Tis the season to offer up our gratitude. Although 2020 feels a little short on things to be thankful for, we at the Library wanted to take a moment and share our gratitude. We are thankful that our doors have remained safely open since June. We are thankful for our staff’s health. And, we are thankful for you Central Montana. This year has been a tough one, but, we know that we can make it through difficult times together.

Another wonderful thing that helps us make it through tough times is a good book. A book can uplift you and teach you; calm your fears and take you on a wild adventure without even leaving the comfort of your favorite reading nook. And so, each of us here at the Library have offered up a little dose of thankfulness. What follows, is a book for which each staff member is thankful. Enjoy our musings and remember the goodness around us each and every day.

• Books are always something to be thankful for and offer us solid ground when our world turns upside-down. I experienced this reality shift most significantly when I had my first child. I just needed some help and I found it in a recommended book. Therefore, I am thankful for the book “Wonder Weeks” by Hetty Vanderijt for giving me stability and confidence when I needed it.

• Name the book you are most thankful for?  Hey, I work at the library, I’m thankful for all the books.  However, if I have to choose only one book the Bible was the first one to come to mind.  To be honest, I do not read it every day as I should.  Maybe a favorite from childhood such as “A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson.  My mom would read to me from it which is why I still like poetry that rhymes best.  Then the light went on, the book that I cannot live without and am so grateful that it exists largely because of my atrocious and appalling spelling is the dictionary!  A heartfelt thank you goes out to Mr. Webster.  

• The first book I thought of as the one I am most thankful for is a picture book called “The Farm Book” by Jan Pfloog. There isn’t anything especially notable about the book itself, but I have so many great memories of my dad reading this book to my sisters and I as kids. He would do the most hilarious voices for every character and ad-lib all sorts of lines. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard reading anything. We asked him to read it over and over and he always obliged. Just a really great memory.

• I am thankful for the book “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide for Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz.  This book serves as a solid and positive guide for all to live a free and joyful life.  5-star rating!

• The name of the book is “Malice” by Danielle Steel. I am thankful to have had this book in my life. I received it from my Senior Spanish teacher as a graduation gift. The book is fiction, but the lessons that the women in this book learn shows the courage and strength that it takes to get through life and to stand up to people that try to do wrong to you and those you love. I have read it many times and still love it.