The Library: A Reader’s Paradise

Close your eyes and envision the first library you remember visiting.

Inhale deeply. Can you smell that unmistakable blend of paper and ink that sets a reader’s heart beating? Do you remember the thrill of losing yourself in the stacks in search of great reads?

A couple of months ago, I took a walk down Memory Lane, revisiting my high school. I’d not been back since I graduated in 1977. After learning that every teacher I knew has retired, I donned a visitor’s pass and wandered the campus.

With no trouble, I found the room in Freshman Hall where I took my first English class with kindly Mr. Johnson. The portable where I spent two years under the tutelage of Mrs. Jones–who stretched us beyond what we thought possible and honed our skills–was no more. In its place was a new gym. Although the building was gone, my memories of Mrs. Jones remain intact.

Saving the best for last, I went to the cafeteria-library complex, a building I’d watched take shape during my time at Anderson High. Walking into the library, I was whisked back in time. With the exception of two banks of computers, the place looked much as I remember it.

School was in session when I was there, but I didn’t let the presence of curious teens stop me. I walked the stacks, trailing my fingers over the books, some of which I’m sure were there when I was a student. I drew in a deep breath, savoring the scent of the past in a place that was once a big part of my life.

To this day, I experience a feeling of exhilaration when I enter a library. I have a whole new set of memories formed in a our local library of story times with our daughter, countless trips to satisfy her insatiable desire for books as she grew older, and research excursions when I began writing. There’s no place quite like a library, is there?

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Do you have memories of a special library from your childhood?

Do you still make use of the library today?

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 Book Release Blog Tour Appearances

A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California was officially released July 1. Many wonderful bloggers have offered to help me get the word out by hosting me on their blogs. I’ll be sharing the links to those posts at the bottom of mine throughout the tour, which runs though the end of this month.

July 9

Sarah Forgrave ~ Meet and Greet and Book Giveaway.

July 10

Novel PASTimes ~ Interview and Book Giveaway

with Becky Melby and Cindy Thomson