Arlington Public Library

The Arlington Years: Snowver It

The Arlington Years

Thoughts From County Native and Arlington Public Library Director, Diane Kresh

The last several days of wintery white-out are testament to the old adage that there can be too much of a good thing.

So when I wasn’t on County snow status conference calls, or checking on Library facilities in my all-wheel drive or concocting strange meals out of refrigerator odds and ends, how did I keep the stir crazies away? By loading up on free books and DVDs from my favorite local source, Arlington Public Library.

For books, I dug into (and finished) Jayber Crow, penned by Wendell Berry (this year’s Arlington READS author and an early booster of the environment and proponent of sustainability: “waste not want not”) and 1968: The Year that Rocked the World, Mark Kurlanksy’s riveting account of the year that woke me up to the world (Kurlansky is also author of several great social histories including Salt and Cod).

By contrast, my DVD viewing drifted toward the more eclectic with A Fish Called Wanda (insane fun), The Station Agent (everyone needs a friend), Short Cuts (the lives of 22 Raymond Carver short story characters woven together by the masterful Robert Altman), The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (not the Travolta travesty; but the gritty-city original from 1974 with Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau) and Lawrence of Arabia, which I needed two full snow days to finish. Whew!!! All of these . . . and more . . . waiting for you at the Library.

So that’s what I did on my winter vacation. What did you do? Please share in the comments section below. And if you were out there taking some pics of plows, puppies in the snow, spinning tires, or just the plain old white stuff itself, please consider sharing your photos with us by sending them to libweb@arlingtonva.us.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Too much shoveling! I know every square inch of our walks and driveway… To escape I read two delightful books: "Swallows and Amazons" by Arthur Ransome (published in 1930 and recently given to me as a gift, about 4 kids who spend a week on their very own island) and "A Clearing in the Woods" by Roger Foley. (Gorgeous gardens!)

  3. i had a migraine for four days – fun huh? at least i didn't have to take sick leave. i think it was the low barometric pressure? will have to research that!

  4. I wasn't bored – read a few books, watched some DVDs from the library (thank goodness due dates were extended!) and tried to download a MobiReader e-book but I think my Windows 7 64-bit computer didn't play nicely with the software – need to research that. Plus shoveling, a few walks when the snow stopped, and lots of baking/cooking (we retained power the whole time). And made one snow angel in the backyard. 🙂

  5. I watched four DVD versions of Emma, topped off by a viewing of Clueless. I used my hidden camera spy glasses to take video of my dog and uploaded it to YouTube so everyone can enjoy images of her in the storm — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DY0hfx82h8. And I spent way too much time on Facebook 🙂 Rachel

  6. Panic stricken and getting prepared to read by flashlight (thought I had given that up when I was 12)when the lights went back on again. Spent some time in Shrewsbury, England in the 12th Century with Brother Cadfel and once again traveling Without Reservations with Alice Steinbach. Decided that I wanted to spend the time with old friends rather than new books – must have been the need for cosy and familiar territory despite what was going on outside.

  7. I held a couple of impromptu storytimes for the kids in my apartment building, a great way to meet neighbors!

  9. Read, had tea, read some more, had some more tea, and got in a couple of DVD's. Of course, all that occurred in-between Olympic Ice Chipping and Snow Tunneling…I mean Shoveling. Watched Marley and Me, Julie and Julia, Mighty Ducks. Tapped into a Robert Parker detective novel and a few good Young Adult books recommended in the January Booklist, found on the front page of the Libraries website. (Also got in some great sled rides!)

  10. My pup and I went on snow rescue duty. Where there was no path my dog hopped in the snow banks beside me and made all original tracks! The snow was the best I've seen!

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