Mid-July!? How did that happen so quickly? Well, it did and we’re in the middle of a Summer Reading extravaganza here at the library. You can escape the ordinary with programs; great books, movies, and music; and AC to escape the summer heat! If you haven’t signed up for Summer Reading there’s still plenty of time. Read for 15 hours and we’ll either give you a free book to keep (kids and teens) or enter you into a drawing for a prize (adults). The real win is the actual reading; what better way to get away than by diving into a new place with a book! Need a recommendation? Check our blog or stop by and talk to a librarian; they’re experts at finding great books.

P.S. Special thanks to the Friends of the Library for providing the giveaway books to kids and teens and thanks to the Spokane Public Library Foundation for providing prizes for the adult summer reading program.

Local author Kris Dinnison’s debut novel, You and Me and Him is a great read! It is billed as “young adult” but its appeal stretches way beyond. And for those of us who can easily be transported back to high school with a song or memory it’s a perfect summer escape book. Maggie, the main character and narrator, works in a record store and music plays a big part in her life and in the course of the story. She turns to music to help embrace her emotions and that music transports readers more deeply into the story. Here are some of the songs featured in the book which you can download (and keep) from Freegal with your library card.

• Them There Eyes by Billie Holiday
• Ain’t Nobody’s Business by Billie Holiday
• All of Me by Billie Holiday
• Maneater by Daryl Hall and John Oates
• One by Three Dog Night

Freegal’s not the only game in town for music at the library. Some of the music from Dinnison’s book can be found on library CDs and our newest addition, hoopla.

• One Way or the Other by Blondie is on hoopla
• A bunch of great songs by The Smiths are also on hoopla
• Plus, the classic, Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure is on hoopla

Enjoy!