We started thinking about elephants today. No good reason, just elephants are neat. The funniest jokes are about elephants. Question: How do you get down from an elephant?

Answer: You don’t get down from an elephant; you get down from a duck!

We came up with a few books about elephants.If you want a complete list of everything the library has that has anything at all to do with elephants, click here. Or, you can check out the books we remembered for some super-sized fun. Why not think about elephants for a while?

Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived.

Q: Why do elephants wear red hats?

A: So they can hide in cherry trees without being seen.

Jumbo: The Greatest Elephant in the World

Q: Ever see an elephant in a cherry tree?

A: No? See, it works!

Elephants: A Cultural and Natural History

Q: How do you get an elephant into a cherry tree?

A: You plant a seed and make the elephant stand over it.

The Cowboy and His Elephant: The Story of a Remarkable Friendship

Q: How does an elephant get down from a cherry tree?

A: You don’t get down from a cherry tree; you down from a duck!

The Astonishing Elephant

If you’ve got any elephant jokes to share, put ‘em in the comments! We love the elephant jokes.

Have you had a chance to stop by the Fairborn Library in the past few weeks? In addition to our children’s summer reading programs, we have also begun an adult summer reading program. Now grown-ups can join in the fun and model good reading habits for their children!

The wonderful thing about the adult summer reading program is that takes very little effort to join. You don’t even have to sign up. When you finish a book - and this could be any book, fiction, nonfiction or audiobook - you just fill out a ticket with the name of the book you read, the author, your name (phone number, too, so we can contact you if you win something) and a brief sentence about the book; then drop the ticket in the box. You will be entered into a weekly drawing for a bag full of goodies from the library. At the end of the program, all the entries (winners included!) will be combined, and there will be a drawing for a grand prize.

Tickets and the entry box are located on the front wall of the library next to the check-out desk. Along with a few good books you may want to read, there is also a contest you can enter for more chance to win prizes! The contest will change regularly, so keep checking back, you could win lots of stuff!

Hey y’all! It’s getting to be pretty hot and humid here in Fairborn, Ohio. You might say the weather resembles that experienced in the South. It makes me think of drowsy afternoons, lolling on a porch swing sipping iced tea. Or, if you prefer, sitting on the front lawn of Tara surrounded by beaux. Why don’t you check out one of these books, sit outside with a nice cool glass of lemonade, and transport yourself to a land more gracious.

Of course, we must start with the inimitable Scarlett O’Hara, queen of Tara. You can try the original, Gone with the Wind (in book or movie form) or try Alexandra Ripley’s 1991 sequel, Scarlett. Rhett Butler’s People came out last year. Both new novels are authorized by the estate of Margaret Mitchell to continue and enhance the beloved original.

After the Scarlett books, when thinking of the South, I always think of Rebecca Wells and her hit Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood. Some of you may not realize she wrote further about the Ya-yas, in Little Altars Everywhere and Ya-yas in Bloom.

For a funny look at what it means to be a Southern Belle, try any of Jill Conner Browne’s Sweet Potato Queens books. My favorite is the first, The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love, followed closely by The Sweet Potato Queens Wedding Planner/Divorce Guide (wedding planner on one side, divorce guide when you flip it over) and The Sweet Potato Queens Guide to Raising Children for Fun and Profit. The Queen is especially funny on audiobook; her fabulous Southern drawl just lends even more hilarity to the hijinks.

A couple more books on a Southern theme that the staff around here loves:

Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral

A Southern Belle Primer, or, Why Princess Margaret Will Never Be a Kappa Kappa Gamma

Somebody Is Going to Die If Lily Beth Doesn’t Catch That Bouquet: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Wedding

The GRITS (Girls Raised in the South) Guide to Life

Ever wondered what to do with the rest of your life? Would you like someone else to tell you? Like to travel but don’t know where to go? Read any one of these books for more advice than you ever thought about wanting!

1000 Places to See before You Die was an early entry into the “list of things you must do/see before you leave the earth.” This book has nice pictures and good information about the entries. A couple more travel-based books are Unforgettable Places to See before You Die, 100 Things You Must Do before You Die: Travel Events You Just Can’t Miss, and 1001 Natural Wonders You Must See before You Die

1001 Books You Must Read before You Die sounds nice, but it actually stirred up a little controversy. See this article in the New York Times. What books do you think should be included but aren’t? Which ones do think should not have been included?

If you run out of movies to watch, flip through this book: 1001 Movies You Must See before You Die. Maybe you’ve always wanted to know what gardens or artwork to see or what golf courses you need to play, just check out one of these books: 1001 Gardens You Must See before You Die, 1001 Paintings You Must See before You Die, or 1001 Golf Holes You Must Play before You Die.

If, in the end, you don’t want someone else to tell you what you need to do before you die, make a list like the ones Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson made in the movie The Bucket List. Just in case you haven’t figured it out, a “bucket list” is a list of things you’d like to do before you “kick the bucket.” You can customize it! Maybe there aren’t 1001 items on it, but it would be your own.

What did you put on your list? Tell us in the comments!

We have weddings on the brain here in Fairborn. I got married about two weeks ago, and a couple of the other staff members have children getting married later in the year. I had a pretty low-key experience, but even my easy-going family had a few moments of tension. With all the drama associated with planning a wedding, it is no wonder weddings are a major source of inspiration for Hollywood. Try any one of these great (and not-so-great) movies next time you are in a bridal mood.

My Best Friend’s Wedding

27 Dresses

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

License to Wed

Monsoon Wedding

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