I brake for libraries

I don't know where I'd be without the library. Every time I've relocated to a new place, one of the first things I've done is get a library card. I am a patron in the truest sense. Rare is the week that passes without a trip to the library. Call me a nerd. Fine, I don't care.

My favorite branch is this branch in a really quaint neighborhood between Portland and Beaverton, the West Slope branch. There, it is quiet. They have stuff on the shelves that other branches don't. It's never crowded. And the children's section! It takes up half the building and boasts a neat wooden dollhouse, large stuffed friends on the floor, and a layout that makes for great perusing while the Jooge plays. Tanasbourne, the branch closest to us, well it's a little too strip mall. I was so excited to learn that their location was temporary and that they would be settling into the spacious ground floor of a building near a really cool local park. Happy sigh. Of course that was the option that came about AFTER the local library levy failed.

And so one of my great destinations, my friendly places, continues to be the library. There I can hunt and aquire. Returning home with piles of free STUFF to look through and read is a strangely satisfying treat to me. Since the county library system is online, I often search and reserve that way, which means I get automated phone calls from Washington County Library Services about my items on hold all the time. (This can be both an annoyance and a treat)

And of course, since I go to the library, my offspring are also its friends. Jooge has been known to get excited about trips there. Sometimes she and I go there together while Daddy gets to be home with Avery. Since books have been part of Julia's world since day one, it's always a delight to find new favorites to read, especially because mommy gets tired sometimes of reading the same old stuff to her. She goes to sleep each night surrounded by the librarys loans.

The following are the most recently appreciated treats from the library:
Encylopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling (I'm a little off schedule with this series but finished it just in time to be ready for the movie that's about to come out)
Wonder Spot by Melissa Banks
Wilful Creatures by Aimee Bender
May Cooking Light-some great lower fat CAKE recipes :O)

So seriously folks, if you haven't been in awhile, go now! Run to your local library! I believe that these days it is one of those forgotten locales that always deliver, whether through the atmosphere, people , or the goods they let you borrow for free.

Comments

ceej said…
Tia,
I too love libraries. Have you been to the Central Library downtown? It is the grandest of them all. Also, the Hollywood branch has a nice little homage to Beverly Cleary as it is in her old stomping grounds.

When money is tight, the library is my favorite shopping venue. Books, cd's, dvd's. Also, the library is the best place to rent Sex & the City because you get a whole season at a time. Love it!!!

-Cassie
Robin said…
Hi Tia!

I loved Encylopedia of an Ordinary Life. Esp. the story about her husband making the super dorky "I wish I had HIS income" comment. I read that on the train and about peed my pants, it is so true and hilarious about the stupid things we say sometimes, and how great it is, laughing hard about personal humiliations with those we love most.