Stories from the Stacks
The Monthly Liaison: August 2022
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Chase Hamilton and Martha Williams at the exhibit of Chihuly Blanket Cylinders
during Book Around the Library 2022.
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". . . . I thought often and seriously of picking huckleberries. . . ."
- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
The plastic cottage cheese containers conveyed optimism for a success we would never actually achieve when we set out on the path along Henry's Fork searching for huckleberries. Each summer, my sisters and I would follow my mother and my red-headed grandmother into the shadows above the trail, over fallen lodgepole pines and through drifting spider web tendrils, all in hopes of one huckleberry pancake breakfast.
They are shy, my youngest sister always said. The berries tucked under small green leaves and became almost invisible, but when a spot of sun touched their purple skins, they glowed. When we found a patch, we glowed, too - our cheeks pink in the afternoon heat, and our fingertips quickly turning purple from the picking.
We rarely got enough on our own even to cover the bottom of the container we each carried - we had to sample some along the way, of course, and often there was the despair of the dropped bucket, purple berries rolling away into pine needles and duff. But together, we usually got enough for one pancake breakfast.
Years later, I read Walden and discovered Henry David Thoreau picking huckleberries, too, as he contemplated what it means to live "deliberately" and "deep." "My greatest skill," he wrote, "has been to want but little." (Read Henry Hikes to Fitchburg for a wonderful children's book rendition!)
All these years later, I still try each year, even alone, to make a pilgrimage to the banks of Henry's Fork in the latter part of the summer, hoping to gather a few handfuls of huckleberries. I pause in familiar patches and peer under leaves and wander through drifting strands of memories of my sisters and mother and grandmother. Whether or not my fingertips turn purple, I swallow bits of sweetness.
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Jenny Emery Davidson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
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Decades of research is showing us that the relationship between success and happiness is not what we might have thought...
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By Buffy McDonald
Reference Librarian
A palliative care nurse, who worked with the dying for many years, began to notice a pattern in the regrets that people shared on their death beds. Here are five things they mentioned most:
- I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
- I wish I hadn't worked so hard
- I wish I had the courage to express my feelings
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
- I wish that I had let myself be happier
Improving upon this last regret is what this article is about.
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Buffy McDonald: She brings happiness to the Library reference desk!
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Decades of research is showing us that the relationship between success and happiness is not what we originally thought. Over time, we have willingly sacrificed happiness in many aspects of our lives to pursue what we thought would lead to greater success and therefore more happiness; only to find that there is always more to accomplish, and happiness is elusive.
Shawn Achor in The Happiness Advantage explains: It has been thought that if we work hard enough, we will be successful, and only after we become successful will we be happy. But the research is showing us that the opposite is true--success follows happiness.
Just as Nicolas Copernicus first introduced that the Earth revolves around the sun, so has research shown that success revolves around happiness. Neil Pasricha - best-selling author of "The Book of Awesome" series, and The Happiness Equation - created doodles that illustrate this point well.
What we have been taught:
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What the science is showing us:
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So, what is happiness and how can we become happier?
Achor, who spent 21 years at Harvard University, and has become one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success, says: "Happiness is the joy you feel moving toward your potential."
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Just as Nicolas Copernicus first introduced that the Earth
revolves around the sun, so has research shown that
success revolves around happiness.
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According to the happiness research, there are some simple things you can do to make yourself happier. To begin, for the next 21 days, choose a two-minute daily habit from the list below that suits you well:
- Think of three things you are grateful for
- Write about a positive experience for two minutes
- Do 15-minutes of fun exercise
- Send a two-minute email praising or thanking someone
Bottom Line: Take charge of your own happiness and the great work – and its incumbent big success - will follow.
To Learn More:
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“Regrets of the Dying” Bronnie Ware spent several years caring for dying people in their homes. Her full-length memoir, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, shares further wisdom from dying people and how Ware's own life was transformed through this learning. It is available worldwide with translations in 32 languages.
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Recommended "Happiness" Titles
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For Happiness Happens Month, our librarians have curated a collection of titles to make you laugh, smile, maybe weep a little, uplift your spirits,
and raise your happiness meter—all free with your Library card!
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by Katarina Bivald
in print and ebook
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by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in print
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by TJ Klune
in print and eaudiobook
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by Don Miquel Ruiz
in print
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by Ursula K. Le Guin
in print and eaudiobook
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by Alexander McCall Smith in print
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Recommended Titles for Kids/YA/Spanish
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by Amy Schwartz
in print for Kids
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by Anna llenas
in print for Kids/Spanish
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by Julia Lobo
in print for Kids/Spanish
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by Adi Alsaid
in print for YA
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by Jennifer E. Smith
in print for YA
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by Katherine Applegate
in print for Middle Grade
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Herald from the Hemingway House
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"As a lifelong student of Ernest Hemingway, it was a true privilege to serve as a writer in the residence this summer.
"I was able to work at his final home in a quiet, serene setting, focused on my latest novel, in which he appears as a minor but important character in the 1930s and 1940s.
"Papa was with me …”
~Admiral James Stavridis, Ph.D.
Retired Four Star U.S. Naval Officer
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The Library is home to several titles from James Stavridis, including,
To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision (2022).
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Chihuly Blanket Cylinders Exhibit
1975-2016
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The Foyer of Community Library In Ketchum is housing 21 exquisite art glass cylinders from renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. With this extraordinary body of work, Chihuly aims to convey his appreciation
and respect for the histories, cultures, and arts of the indigenous tribes
of North America, and to recognize the influence of Native cultures
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THANK YOU to Our July Donors
for Supporting the Stories of the Library
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Anonymous – 2
Daphne Coble and Patrick Murphy
Wendy and Jim Daverman
Jeani and John Ferrari
Brook and Parker Hansen
J. McLaughlin
James and Barbara Cimino Foundation
Lynn and Bruce Kaplan
Mari and Thomas Lowe
Mary W. Harriman Foundation
Patrick J. McMahon II
Carol Monteverde
Sharon and Walter Rapchinski
Richard K. and Shirley S. Hemingway Foundation
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Renee and Austris Rungis
Shirley and Ralph Shapiro
Maggie and David Sturdevant
Isabel and Herb Stusser
Linda and Gary Vinagre
Jeanne and James Welch
Julie Weston and Gerhardt Morrison
Anita Whelan and Richard English
Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation
Mary Katherine and James Williams
Wood River Foundation
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Clara DiFelice in honor of Susan McKee
Carolyn Morrow in honor of Lynn and Bruce Kaplan
Sheena Wilson and John Ilgenfritz in honor of Jenny Emery Davidson
Karen Downing in Memory of Eda Hofmann
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Robyn and Todd Achilles
Big Wood Landscape
Kathleen Diepenbrock and Kelley Weston
Claudia and John D. Gaeddert
Kyla Merwin
Elaine H. and Michael T. Phillips
Narda Pitkethly
Gay Weake
Anita Weissberg
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The Community Library is supported by people who believe in the free flow of news, entertainment, and information.
It’s never too early to start planning to make a gift from your IRA (also known as IRA Charitable Rollover Gifts). Money can be transferred directly from your IRA to a 501(c)(3) charity, such as The Library, TAX-FREE! Donors must be 70½ years of age, and a gift from an IRA helps you meet your Required Minimum Distributions.
Strategize now to save on next year’s taxes. Director of Philanthropy, Carter Hedberg, is here to assist you.
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