The Library

Ah, the Library. As someone who loves books, the library - any library - is my home away from home. There is just something about a library that makes me relax as I walk through the door. I can browse for books to my heart's content.

I also love university libraries. I have been fortunate enough to attend two universities, and have been in my fair share of libraries! While one does not browse in an academic library the same way as in a regular library, the university library still maintains that sense of coming home. There is a peace in the shelved books, each one organized and in its place.

Bookstores are not quite the same as the library. True, they can often offer a greater selection, but I'm not interested in buying books. I merely want to read them. Many books I will only read once, so I don't need to own them. I will collect a series if I'm really interested in it, but I usually use the library for my reading needs. I think of my local library as an extension of my own personal library. It stores all the books I would like to buy, but don't have the money to purchase or room to store.

What of my own personal library? Sadly, I don't really have one. A friend of mine has a room I'm insanely jealous of - it's lined with bookshelves full of books. I don't quite have that - yet. Instead, I have bookshelves and books in every room. There is always a book nearby.

One of my favourite movie scenes is in the animated Disney Beauty and the Beast. It's the part where Belle walks into the Beast's library and it's this gigantic room with huge windows, comfortable chairs and lovely floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. My friend whispered to her brother in the theatre that such a room is my heaven. Perhaps not my heaven - but I can dream!

So, I don't have a castle filled with books. I don't even have one room of my house in suburbia totally dedicated to books. However, I do have a library card. The library is my castle - no dreaming required.