Congrats to the winner!

Congratulations Erin Mindes! 

You've won Heather's book!  Email me your shipping address at anwaevents at gmail dot com and I'll get it sent out to you.

For the rest of us, here is a little inspiration from our newest ANWA Board member, Susan Haws:

Guilty Pleasure

I am working at my local library. I call it my guilty pleasure job. (I get to be with books. How could it not be a pleasure? And I get paid, thus the guilt.)

I enjoy seeing circulating books. Read, read, add to reading list, you get the idea. I often say and think even more frequently “So many good books so little time.” But activity I see is as important as the books themselves. People, of all walks of life, reading books. People showing board books to babies, children choosing picture books themselves and older kids and teens looking for their favorite authors. I can count on the dinosaur, drawing, and animal books needing straightening and it makes me smile.

So much competes for our time today and according to RobertBrewer.org “25% of people over age 16 have not read a book in the last year.” “Reading frequency declines after age eight.” There are a great many more book facts at the site worth pondering. I know I am preaching reading and writing to the experts.

 My time at the library has shown me that despite the responsibilities and the variety of entertainment there is still a thirst for knowledge and story. Children and adults and seniors all wear the same look when the book they wanted has all its copies checked out. They all wear the same happy face when they talk about a story they adore.  You are the creators of those stories and that joy. Keep working at it.  

Susan G. Haws