5,041 days of reading in two months: Marion County summer program digs in
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FAIRMONT - Larissa Cason is a page-turner from way back.
Science fiction and historical fiction, too.
Biographies.
Memoirs.
The most serious, non-fiction works out there - balanced with the most fun, romance paperback you'll ever break the spine on during your next beach vacation.
Yep - Cason likes to dig into a good book, for sure.
And the executive director of the Marion County Public Library wants the same for you, too.
In the meantime, the library system last week wrapped its summer reading program for 2026: "Beneath the Story" was its archeological theme, and it took in all kinds of books for all ages of readers, from pre-kindergarten to grandparents.
Little kids read about dinosaurs. Older readers cracked open books about soil conservation.
Well, there were the themed-offerings and everything else (see Cason's reading list above).
"Reading for me is about escapism," she said, "but of course, I'm also reading to learn. You can glean a lot of factual information from historical fiction."
A total of 342 readers, including 139 elementary schoolers, logged 121,000 minutes of reading time, in fact, she said.
If you're so inclined to read more into it, the librarian continued, all those minutes translate to 5,041 days - over the course of a two-month span.
"We're very happy," she said. "That's a lot of reading."
But don't think for a (reading) minute it's going extinct for the season, she said.
The system's popular "Sit, Stay, Read!" program with canine representatives of the Mountaineer Therapy Dogs organization begins gathering next week.
And the Baby Time and Toddler Time read-aloud sessions begin in September.
Visit mcpls.org for the whole story on new book titles coming in, hours and how to get a library card, Cason said.