#35 - National Library Day. Today I am spending National Library Day reading through those 3 books. I should really be in the library browsing books but I have a never-ending to-read pile of books at home. So I thought I’d spend the day browsing a couple of classics and starting the second Mark Gatiss’s. Libraries are important. I have many memories of being in the library studying surrounded by books I would never be able to afford or justify having on my shelves. Memories of browsing through sections until a title would sound appealing and I’d take the risk of borrowing it for better or worse. I believe to be a connected person. My laptop is probably the first thing I would save if my house was on fire. And I am and have been a Tweet-addict for nearly 3 years now. But when it comes to reading, I am very traditional. I love books. I love buying books. I love seeing them on my shelves. I love flicking through pages of expensive old books. I can not for one second picture myself with a Kindle. They lack character. And realistically, they aren’t anything new to the world. A book is already portable and fits in a bag and can be read while on public transport. The Kindle isn’t even waterproof, so it really didn’t bring anything new to the world. Today, I am lucky enough to have a full-time job that allows me to earn enough money to treat myself to a book on a regular basis. But when I was still a student, the library was my temple. I couldn’t afford books but there was just that amazing building where I could just go and browse and pick books to read. Thousands and thousands of books and stories just waiting to be read. Libraries are important because they make so many stories and so much culture available and accessible to so many people. My favourite thing about books is when I’ve just finished it. I’ve read the last line and I close it and for whatever reason, I gently caress the back cover as I do so. I then stay there in that position, the book just closed, front cover down with my right hand over its back cover and reflecting on what has just happened and what new feeling and information are now part of me. Stories make you what you are and books play a major part in telling you stories. Support libraries and help everybody access the many worlds of imagination.
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