Reading Joy with Carrie

A message from our favorite Library Director 📚💖

As someone who’s always found joy in reading, it’s heartening to know I’m not alone—over 250 adults have already signed up for our summer reading program! That kind of enthusiasm is truly inspiring. While I sometimes worry that more people might be drifting away from books these days, I’m quickly reassured when I walk through our library as I witness kids, teens and adults checking out armfuls of books, overhear lively conversations about favorite reads, and even get a report that 20 people joined our latest Saturday morning book discussion. Moments like these remind me that the love of reading is alive and well.

Not everyone will become an avid reader, but there are ways that we can encourage the people around us to trade in some screen time for a good book. We hear a lot these days about the correlations between heavy social media use and depression, anxiety and loneliness. While I’m not suggesting that reading is a cure-all, I do believe that swapping out a bit of social media time for reading could help reduce stress, open the door to different perspectives, and offer a much-needed escape from the pressures of everyday life. So, how can we inspire those who are hesitant to read to pick up a book that speaks to them? I have a few ideas to share below, but in the meantime, I encourage you to talk to others about the books that have brought you joy, and how reading has impacted your well-being. And remember, you can always steer them to the library, and we can take it from there!

Here are some resources to inspire your next read:

• Get library staff recommendations by perusing our staff picks display or following us on Goodreads.

• Participate in library book clubs or consider starting your own.

• Look at celebrity book club picks through the years.

• Explore books that best match your unique preferences and interests by using Novelist (available with your Berlin library card).

• Watch author interviews through our Library Speakers Consortium subscription.

• Listen to book podcasts. There are many out there, but some of my favorites are Currently Reading, From the Front Porch, Sarah’s Bookshelves and Elin Hilderbrand’s podcast called Books Beach and Beyond.

• Take a look at our library’s book lists.

• Sign up for our weekly new book e-newsletter.

• Reread the classics.

• Check off books from the Modern Library 100, NYT Best Books of the Century or NPR’s Books We Love lists.

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of a larger human experience.” 

― Rudine Sims Bishop

I wish you all a wonderful summer full of great books!

Carrie Tyszka

Library Director