Let it snow!

We've had a very busy day here as everyone stops in to stock up on books and videos for what they hope will be a proper blizzard! The library staff is pretty intrepid, so I'm hoping that we can open the library tomorrow morning in spite of the weather. However, if you hear that the State offices are closed, expect that the Kellogg-Hubbard will follow suit. We'll announce on WDEV if we have to close or shorten our hours.

But like almost everyone else, I'm enjoying the fantasy of having an entire day in front of our wood stove with my book. What is the library director reading right now? Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. I tend to read history books in fits and starts, but this book grabbed me about twenty pages in and it hasn't let me go since.

If we think that we know what hard times are, we'll think again when we read about the fabled pilgrims who endured an incredibly grueling voyage only to arrive in a wilderness in winter, during what was known as a "little ice age". Their efforts to find a suitable place to settle, their relationships with local tribal leaders, their efforts to govern themselves, their tragedies and successes not only make for compelling reading, but also tell us something about our country's culture. It's a far cry from the Thanksgiving story we were taught in school.

On a side note, you'll read more about the devastating plagues that all but wiped out the Indian tribes who had previously inhabited the coast. If you'd like to know more, check out another fairly recent book, 1491 by Charles C. Mann.