Do you find that there just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes to get your routine chores and errands finished?
By the time the dog's been walked and the kids have been to soccer and dance and fed, you find the 10 minutes of quiet time you had set aside for yourself has been either eaten away or you are just plain too tired to enjoy your "personal timeout." Some of us look forward to those few minutes at the end of a day to relax, unwind and read. We like to catch up with the characters we left last night. The young couple trying desperately to save their marriage after a terrible secret had been revealed, or the seasoned sleuth who was just about to reveal "whodunit." We wait all day to read the next chapter in our new friend's lives — only to have the fatigue of our daily lives overwhelm us.
We fall asleep with the our book either closed and collecting dust on the night stand or face down on our stomach in a vain attempt to perhaps absorb the words by osmosis overnight. We make a promise that we will get back to the book tomorrow.
The truth is, sometimes it's days before we're able to pick up where we left off and most often we find we have to retrace our steps because we forgot who was in the kitchen with the cleaver or which Romeo was really a rogue in disguise. When life is just too busy to be able to fuel your reading passion, don't despair — we have an easy reading remedy. It's called magazines.
Yes, magazines. For those of you who think magazines are just for women or your previous experience was with a 3-year-old copy of Sports Illustrated at the doctor's office, well, you're in for a surprise. If you have a hobby, it's a safe bet there is a magazine about it. There are magazines for dog, horse and car lovers, for aspiring writers and tattoo aficionados. Most libraries carry a variety of titles that can be borrowed just like any other material. Magazines are a great, inexpensive way to try a hobby on for size.
When you're too busy to remember a plot or a set of characters, you can always find time to casually flip through and just look at the pictures. It's OK to not always read a novel. They're a lot of fun and the basis for a lot of the movies gracing your DVD collection, however, it's not always practical to get lost in an epic when the baby starts to cry or the washing machine starts belching out bubbles. That's what periodicals are for. They're a guilt-free way to get your reading fix when your life has other plans.
At the Chester Public Library we have subscriptions to Antiques & Collecting, Organic Gardening and The Family Handyman. Like to cook? We have Taste of Home, Simple and Delicious and Bon Appetite. The covers alone on these issues are enough to make your mouth water. We have local-interest magazines such as Yankee, New Hampshire Magazine and NH to Do Magazine. For you TV fans out there we have "O" the Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and This Old House. Need your celebrity and entertainment fix? Check out People Weekly or Entertainment Weekly. If you're looking for more substantive news we have Time, U.S. News and Newsweek. In the market for a new washing machine? Let Consumer Reports be your guide.
For the younger ones in the family there's Sports Illustrated for Kids and National Geographic Kids.
You can see that even where magazines are concerned, your library has "something for everyone." You need not despair that you can't get through the newest 800-page Clancy thriller; reading an article in a magazine is still considered reading for those of you out there keeping score. You'll also feel a sense of accomplishment that you actually got to start and finish something. So when your life finally quiets down and you get to resume your reading routine, Tom and all his fellow literary friends will be here waiting for you.
Until then, pacify yourself with a new cookie recipe or learning how to build a backyard gazebo and the fact that you were able to at least read something. Visit your local library to check out a complete listing of their periodicals.
Melissa Rossetti is the director of the Chester Public Library. The Chester Public Library is located at 3 Chester St. For more information on library events, call 887-3404 or visit the library's Web site at www.chesternh.org/library.html.
Chester Public Library Events
Flea market: Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, Sunday, March 30, 8-2 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room, 84 Chester St. Admission is free. Anyone wishing to rent a table space can contact the library.
Doll exhibit: For the month of April, the library will be hosting a traveling doll exhibit from the Green Mountain Doll Club. Stop in throughout the month to view this special collection.
Silk screening class: Monday April 7, 4-5:30 p.m. Ages 13 and up. Participants will make one T-shirt, using a stock design or creating their own. Materials fee is $5. Preregistration is required. Payment due at sign-up.
