I have a dream…
…and I think every book-lover shares it.
Who doesn’t love a good library? Say what you like about e-books and audiobooks, but the tactile pleasure of picking up a real printed book is very real.
The heft of the thing in your hand, the feel of it against your fingers, the smooth sliding sounds of pages and endpapers as you open it up, and even the smell as you stick your nose in and get a really good look. A cold plastic tablet has none of that.
Just running my hands along the bumps and patterns and texture of the spine; I don’t get that with a paperback, and it’s an enjoyable experience to savour the moment before cracking it open and settling down with it to take a magic carpet ride to a realm of delight.
No, a library is more than books and shelves and computers. It is an entrance to enchantment and adventure and excitement and promise.
There are few things I like more than a session at the library, prowling the stacks for something that looks — and feels, and smells — like it could be good for an afternoon of delight, and claiming a comfy chair in a corner to get better acquainted with my selection.
And if it doesn’t work out, hey, I’ll sniff out something more intriguing. That’s what a well-stacked library is all about. Plenty of choice.
