At the Library 5/6/21
At the Library
By Hunter Rarick
Don’t Be Shy!
As readers, it isn’t uncommon for us to have a certain book genre that we shy away from or a particular author that we are skeptical of reading. It’s natural for us humans to gravitate towards books that are best suited towards our individual sets of interests. Personally, I tend to keep my distance from cheesy romance novels and robotic non-fiction pieces; I’m more into dystopian themes and thrillers. These are the genres that I’m most comfortable with reading. It’s almost as if I built a wall of comfort around me and settled there like a chicken in its roost, the thought of venturing outwards not even crossing my mind. And I planned on staying there too, until I was pushed out of my nest when school put me into a Modern Prose class.
Modern Prose is a senior english class offered at my high school where students are asked to read a certain amount of books for the term (which is a quarter of the school year, typically about ten weeks). I was assigned to read eight books, which totals to about one book per week. Sounds easy, but the catch is each book has to be a different genre, spanning from graphic novels to the classics. At first I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn’t get to read eight dystopian or thrilling books. Afterall, my comfort nest has been largely undisturbed in my eighteen years of life. Now, half way through the term, I’m excited to say that I’m genuinely surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed exploring unfamiliar genres. Even more surprising, some of my favorite reads so far have been classics or nonfiction, such as Fahrenheit 451, In Cold Blood, and Lord of the Flies.
Something else I’ve discovered while exploring different genres is that books targeted towards younger audiences have just as much potential to be as captivating or interesting as books that are for older audiences. For my choice of graphic novel, I decided to read Coraline by Neil Gaiman. While this Alice In Wonderland-esc fairy tale was written for a younger audience, there are certain elements in it, like the horror of having buttons sewed into your eyes, that can translate towards older audiences, too. A good read is simply a good read, no matter who it was intended for!
Basically, what I’m trying to get at here is: don’t be shy to break down that comforting wall intended to trap you in that nest of your routine genres, march to the public library, and pick up something you never thought you would read before!
New Materials @ the Library
Gifts & Memorials
Treemendous by Bridget Heos given by the Washington Rotary Club to honor the April 2021 Rotary program speakers
Adult Fiction
The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews
Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris
21st Birthday by James Patterson
The Lady Has a Past by Amanda Quick
Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Large Print Fiction
21st Birthday by James Patterson