Adult Summer Reading Program Going Strong!

We have had almost 50 people either submit Entry Forms for the books they have read, attend one or more of the workshops or agree to complete one section of the mural.  I have entry forms for 89 books that have been read so far.  I am compiling a list in order to the ratings readers have given.  There were 26 books rated 5 star and one given a 6 star rating, 21 books at the four star level, nine with 3 stars, seven with 2 star and 6 with only one star.  19 entries have come in with no rating indicated – don’t forget to give your opinion – the list will be shared with everyone at the party on August 18 and will be available for the rest of the library thereafter – so help your fellow readers find the good ones and avoid the no-so-good!

Everyone that participates in some way in the Adult Reading Program this summer will be getting an invitation to our End-of-Summer Party on August 18 where they will get to enjoy making their own Ice Cream Sundae and other goodies and get to see the unveiling of the group mural.  Every participant will be given tickets which can be used to win prize baskets.  We will also have some of the middle-school students who are taking the “In a Kaleidoscope” arts literacy class offered this summer bring the books they are creating.  “In a Kaleidoscope” is planned in conjunction with the Aging in Place Partnership (AIPP) and the South Brunswick School District Office of Curriculum and Instruction.  You can read more about the program in a recent article published on the southbrunswick.patch.com website at http://southbrunswick.patch.com/articles/south-brunswick-residents-awarded-governor-s-arts-education-medal

We have just completed our sixth creative workshop yesterday with the very popular Between the Covers Creative Sandwiches class.  Our resident librarian/chef, Diane Whitman, created four delicious vegetarian sandwiches for a class of 18 lucky attendees.  You can read more about the event and get the recipes in Diane’s Friday Food Blog tomorrow.

We also had our tie-dyed paper workshop where we experimented with ways to create some beautiful color papers to use in making greeting cards, gift wrapping and the basis for many other paper crafts. 

Next Tuesday will be our Altered Book Workshop. We have gathered an assortment of hardcover books from the donations that were discarded which we will use to create objects of beauty and utility. Each attendee can choose which project to do. There will be one craft, from The Repurposed Library by Lisa Occhipinti (New York: Abrams, 2011.) to create decorative “Book Bursts” out of books that have been cut into sections. We will have another option to make a protective and decorative cover for your Kindle, Nook or other tablet or reader using an actual book cover (bring the dimensions of your reader.) This project is also from The Repurposed Library. For those who are interested in trying to make altered books just for their beauty and art, we will have a few projects to work on in what might become your sample or practice book of altered book techniques. These are from Altered Books Workshop by Bev Brazelton (Cincinnati, Ohio: North Light Books, 2004.)

This should be great fun!  We look forward to seeing you at the workshop.  If you have an Xacto or other type of craft knife, you could bring it with you and bring along any small embellishments (buttons, coins, toys, game pieces, puzzle pieces, charms, beads, old jewelry); ephemera (greeting cards, correspondence, photos, postcards, stamps) or “accessories” (string, yarn, twine, ribbon, hardware, wire) you might want to incorporate into your designs to make them more personal and meaningful.