DPL Blog

Summer 2021 is here and the craziness of 2020 is becoming a distant memory. At times last summer, we lived in fear of the unknown. We may have grieved the loss of loved ones, or we may have faced financial or employment challenges. We may have wondered what was becoming of our world, and faced the regret of all that was taken from us. From family gatherings to parades to festivals to graduation parties, 2020 was a summer like no other when you measure what we lost. As you read this, I hope you are doing well.

This summer, I challenge you to embrace a summer of no regrets. We all know how life can turn on a dime. As for me, I plan to play whiffle ball in the back yard with our boys, spend time with family, and READ. My goal is to finish the 100 Book Club challenge that the library offers by Labor Day. I have forty-eight books to go as of this writing!

One of my favorite places in all the world is our front porch on Main Street. Shaded by leafy green Buckeye trees and maples, surrounded by hanging ferns and flowering plants, we like to lounge on the porch, books and iced tea in hand. The best time of the day is when evening falls – eventide. The town quiets down, fireflies begin their evening dance, and you can hear the gentle thwack of a screen door slamming somewhere down the street. I don’t need Vegas. I don’t need Paris or the beach. Give me my front porch, a good book, and some good company. In the end, 2020 reminded us what is important and how little we actually need to be happy.

This summer, I invite you to find your own happiness and encourage you to make the Dover Public Library a part of it. Our theme for our annual summer reading program is Super Heroes, Super Readers. We have reading challenges for kids, teens, and adults, and a variety of prizes and fun programs and activities along the way. See you on the front porch!

-Jim Gill, Library Director

When was the last time that you picked up a piece of trash in a parking lot, just because?

When was the last time you let someone go ahead of you at the check-out counter, just because?

When was the last time you gave someone some words of encouragement, just because?

When was the last time you let someone else have the close parking spot, just because?

When was the last time you gave another family a meal, just because?

When was the last time you picked up groceries for an elderly person, just because?

When was the last time you gave someone a compliment, just because?

It doesn’t have to be “Say Something Nice Day”, (which happens to be June 1^st) to do or say something nice. You could do or “Say Something Nice” any day, just because!

-Linda Toohey, Outreach Librarian

These past few months I have been in a reading rut! I have tried to reread my favorite novels, listen to the latest audiobook or even my HGTV magazine. Nothing helped!

Low and behold my mom saved, or I secretly did, all of my teenage R.L. Stine young adult books! I recently got the box of books, along with some childhood puzzles, and started reading. It flowed so easily into reading the first book of a series of three. And I got through all of them in about a week! I really enjoyed going back in time and rereading some of my favorite books from when I was a teenager.

So if you are ever in a reading rut, go back to where you found your love of reading. Whether it be a children’s book, a non-fiction book about a project you’d like to start or just a favorite novel you couldn’t put down the first time and now maybe the second time! Sometimes your mind just needs a break. Be kind to yourself and don’t give up!

-Ellen Lint, Library Assistant & R.L. Stine Fan