The dog days of summer are upon us, and I can’t think of a better way to spend them than with a good book. Sometimes, though, finding that good read can feel next to impossible. We at the library are always happy to help you solve your “what-to-read-next blues,” and so we are especially excited to invite you to a special Book Buzz event this Saturday, July 15 at 1 p.m. in the Friends Room at the Columbia Public Library.
Stop by the Book Buzz for a number of ways you can discover your next great read:
- Publisher Preview: It’s always exciting getting an early scoop on what’s coming out. Enjoy refreshments while you hear a publisher’s presentation of some of the hottest anticipated titles of this summer. Attendees will also be eligible for door prizes! We’ll follow up the talk with some book-finding activities including:
- A Blind Date with a Book: This is a great game for those of us who have the tendency to judge a book by its cover. Instead, you’ll get a brief description to guide you in picking out a book you might never even have considered.
- The Genre Dating Game: This is great game for expanding your reading boundaries. Do you normally read mysteries? Play the game and you may get a chance to try out science fiction, romance, westerns or nonfiction instead!
- First Impressions: It’s hard not to be swayed by a pretty picture on the cover of a book, but can you tell what something is about based solely on its title and cover art? This game gives you the chance to try to figure out a book’s true plot. Want to give it a try? Check out the following example created by Library Associate Ida F. Try to guess which plot listed for “The Dynamite Room” by Jason Hewitt is the real plot, and which plots are just products of Ida’s creative imagination?
Plot 1: In World War II London, two orphans are overlooked when all of the other children are evacuated. They take refuge in an abandoned building, where they discover a secret room filled with dynamite. Who put it there? Who knows about it? Should they tell anyone?
Plot 2: Geoff and Deitra had been reluctant dance partners in the before time, when they had dance lessons once a week and there was no war. Now, as their families adapt to life in a work camp, they find the memory of their waltz moves is one thing they brought with them that makes life seems normal.
Plot 3: It’s July 1940, and 11-year-old Lydia has just run away from life as a child evacuee in Wales. She arrives and settles in alone at her family home, but a wounded and armed German soldier arrives the first night. He says he won’t hurt Lydia, but she cannot leave the house.
Did you guess which one is the true plot? You can find the answer here.
Image credit: Kaboompics//Karolina, Reading the book via Pexels (license)
