Library Lines ...

Here at Rhoads Memorial Library, July brings the second half of our summer reading program for Castro County youngsters and the chance for participants to enter a drawing for major prizes. Toys, science-based kits, and tickets to such venues as “Texas: The Outdoor Musical” and Wonderland Amusement Park are among the grand prizes to be offered.

Smaller prizes ranging from kaleidoscopes to fidget spinners to ooey gooey slime have been collected by youngsters as they complete reading goals. Readers can continue to claim such incentives through the program’s end date of July 28.

Terrific Tuesdays recently highlighted the United States of America, providing facts such as how the country is the largest producer, consumer, and exporter of corn in the world. Youngsters in attendance snacked on popcorn and listened while the book “Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians” by Aliki was read to them by Kristie Keys, agronomy agent serving Castro, Hale, and Lamb County through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Felice Acker, local agent with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in charge of the event led the activity of the day, using catsup to restore the luster to some U.S. pennies.

While Terrific Tuesday was not held this week due to the July 4th holiday, it will return next week on July 11. Two more sessions will be held on July 18 and 25 to conclude the year’s activities. Starting time for all sessions is 4 p.m. in our meeting room. Triple-digit temperatures have caused an uptick in adults checking out books as entertainment while remaining in airconditioned environments. Newly released books that have arrived and are ready for checkout include: -”Famous in a Small Town” (a novel) by Viola Shipman; -”Private Moscow” (a thriller) by James Patterson and Adam Hamdy; -”The Sweetheart List” (a novel) by Jill Shalvis.

More new releases include: -”Fractal Noise” (a sci fi novel) by Christopher Paolini, set in the year 2234 when the crew of the Adamura discovers an anomaly, a circular pit that is 50 kilometers wide. Located on the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII, it is not of nature, but design. What will the crew’s mission discover, and will they live to tell about it?

-”Never, Never” (a novel) by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher, is called a “twisty, romantic mystery” where Charlize Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends forever. But when they fall in love, every memory vanishes. Working to discover the truth about what happened to them and why shows them that, while forgetting is terrifying, remembering may be worse...

Until next week, Happy Reading!