-Maya Angelou (brainyquote.com)
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| Durham County Public Library, North Durham Branch (photo from library website) |
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The library. A place of quiet solitude where you can get answers. A place where you can escape to another time and place. A place where you can enjoy classes such as Story Time for children, chess clubs, knitting classes, book clubs, and much more. And it's a great place to get in out of the heat or cold. Last week I told a Kindergarten student about public libraries and he acted like he had never heard of them. I said, "Carlos (not his real name), did you know you can go to a public library and get lots of books and movies? And you don't have to pay for them!" He promptly responded with, "OH MY GOSH!!" I love his raw enthusiasm and can't help but wonder if we take full advantage of the free resources that we can find at our local library. When I go on a long road trip alone, I head to the library first to get a book on cd. It helps pass the time and fills my mind with great stories. When I want to watch a movie, I might head to the large selection of free movies at the library. I remember when we checked out the movie, "Midnight in Paris," and we knew right away that we'd discovered a good one. I enjoyed that movie so much - why didn't I hear about it years earlier? And what about the great programs for kids at libraries? When our son was about three years old in Endicott, New York, I got the children up early one day so that we could be first in line to sign up for his age-group's story hour. I had heard that the classes filled up quickly, and I didn't want to miss out. So we began going to every weekly class, and while our son was in his class I would read to our daughter, age 1. They also had some puzzles and toys that she enjoyed while we waited for her big brother. To this day, our kids both are readers and good writers, and so their lives, like mine, are much richer.
We had the privilege of being present at the ground-breaking ceremony for our library. About ten years ago our son's eighth grade band performed at the ceremony as the local dignitaries gathered around with their sparkling shovels and helmets. Under the direction of the band director, Candace Odell, the students played their music for the final time as middle-schoolers. The students may not have shown enthusiasm for the part they had in history, but it was special to me and the other adults who were present. You see, before we got this library, our North Durham branch was a small storefront library next to Kroger on Roxboro Road. It was adequate for us when the children were young, but it was so small that they couldn't offer many classes or computers. I don't remember being able to reserve books online as I do now, and the space was very cramped. So, it was fun to be there when they began to build the new library, and we eagerly anticipated its opening as we monitored the building of the walls and grounds. And it took forever for the new library to open! Or so it seemed. But it was worth the wait. Now, to make things even better, they've added a section of recent books that you can get right away, as long as you return them in just one week. I've checked these out a couple of times and I'll admit that there's a lot of pressure involved when you only have one week to read a book, but if the book is a good one, you won't have any problem finishing it quickly. At least in theory anyway.
Today I finished reading How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. This book is a history of the earliest days of civilization in the land that we now know as Ireland. Cahill follows Irish history from the fall of Rome and spends a great deal of time discussing Patrick, religion, monasteries, Columbanus, Columcille, and Charlemagne. Honestly, I am very interested in history but I couldn't follow all of the details, so I'm trying to merely remember the high points. I think the most interesting part of this book for me was the information that I learned about Patrick, Patricius, a man most of us here in the U.S. know very little about other than the legends surrounding his life. I learned that Patrick was a slave who was captured and brought in chains to Ireland around the year 400. He became a religious leader and missionary, even though he was very poor and uneducated. He was a strong influence in the missionary movement throughout Europe as he exercised his religious zeal wherever he went.
This is one of the books that I read in preparation for our trip to Ireland and England in June, and it's helping me to make the most of our adventure. I rarely go somewhere new without first researching the area so that I can enjoy and learn as much as possible. I still want to learn more about James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Roddy Doyle, and other Irish writers, but for now, my head is full.
Several years ago I heard about the life of the Irishman, Frank McCourt, so I read three books that he wrote about his life. I read Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man. The first one was made into a movie that seemed to be very true to the book. Angela's Ashes, named for his mother, covers the time in McCourt's life from his birth up until about the age of 17 when he stole some money to pay for his passage to America. He came alone and struggled for a long time until he was able to graduate from college and become a teacher. 'Tis covers the years from age 17 through the time when he became a teacher, and of course, Teacher Man covers his teaching career which began when he worked in a vocational school. Throughout McCourt's memoirs we see the life of a man who was deeply troubled for many years because of the severe poverty of his family. They were among the poorest of poor, so they rarely had enough to eat. McCourt's father was an alcoholic and most of his paychecks went to the bartender before he even got home. About fifteen years ago we had the opportunity to hear Frank McCourt speak here in Durham, and it was an experience that I'll never forget. He spoke for a few minutes and then gave the audience time to ask him questions. One lady asked, "Was the movie of Angela's Ashes true to what your life was really like?" He promptly responded with, "Do you know the scene where we come into the house running through knee-deep water? Well, we would never have done that because all we ever wanted was to be warm and dry, and to have enough to eat. So we never would have run into our house playfully as if we enjoyed that water!"
Read on and on...
Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
Today I finished reading How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. This book is a history of the earliest days of civilization in the land that we now know as Ireland. Cahill follows Irish history from the fall of Rome and spends a great deal of time discussing Patrick, religion, monasteries, Columbanus, Columcille, and Charlemagne. Honestly, I am very interested in history but I couldn't follow all of the details, so I'm trying to merely remember the high points. I think the most interesting part of this book for me was the information that I learned about Patrick, Patricius, a man most of us here in the U.S. know very little about other than the legends surrounding his life. I learned that Patrick was a slave who was captured and brought in chains to Ireland around the year 400. He became a religious leader and missionary, even though he was very poor and uneducated. He was a strong influence in the missionary movement throughout Europe as he exercised his religious zeal wherever he went.
This is one of the books that I read in preparation for our trip to Ireland and England in June, and it's helping me to make the most of our adventure. I rarely go somewhere new without first researching the area so that I can enjoy and learn as much as possible. I still want to learn more about James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Roddy Doyle, and other Irish writers, but for now, my head is full.
Several years ago I heard about the life of the Irishman, Frank McCourt, so I read three books that he wrote about his life. I read Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man. The first one was made into a movie that seemed to be very true to the book. Angela's Ashes, named for his mother, covers the time in McCourt's life from his birth up until about the age of 17 when he stole some money to pay for his passage to America. He came alone and struggled for a long time until he was able to graduate from college and become a teacher. 'Tis covers the years from age 17 through the time when he became a teacher, and of course, Teacher Man covers his teaching career which began when he worked in a vocational school. Throughout McCourt's memoirs we see the life of a man who was deeply troubled for many years because of the severe poverty of his family. They were among the poorest of poor, so they rarely had enough to eat. McCourt's father was an alcoholic and most of his paychecks went to the bartender before he even got home. About fifteen years ago we had the opportunity to hear Frank McCourt speak here in Durham, and it was an experience that I'll never forget. He spoke for a few minutes and then gave the audience time to ask him questions. One lady asked, "Was the movie of Angela's Ashes true to what your life was really like?" He promptly responded with, "Do you know the scene where we come into the house running through knee-deep water? Well, we would never have done that because all we ever wanted was to be warm and dry, and to have enough to eat. So we never would have run into our house playfully as if we enjoyed that water!"
Read on and on...
Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
Libraries! Totally cool institutions. I'm with you, Melissa, they are to be cherished.
ReplyDeleteIf you are into Irish writers, the Dublin Writers' Museum is pretty cool. We enjoyed an afternoon there, and the attached bookstore is a small treasure trove.
I know you're not a big fan of genre fiction, but for Irish detective stories, I recommend Adrian McKinty. I’m about half way through the Sean Duffy series, and wow! In addition to great plots and characters, the integration with real events and richness of the evoked time and place really hit a sweet spot.