Macon Magazine

"WE ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO CONNECT ... TO LISTEN TO EACH OTHER AND TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS ON A DEEPER LEVEL." — MARGARET HARRINGTON attracts a different group of attendees, something that encourages Harrington: "A lot of times we get in our own little routines and circles. I've enjoyed connecting with people outside of my day-to- day routine, and I love seeing that happen with other people too, all because of a book." For this writer, and for many kids with limited resources, my formative love of reading was cultivated in a library. The library on Rocky Creek Road was the beacon of my childhood. The puppet shows were fun and the books were fantastic. A homeschooled oddball, I found friends in Anne Shirley, Addy Walker, and Amy March. They taught me the values of family, kindness, freedom, generosity, empathy, and humility. These characters were my only community for a time, a kindness made possible through a reading institution that reaches all corners of Macon. With 16 locations throughout Central Georgia (plus a library on wheels), Middle Georgia Regional Libraries offer so much more than books. Dedicated to the region they serve, promoting literacy is at the heart of their mission. "Reading in a group can be encouraging to someone just getting into the practice of reading for pleasure," said Rebekah Scarborough- McGraw, the literacy librarian at Washington Memorial Library. "The fun of coming together can be the motivator or even the accountability some of us need." Scarborough-McGraw leads book clubs but also offers Book Chats, a free service that helps people find the book that is right for them. "To some, the library has overwhelming options. Taking a little time to understand their interests can help us build a little reading community of our own. I absolutely love helping someone find their next favorite book!" In downtown Forsyth, the drive to bond over books is just as strong. Jennie Ridley founded Dog Eared Books, a boutique bookshop carrying a curated selection of pre-read and new books at Old Mill Market, in January 2022. Over the last year, the positive response from shoppers helped grow Dog Eared Books from a small nook in the Makers Mart to a prominent place on the main floor. Ridley said, "People don't just want to grab a book and go; they want to share their reaction and listen to how others feel about the story. I started a monthly book club to connect these amazing readers with each other. Books can help us discover something about ourselves; books in community can help us discover something about the world around us." Readers gravitate towards each other to share their thoughts, to hear from others, and to find their people. Princess Sanderson has always loved to read and write, but when she found her first book club, Literary Ladies, last year, her reading experience elevated. "Others see things in the text that I may never have noticed," she said, "and same from me to them. A shared reading experience is like unlocking a new layer of a book." "I read because of my community," Shanoya Cordew said. "My book club, Shelf Awareness, meets virtually every month and is composed of people I have met at various stages of my life. We choose our reading selections by voting, so it o en happens that some of us are reading things we never would have picked for ourselves. I love it." When one reads in a group, there is an X factor, an external force pulling each person out of themselves. Sometimes that pull is to read about a different topic or in a different genre. For many, a different perspective is what reading is all about. Matt Jennings has facilitated reading in Middle Georgia State University classrooms for 15 years. Time and again he has seen words from the past evoke passion in the present. He specializes in Native American history. For him, reading as a class is key to unlocking an education that resonates. "The willingness of my students to see things from a variety of perspectives continues to astound me," Jennings said. "A book like APRIL/MAY 2023 | maconmagazine.com 113

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