Today’s librarians talk in normal voices. They don’t whisper or murmur, and the word “Shush!” is not in their vocabularies. I always feel the need to look around and make sure I haven’t accidentally wandered into the Post Office next door. It’s not silenced enough to be a library!

Do you tuck your small child in at night with a bedtime story? Lullabies are great, and so is a loving snuggle, but neither takes the place of reading. Why reading?

The subject this week isn’t books, libraries, or adventures in public book-readings. It’s cooking. And it asks the question: What do you do with Cornish game hens when the recipe you wanted to use involves a shrimp stuffing, and your S.O. is currently suffering from a gout attack? (Shrimp is a no-no when gout is an issue.)

Graduation day is coming…and these days, not only high schools and colleges but also middle schools, elementary schools, and yes, even pre-schools hold graduations. The other day, when I was talking to someone in administration at a pre-school, she said, “This is a busy time of year for us. We’re getting ready for graduation and prom. Prom?!

Some people who prefer fiction say they like it because it’s “escapist” and, with a good novel, they can lose themselves in the story.

I have written in this space before about some of the things kids have said to me at book-readings that amazed me—notably their aspirations for their adult futures. Yesterday I was exposed to another rib-tickling round of “When I grow up.”

Yesterday I read Created Equal to a group of kids in an after-school program. At first they were less than thrilled that I wasn’t going to be reading a storybook. Almost all the kids I read to in after-school programs prefer fiction over nonfiction. And history? That’s something they have to study in school, but this was after school was over for the day. They wanted something fun.

I’m sure your mother pounded the sharing ethos into your head like my mother did into mine, but sharing is good in adult situations too and not just when another kid wants to play with your toy or when you have a friend over and you have some candy or other goodies.

I read something online recently that intrigued me. Some fellow—if I ever caught his name (and I doubt it) I surely don’t remember it now (but God bless him)—has appointed himself a one-person volunteer bookmobile. He is emptying out his personal library and leaving huge stacks of books in public places (e.g. Grand Central Terminal, Brooklyn Bridge—he’s a New Yorker) for people to take. The books come with notes that they are available free…and with a slip of paper with this “book-Santa’s” email address, inviting a reply from whoever chooses to take the book home.

What’s that you say? You’re longing to take a trip abroad to see the sights in distant lands, but it isn’t in your budget? Or you’re eager to learn about something new, but there aren’t any TED talks scheduled for your locality, and a dry lecture on the drier Sahara, the only talk that is on offer, isn’t your cup of tea? Read a book!