The days are getting longer, early flowers are emerging in all their glorious colors, birds are excitedly chasing earthworms, the weather vacillates from sunny to rainy in mere seconds, and outdoor markets are starting to reopen everywhere.  It’s beginning to look a lot like springtime in the Willamette Valley!  March ushers in the official beginning of spring and offers a whole host of things for us to celebrate such as St Patrick’s Day, March Madness, and of course, who can forget Spring Break?  If you enjoy wildly unpredictable weather, green grass, baby ducklings, and blooming flora such as daffodils, crocuses, tulips, and daphne, this is the season for you!  So get on out there and chase a few rainbows and while you’re at it, check out one of these spring-related titles available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

With Valentine’s Day as its central holiday, February is famous for love.  February is also National Library Lover’s Month so “love is in the air” no matter where you look!  There are lots of wonderful sentiments and song lyrics that celebrate love such as “love conquers all,” “love makes the world go ‘round,” and “all you need is love.”  The emphasis can often seem to be on romantic love but the love we feel for a good friend is just as important and deserves to be celebrated as well.  So if we think about love and friendship together there is one saying that seems to incapsulate Valentine’s Day and Library Lover’s Month quite nicely: “If you have a book, you have a friend.”  This month, we’re paying tribute to love in all its forms whether romantic, platonic, familial, or the love of a good book!  Check out one of these love/friendship-related titles available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

The winter months seem to be filled with one holiday after another–Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, New Year’s…  Many of these cultural and/or religious holidays bring together family and friends and whenever people gather, there is usually a meal involved.  When you talk to people about holiday traditions, it seems like food inevitably comes up.  Whether it’s green bean casseroles, black-eyed peas, or matzah balls, everyone has a list of foods they associate with different celebrations.  Many of these foods have deep meaning and significance to the celebrants but also, the breaking of bread together is just a wonderful way of building community and fellowship.  So gather with your people, celebrate the holidays of your choice, eat good food, and maybe just for fun, check out one of these food-related titles available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. –Edith Sitwell

enit by Wendy Red Star

National Native American Heritage Month (also known as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month) provides us with a great opportunity to celebrate the amazing heritage and history of Native Americans. The original inhabitants of America have rich and varied cultures dating back thousands of years. Now is the perfect time to reflect on the traditions, languages, and contributions of the indigenous peoples of North America. There are currently over 500 federally recognized tribes, representing hundreds of different cultures. Contemporary native peoples’ impressive achievements in art, literature, music, dance, sports, cuisine, agricultural practices and so many other areas, deserve recognition and appreciation. At the same time, it is also important to acknowledge the struggles and hardships experienced by Native Americans both in the past and the present. Let’s take time this month to pay tribute to the many achievements and contributions of Native Americans everywhere. Check out a selection of recent materials by or about Native Americans available from the University Libraries and listed on our WU Reads Reading Guide.

For more information, see American Indian and Alaska Native Data Links: https://www.census.gov/about/partners/cic/resources/data-links/aian.html

According to Merriam-Webster, autumnity can be defined as the “quality or condition characteristic of autumn.” In other words, it’s that time of the year when the days are often beautiful and warm, but the nights and mornings are cool and crisp. There is occasional rain, but it’s refreshing and exciting rather than tiresome and never-ending. The leaves on the trees are turning beautiful colors, geese are honking through the skies in great numbers, pumpkin spice is everywhere, and a good cup of hot coffee or an amazing tea latte brings serious joy.  It’s the season of apple cider donuts and harvest festivals, falling acorns and scrambling squirrels, flannel sheets and cozy sweaters…

And autumn is the perfect time to curl up in a comfy chair with a warm blanket, a companionable cat or dog, and a good book!  Check out the selection of fall-related titles available from the library’s collection on the WU Reads Reading Guide.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me / Fluttering from the autumn tree. — Emily Brontë

Summer stretches out before us in all its glory—light-filled days, warm evenings, beautiful blooms, fresh fruits and vegetables, outdoor time, vacation travels—all the simple joys of summertime life. Summer offers us the chance to relax a little, soak up the sun, enjoy long conversations with family and friends, stroll aimlessly through gardens and parks, lounge by pools and lakes, and explore other places near and far. And what better way to celebrate sunny days and mild nights than by immersing ourselves in the captivating world of books? The longer days beckon us to tackle that long list of books we’ve been meaning to read, to escape into different worlds, explore different perspectives, lose ourselves in exciting mysteries, and learn something new. No matter what your plans are for the summer, a good book is a perfect companion. To get you started on your reading adventures, check out these summer-related titles available from the library’s collection on the WU Reads Reading Guide.

In my college years, I would retreat to our summer house for two weeks in June to read a novel a day. How exciting it was, after pouring my coffee and making myself comfortable on the porch, to open the next book on the roster, read the first sentences, and find myself on the platform of a train station. — Amor Towles

The academic year is winding down, and oh, what a year it has been! After months of living the college life in all its hectic glory, summer break is near. For many of us, that means the chance to relax, unwind, and maybe finally get enough sleep for a change! Quality sleep is absolutely critical for overall health and well-being, but during the whirlwind of an academic year, it is often hard to prioritize sleep. What better time to work on developing good sleep habits then during the month of May when we celebrate Better Sleep Month! Take advantage of this awareness month by paying attention to your sleep environment and routines, being aware of how diet and exercise play a role in sleep quality, and learning more about sleep health in general. And to help you in your exploration of sleep, check out one of the sleep-related books from the library’s collection featured on the WU Reads Reading Guide.

For more information about sleep, see:

National Sleep Foundation–https://www.thensf.org/

American Academy of Sleep Medicine–https://aasm.org/

Sleep is the best meditation—Dalai Lama  

April in Oregon is an exciting time of the year, complete with wild weather, bursting blossoms, and frolicking ducks and geese.  The whole natural world awakens with new growth and new life.  As thrilling as this revitalization is, April is exciting for another important reason–it’s National Poetry Month!  In 1996, the Academy of American Poetry (AAP) proclaimed April as National Poetry Month and poetry lovers have been celebrating this month ever since.  According to AAP, their goals for the month include an effort to “highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets” and “encourage the reading of poems.”  So while you’re out appreciating the wonders of spring, why not take a moment to appreciate the wonders of poetry?  Take a look at our WU Reads Reading Guide for a selection of current volumes of poetry in our collection.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful. — Rita Dove

Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it’s always been the language of bridges. — Amanda Gorman

For more information about National Poetry Month visit: https://poets.org/national-poetry-month