Tuesday, September 11, 2012

My Secret Lover: The Library

I have an addiction. Well, I have a couple addictions, but I am only going to talk about one today. Today's addiction is: books. Some people like cars, some people like shoes. I like books.

When I was in high school, I wanted to have a used book shop with a cafe. This combined all the things I really liked - books, flavored coffees and teas, and baked goods. Then I grew up, realized that wasn't practical, and moved on. Still, there are few things I like better than curling up with a chai, a blanket and a book. I'm sure readers of this blog would assume that my favorite thing to do is craft, but you would be incorrect. I do love to craft, but not as much as I like words.

You know that feeling you get when your crush flashes you a smile from across the room? That is the feeling I get when I walk into a library. Yeah, I'm weird. Whatever. I just know that when I walk into the library, I get to leave with a stack of books and dvds I am going to enjoy curling up with. And they are free! Okay, I have to return them in a few weeks, but I don't need to keep every book I read. The ones I can't live without, I put on my amazon wish list and wait for.

Today's library visit started like many others: I walked in with the intention of picking up two particular books: Timeless by Gail Carriager, and Sock Innovation by Cookie A.

No big deal, right? Just walk over to the appropriate shelves and grab the books. I walked to the new fiction rack, found "Timeless", then walked directly to a computer to find the call number for "Sock Innovation". I got the call number and walked to the appropriate shelf. I didn't even look at titles, only call numbers. I found "Sock Innovation", turned to leave, and then... my eye hit the shelf. I saw Knitting Green by Ann Budd. The title caught me. I grabbed the book, glued my eyes to the ground, and tried to make my retreat.

I walked all the way out of the non-fiction section, but the young adult section sign caught my eye. "I'll just check if they have anything from Francesca Lia Block that I haven't read," I told myself. I walked to the shelf and right there, at eye level, was The Waters & The Wild. I couldn't leave it on the shelf after coming to look, so I grabbed it. I turned to go, but the spine of Crusader by Edward Bloor caught my eye. I grabbed it. I walked out of the shelf, but then I thought, "Has Holly Black published a new book?". I walked back to the shelf, saw two titles I had already read, and then The Poison Eaters. I added that to my stack and, noting the weight in my arms, walked away. I had made it almost out of the young adult section, when a pink cover waved at me from the new rack. I almost didn't walk over, because pink and I don't always get along, but then I saw the author. It was Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. Onto the stack it went, and out of the young adult section I went.

In order to get to the children, I had to pass the DVDs. I made it past the stacks, and thought I was in the clear when I saw Bride and Prejudice. I tried to keep walking, but the cover said "From the director of Bend it Like Beckham", so it was a lost cause. Onto the pile it went.

I collected the children and Steve, and was making my way to the circulation desk when it happened. One of the books on the shelf by the entry to the children's room caught my eye. The cover art of Frances Hardinge's Fly by Night has a banner that says:
"Imagine a world in which all books have been
BANNED!"
Again, I tried to leave. I did. I even walked away. But then I turned around and grabbed it.

What this means is that instead of adding two books to the two books that I already had from the library (Color in Spinning by Deb Menz; The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters by Lynne Vogel), I added nine things.

My name is Heather, and I have a book problem.

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