Dear Reader:
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” I am reminded. Let me draw a picture, then. On the wide-open plains of Manitoba, South of Swan River, and North of Virden, on Highway 83, there lay the small-town libraries of Russell and Binscarth. Highway 83 is the longest highway in the world. Highway 83 starts in Swan River and ends in The Gulf of Mexico. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” Sun Tzu. For so many of us, however, travel is limited to the travels we embark upon on our literary journeys. Many more of us will never take a road trip down Highway 83 to The Gulf of Mexico and nor will we take the road less travelled by more and more people: the literary road. To read is to be set free. For each time one reads, one learns. To learn is to grow and growth obtained through reading is growth of the mind. Growth of the mind is what sets one free from the various prisons inflicted by ignorance. Ignorance holds captive the imagination and the intellect.
Our communities are blessed with two libraries staffed by skilled and passionate staff, lovingly referred to as The Library Ladies. For those of us that work at the library, reading comes as naturally as breathing. To cease to read would be akin to death. The written word is life. There are many in our communities for whom reading is a chore and a thing to be feared. The journey filled with adventures of the mind and heart never begins because of fear and misunderstanding. The fear is different for everyone, the misunderstanding is that reading is optional. To clarify, reading is optional, reaching one’s full potential without reading is not. You need to read. If you are not a reader, currently, consider becoming one. If you do not know how to read, consider learning. The willing and open consideration of a matter is the opening of a door through which one can walk. As the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so reading begins with one word. One. Do you see the picture? The picture is yours; it is you: colored by your imagination and your intellect, created by the words you read. To read is to be. You need to read.
Jessica’s Picks
Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy
SLOW: Simple Living for a Frantic World by Brooke McAlary
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne and Lisa M. Ross
Minimal: For Simple & Sustainable Living by Laurie Barrette and Stephanie Mandrea
No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way To Calm The Chaos And Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, PH.D
For an excellent selection of books stop in and visit us in Binscarth Library and Russell Library. For more information on any of our events, please contact the Russell Library at 204-773-3127 / ruslib@mymts.net or Binscarth Library at 204-532-2447 / binslb@mymts.net or message us on Facebook. Please visit our website at https://russell.mb.libraries.coop for more
information.
Happy Reading, Until Next Time,
The Library Ladies