Library Love

Have I mentioned how much I love libraries? I truly think they are one of the best things ever invented and I can't believe they are free (yes, I know our taxes pay for them...but I love them so much I would be willing to pay a membership fee!). We go to the library at least twice a week. I love watching Noah march into the children's area to find Mr. David. They disappear into the stacks searching for whatever is on Noah's mind that day (usually some sort of vehicle). He emerges with his arm full of finds and then he plops down to read them. Camille's idea of a trip to the libary is to pull everything off each shelf as quickly as possible so by the time I have finished cleaning up one area, she is on to the next one. Unless she happens to come across an Elmo book (what is up with Elmo's appeal to the 2 and under crowd?!).

Today we made the trip downtown to the "big city library". It is a big, new building filled with all sorts of wonderful art, sleek presentations, and a great children's area. Sometimes I think I should have been a librarian. I get such a geeky thrill being surrounded by so many endless possibilities for reading and listening. I love the whole experience of searching for new books and arriving home with new treasures. I come from a family of readers and have fond memories of visiting Aunt Dot at "her" library (the books were good but so were the gum drops on her desk!).But things have changed a lot since those early library visits. It is interesting to see how technology has impacted the libary experience. A part of me misses the old card catalogue system. I loved pulling out those little cards as part of the hunting and gathering process of research and reading. But I also have to admit I love being able to do on-line searches, place requests on-line, and pick them up the next day. And now our local library system allows you to upload books onto your ipod. We also have the self-check out machines which don't thrill me as much as they thrill Noah. The main ingredients are still the same and that makes me very happy. I am always amazed when I meet people who don't use their public libraries on a regular basis...it seems like such a necessity, yet after living overseas it feels like the most amazing luxury!

Here are some books I enjoyed recently:
"You Can't Get There from Here: A Year on the Fringes of a Shrinking World " by Gayle Forman
"The Ice Queen" by Alice Hoffman
"The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"Cuba Diaries: An American Housewife in Havana" by Isadora Tattlin

And some kid books that have been recent favorites :
"Flotsam" by David Wiesner
"Faucet Fish" by Fay Robinson

We are always on the hunt for good books, so please share suggestions for some fun summer reading!