This ‘n’ That
Nicky De Lange
As promised last week, today’s column will wrap up our tour of Texas City’s Moore Memorial library and its 2015 summer reading program.
This year, the library is opening a brand-new, first-time-ever program for adults. Finally, we get to join in on the fun that the kids have been having for decades.
All you have to do is drop by the library, which is next to city hall on Ninth Avenue, and go to the reference desk. There you’ll pick up your summer reading log.
The rest is easy. You just jot down the title of the books you read and the number of hours you spend reading them.
When you’ve completed your personal log, you just turn it in, and the library will post a circle with your initials in it on its Sir-Read-A-Lot board, which is next to its reference desk. What better way to enjoy some good books and inspire younger readers to do the same?
And, yes, I have got my log and intend to do exactly that.
Now for the really fun part of the adult reading program. Or, as I love to say, “But wait – there’s more!”
This summer, the library, above right, is challenging adult readers to find out more about the history of their city. All you have to do is use information you can access from the library’s local-history websites to navigate through an online scavenger hunt.
By tracking down clues, you’ll learn more about Texas City’s history and you could even win a free book when you complete your hunt. The book is Texas City: Images Of The 20th Century by Collier Campbell & Susie Moncla.
Photo by Michael Durisseau
Did I mention that this and all the other Moore Memorial summer reading programs are free?
For more information on any of the programs, call the library’s circulation desk at 409-643-5977.
Now, I bet you thought we were through at the library. Not so fast there.
Do you know about Texas City Reads? Like Galveston and other cities, Texas City has its own citizens’ reading program and its book for 2015 is The Martian by Andy Weir. It’s the story of one man marooned on Mars, struggling against astronomical odds to survive.
Weir, a first-time author, originally self-published his work as an e-book, putting each chapter up on his website at no charge to tits readers. He finally sold it for 99 cents a book on Amazon.com.
The book sold more than 30,000 copies in less than three months. After that, it was sold in several formats in an expanded version. Eventually, in 2014, The Martian wound up on many best-fiction lists and now it is the Texas City Reads book selection.
The library has several copies available for checkout at its circulation desk. Why not give it a try? Then you can also enter it on your reading log and earn credit for the time you spend reading it.
Support your local library and expand your horizons at the same time. It’s a win-win situation.