Library Happenings

 

Hello my fellow bookworms!

I hope you had a relaxing weekend and Thanksgiving holiday (for those who celebrated)! 

I was able to finally make a trip out to a library that is currently hosting a pirate exhibit, in conjunction with the local children's museum! It was so cool! There were pirate maps for children to use to explore the different hands on exhibits, areas to play, climb, and dress up like a pirate, hidden treasure, pirate books, and more. It was a very interactive experience that eventually led to a prize once the map was completed! For teens, there was a separate map used to interact with the different areas of the library, so teens would know who to talk to for different reasons in the future (e.g., reference, teen librarian, etc.). The whole experience is free, so families can come and play, learn, and enjoy themselves at their local (or not) library. Mixed into the fun are true facts about pirates and local history, as well, and the whole set is decorated for the holidays, too! Check out  some of my photos below:

Photo by A.P., (c) 2023 Once Upon A Book Blog(ger)

While the exhibit is only hosted until early next year, I cannot wait to see what this library will do in the future, as well as what other libraries are doing for programming. I will definitely keep an eye out going forward!

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Here are some fun things to do this December:

• Simon Teen's Riveted Lit has a promotion for December, one where you can read a new Young Adult book per day! Check it out tomorrow here.
  

• Are you looking for a fun and free activity that will get you outdoors this month? The website Geocaching is hosting a challenge this month to race to find as many geocaches as you can! But hurry - the event ends on December 5th!
  

• If you know anyone who is legally blind and can read braille, the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (part of the Library of Congress) is giving out a free braille book per month as part of their Braille on Demand program. Participants must be registered as part of the National Library Service, but other than that, they can join this fun program that helps spread the joy of reading. 
  

• If you cannot find time to read, but enjoy listening to podcasts, there is a podcast called Overdue that will summarize books for you! Think of it as the audiobook version of Cliff Notes. (Or you can always listen to the actual book - that is always fun to do while cleaning or baking during the holidays!)

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I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday season ahead, filled with much reading! Let me know what you are reading - I have a list of books I cannot wait to get to after I finish my last homework assignments for the semester. :) 

Until next time! Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

Happy Halloween! =^. .^=

Photo by Lucie Liz from Pexels

Happy Halloween my fellow bookworms!

Where has the time gone? It seems that October has flown by in the blink of an eye, and amongst all the fun fall festivities comes November and the time change! If you are in the U.S., be sure to remember to set your clocks back an hour next Sunday. (I could use the extra hour this week!)

I want to share some book tips, news, and links with you:

• Looking for a fun, yet creepy, game to play to celebrate the spooky season and get a fun book recommendation? Try the Tor/Forge Blog game Escape the Haunted Library! Can you get all the endings and recommendations? (Tip: It may be helpful to use a pen and paper to write down the codes!)
  

• Take a look at the Smithsonian's Things That Scare Us online exhibit for some spooky collection items that you can go visit in person.
  

• Uncharted Magazine is once again hosting a contest to publish a novel written by aspiring authors! Submit your novel by tomorrow (deadline is October 31st) and see if your writing becomes the next Uncharted novel! Click on the link for more details and submission information.
  

• Harlequin is hosting a mentorship program for aspiring romance writers! Interested? Check out the details here. Set a timer, because applications open on January 1, 2023!
  

• Did you know that librarians like to use Booklist to help choose the newest books? There may be a patron-version of the magazine at your local library, free for you to view! (I know there is at mine!)
  

• If you like to take notes while reading, but hate writing in the margins of your pages, Post-It came out with transparent Post-It Notes!
  

• NaNoWriMo is almost upon us! "NaNoWriMo" stands for "National Novel Writing Month" when writers challenge themselves to write an entire novel in one month. Many libraries are participating by hosting places for people to sit down and write with others. If that is not your cup of tea, Book Riot has some treats to inspire you to participate!
  

• Amongst all the book bans taking place, you can take part in preventing this in your area by establishing a Book Sanctuary. The Chicago Public Library has a website hosted with information and how you can take part in this call to action! 

 I will be wearing my Halloween costume to my local library tomorrow. What are you guys wearing and reading to celebrate? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you all have a fun, safe, and spooky Halloween day! Happy reading!