October is always a crazy month for me. Lots of personal milestones in there. My parents’ wedding anniversary—50 years this year!—as well as my own. My daughter’s birthday (and the requisite party) and of course Halloween and its constellation of activities: pumpkin picking, hayrides, bonfires, trunk or treat, and school parties.
Oh, and I am running for the local school board, and elections are November 5th.
So I’m always a bit busy in October.
But October is also smack in the middle of book event season, and I have 3 events in the next 3 weeks:
October 5th: Collingswood Book Festival, 9 am – 4 pm, Collingswood, NJ

October 12th: Indie Author Day, Galloway Library, 1 pm-3pm, Galloway, NJ

October 20th: VPL FanCon 2019, Vineland Library, 11 am-4 pm, Vineland, NJ

Whew! That is one packed month!
How is your October shaping up?
A Bookish Week
This is one of my favorite weeks of the year—the Spring Book Fair! This year’s theme is “Chill Out at the Book Fair”. Given that it’s still pretty hot here, that is appropriate. Our library looks like the North Pole, with snowflakes, icicles, snow blocks, and a polar bear.
While the youngest grades are the most work, they are also some of the most rewarding to work with. Today, as I helped a group of 1st graders fill out their book lists, they would eagerly ask me, “How many more can I get?” over and over, as they brought me book after book to add.
The kids pick their books in all different ways, too. Some kids want every book on the shelf, hardly able to make any sort of choice. Some browse through each book very carefully before they decide whether to add it to their list. There’s no right way to do it—they always end up with a good list.
The Book Fair began Monday, and will wrap up on Friday. But my Bookish Week doesn’t end there.
I have my first book event of the season this weekend!
On Sunday I will be at the New Providence Book Festival. I enjoyed myself the first time I was there in 2017 and look forward to hanging out with the authors in the pretty area around The Salt Museum in New Providence. The weather seems like it will be quite nice, so I’m hoping for a good crowd of book lovers.
I will undoubtedly be exhausted by the long week of bookish events, but I revel in it anyway. Spending time with book lovers, whether they are in Kindergarten or are fully grown, is always a pleasure.
Please support your school’s Book Fair, and if you are in New Providence, stop in and say hello!