October is upon us, and this means fall festivals and Halloween. It's also a month to celebrate books as October is National Book Month. National Book Month allows us to celebrate and expand our love of reading. Reading provides mental stimulation, reduces stress, provides you with knowledge and expands your vocabulary and memory. A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. It works better and faster than other relaxation methods, such as listening to music or drinking a hot cup of tea.
Adults, you have the opportunity to take advantage of the library's reading challenge program and the benefits reading offers you. Read books you wouldn't have read before and complete a mad-libs story. Read a debut book, a memoir, and a book recommended by a librarian.
Parents, you have the opportunity to read to your children ages 0-5 and help them get closer to the goal of 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. And in the meantime, the advantages of reading listed at the beginning of this column will still happen. So far, we have eight graduates for 2021. Your child has until the end of December to reach the goal of 1,000 books and be a member of the 2021 "1,000 Books Before Kindergarten" graduating class.
There are a couple of unique programs for young adults.
• Night Owls will happen 4:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14. There will be scary stories, a scary movie and scary snacks for seventh–12th graders. This will be at the courtyard area by the fireplace, weather permitting. The alternative location will be in the library meeting room.
• Casie Bazay, the author of "Not Our Summer" will be here from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28. She will do a writing program with seventh–12th graders the first hour and then have an author question & answer session for all ages the second hour. Her book is set in Siloam Springs and Colcord, Okla.
Weekly programs at the library include:
• 10 a.m. Wednesday -- Ms. Julia is leading the Pre-School Storytime in the Children's Story-Time Room.
• 11 a.m. Thursday -- Ms. Mary is leading the Elementary Program in Meeting Room B. Ms. Mary will be reading stories and demonstrating a craft which participants will be able to take home and create in their own time.
• 11 a.m. Thursday -- Ms. Leah is leading the Young Adult Homeschool Program in Meeting Room A.
• 4:30 p.m. Thursday -- Ms. Leah is leading the Young Adult Program in Meeting Room A.
• In addition, there will be virtual programming for preschool through young adults.
"Digital Resources" highlighted in October include:
• CryptoClub -- This is a challenging and cool site that helps you create and decipher crypto codes as well as improve math skills.
• Library Thing -- In honor of National Book Month, the Library Thing website is a tool that will help you organize your own books into a library. In addition, you can talk with other booklovers about the books you like.
The September Book Club Selections are as follows:
• The Adult Reading Group will read and discuss "The Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11 in the meeting room. Georgia is a store owner and is struggling to raise her teen-age daughter. The man who broke her heart shows up and wants to be a part of their daughter's life. Her knitting club friends are there to help her through this time.
• "The Lions of Fifth Avenue" by Fiona Davis is the book the Morning Book Club will discuss at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 in the meeting room. This is the "If All Arkansas Read the Same Book" selection. It's the story of family ties, their lost dreams, and the redemption that comes from discovering truth according to Adriana Trigiani who wrote "The Shoemaker's Wife."
Please visit the Library's Facebook page at https://ww.facebook.com/SiloamSpringsPublicLibrary, the library's blog at https://siloamspringslibrary.wordpress.com, the Library's website at https://www.siloamsprings.com/library, call us at 479-524-4236 or e-mail us at [email protected] for more information about what the library has to offer.
The library hours are now 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday and Thursday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Curbside service is being offered 2-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
And as always, we will see you at the library!
"A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return." – Salman Rushdie.
-- Dolores Deuel is the library manager at Siloam Springs Public Library. The opinions expressed are those of the author.