last surviving cities in the world. Zack and Nick will visit the Fairview Shores Branch…
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This Year’s Best Travel Accessory: A Book
Upon us is the season of family road trips, beach getaways, barbecues galore and summer vacations away from those dreadful, heavy textbooks. Traveling is the time when we aspire to worry less and soak in as much relaxation or adventure as possible. But is total and complete relaxation ever really achieved? I can’t think of a…
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