Bluebell Madonna!?! Come on! Give the kid a chance!
Archive for May 23rd, 2006
It’s funny . . . I looked up and realized that I hadn’t been to the Chicago Public Library in years, which is strange, because I’m so bookish, and always reading. I loved the library as a child. It was a big building full of literary possibilities. My mother was actually happy to take me there, and I was happy to be there. In adulthood, I’ve been somewhat less of a fan.
There were good reasons for this unofficial boycott. First, the library in my neighborhood has, like, four books. Seriously, nothing’s ever in stock — not that they had a good inventory to begin with. I went to other neighborhood libraries, and it was the same story. I even tried to go the online route to make sure that the books that I wanted weren’t checked out, and that proved fruitless.
I wasn’t jazzed about the main library, especially since, when it was in the Cultural Center, it seemed to be a haven for freaks. Countless times I noticed lunatics sitting in little cubicles, staring at me, with their hands mysteriously moving toward their crotches. It was completely disgusting.
But, despite all of these traumatic memories, I decided to give it a shot again. Well . . . actually I was forced to give it a shot.
I’m in two reading groups, and they always seem to fall during the same weekend of each month, which is weird. Fortunately one is typically held on Friday, and the other on Saturday. All of this is irrelevant, actually. The point is that I ordered one of the books that we’re reading — Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley, and for some reason, it’s taken FOREVER to arrive.
I looked up and realized that book club is in two weeks, and I need to get cracking, so I thought I’d get a library copy until mine was delivered.
It was actually a pleasant experience. The online system said it was on the shelves of the main Harold Washington library, and it was actually there. Amazing! And the price was right. The only problem was that my library card hadn’t been used in SO long that I had to get a new one.
When I think of all of the books that I’ve bought that I know that I will never read again, I wonder how much cash I’ve wasted on things that I would never have bought if it hadn’t been for the book club selection.
The library might be my new lunchtime hangout.
