The Library Book
A couple weeks ago I finished a wonderful book by author Susan Orlean – The Library Book (2018).
I’ve loved public libraries since I was a kid and still do (just see my series of posts The Library Stack).
This non-fiction book uses the backdrop of the 1986 Los Angeles Central Public Library fire to share the history and glory (and challenges) of public libraries. She shares her historical research as well as interviews with many library staff throughout the country. This book also pays homage to public libraries and their importance in our communities. Just listening to a day in the library of various public library staff is pretty awesome and gives you perspective of how library staff serve our communities.
I borrowed this book as an audiobook from my public library, and I loved it so much I bought a hard copy of the book from a local independent bookseller.
Early in the book, this passage about the author’s trips to the library with her mother on page 7 really captured my heart:
…my mother and I walked in together but as soon as we passed through the door, we split up and each beaded for our favorite section. The library might have been the first place I was ever given autonomy…Our visits to the library were never long enough for me. I loved wandering around the bookshelves, scanning the spines until something happened to catch my eye. Those visits were dreamy, frictionless interludes that promised I would leave richer than I arrived.
There is a lot more to this passage and I highly recommend this book if you love libraries!
Home Library
One of things I missed during the first couple months of the pandemic is being able to go to my local public library and browse for new books. The local library near my home is still closed but I do have access to a neighboring town’s library online and they do curbside pick up (see my post The Library Stack Is Back!)
If I’ve wanted to read anything, it seems like I’ve always borrowed it from my local library. Well this whole pandemic experience has made me think about having a book collection of my own (beside my crazy collection of crafting books) and building a home library.
To get this started, my partner John and I decided to designate the front room (sort of like a small formal living room) as “the library” and rearranged the furniture.
John, who loves Pinterest and is crafty, found an industrial pipe bookshelf image on Pinterest, figured out how to recreate it and built two bookcases near the window opposite each other.
Here is the first bookcase completed:
I am still working on arranging books on this bookcase. John has built the second one across from it and we plan to put a writing desk next to the two windows that are between the bookcases. I will share a photo in a future post once we get our library finished!
We’ve been building up our collection of fiction (primarily science fiction since we are both science fiction nerds) and non fiction books by finding them at thrift stores and independent bookstores (which have recently opened up again, see my post A Friday Frolicking Adventure) which we are trying to support.
Speaking of home libraries, I recently finished a book I borrowed from the library called For the Love of Books: Designing and Curating a Home Library by Thatcher Wine.
What is discovered is that there is a wonderful sounding bookstore in Boulder, Colorado called Juniper Books which sells beautiful book collections. Here is an example – their “Influential Women” collection:
The book, was essentially a beautiful advertisement for Juniper Books but it was a delightful advertisement! The custom book collections (with covers that form images, etc.) displayed in the book are amazing and dreamy.
No plans for an expensive custom book collection in my future but I plan to visit their shop in Boulder and have fun browsing!
“What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” – Anne Lamott
Postscript
And speaking of books and libraries, I hope you are listening to my blogging buddy Tammie Painter’s: The Book Owl Podcast. I’ve been catching up on episodes when I walk my dog and I appreciated she mentioned my blog on the third episode of her podcast.
Tammie shares wonderful stories related to books and libraries (well researched with lots of humor). Most recently I enjoyed the story of Barter Books in the U.K., the iconic poster it is responsible for rejuvenating and the train that runs through it!
Feature Photo by Janko Ferlic on Unsplash
tierneycreates 
Wow, that Juniper Books thing is taking a love of books to the next level! Your book shelves book great (send John to build me some!), but I can’t imagine making the effort to “curate” my own home library…which pretty much consists of souvenirs from vacations and whatever I’ve picked up cheap at the library book sale. I do live with a librarian though, so maybe I should put him to work at home :))
And thanks for ANOTHER podcast mention!! Sadly, I think the audio quality on that third episode wasn’t so hot. I am slowly improving, but figuring out this audio editing software is a nightmare. Ah well, trial by fire, right?
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The audio quality of episode 4 was much better! Hey you are learning as you progress and your material is awesome so I made it through a little bit of audio issues. I told John to be careful or everyone will want him to build those bookcases!
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You might warn him about his possible fame the next time he has a project in mind 😂 Thanks, yes, slowly improving…verrrry slowly.
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This sounds right up my street! We absolutely love the library and I have to say it’s one of the things we miss most some lockdown.. 😫
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Thanks so much for stopping by! Yes I cannot wait until we can all run free amidst the library stacks again 🙂
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I LOVE The Library Book. Because of that book I now dream about becoming a librarian. Your library looks great!
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Thank you and that would be awesome if you become a librarian!
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Love the bookcase! I love browsing other people’s bookcases. It can tell you unexpected things about them and you might just discover something you’d like to read yourself.
I used to visit the library a lot when I was young, I read so much as a child. Nowadays I have to admit I usually buy the books that I read. Our daughters do have a membership to our local library so we visit it regularly (except for the past couple of months) but I find their adult collection too limited to get a membership for myself.
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Thank you and I am lucky to live with someone who loves making things! Thanks for sharing your library experience and I like peeking at someone’s home library too! In time and slowly we will build ours 🙂
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Ah boo.ksand libraries…. Your post warmed my heart. Thank you
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Thanks for stopping by!
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I love the library! The smell
Of books and the quiet concentration. I love seeing children excited about a book and running from this one to that one:). You are lucky to have such a creative dear to make that fantastic book shelf! I am inspired to think about my favorite books. Maybe a new blog post is in the future! Lol😊❤️❤️
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Oh yes libraries do have a smell among the books – I missing wandering the aisles! Yes I am so lucky on the bookshelves and so happy with them! Looking forward to your next blog post 🙂
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Oh wow, you’re living my dream of having a dedicated library room at home! I love the new bookshelves John’s built for you both, and it’s nice to see one of your quilts decorating the wall of your library-to-be too.
How are you getting on with that monster library stack, by the way? That was one serious heap of reading material!
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Oh I got that stack done and last night I had an e-mail from a neighboring library (that I joined while my local library is still closed) that they are opening up for IN PERSON VISITS this week!!! Wooooo hoo! Thanks for your comments and I am sure I will have a future post of me skipping through the library stacks (hopefully they do not escort me out of the library, ha! oh and perhaps I should take a Beastie with me…) 🙂
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In person visits? Exciting times… I’m not sure we’re that far along yet but I’ll have to check! And yes, you’d better take Tierneycreates Beastie along. I’m sure she’s gasping for new reading material 😁
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That bookcase is terrific- love it. You are going to have fun building up your library. I would have been lost without my own books during lockdown.
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Thanks so much and I am happy to be building a small library 🙂
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Lovely post. I love libraries too, have such fond memories of visiting the library when I was a child and joining the local library is one of the first things I do whenever I move somewhere new. Such a valuable community resource, and I’ve really missed them over the last few months.
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂 Thanks for sharing your library memory – libraries are awesome!
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