Berne Library Notes for Thursday, September 16, 2021
— Photo from Kathy Stempel
The Berne Public Library is bridging the digital divide with 20 hotspot devices from a Kajeet grant.
The Incredible Heldercon is in sight. It’s just a few hours away. Starting at 11 a.m., on Sept. 18, organizers of the full slated day of family-friendly events will be ready to welcome visitors into the Berne Town Park.
Do you have your costume ready so you can participate in the Cosplay Parade scheduled for 1 p.m.? Anyone from toddlers to 99-plus-ers can dress up as a superhero — all in the spirit of fun and entertainment. Think Halloween party without the pumpkins.
Plans for the day include a K-9 Unit demo, balloon animals, Caricature Drawing with Chris, door prizes, food, raffle drawings, face-painting, a photo booth, and crafts.
Scarpa’s Food Truck will be there as well as the Friends of the Library’s food booth and Emma’s Incredibles Lemonade Stand.
Sara Chauvot, one of the featured artists in the Friends Art Gallery, is offering visitors a drawing demonstration.
Oh and there’s more! Sumo suit wrestling, scavenger hunting, and a Pirate Obstacle Course.
Plus it’s free admission for one and all.
Get your costume ready and get yourself and lots of your friends over to the Berne Town Park on Saturday, the 18th, for an Incredible Heldercon experience.
Haig’s books
Two books, one author. One fiction, one nonfiction. A view.
British author Matt Haig has written and published numerous books. His work includes screen plays, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books.
Two recent publications flying off the shelf are “The Midnight Library,” a work of fiction hitting stores in 2020, and “The Comfort Book,” a nonfiction gem published in 2021.
Both books broil up hope, life choices, and what-ifs. In “The Midnight Library,” meet Nora Seed, who thinks life isn’t worth living anymore. She lost her job, her cat, family, and friend connections.
Upon entering the weirdly physical Midnight Library, Nora finds Mrs. Elm, her library teacher from elementary school. Nora’s journey jumps into an infinite number of books, regrets, surprises, and multiple life choices. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re holding your breath as you zing in and out of parallel universes, searching for key ingredients to living a meaningful life.
In “The Comfort Book,” the author starts by telling you: “I sometimes write things down to comfort myself.”
Entering the meat of the book greets you with thought-provoking lifelines. Could be a couple pages of words under the page heading or just a one liner.
Like the Portal page: “Each of us has the power to enter a new world. All we have to do is change our mind.” Or under the heading Short: “Life is short. Be kind.”
Read back to front or visa versa. Each vignette stands on its own.
Haig reminds us things can be messy in life but “Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn’t give up.”
Director’s note
The library is proud to announce that we have 20 new Smartspots to loan out from a generous grant by Kajeet.
Mark your calendar for the library’s first Community Conversation on Oct. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. — virtual and in-person.