A Remarkably Bright Winter

I have a confession.  

I don’t really like winter. 

I don’t like it getting dark early. I really don’t like being cold, and despite having lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life, I don’t like the rain or snow. Some of these reasons are just personal preferences, some of them are seasonal depression, and some of them are just me being a little bit whiny.  

But admittedly, I can’t get myself to be a winter hater (even though I have really tried) – and it’s because, despite all of the dark and the cold, there are also so many opportunities for light and warmth.  

It’s the sparkly lights on the trees and the houses; it’s the constant flow of hot chocolate (if you don’t know my love for hot chocolate you can read all about it here); and even if I don’t like the reason behind having to bundle up – I have to admit that I really like the feeling of putting on a cozy hat and scarf.  

Books can be this for us too; books can be a light in the dark, or a warmth in the cold. 

This is why winter is such a great time to have a community reading program.  

For those who may not know or be familiar (or need a refresher), our community reading program, called Rogue Reads, aims to provide a sense of collective warmth. For starters, it draws everyone to a singular title. By encouraging everyone in an area to read the same book, we create one more thing that we, despite perhaps our many differences, have in common. It also creates an opportunity for intergenerational conversation. Not only do we choose an adult community reading title, but we have a family title (a picture book) too. 

This year, our community read title is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Initially, we chose this title because of its accessibility, availability, and popularity. However, as we’ve entered the winter months, I have a different view on why it makes a perfect winter reading title. It, too, is a sort of light in the darkness. Its subject matter, while not as deep or heavy as some of our previous Rogue Reads titles, is not without meaning or message.  

Remarkably Bright Creatures is a book revolving around a mischievous giant Pacific octopus in a small-town aquarium, the lovely older woman who does janitorial work there, and Cameron, a down-on-his-luck guy who is in search of his father. While these characters seem to have nothing in common, their stories intertwine and connect in profound, meaningful ways.  

They eventually become each other’s light in the darkness. 

 Our family title, The Octopus Escapes by Maile Meloy, is a tale of an Octopus escaping an aquarium to return to its ocean cave. It’s about home, comfort, and safety. It is about finding a place where you belong – which is also what the library is. A comfortable, safe place for everyone. A home – of sorts.  

While our community reading program focuses on books and reading, we, of course, have more to offer. We’ll have an amazing author talk with Shelby Van Pelt at the end of February (more on that later). You’ll also see a lot of ocean-themed programming happening at our branches over the winter. We could have chosen a book that would let us stick with familiar winter themes (snow, gift-giving, family traditions, etc.), but the ocean is an excellent metaphor for what we experience in the winter months. 

The ocean is also cold and dark – but if you look really hard, you can find some beauty and brightness within it.  

So, I hope you join us this winter and let us be a light in the darkness for you. You could say we have a Remarkably Bright Winter planned for you. 

If you would like more information about our community reading program, you can find more information at www.jcls.org/roguereads.