Summer Yearnings

Today we feature another one of the summer programs (remember summer?) that Friends of Reston Regional Library underwrote for the community in 2008. In August, the Childrens Section of Reston Regional Library put on "Ice Cream for Books!" Led ably by one of Reston's enthusiastic librarians, this program pulled in children of all ages. They listened to stories, made an ice cream craft, and even a little taste of ice cream on cones was evident at the end of the program. And of course, there was a wonderful selection of 'flavors' of books about ice cream and stories featuring ice cream. It was a great way to head back to school and on a cold day in January, nice to look back upon.

Photos by Alicia Isaacs

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Mud and Conflict

Today we have two books from the Joseph M. Bruccoli Great War Series. The first, Flesh in Armour, was written by Leonard Mann, an Australian author with personal combat experience in World War I.  Another in the series, Retreat: A Story of 1918, was written by a British veteran, Charles R. Benstead. The books are available at Amazon1 for $13 and $14 respectively. They are novels, but written from the perspective of men who were there.

Moving to the current day, a new non-fiction book from Naval Institute Press attempts to get to the root of the question:  Has the popular press abrogated its role as 'simply' reporters and moved to opinion makers and leader? This book by Joel R. Davidson, Armchair Warriors, juxtaposes letters

 from citizens to military leaders with popular press reports to try to examine the correlation. Published in 2008, this book is a timely query. It is $18.50 at Amazon1.

All three of these books are in new condition. These are the kinds of extraordinary donations we often receive from our supporters. We thank you for those as without them, we would be hard pressed to raise funds to support literacy in our community. If you have ideas or suggestions on how we can expand our better focus our role in doing that, please let us know by contacting us!

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Views of China

Beyond the Stone Arches is a tale of a missionary's work in China over four decades. Edward Bliss, Sr., went to China as a medical missionary in 1892 and did not leave until Mao's revolution forced him out in 1932. The book is written by his son, and the reviews of the book are very complimentary. This copy appears to never have been used and is $15 on Amazon1.

Emerging Asian Regionalism: A Partnership for Shared Prosperity is an excellent choice for someone interested in understanding how the emerging markets in Asia are changing. This was published by the Asian Development Bank in July 2008, so the material is pretty current and may give some insight to how we will all recover from economic upheaval. This book is $14 at  Amazon1 and appears to never have been read.

Rounding out our Sinophile trio is China and the American Dream: A Moral Inquiry. Balancing between the history of the first book, and the market information of the second, this book explores the third pillar of studying China -- human rights. The author, a professor of sociology, looks at the myths the two cultures maintain about one another. It is $18 on  Amazon1. This book also appears to never have been read.

We hope as you are putting away holiday decorations and organizing in accordance with your New Year's resolutions, you will consider donating your books to Reston Regional Library. The Friends of the Library accept 2 boxes of books per day per household. We have a donation bin inside the front of the library, or you can donate at the back porch by ringing the bell. If you want a receipt, you must come inside. It is better to NOT just 'drop them off' on either of the porches as the inclement weather that sweeps through this time of year can quickly ruin your donation. We will be accepting books again on Monday, January 5.

This will be a year of prioritizing for many of us. In doing so, if you discover that one of your goals for the year is to do more for others in an area that you love, and you love books, consider becoming an active part of Friends of Reston Regional Library. We need people with all kinds of talents and gifts to keep the organization healthy and the library served. Contact us for more information.

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