April is almost here with a fun art challenge. The April Colors Challenge even comes with a list of prompts for each day. It ranges from the basics such as complementary colors to more complex ideas such as bioluminescence. There are fun ideas like swapping colors between objects as well. If you would like to know more, here is the link) https://www.faunwood.com/april-colors

Stephens College is putting on the play Footloose, on March 15-17 and 21-22. For more information, please click on this link: https://www.stephens.edu/academics/conservatory-for-the-performing-arts/box-office/season-76-2023-2024/

Haven’t found a book club for National Reading Month yet? The only requirement for the Silent Book Club is a book. Their next meeting is Tuesday, the 19^th, from 6-7:30 at the Columbia Public Library, Quiet Reading Room. Here is the link for more information: https://events.dbrl.org/event/10112828

National Reading Month is here! If you want some ideas on how to participate, this is a great article) https://bookriot.com/national-reading-month-march-2024/. Some independent bookstores here in Columbia are Yellow Dog, the Peace Nook, and Skylark. There are also the book sales at the Columbia Public Library. If you are participating in the Read Harder Challenge, there will be a Read Harder Challenge Check-in at the Columbia Public Library on the 13^th from 6:30-7:30 p.m (https://events.dbrl.org/event/10107572).

I guess I’m celebrating by learning to annotate which also leads to one other suggestion I have for celebrating National Reading Month that the article didn’t cover. Writing and languages. If there is a different language (foreign or constructed) in your favorite book why not give it a try? There are a wide variety of resources out there for most of it. For example, you can learn to write your notes in elvish, or one of the Star Wars alphabets. For those who really love math or just trying new things, the D’ni number system is base-25. If you are interested in a new language but don’t want to commit to learning one, you can still look at their writing systems. Be forewarned, this might break down your resolve not to learn a new language.

I hope you all have a wonderful National Reading Month!

In case this event has snuck up on anyone, the True/False Film Fest starts next week! Find out all about it at their main site, here: https://truefalse.org/.

So, if you’re the type who doesn’t care about being 100% proper, I found an art challenge that looks good: February Faces (https://kickinthecreatives.com/february-faces/). For those who want their challenges to count properly, I’m sorry I didn’t find that challenge sooner, but I found an interesting March challenge for you: The Quick Kick March Daily Photo Challenge (https://kickinthecreatives.com/quick-kick-march/). This one encourages you to get outside and enjoy nature. If you want someplace other than your backyard or local park, Columbia has a lot of trail mileage to choose from. If you have a dog, Bear Creek Trail would be excellent. You can always start at the parking lot by the dog park.

If you are curious about Manga, or are having a hard time finding your next book or series, then perhaps “Your Go-To Guide for How and Where To Read Manga” (https://bookriot.com/how-and-where-to-read-manga/) can help you out. I personally like how they mention libraries as a way of getting books you want to read!

For all I know, I’m the last one to really know about annotation, but I’ll readily admit I’m one of those people who does not like writing in her books and that gets even harder with e-books. So, whenever the word annotation has crossed my path in the past, I’ve just sort of slipped right back into reading about Aragorn, Shallan & Adolin, Benden Weyr and all my other favorites. Leaving annotation promptly forgotten. But then I ran across the article, “The Best Annotation Tools for Readers” (https://bookriot.com/best-annotation-tools-for-readers/), this morning.

Since this space is partly about posting book related topics I think others might be interested in, I looked at it and found out it doesn’t require one to actually write in their books. One of these kits has notebooks for writing in, and the stuff in some of the other kits, like bookmarks, sparks all sorts of ideas for me. And if nothing else, I could stand to take some notes on the Wheel of Time, Darkover and the Cosmere. So, in case there is anyone else who might now be interested in annotating what they read, here’s some extra information, 5 Steps to Great Annotations (https://davidrickert.com/5-steps-to-great-annotations/).

Having decided annotation might be a thing to start doing, I also have to point out that I work in Physical Processing and have a problem with one of the ideas presented in the first article. Post-It-Note-like products have a nasty habit of trying to become a permanent fixture in books over time. If left in too long, or poorly made, they tend to take part of the page with them. Just a warning of what could go wrong.

Here’s an event for those who have active dogs who like sniffing out things. Barn Hunting is a relatively new dog sport and you can bring your dog to learn all about it and even get in a practice run or two on Sunday, February 11^th starting at 10. If you are interested in more information including pricing, location and directions you can go to the following site: https://allevents.in/columbia/barn-hunt-practice/200026072441828 . If you want to read up more on the sport first there seems to be plenty of information online. I’ve posted two links here to get you started. Here is a link to the Barn Hunt Association’s FAQ page: https://www.barnhunt.com/faq.html and here is a link to another event page that I found informative: https://www.kios.org/arts/2020-10-29/rat-infestations-are-a-real-problem-for-farmers-barn-hunt-simulates-a-solution . Spoiler alert: It sounds like the rats are alive but no person or pooch will really come into contact with them.

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will be playing at the Columbia Entertainment Company throughout February. For more information including specific dates and how to buy tickets please go here: https://cectheatre.org/2023/07/28/joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat/ .