DEAR SUN SPOTS: My daughter has been homeschooling for a year and a half. One of the main goals of our homeschooling is to teach her to understand her role in her community and help others whenever possible. This past fall we ran a food drive from our driveway in Oxford and gathered over 1,000 items and $300 for the local food pantry.
Liliana has a new goal. She is working on a Compassion Project for Social Studies. Her goal is to provide gift bags for homeless children in Oxford County. We plan to include hygiene items, hats and mittens, and some fun things for the children (crayons, snacks, coloring books, small games, etc.) I am reaching out to our local community for help with this project. My daughter is hoping to make 30 gift bags for homeless children and will be filling bags until Feb. 1. Please email me at laurajmccann@hotmail.com if this is something you would like to help with. — Laura, Oxford
ANSWER: What a wonderful idea! Sun Spotters, if you don’t use a computer and email, but want to help please write to Sun Spots and I’ll get you in touch with this little girl who wants to make her corner of the world a better place.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: In response to the writer looking for recommendations for reading, I highly recommend the Library CLOUD app. You can access it with the numbers from your library card anywhere in the state. Just type in your request by the genre, author, title, etc. For example, if you type in historical fiction, my favorite, you will get hundreds of titles. Some are available as audio books. I have the app on my smartphone and tablet.
Another resource I recommend is magazines. As an example, Woman’s World has a page with book recommendations in every issue, and most other magazines do, too. Parade in the Sunday paper often has recommendations as well. I have found such good books that way with authors and genres I wouldn’t normally think of reading.
Also, Netflix has many series and movies based on books. I love reading so I like to read the book first, but it’s fun to see how close the movie comes to the book.
These ideas should provide ample resources for reading as we keep isolating because of COVID-19. — No name, Lewiston
ANSWER: These are all wonderful ways to find books and I thank you for sharing them! The reader who wrote on Jan. 20 asking for book recommendations was hoping for recommendations from people. She wrote, “I know I could just look up some books online, but I really am curious to know what real people in Western Maine are reading.”
I will add that I’m curious to know if there are any virtual book clubs attending ZOOM meetings in Sun Spots Land that would have room for more members. This might be helpful for this reader, but also for others who are searching for a group to join where books are discussed. If you are having some virtual book club meetings, it would be great to know about them!
This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name. We won’t use it if you ask us not to. Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.
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