Our next Humboldt Reads! book is The Rope Walk by Carrie Brown. Everyone has another week to read the book before we meet for dinner and book talk on February 26 at 5:30 at Vinny’s. I’m about halfway through the book. It is very gently written, very descriptive. One almost enters the world of Alice on her tenth birthday from the time she wakes in the morning until her birthday party ends.

If you have never participated in Humboldt Reads!,this might be the time to start. The plan is that readers share 15 copies of the book. We’ve had them for several months. One person reads it and returns it to the library so that another can check it out. No cost to the reader. Then we meet to talk about what we liked and what we didn’t like about the book. In reality, many of us have read the book. Some of us have read a portion of the book. Some just come for dinner. We do talk about the book, but we also talk about much more. We talk about whatever the books reminds us of. Sometimes it is a place we’ve visited or lived. Sometimes it is an era in history or a certain stage in life. It is always a learning experience. Come join us.

The recent short break in our winter weather has caused premature spring fever in our younger library visitors. That this weather respite corresponded with a full moon has only added to the afterschool havoc. Wednesdays are especially lively when we house your little darlings for an extra hour. Library patrons, real library users, are always welcome at the library. Library patrons are folks who use the materials and services provided by taxpayers for its citizens. If your child is just whiling away the afternoon until you stop by to pick him/her/them up, that child is a squatter, not a patron. If your child was here on February 13, ask her why she was sliding down the library banister. It was a rather unskilled slide-she fell with a thud that shook the building. Fortunately she was not injured. If this delicate little lady is not your child, ask your son why he threw rocks at library windows. You should be extra proud of him-he’s a very fast sprinter when chased by a very fleet-footed librarian. I’m almost positive nowhere in my job description are the words guard, warden or daycare provider. If these are the services your children require, look elsewhere. The library is not the right place for them.

Everyone else, please come see us. You have paid for library materials with your tax dollars. Come on in and enjoy them. The cost is just right-free!