Thursday, June 07, 2007

The Books of Summer



I generally equate books with summer. When I was still in school, summer was when I read books. During the school year, you had other things to worry about…homework, band practice, friends, etc… and there was no time to read for pleasure. Summer was different. During the summer, no one told you to hurry up and that you had things that needed to get done first. In the summer, I could read as much as I wanted.

When I was around twelve or thirteen, I remember getting on my bicycle and riding to the library. The library was at least a mile and a half away, but nothing (except thunder storms) could keep me away. I would leave my bicycle near the entrance and enter the air-conditioned lobby of the library. On the first floor, they had a good sized room with all the new books that had arrived and then I would head upstairs where the adult reading books were kept.

By thirteen, I had really outgrown the young adult section and I had found the adult section in the back corner. There were shelves of books there - romances, science fiction and mysteries. I had convinced myself that I was going to read every book from A-Z. After a few really bad books, I abandoned that idea and went back to reading the back covers and the inside flaps to determine the suitability of the story. It was not uncommon for me to leave the library with eight to ten books tucked safely in my backpack and it was equally likely that I would return them all within three days, ready to search out new stories.

The temperatures hit ninety degrees today, so it’s not surprising to me that I had an urge to go the library. It’s a little different now. I live in Michigan, instead of an Ohio suburb. I drove to the library in my car, instead of riding my bicycle, and I had my purse over my shoulder, instead of my old brown backpack. There was still a sense of familiarity as I walked into the air-conditioned lobby of the library and headed up the stairs. And yes, I left the library with eight books and a smile.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved the library too as a kid. I loved going to the children's room and using my library card. Back then your book got stamped. I still love to read and wish I did more of it. Recently I've been reading books that have to do with food. I would recommend My Life in France, Julia Child - I just finished The Last ChineseChef by Nicole Mones. I think next I may read The Apprentice by Jacques Pepin.

Anyway, I stumbled across your blog and have been enjoying it - my husband and I are on the wait list to adopt from Korea. (Our first child). I have two nieces who were adopted here and both know their birth mothers.

zoe said...

Yep - - loved it too as a kid, got sick of it in college, and now I'm back to loving it. So fun to experience it again, though my children's experiences, too. I remember there were two books that I checked out so frequently at our public library as a kid that when they 'retired' the books, they called my mom so that she could come and get them for me to keep.

So....what are you reading? :)