Brainerd Library – Book Journey

Saturday Snapshot…. It’s Happening.

Published on August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Well I certainly did not plan on being MIA this past week here, but I see my last post was a week ago. A week on heavy library activity and we are down to the wire planning for Wine and Words. Lots of busy volunteers out there making the final steps happen. This week I worked on the table brochure, seating arrangements with my friend Sue, lots of email communications, sponsor information, phone calls, ticket sales, communications to our venue, and tomorrow myself and the Co-Chair Gail will hopefully take care of the final silent auction items which we are planning on a good 4-6 hours at the library doing that.

Whew.

Anyhoo…

This week at the Brainerd Public Library a lot of things were happening fast.

We got the word that the cement people were coming to lay out the plan for the benches and give the bid.
The Library Director and I went and layed out the plan for the benches and where they would go.
When they came the bid was a good one and they said they would be able to do the job on Friday. (Yesterday)
Friday!!!!
We hit “go mode” and bought materials to put stone around two of the trees in the area the benches would go to add a nice park feel to the area.
I dug up hostas from my own gardens because I loved the symbolism of having the plants being from our home where my son’s bench was going to be placed.
Thursday we were able to work on it a little bit in the morning and then we were rained out.
Friday morning we finished the hosta project (including a bonus space because we had extra stones) and the cement people did their thing.
The benches will go in early this next week.

A little background on the benches for those of you who are not familiar with my story of the past 4 months…. when my 24 year old son was killed in a car accident in April of this year, the book community did an AMAZING thing. A group of bookish friends who I have connected with through here, started up a bench fund so a bench could be placed at our local library in memory of my son.

My heart… runneth over.

This bench led to the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library moving forward on something we had talked about over the last couple of years, and that was putting some nice outdoor benches outside the Library. The Friends, on top of what the book community started with Justin’s bench, tossed in an additional $10,000 so we could add a bench on both sides of Justin’s as well as an octagon picnic table, a heavy duty garbage can, and two more benches for the Children’s outdoor area of the library.

I will post pictures once the benches are in place. I have seen Justin’s bench and it is BEAUTIFUL.

book journey, Sheila DeChantal, Justin DeChantal, Brainerd Public LIbrary — The two trees that we planted the hostas around.

Mckay Concrete, DeChantal, Book Journey, Brainerd Public LIbrary — Preparing for the benches

Brainerd Public Library, Book Journey, Sheila DeChantal — Prepping the Children’s Area ( we had planned on two benches but changed our mind and had them prep for 4. We will order two more benches.

Brainerd Public LIbrary, Book Journey — The moving of “Ben” the old bench that has sat in the bench planning area since the library was moved to this location.

Brainerd Public Library — Jolene the library director working on the third “bonus” hosta bed.

As you can imagine, this whole project has been bitter sweet. I love being a part of it and digging my hands into the dirt knowing that this will become a place where people will sit and read, and talk, and enjoy. For those of you who contributed to making this happen… I can not thank you enough. Even now, 4 months in I still cry every day. This bench… this project means so much.

Thank you.

I am posting this to Saturday Snaphot, where people all over the world can add pictures of what is happening in their lives. ♥

Morning Meanderings… Book Friends Make Me Smile

Published on June 29, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Busy whirlwind weekend… lots of business and while it was good things, I am glad to be in the week and keeping it a little less busy. I didn’t pick up a book all weekend. A little audio time as I was in the car – especially yesterday from Brainerd to St. Cloud and back to Brainerd and then to Pine River.

Over a weekend a nice gift came my way. I received a package from Amazon and tried to think if I had ordered anything… nothing I could recall. When I opened the box it was a book wrapped in a pretty blue paper and when I opened it, it instantly brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you Patty for the beautiful journal for me to write in. It is perfect. I just keep touching it and you can bet I will be putting lots of thoughts in it.

Today we have an author at the library, Lin Enger author of The High Divide. I am kind of excited about this one and interested in hearing about his book. Hoping this afternoon will include quiet time on the deck with a book. I feel like I am sparking a bit more, but prefer to stay as close to home as possible. Hoping maybe this week I can get out and ride my bike too – something I have not done yet this year.

Brown Bag Author Event: Julie Kramer

Published on July 15, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Every Monday in June and July at the Brainerd Public Library, we have a Minnesota Author come from noon to one to talk about their latest book, answer questions, and sign books. It is a lot of fun, and being a part of the Friends Of The Brainerd Public Library who sponsors these events gives me a front row seat when it comes to chatting it up with the authors.

Not a bad gig. 😉

Recently we had Julie Kramer at the library talking about her new book Delivering Death. She was very engaging to the 70+ people in the room.

While talking about where she gets her ideas for writing thrillers, she passed out to the audience her Minnesota Book Award for Silencing Sam. It passed from person to person, even I had to get in on that action! When it had been “oohed and ahhhhed” over by everyone there, Julie said this:

Let’s say tomorrow I am going to book signing in Duluth. And lets say on my way there I meet someone and I beat them to death with that Minnesota Book Award and leave the person and the award with all your fingerprints all over it. That’s where ideas come from. ~ Julie Kramer

We all laughed. Some nervously.

Julie was a wonderful speaker and we had a great time with her. She left us a signed copy of her book Delivering Death, and a bottle of wine with the same book title on it for Wine and Words in August.

And I picked up a copy of her book as well:

Julie Kramer’s website

Morning Meanderings.. “Agate Vines”

Published on April 5, 2014April 5, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Good morning! Hope everyone is doing SUPER FINE this happy Saturday 🙂 We had a bit of sunshine yesterday that melted away Thursday snow storm so I am looking forward (*hopefully* fingers crossed*) to no more snow.

Yesterday evening, our Friends Of The Brainerd Public Library helped to host a local artist who had recently created original lights to go over the circulation desk. Today I thought I would share that for Saturday Snapshot.

I have known Greg Rosenberg for many years now. Until recently, his business was located downstairs from the office I work at. Occasionally I would pop in to see what he was working on. Greg works with stained glass, metal, and yes – agates, to create original art works. Here is one of his many lamps he has made:

Gorgeous yes?

Here are pictures from last nights event:

**Other artists spoke regarding the importance of art in our community and Greg spoke about the lights and the inspiration behind them.**

**It was a good turn out. About 35 people came to see the lights and celebrate with Greg.**

**The Friends of the Library served cake….**

**and Lily had made a tasty beverage with apple juice, 7 up, lemon juice and real ginger.**

The lights as you can see, each hang from a metal “root base”. They hook into the base. Each one is unique and as you look at them you will find hidden vines, shapes, one even has an extended heart shape agate that comes off the lamp to look like a leaf. **The agates are Brazilian Agate and Minnesota. Greg calls the lights “agate vines”**

Here is a picture of the lights over the desk. There are 6 in all. Attendees of last nights event had an opportunity to walk behind the circulation desk as well so they could see all sides of the lights.

**This is Greg and his wife Margaret standing by the circulation desk.**

Greg also made a beautiful window using a mixture of agates and stained glass that sits above the doors into the library from the entryway. I apparently was too busy talking to people last night and forgot to take a picture of it, but it is another gorgeous original piece.

To see more of Greg’s work, please check out his website at Shining Light Studio.

It was a fun evening!

Readers! I Need Your Help With A Blind Date! ;) w/ giveaway!

Published on January 9, 2014January 9, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)116 Comments

Hi everyone! For February at our local library we are putting up a ♥ Blind Date Display.♥ I am pretty excited about the concept, which is to take people out of their comfort reading zone and try a new genre or a new author. We will have a whole display up of books wrapped in brown paper with only the scan code uncovered for check out. Other than that you have no idea what you are checking out to read. We will put a little “singles ad” on the outside of each book so they have a little idea about who they will be dating…. for instance:

**If this book were wrapped up and on the shelf the singles ad may read… “I am overly sweet and predictable, but people tend to love those qualities about me.”**

I am VERY excited about this!

This afternoon I will be going in and setting up the window at the library to let people know about this and encourage them from February 1st – 15th to come in and check out a blind date. 🙂 Once they return the “date” they will have an opportunity to the end of February to fill out a little “Rate Your Date” survey with fun questions like, “Would you date this author again?” “How was your date as a whole, did you find you had things in common? ” Stuff like that.

Here is where YOU come in. 🙂

I am working on compiling a list of books for the library staff that would make for great dates. As we will be pulling these books off the shelf we do not want to use the uber popular books that are hot right now, but instead books that may expand the reader. You know, the favorites of your past. A book that might make the reader, “Go wow! I have truly been missing out!”

My challenge to you that I hope you will accept is to leave in the comments titles of books that you think would fit this “blind date” event. I will enter each person who responds with a book title between now and January 17th into a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card. IF you can also give me a fun singles ad to go with the book you suggest you will receive two entries. 😀 We want to have enough books to keep filling the shelf we set up as they are checked out. I will be encouraging my book club to go in and give it a try as well. 🙂