Travel Through the Pages with Acorn Public Library this Summer

"If you can't [travel], which most of us can't, why not read a book about it?," says Eric Werthmann, head of Acorn Public Library's Adult Summer Reading Program. The program, which opened with registration on Saturday, June 4, has the theme of "Novel Destinations." Participants are not, however, required to read books about travel, although Werthmann, who also serves as reference librarian, recommends it. 

The program has about 25 participants, but Werthmann, who has conducted this for three years, expects a turnout like that of previous years, which has seen 70 adult readers. There is no required book list—the participants can read whatever they want, including the e-books that just arrived to the library Wednesday, June 8. The guidelines? Every two books read (and reported to the library) will equal an entry into the weekly drawings.

An innovative way to score an entry is by submitting a blog post—a paragraph, picture or anecdote about past travels—to the blog that Werthmann has set up for the program. Prizes include a book or "Acorn money"—$5 that can be applied to library fines, printing personal documents, or other fees associated with library use. There will also be a Grand Prize Party, held July 28. The grand prize is a set of 12 DVDs of 90 episodes of Rick Steves' Europe. 

Werthmann suggests Scandinavian mysteries such as Nicholas Bouvier's Way of the World and books by Jo Nesbo.

"[Reading a book about travel] is the next best thing….sometimes it can be even better. You can even travel through time," says Werthmann. Of his favorite travel trip to Venice, he says: "It's like a fairy tale, but it's real."