ex libris

This heat is draining, debilitating and demotivating. (alliteration at work!) It's really difficult to get anything done, and I've decided not to plan anything too strenuous. So I've been filling my role as dog bed, dog tummy-masseur and dog cuddle- dispenser. Not a total waste of my talents in this stifling heat. 😀

I ran into a problem yesterday with my library downloads. Suddenly my access to magazines disappeared. So after trying several things. I sent an email to the help desk. I actually got a call back from them, saying that they'd had a problem yesterday, and ensuring that I could regain access. I am very pleased with that! I never expected a call. Great customer service! And yes, I'm a regular and very committed library patron, and have been for the 20 + years that I've lived in Ottawa. I love that I live so close to the Main library, and that it has such a large and varied catalogue. Then I learnt about the online materials and I never looked back. I know that I mentioned that I used to spend Saturday afternoons browsing the shelves, and borrowing my limit every week. When my niece visited me, I'd take her there for the storytelling, and she'd borrow books on my card for her to read while I was at work. I'd also join a friend and her kids for story time. And I used the French language resources and tutors to help me learn and improve my French..

All this to say that I think that libraries are necessary parts of a community. I have been participating in the consultations for the new library, and I'm torn between excitement for the new facility and regret at shuttering the existing one. The new building is about the same distance west of me as the current one is east, so distance won't be an issue. I'm also very saddened whenever I read an op-ed or a tweet/FB post that calls libraries obsolete or suggests that tax dollars are wasted on them. But then, I'm equally distressed at talk of the "uselessness" of book stores.

I was horrified when I first met someone who had no books in their house. I've since met more, but the horror hasn't lessened. I'm still trying to understand that. I grew up in a house where we had a study-a room with floor-to- ceiling built-in bookshelves that were stuffed to overflowing with a mottley assortment of books in addition to equally-stuffed bookcases in our bedrooms. Personally, I had collected well over a thousand books by the time I was 15, and haven't looked back. Yes, I've read all of my books at least twice, some many more times. And here, in my little condo, I had 3 overflowing bookcases, and got a 4th as a gift late last year. The 4th is now crammed full too. So I'm still stunned that there are people who don't read! Honestly, though, my BFF has 5 Tv's in his house and not a book anywhere! He can't understand why I have only 1 TV and so many books LOL.

During the pandemic, the library was, of course, largely closed for in-person activities. So I expanded my use of the digital content - I had started with that when I was first identified as immuno- compromised. In the last 2 years, all of my borrowing has been digital content. There are a few items that aren't available in that format, ad now that the library is reopened, I look forward to being able to pick up a few. Another target for a walking goal.

My friend Jules has a "Little Free Library" at her place and I love that idea! I've passed along some books for her to add to it over the past couple of years. And the laundry room in my building functions like that- I've found a few interesting reads there, too.  Books are very much essential to life, IMO. I'm quite content to break out a book (or 3) instead of watching TV; and I also love using ebooks for my waiting room times or (when I'm allowed again) flights and travel. It saves on weight in my luggage!

I went through a phase a few months ago when I was reading retelling of Greek myths, starting with Circe and moving through a lovely translation of The Odyssey then into an anthology of classic myths (Pandora, Daedalus and Icarus, Narcissus and Echo, the fall of the Titans, etc.). Absolutely got to love those tales; they’re so beautifully complex and layered even while they seem simple.  Then I dug out my book of  Perrault’s fairy tales, and then my Hans Christian Andersen - I had a lovely few weeks of being wrapped in and fairy tales. That led to a glorious translation of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, where I had to pause. I then sidetracked through some Enid Blyton’s more “adult” books — they are aimed at teenagers, not her usual audience.  Her writing was good enough to appeal to a wide range of ages, so while rare, those books are eminently readable and of the quality in storytelling that you expect from Ms. Blyton. Then I found archive websites like FadedPage which has full-text books, out of copyright so I can read lots of books!  So much to explore!  

Now I’m working my way through my library holds; I just read the first 3 Bridgerton novels, which were light, silly romances, quick, distracting reads.   We’ll see what’s next as I’ve got about 8 books that I’m waiting on, with lead times varying from 1 - 9 weeks.   This week I'm reading along with my niece, who has picked out some books for me so we can talk about them. YA books are not always great, but we bond over them, and I may be able to influence her reading choices (or she'll influence mine!) If anyone has any book recommendations, I'm always open. I read most things, and enjoy a lot of different genres. I avoid vampires, zombies and that sort of fiction. 

We’ll see, right?

I look foward to your recommendations, thanks!