L to R: Jenni Gaisbauer, Sadie and Ashley Hudler

Happy Friday, everyone!

Every day, when she wakes up and before she goes to bed, my daughter Sadie asks us to read to her. She will not let us walk away unless we read three or more stories. Everything is put aside to make this happen, because we know one day these special requests will end. And probably sooner than we want.

Sadie is 2 1/2 years old now and loves books. She knows the physical parts of the book. Every tenth book we quiz her … front cover, spine and back cover! Fist pump!

Right now, she is clocking her Summer Break minutes with four books: Rolie Polie Olie by William Joyce; Bluey, The Beach; Moana by Disney; and Ice Cream Face by Heidi Woodward Sheffield.

Sadie received the last book as part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library curated book program. Each book we receive in the mail is age appropriate as well as beautifully designed and written. What would we do without Dolly? Dolly for President! (FYI: If you have a child under age 5, I highly recommend you sign up for this free program for Mecklenburg County residents. Check it out here to learn more.)

In addition to clocking minutes reading Sadie’s books, I’ve been doing double duty with physical books and audio books on Libby. My list so far and in order of favoritism…

• The Women by Kristin Hannah: I haven’t met a person who doesn’t love this book. A must read if you like historical fiction, women’s history, war, etc.
• Burn Book: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher: This non-fiction tell-all chronicles her experience dealing with the tech giants since the 90s when the industry exploded.
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett: Everything Patchett writes is well done. I listened to this and was shocked when Tom Hanks started narrating the book.
• The Fury by Alex Michaelides: I’ve enjoyed all his books, but I found the ending of this book a little disappointing. Still worth the read. #VerseVinoAlum
• Spare by Prince Harry: You must listen to this book. He does his own narration about being part of the British royal family… and probably sharing a lot more than his family would’ve liked.
• Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson: There are too many books to read in this world, and I had to put this one down and walk away.

To cleanse my reading palate, I went back to what I know, Anne Patchett and her latest book, Tom Lake. So far, so good.

It’s not too late to join the Library’s fun community summer learning program, Summer Break.  You can sign up by clicking here.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and happy reading!

Jenni Gaisbauer, CFRE
Executive Director