"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

-- "The Colo[u]r of Magic" by Sir Terry Pratchett

Also: "Ships at a distance have every man's wish onboard."

“In a distant and second-hand set of dimensions, in an astral plane that was never meant to fly, the curling star-mists waver and part… Great A'Tuin the Turtle comes, swimming slowly through the interstellar gulf...."

"A Wrinkle in Time" was my gateway drug into sci-fi. (I was about eight.)

And finding those pockets of "L-Space," where the rows of books seem to go on way farther than they would if they obeyed the laws of physics.

Um, ok. Not sure exactly how this is going to guide my life in the year ahead, but thank you.

I'm reading "The Memory Police" by Yoko Ogawa and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction.

I see what you did there....

5/4 (Because I mis-estimated the length of my other posts): If you're able to, attend municipal gov't meetings to vouch for the worth and value (per dollar) of your local library. Seniors, children, job-seekers, and many others benefit from readily available (and free) information and entertainment.

4/4 (Full disclosure: I read about a book a week and check out maybe 200 over the course of a year, so I give $30 -- the general cost of a hardcover book -- to each of the two libraries I regularly visit.)

3/4 If you have the financial means to, and are a voracious reader/listener/movie-watcher, donate the cost of at least one item you would have had to have bought to the library instead.

2/4 Library boards and directors keep track of these figures. An obviously well loved local library attracts grants from foundations, corporations, and other donors -- as well as potentially some tax dollars (e.g. a local referendum might be introduced to designate $X per resident to the library).

How can you help? 1/4
#1: *Use* your library. Check out physical and ebooks/audiobooks and other materials, attend programs, use genealogy and other reference materials, etc.

Most public libraries are funded by a combination of personal donations from people in the community, grants from foundations (and sometimes local or national businesses), and local/county/state taxes. The exact formula changes from library to library.