Famous Readers

You too can be a reading star, spreading the word about great books you have read with the community. Even if Amanda's baked delicacies have not enticed you thus far, you can now be immortalized in the fabulous new Staff Picks display in the lobby at Downtown.



So if you read or watch something you enjoyed, feel free to share with the rest of us. Your pick will lead Bookletters subscribers to titles they didn't know about.

And don't you love to see what everyone else is reading? I know I do! Plus I get to persuade people that books with talking animals are too for grown-ups! We can go on safari, see what a wombat really does all day, and see why it is hard to forget Sarah Marshall.

Of course, you are not limited to books. Your Staff Picks editor, Amanda, welcomes reviews of videos/dvds that are in our library collections as well. So whether you enjoy documentaries or nonfiction, chick flicks or chick lit, true crime or film noir, share your picks with us!

Remember, sharing is nice!

Cheers,

Melody

Earth Movers

Here at Downtown, the earth was moving! The contractors broke ground, and we are moving ahead on the addition to the building, providing much needed space for the Harrington Library Consortium, TPLS, and a meeting room and classroom.

The heavy equipment, including a blade, roller, and skid loader, were performing a motorized ballet:

And voila! The pad is ready for the next step!

This process is vital to having a good foundation. Good dirtwork makes all the difference in a building, whether it is a house or building that covers acres. The roller is a pad-foot roller, which compacts the soil better, particularly clay soil.

It was pretty loud, and the building did vibrate at times. In case you didn't see the article in the newspaper, we will be adding 3260 square feet to the building.

Progress is moving pretty quickly on the addition. The footings were poured next, after much drilling and jackhammering needed to connect the new foundation to the existing one. The giant crane was pretty cool. That is about 4 stories tall, ladies and gentlemen! The crane was connected to two concrete trucks, and the job took maybe an hour to complete. See, the right equipment does make all the difference! I guess a hammer might be better than a shoe. Hmm.

Here is the big crane truck.

Pretty impressive. What you can't see is the cement truck behind this guy, piping the cement to the crane/hose apparatus.

What is it all for? To pour the footings for the new addition.

Here are some crew members adjusting the rebar. The plan is taking shape, and you can almost visualize walls and doors, as well as windows.

NPR Listeners Choose Best Beach Books

Here we are at the end of July already. School will be starting before you know it, and then we will be oohing and ahhing over cooler temperatures and autumn leaves. So what better time to consider this list, compiled by NPR fans, of the best summer reads?

Summer reads are generally considered fluffy and light, but looking at this list makes me wonder about that! One Hundred Years of Solitude? Really?

So what book is your ideal summer read? I would have to go with a re-read of Austen or the Harry Potter series.

Blast from the Past

For those of us who may be digging in our heels at the deluge of on-demand technology, I humbly point you to this article. I was a neo-Luddite myself for awhile but happily embrace most new technologies if there is the slightest chance my life will be made a smidgen easier or more enjoyable.

This article brings back fond memories--but my memories go farther back to my Harvest Gold RCA transistor radio. I could hang it off the handlebars of my bike and pedal away with my music with me. I was cool, if only in my own mind. It was only an AM radio, but that was ok, too. It was music I could take with me. Looking back at the list in the article, what do you fondly remember enjoying or using? How would you explain missing a television show or a rotary dial telephone to a 12 year-old?