Local Bookstore Events June 2 - June 8

Here is your guide for all the local (and free) bookstore events happening this week:

Barnes and Noble

June 6, 2009 @ 2 p.m.
Laura Pritchett, author of "Going Green" will be reading from this book and signing afterward. Pritchett is a local author, an activist for Save the Poudre and an English professor at Colorado State University.

June 7, 2009 @ 2 p.m.
Conlan Brown, will be promoting his first book, "The Firstborn," which has sold 607,710 copies since its May 2009 release. Brown, a 25-year-old Greeley resident said he was "functionally illiterate until fifth grade."

Directions to the store are found here.

Reader's Cove

June 4 @ 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Local author Mike Campana, author of the children's book "Greedy Race Car Driver" will be doing an in-store appearance today.

June 6 @ 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Mystery writer, Beth Groundwater will be promoting her new book, "To Hell in a Handbasket." This is her second stop on her tour of the western United States. Two events for Groundwater down, only 23 more to go.

Directions to the store are found here.

Happy reading and have fun at these events!

Reader's Cove Books for Monthly Book Clubs

Okay bibliophiles, here is the updated list for the monthly book club books for June, compiled from the Reader's Cove Web site.

Below is a list of book clubs and the books that club is reading.

• AVID "Then We Came to the End"
• Between the Sheets "Saffron Kitchen" by Yasmin Crowther
• Booklite "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" by Elizabeth Berg and "Glory in Death" by J.D. Robb
  
• Fearless Readers "Out Stealing Horses" by Per Peterson
• GNOWAT "Walking the Gobi" by Helen Thayer
• Kim Kirsch Book Group "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• Newcomer Bookies "Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexi
• NIOTA "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
• Redfeather Lakes "Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle
• Redfeather Lakes (Men's) "Team of Rivals" by Doris Goodman
• Tattered Cover Books "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Willow Springs "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry
  

For more information or any questions, send an e-mail to the Reader's Cove.

The Great Summer Reading Race Encourages Young Readership

Tuesday, May 26, kicked off the Great Summer Reading Race at the Reader's Cove Bookstore. The race is designed to encourage readership among students over the summer and the reward isn't just reading books, they actually receive prizes for reading.

Students can register anytime during the summer, but the biggest prize is $1,000 in books for the school with the most points. Young readers can read up to two books a day and prove they read the books by: skits, paintings, poems, pictures, sculptures, book reports, videos, songs and anything else that demonstrates they read the books.

The points and prices break down like this: anything from their treasure chest (zero points), $5 gift card to Reader's Cove (10), coupons to local businesses in the vacinity (15) and entering the drawing for the $1,000 in books for a particular school (25).

Although encouraging readership among students is a great way to guide them to read more (or at all), isn't reading itself enough of a reward?

Another program that started in the summer to encourage young readers was the 25-year-old show, "Reading Rainbow" with LeVar Burton.

The program featured a book, which was read by a celebrity, and then LeVar choose a theme that was related to the book. The themes usually involved looking closer at the way things were made (how jeans were made was my favorite!) or a particular profession.

Growing up, every Thursday afternoon in my elementary school we got end the day with this program and the words of the theme song still resonate with me today, "I can be anything! Take a look, it's in a book - a Reading Rainbow..."

Now really, what is better in the long run, prizes that will eventually be thrown away or the knowledge from books and the affirmation that I can be anything I want to be?

No brainer.

But either way, summer reading programs are great because they facilitate healthy relationships with reading literacy. Studies show that reading literacy has improved over the last 30 years, but that is primarily due to encouragement to read and not simply being compelled to read.

And as LeVar used to say at the close of every show, "'But you don't have to take my word for it...'"