Ed Lynskey's Blog: Cracked Rearview Mirror - Posts Tagged "libraries"

Mercy. Somehow I got the days this week mixed up, and the library has shorter hours, and I didn't pick up my fix, er, I mean my books being held on reserve. So there you go. If I had made it to the library in time, I'd be reading IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT this holiday weekend. As it is, I'll substitute a book title I've already read. Tomorrow we may go see TRUE GRIT, so at least I read that Western this summer.

Anyway, here's wishing the best reads for all in '12.

While I was out walking my two miles (doctor's orders), I thought of the different books I've opened, and the different items tucked inside their pages. For example, recently a list of heart meds/times a fellow was taking filtered out of a Western I'd checked out from the library. The list was a Xerox, and he'd obviously cut out a bunch of them as reminders. Then once I found the crayoned pages torn from a kid's coloring book lodged in a novel I'd purchased in Bermuda. The page may've had sentimental value for somebody in the past. I've heard of absent-minded folks sticking banknotes and checks into books, though none of those have come my way. Cardboard bookmarks are fairly common. Or those crinkly paper slips of the titles printed out by the other library patrons. A business card for a tree service came from a book along with chewing gum wrappers, both used as placemarkers. I've even run across the lucky four-leaf clovers pressed between book pages.

That's an old saying I recall from when I was growing up. Maybe it's a Southern aphorism. The library burning down part disturbed me as a kid. Losing our local library to a fire seemed like a cruel, unfair tragedy to me.

I envy those readers who today can revisit the libraries of their youth. The memories must flood back. Good memories, too. Relish it if you can go there. It's a touchstone. Our library moved after I graduated from high school into a spanky new facility.

You know, the new carpet smells, harsh overhead lights, and big oak tables. Don't get me wrong. It's a fine library. But I miss prowling in the old cramped, dim stacks of the quaint one. The musty odor that's unique to printed books stays with me like honeysuckle whiffed on sultry July nights. The old library had a fireplace inside it! I've visited one other library with a fireplace in posh Lake Forest north of Chicago.

I wonder if my reading Westerns (Zane Grey) and mysteries (Ross Macdonald) now is a subconscious try to return to wander through those book stacks. I'm getting in touch with the kid in me. I want to feel again the same visceral response to reading books for the sheer fun of it.

Could it be cynical adulthood robs us of the enjoyment to read? I sure hope not. I'll be returning soon to check out more--you guessed it--Westerns and mysteries from our library.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
author of Lake Charles and Quiet Anchorage

My hand shoots up in the air.

On average, I end up walking (or driving) to our local library branch twice a week. Sometimes material is on hold ready for pick up. Sometimes I return books and CDs. Sometimes I do research (yeah, even with the mighty Web available). So, I'd be cast adrift if our libraries suddenly closed.

I hear things. Like the jittery librarians whispering at the returns desk on how their hours are getting cut. Again. I see things. Like the library computers filled with busy patrons, and a waiting list queues up the next users. I believe it's thirty minutes on a computer now.

I don't have any statistics to cite, but I've heard of entire library systems closing in parts of the country. Hopefully not yours. Do the taxpayers protest it? Or is the library just a soft target to hit when tightening the cash-strapped budgets?

All is not dark. What I find most cheering is being in a crowded library. It happens a lot. Kids carry stacks of books, CDs, DVDs, or whatever while their parents are also loaded down with checked out stuff. My wife recently said she saw a kid asking for where to find the Westerns stacks! Was reading a Western for a school project?

I still get a kick out of wandering through the stacks, browsing the different titles. For instance, this week I checked out James Dickey's Deliverance just because I saw it and was curious enough to try it. So far, it's been a terrific read.

That reminds me. I have to go to the library later on today.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles and Quiet Anchorage

We go to our public library at least once a week. Anyway, the following library systems have kindly ordered my new Appalachian noir Lake Charles. If one is in your area, please consider placing a hold on it if you are about Lake Charles.

1. Ramsey County, MN
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Seattle, WA
4. Phoenix, AZ
5. Portland, OR
6. Hennepin County, MN
7. Spokane, WA
8. Boise, ID
9. Jacksonville, FL
10. Greensboro, NC

Thank you for your interest.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles

We go to our public library at least once a week. The following library systems have kindly ordered my new Appalachian noir Lake Charles.

If a public library is located in your neck of the woods, please consider placing a hold on Lake Charles if you are interested in reading it.

1. Garland, TX
2. Sheboygan, WI
3. Salt Lake County, UT
4. Santa Monica, CA
5. Williamsburg, VA
6. Allen County, IN
7. Gainesville, FL
8. Long Island, NY
9. Racine, WI
10. Salem, OR

Thank you for your consideration.

Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Top 100 Summer 2010 Reads
The Rap Sheet
Author of Lake Charles

We go to our public library at least once a week. The following library systems have kindly ordered my new Appalachian noir Lake Charles.

If a public library is located in your neck of the woods, please consider placing a hold on Lake Charles if you are interested in reading it.

1. Garland, TX
2. Sheboygan, WI
3. Salt Lake County, UT
4. Santa Monica, CA
5. Williamsburg, VA
6. Allen County, IN
7. Gainesville, FL
8. Long Island, NY
9. Racine, WI
10. Salem, OR

Thank you for your consideration.

Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Top 100 Summer 2010 Reads
The Rap Sheet
Author of Lake Charles