Each week, the O’Fallon Weekly, a supporter of the O’Fallon Public Library publishes a column written by one of the library staff members. Susan Cantonwine, Adult Services Assistant since 2016, enjoys talking with patrons and learning new things.

I hear from folks every day who feel it’s nearly impossible to carve out personal time during the inevitable end-of-year-deadline-fest. 

I love wrapping up and giving that perfect gift, but how many do we need to display to prove our love and appreciation?

Instead of buying things for people in your life, bring home experiences to share with the ones you love.

One recipe for relaxation calls for starting with festive music. Just admit it. You get all tingly with anticipation when you hear Alvin sing, “Christmas Don’t Be Late.”

Hint, you can borrow our copy of Merry Christmas from the Chipmunks.

Then cook up something sweet, and top it all off with a heart-warming movie.

Look under the very bookish Santa for our large sampling of holiday CDs, DVDs, cookbooks, novels, movies, and even piano/vocal music scores.

Grab one of our new picture books, cuddle up with the kids and read.  May we suggest The 12 days of Christmas by Margaret Wang, based on the popular LEGO version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

And that’s not all!  We also have another display in the 1^st Floor Marketplace: The Uplifting Feel-Good Collection.

Lovers of romance books and movies can come out of the closet. Hello, my name is Susan, and I’m a Hallmark-a-holic.

The condition is not complex. Cheesy-Romance-Land is populated by equally nice people with equally nice homes, cars, and kids.  There is minimal pain, never any disrespect, and no reason for grievous anguish in Cheesy-Romance-Land.

But if this is just a little frou-frou for you, Sean in circulation highly recommended Free Guy; a PG13 action-adventure comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Sean Levy.

A bank teller (Reynolds) discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game and decides to become the hero of his own story. In a world with no limits, he is determined to save his world his way before it’s too late.

Library Director Ryan , saw The Teller of Secrets by Ghanaian, Bisi Adjapon on the Adult Services desk and said it is getting a lot of attention. This “funny, fresh, and fiercely original” tale is about a feisty Nigerian-Ghanaian girl who knows about her father’s adultery as well as her half-sisters’ secrets during the upheaval of the 1960’s.

And finally, drumroll please, The Hub is OPEN!

Teens 12-18 are invited to celebrate The Hub’s Grand Re-Opening, Tuesday, Dec 21, 2-8 PM. There will be snacks, games, art supplies, a craft you can take with you, and a drawing for prizes.

Someone will win a Kindle Fire HD8!

In the meantime, happy reading and viewing! Susan C.