Event Spotlight: Summer Reading

It's that time again. Summer has hit full force (this weekend temperatures are supposed to hit 97 degrees) and besides digging last year's swimming suit out of the closet, it can only mean one thing:

Summer Reading at the Multnomah County Library!

For me, a part-time clerk at the North Portland branch, Summer Reading means many things: piles of red and blue T-shirts, multi-colored game boards, and little faces with chubby hands happily coming up to the desk, clutching coupons redeemable for any number of things— money off their fines, pizza, miniature golf—as well as other hard-earned prizes like T-shirts, books, and toys. There's even a grand prize drawing for a trip to Disneyland. And just how are these prizes earned? By reading, of course! Not only do kids get to win some really cool stuff, they also get to build reading skills with every prize they earn, instilling in them a lifetime love of reading. It's really a win-win for all involved.

And for those of us who wish we were still kid enough to read for prizes, never fear! We grown-ups can sign up for Read 4 Life and enter a cool drawing of our own: a trip to the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport. If you haven't been there, you're in for a treat. It truly is a refuge for book lovers, with themed rooms in honor of famous writers (the creepiest and equally most fascinating has to be The Edgar Allan Poe Room, with its large, looming stuffed crow). All you have to do is read at least four books this summer, write down the titles, and you're automatically entered into the drawing. Read more about both these great events at http://www.multcolib.org/summer/about.html and http://www.multcolib.org/events/read4life.html