The Big Read with Doug Peacock

October is an exciting month here in the Flathead; it's The Big Read!!! Throughout the month, the Flathead County Library System is celebrating Jack London's The Call of the Wild with speakers, films and discussions. If you are into wilderness, survival and adventure, this is the month for you! Drop by your area branch and pick up a free copy of the book today (be quick - they're going fast!)

The Big Read will kick off this Sunday with a visit from grizzly bear expert Doug Peacock. Doug is an American naturalist, outdoorsman, and author. He is best known for his book Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness, a memoir of his experiences in the 1970s and 1980s, much of which was spent alone in the wilderness of the western United States observing grizzly bears.

Want an introduction to Doug? Take a look at these sites:

• National Geographic Adventure interview with Doug, discussing his life and experiences
  
• Outside Magazine article by Doug discussing Grizzly Man stars, Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard
• Video of Doug and his wife Andrea, as they discuss grizzly bears and conservation
  

For further reading, check out these books (available via your friendly neighborhood library, of course!):

• Grizzly Years: in search of the American wilderness, by Doug Peacock - Upon returning from two tours of duty in Vietnam, Doug headed into the woods to find grizzlies and experience the American wilderness.
  
• Among Grizzlies: living with wild bears in Alaska, by Timothy Treadwell. Authored by the subject of the film Grizzly Man, this memoir recounts Treadwell's experiences living in close contact with grizzlies.
  
• The Lost Grizzlies : a search for survivors in the wilderness of Colorado, by Rick Bass - Doug and Rick Bass search for evidence of surviving grizzlies in the San Juan mountains.
• Other books by Doug Peacock: The Essential Grizzly:the mingled fates of men and bears and Walking It Off: a veteran's chronicle of war and wilderness

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Sunday, October 5, 6pm, Saddlehorn Tower/Bigfork
Doug will be discussing the mingled fates of humans and grizzlies in Montana.

Monday, October 6, 6pm, KM Theatre/Kalispell
Grizzly Man film and discussion, led by Doug

A complete listing of Big Read events is available here. For more information, call 758-5815.

Celebrate your freedom to read!

Pop quiz time!

What do the following books have in common?

• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
  
• The Harry Potter Series, by J.K. Rowling
  
• The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
  
• Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
• The Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

If you said that they are some of the most frequently challenged and banned books of the last twenty years, you are correct. Every year, there are hundreds attempts to remove "questionable" books from the shelves of libraries and schools.

September 27-October 4 is the 27th annual Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week celebrates our democratic freedom to express and have access to unpopular and unorthodox opinions. Said U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."

For lists of the most frequently challenged books, see here, and for information about Banned Books Week, see here. Celebrate your freedom to decide for yourself by reading a banned book this week!

Ahoy mateys!

In observation of Talk Like a Pirate Day, we'd like to award Jane Wilkinson the "Thar be scurvy headin' yurrr way" Award. Jane is entitled to first dibs on all leftover cookies and will be heralded on this blog. Hope you didn't miss seeing our newly-crowned lead buccaneer in action!

Our kids and teens deserve a pat on the back!

Readers to the Rescue continues to be a huge motivator in the Summer Reading Program. Readers can read log hours to get a prize for themself. After that quota is met, all hours above and beyond roll over into the Readers to the Rescue program. This summer our kids and teens logged 12,965 extra hours and maxed out the donation of $1,500 to the Flathead County Animal Shelter. Kirsten Holland, director of the shelter, brought in animals and thanked the children for their efforts. The Friends of the Flathead County Library pledged the maximum donation of $1,500 to encourage children to continue reading throughout the summer. You can donate money, books or purchase books from the Friends to help out the cause. Lynn Kelly (L) & Kirsten Holland (R) are in the picture to the right.

Summer Reading 2008 @ your library

The 2008 summer reading program is now in the history books. A lot of kids, tweens, and teens visited all of our libraries and boy, did they ever read! We are still are adding up all of the hours read and it looks like we might break some records. Well done! Many thanks to Park Side Federal Credit Union for underwriting our summer reading program and volunteering at our branches to help our program run smoothly.

Our grand prize winners have been awarded their prizes and are probably enjoying them right now. Winners of the Imagination Station gift certificates are Eileen Crusta, Dakota Henson, Jack McDaniel, and Timmy Murray. Winners of the iPod Nanos are Shantay Carr, Natalie Harding, and J.J. Harris. Congratulations to all!!

There were lots of extra hours read for Readers to the Rescue. We will be donating $1500 to the Flathead County Animal Shelter, which will be used to help all of the animals there. Many thanks to all who kept reading after getting their own prizes. Keep up the good work. We would like to thank our Friends of the Flathead County Library System for contributing the money for this part of the program.

Next year's theme has been announced. For kids the theme is Be Creative @ Your Library for kids. The teen theme is Express Yourself @ Your Library. Start getting those creative juices flowing and we'll see you @ your library!