Jan's Column 2025

A week and a day is all the time that is left for you to read books and log books and activities before the Winter Reading Program comes to an end. You can still earn Dragon Dollars and spend them in our store or donate them to one of our designated charities. In the meantime, here are the latest statistics from our Winter Reading Program. 180 active readers have read an astonishing 10,141 books.

Our youngest readers (the Chipmunks) who read picture books and board books have made it through 7,146 books. The Raccoons, also known as chapter book readers, have done an amazing job and read 1.425 books. The 46 adults in the Moose category have read 621 books, and the 17 members of the library staff have managed to read 528 books. I know some of you readers wait until the very end of the reading program to log your books, so I’m expecting the total number of books read to shoot up by March 1st. I’m thinking that 11,000 books should be an easy goal to reach if every one reads and logs what they’ve read. The arctic blast at the beginning of the week provided a great incentive to stay inside and read.  There are 8 days left to read, so dig in!  Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s Day!  As we all know, this observance originated as a feast day for a couple of Saint Valentines who were martyred for their faith. Through folk tradition over the years celebrating this day has become a significant cultural and commercial celebration of romance all over the world. I hope your sweetie brought you chocolate, flowers, a card, took you out to dinner, or even wrote you a poem.

If your Valentine Day celebration leaves you feeling energized, Gee Funny Farm is bringing some woodland creatures to the library on Saturday morning to help the library celebrate the Winter Reading Program – Winter Woodland Reading Adventure.  Learn about the winter behaviors and adaptations of porcupines, snakes, skunks, rabbits, hedgehogs, and red foxes—and then meet some of them in person. Plan on attending!

We are approaching the end of the Winter Reading Program on March 1st. There is still time to read and record books, earn Dragon Dollars and spend them in our store or donate them to designated charities. Each day that gets us closer to the end of the Winter Reading Program also gets us closer to the start of spring. In fact, I saw a couple of robins hanging out in a tree in the front yard that was covered with berries (possibly fermented). They were having a wonderful time. Two robins do not a spring make, but we are edging closer all the time. Below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

As of this publication date, Friday, the 7th, there are 3 weeks and 1 day until the Winter Reading Program ends on March 1st.As of this writing, the 172 active Winter Reading Program participants have read 7,227 books and logged 1,433 activities.  The category which has read the most, is of course the Chipmunks (Picture Book Readers). 58 of which have read an almost unbelievable 5,035 books. The 41 Raccoons (Chapter Book Readers) have read an incredible 1,141. Our 14 Teen readers, also known as Porcupines, have read an impressive 271 books, while the 43 Adults, a.k.a, Moose, read a respectable 436 books while 16 library staff members have read 341 books. There is still plenty of time to read books and to record the titles if you haven’t already done so. I, for one, have a list of books I have yet to record, and “Yikes”, I have been told by reliable sources that I have not even registered yet.

If you still need to register so you can record the many, many books you have read since the end of last year go here: https://deforestlibrary.beanstack.org/ .  Remember you can read to earn Dragon Dollars which can be redeemed in our store or donated to one of these charities: Blessings in a Backpack, Dane County Humane Society, the DeForest Area Public Library Endowment, Mission Nutrition, and/or Norski Nibbles.  I will take those Dragon Dollars, total them up, and will personally make a donation to the each of those organizations in the amount of Dragon Dollars donated.  While there’s still plenty of time to read, below you might find some of the new titles which recently arrived at the library tempting you to read more. Enjoy!

So how did it get to be the end of January already? How are we already a twelfth of the way through 2025? How can we already be a month and a day from the end of the Winter Reading Program? How can we have had wind chills a week ago (as of this writing, not of the publication date) that schools were closed and have high temperatures approaching 50 degrees this week? Will there be an early spring or will this strange winter linger on? Most of these and other burning questions will not, I repeat, will not be answered below. I will however remind you that one of the library’s many celebrity mascots will be making his annual prediction on February 2nd at or around sunrise. I am of course talking about Booky, our prognosticating badger. On Ground Hogs Day, every year for a couple of decades now, our badger takes on the likes of Jimmy the Sun Prairie Ground Hog and Punxsutawney
Phil. Booky, as you probably recall, has a perfect record for Ground Hog Day predictions. While badgers and ground hogs are both, squat, short-legged mammals the similarity ends there. Groundhogs (Marmota monax) are grazing members of the rodent family; badgers are hunting members of the weasel family, (Mustelidae). This pretty much means, theoretically, a badger could eat a groundhog for lunch which is probably why our badger’s predictions trump the local groundhog’s prediction consistently. Watch for Booky’s prediction on Ground Hogs Day on February 2nd. While you’re waiting you might want to check out some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

Did I predict this? Didn’t I mention this a couple of weeks ago? I’m pretty sure I did make note of the weather lore that says as the days lengthen – which they certainly have – sunset is not at 5 p.m. (instead of at 4:22 which it was at during the darkest days of December) and sunrise is not at 7:20 a.m. (instead of at 7:29 which is was for the twelve days at the end of December and into January) that the cold strengthens. We have gained a whole lot of daylight and, possibly, because of that, the bottom fell out of the thermometer over that past weekend and the beginning of this week. However, daytime highs that hover right around 1 degree (above or below zero – it doesn’t make much difference once it’s that cold) is the perfect time to get a hot beverage, a blanket, and a snuggle buddy (cat, dog, significant other) and curl up with a good book.  Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. I guarantee at least some of them are worthy of being snuggled up with.  Stay warm! Enjoy!

While we have had a temporary reprieve from the weather lore of “As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens” the 10 day forecast at this writing has us heading right back into the freezer this weekend and into the start of next week. But let’s not dwell on that. Let’s think happier thoughts --which I know is hard, what with the Packers losing this Sunday past which eliminated them from continuing in the playoffs. However, the Winter Reading Program is well underway Our Winter Woodland Reading Adventure continues on apace from now until March 1st. As of this writing, 137 readers have read 3.466 books. They have completed 919 activities. They have written 28 reviews. Our youngest group of 47 (the Chipmunks) have read through 2,402 board books and picture books. The 27 youngsters who read chapter books (a.k.a. the raccoons) have made it through 396 books. The 12 teen participants have so far read 181 books. And the 36 adults have read 192 books. Now if you do the math on these numbers you will find that the littlest kiddos are getting through the largest number of books – slightly over 51 books per participant. The chapter book readers are at almost 15 books per person. The teens are also reading about 15 books each. And you adults (I am assuming if you are reading this you are probably an adult) are only reading 5.36 books per participant. I would hope all of us in the “adult” category would view these numbers as a challenge. There is still lots of time (43 days to be precise) until March 1st when the Winter Reading Program ends. So let’s get reading and upstart readers what mature readers are capable of. Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Read! Read! Read! And enjoy!

The 10th day of January. The second Friday of the month. And, as I foretold sometime back in the dark days of December, we have started to gain minutes of daylight back at the end of the day. Since that earliest sunset of 4:22 p.m. during the 7-10th of December, we have gained a whopping 21 minutes of light as evening falls. And, sunrise has also started to get earlier and earlier. We have been stuck at the latest sunrise of 7:29 a.m. from around the 27th of December until just this week when on January 8th, sunrise was a minute earlier. This is all great news for those of us who look forward to longer hours of sunlight. These longer days, however, come with a caveat. Weatherlore in this neck of the woods states that “as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens”.  The weather between January 6th and the 23rd are typically the coldest stretch of days we get around Madison. This year’s weather seems to be bearing that out. This is perfect weather to stay indoors and read. Remember the Winter Reading Program is underway and books that you read can be logged and earn you dragon dollars to either spend in our store, gift to a friend or relative to spend in our store, or donate to one of the designated charities. There are lots of new books arriving at the library. Below you will find a sampling of some of the titles. Enjoy!

Today, should be the third day of January, 2025.  You have already had a couple of days to get that date of the year right, if, like me, you still occasionally write a check or two and or send actual, handwritten, Thank-you cards. Here are some fun facts about January. The month is named after the Roman god, Janus (pronounced the same way my unabbreviated name is, but that is purely coincidental) the protector of beginnings and endings as well as gates, doorways, and other areas of transition. This god is portrayed as being two –faced, which does make sense, to be both looking back towards the past and forward towards the future. This pause that January gives us after the rush of the holidays, allows us chance to firmly resolve to take up new actions (sometimes) and set down old ones (sometimes). In the publishing world, this is the time of year that all the self-help books pour out into bookstores, libraries, and the hands of well-intentioned, determined individuals. You will note, that today’s selection of book titles, only includes one book that might be considered a self-help (“Lifestyled”). More titles of this ilk, I am sure will be following as we get deeper into the month of January. Today, January 3rd, is “National Drinking Straw Day”. This is the date in 1888 that Marvin C. Stone received the patent for the paper drinking straw. It is “National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day”. These cherries can be covered in white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate and can also contain a little bit of kirsch liqueur (or other cherry cordial). I hope the beginning of this brand, new, year is treating you well. Below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!