Library Love Affairs: Thursday's Reflection

This year I have rebonded with libraries. 

The first library I remember was in my elementary school where the library consisted of temporary shelves in a hallway. A sort of reading nook with a limited number of books, but so seductive for  this little girl who was on the path of becoming a voracious reader. 

When we moved to a town smaller than the suburb where we lived in my early elementary years, I was old enough to bike to the city library. I recall a librarian noticed how frequently I was there and what I was reading, and she directed me to books I might not have discovered otherwise. I wish I remembered the titles of those books. 

With each move after that, and there were many, a first item on the To Do list was to get a new library card. A real bonus was if I could get to the library on my own. When I was in college, I studied most of the time in the large reference room, comforted and encouraged by the books and the hushed silence around me. I felt studious and serious sitting at the heavy and masculine looking tables. 

 I have fond memories of other libraries that beckoned me over the years and, of course, memories of taking our children and grandchildren to libraries. The library habit dwindled over the years, however, as I built my own library. Independent bookstores became my passion, instead, especially the years that I worked at  Odegard Books, a fabulous bookstore that no longer exists. 

I continue to buy books and am a patron of independent bookstores like Arcadia Books in Spring Green, WI, and Next Chapter in St Paul, and Content in Northfield, MN, and on my bucket list is to go to Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN and owned by author Ann Patchett. However, I am more conscious of what I add to my personal stacks, for during this time of life I am more focused on downsizing and simplifying than acquiring. But this is also a time of heightened time of reading. I am devouring books. 

Back to the library! 

I now have a love relationship with the HOLD system--going online and requesting titles. Sometimes that means I have to wait for a long time for a title I want to read, but then when the email flashes in my inbox, saying a certain book is now ready for pickup, it is like receiving an unexpected gift. Books have always been my favorite present, and wow, I have received lots of presents in recent months. 

For example, I just read The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, and I love this book so much that I am reluctant to recommend it because I don't want to know if you don't love it. I don't want to hear any criticism of this book! Isn't that crazy! I actually may request this book again and be the 173rd hold on 36 copies. 

Right now I am waiting for The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman (#29 on17 copies) and Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (#56 on 17 copies). Sometimes what I request is not a current bestseller on anyone's must read list, but is a book that needs to come from another library. Perhaps I heard about a book that appeals to me while listening to a podcast like "What Should I Read Next?" An example is a mystery set in Victorian England, A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. 

During the last few months I have read library copies of The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott, Maybe You Should Talk to a Therapist by Lori Gottleib, and The Other Americans by Laila Lalami. I enjoyed each one. Sometimes, however, I request a book, which I discover I don't like and how good it feels to simply return it to the library unfinished, knowing I had not bought it. 

Writing this post has made me itchy to curl up with the next book on my list! Oh, how grateful I am to live where there are vibrant libraries and well-stocked independent bookstores owned by people who love books. I hope that is the case where you live. 

An Invitation
Do you have any favorite library memories? I would love to know.