Giving the gift of reading this holiday season

     I have to confess that I only go to Barnes and Noble to find books that I want to put on the reserve list at the HoCo Library.  And yes I even buy a $3.50 latte to sit and read a book that looks interesting.  I can skim  100 pages or more to make sure I want to read the book in a half hour.  It is cheap entertainment on a rainy day.  With the number of books I read a year I estimate that I would spend $2,000 a year on books if I had to buy the books I read.  That is how much the Library saves me every year.  A couple of years ago I realized that for saving me that much I should at least become a Friend of the Library.  I even joined the Board of the Friends a year ago.  I figured it was time I did a little pay back to the Library.
    At this time of the year joining the Friends is like giving yourself a big gift and not feeling guilty about it.  It is easy to do online and I would suggest having your membership charged to your credit card automatically each month.  Here is that link.  

P.S.
   This past week I received a call from a nurse I knew at Johns Hopkins Hospital about a Baltimore grandparent who was parenting five of her grandchildren.  I used to coordinate a program for grandparents raising grandchildren in Baltimore and the nurse had referred grandparents to me before. This grandparent was back in hospital and unsure how she was going to do Christmas this year for her grandchildren with her medical bills.  I told the nurse I would see what I could do but that I didn't have access to toys from Toys for Tots any longer.  I decided to order some of the items that had been on the grandmother's Christmas shopping list.  If anyone is interested helping to play Santa Claus for this family send me an email at the address at the top of the blog and I can share the Christmas list with you.

P.S. 1

From the HoCo Library:

 "Old Men in Blue and Grey, Maryland's Civil War Veterans." Miller Branch of the library on Monday night 12/10 at 7 p.m.

The Miller Branch Library and the Howard County Historical Society will co-sponsor a lecture by author Dan Toomey entitled "Old Men in Blue and Grey, Maryland's Civil War Veterans." The lecture will be held in the Ellicott Room at Miller Branch Library. Mr. Toomey will have books for sale at the lecture.

Daniel Carroll Toomey is considered a leading authority on the Civil War in Maryland. A graduate of the University of Maryland, he is the author or co-author of ten books relating to that subject including The Civil War in Maryland, Baltimore During the Civil War, and The Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers Home.

The event is free but registration is required. Click here to register online or call Miller Library at 410-313-1950.

P.S.2
The Shameful 38.