I spoke to one of our children at storytime recently, and he is so excited about starting kindergarten soon.

I asked my grandson what he needed for starting high school in September.

“Grandma! I don’t want to think about school! It’s still summer,” he replied.

It made me think of the different ways we perceive the events in our lives. The prospect of school, starting a new job, going to college and other waystations of our lives can have different effects on people.

These past few years have been tough, tragic and traumatic. I think of all the people who have overcome immense difficulties and still look on the bright side of life.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence,” Helen Keller said.

She was blind and deaf yet overcame immense difficulties to become an author, teacher and educator.

“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true,” James Branch Cabell said in “The Silver Stallion.”

As you, the members of our community, support the library, let us know if there are other ways we can support you.

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NEW BOOKS

Fiction: “Quicksand,” Janet Dailey; “The Housekeeper,” Joy Fielding; “All Good People Here,” Ashley Flowers; “The Ink Black Heart,” Robert Galbraith; “Aura of Night,” Heather Graham; “The Hunt,” Faye Kellerman; “Fairy Tale,” Stephen King; “Robert B. Parker’s Fallout,” Mike Lupica; “The Last to Vanish,” Megan Miranda; “Blowback,” James Patterson and Brendan DuBois; “The Ninth Month,” James Patterson; “Carrie Soto is Back,” Taylor Jenkins Reid; “Desperation in Death,” J.D. Robb; “Girl Forgotten,” Karin Slaughter; “The Challenge,” Danielle Steel

Nonfiction: “The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan,” Elliot Ackerman; “Aurora: The Psychiatrist Who Treated the Movie Theater Killer Tells Her Story,” Lynne Fenton and Kerrie Droban; “Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy,” Henry Kissinger; “Breaking History: A White House Memoir,” Jared Kushner; “Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe,” David Maraniss; “Swerve or Die: Life at My Speed in the First Family of NASCAR Racing,” Kyle Petty and Ellis Henican; “Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of the Pandemic,” Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin

Juvenile: “Kids Cook Gluten-Free: Over 65 Fun and Easy Recipes for Young Gluten-Free Chefs,” Kelli and Peter Bronski; “Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel,” James Howe; “What Do We Know About Bigfoot?” Steve Korte; “Tales to Keep You Up at Night,” Dan Poblocki; “Katie and the Cupcake Cure: The Graphic Novel,” Coco Simon

Young adult: “Lightlark,” Alex Aster; “The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games #3),” Jennifer Lynn Barnes; “Five Nights at Freddy’s Fazbear Frights Graphic Novel Collection,” Scott Cawthon; “Nothing More to Tell,” Karen M. McManus

Children’s picture books: “Double Puppy Trouble,” Danica McKellar; “The Perfect Rock,” Sarah Noble; “All Are Neighbors,” Alexandra Penfold; “Creepy Crayon!” Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown; “How To Be a Rock Star,” Lisa Tolin; “How To Catch a Witch,” Alice Walstead and Andy Elkerton; “The Mouse Who Played Football,” Brian Westbrook Sr. and Lesley Van Arsdall; “The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!” Mo Willems

Children’s board book: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Fall (The World of Eric Carle),” Eric Carle