1 . I have a special place in my heart for libraries. I have for as long as I can remember. I was always an enthusiastic reader, sometimes reading up to three books a day as a child. Stories were like air to me and while other kids played ball or went to parties, I lived out adventures through the books I checked out from the library.

My first job was working at the Ukiah Library when I was 16 years old .It was a dream job and I did everything from shelving books to reading to the children for story time.

As I grew older and became a mother, the library took on a new place and an added meaning in my life. I had several children and books were our main source(来源) of entertainment. It was a big deal for us to load up and go to the local library, where my kids could pick out books to read or books they wanted me to read to them.

I always read ,using different voices ,as though I were acting out the stories with my voice and they loved it !It was a special time to bond with my children and it filled them with the wonderment of books .

Now, I see my children taking their children to the library and I love that the excitement of going to the library lives on form generation to generation.

As a novelist, I’ve found a new relationship with libraries. I encourage readers to go to their local library when they can’t afford to purchase a book. I see libraries as a safe haven(避风港) for readers and writers, a bridge that helps put together a reader with a book. Libraries, in their own way, help fight book piracy(盗版行为) and 1 think all writers should support libraries in a significant way when they can. Encourage readers to use the library. Share library announcements on your social media. Frequent them and talk about them when you can.

2 . We are seeking volunteers to join our program and make a difference in the lives of young children by sharing the joy of reading. As we know, in the field of education, the ability to read fluently and comprehend written text holds the key to unlocking a world of knowledge and opportunities. For children between the ages of 5 and 10, this skill is particularly crucial, as it forms the foundation for their academic and personal growth.

An Hour a Week from You

You’ll spend one hour a week reading stories with a child aged 5 to 10 years, on our secure online platform. The program involves two 30-minute sessions a week with the same child, spanning six weeks. Our online volunteering can fit around your schedule and there’s no need to travel. We ask all our volunteers to complete at least three programs a year, so we can continue to support as many children as possible.

A World of Opportunity for Them

With just one hour of your time each week, you can make a profound difference in a child’s life, nurturing their love for reading and fostering (促进) their ability to navigate the vast ocean of written communication. In essence, you help young readers make progress and open up a world of opportunity for their future.

Remember: YOUR TIME, THEIR FUTURE

As a bookmark volunteer, you’ll:

**help children gain the reading skills they need to progress at school and in life.

**help boost a child’s confidence by giving them one-to-one attention.

**show that learning to read can be fun! It’s amazing when you introduce a young reader to a book, comic, or poem that they love.

Join our community! Join us on this incredible journey! Volunteers can share tips and stories on our online forum and meet like-minded people at the online events. Enrich your week. Taking time out of your day to read with a child can support your own well-being as you enjoy a new experience. Together, we can create a world where every child has the opportunity to succeed both in school and beyond.

8 . Returning to a book you’ve read many times can feel like drinks with an old friend. There’s a welcome familiarity - but also sometimes a slight suspicion that time has changed you both, and thus the relationship. But books don’t change, people do. And that’s what makes the act of rereading so rich and transformative.

The beauty of rereading lies in the idea that our bond with the work is based on our present mental register. It’s true, the older I get, the more I feel time has wings. But with reading, it’s all about the present. It’s about the now and what one contributes to the now, because reading is a give and take between author and reader. Each has to pull their own weight.

There are three books I reread annually. The first, which I take to reading every spring is Emest Hemningway’s A Moveable Feast. Published in 1964, it’s his classic memoir of 1920s Paris. The language is almost intoxicating (令人陶醉的)，an aging writer looking back on an ambitious yet simpler time. Another is Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm, her poetic 1975 ramble (随笔) about everything and nothing. The third book is Julio Cortazar’s Save Twilight: Selected Poems, because poetry. And because Cortazar.

While I tend to buy a lot of books, these three were given to me as gifs, which might add to the meaning I attach to them. But I imagine that, while money is indeed wonderful and necessary, rereading an author’s work is the highest currency a reader can pay them. The best books are the ones that open further as time passes. But remember, it’s you that has to grow and read and reread in order to better understand your friends.