SHELF LIFE
Even though I’ve been working in the library for an unmentionable number of years, I don’t know everything about our library. I certainly haven’t read all the books that I’d like to read.
Wouldn’t it be nice if I could inform our patrons about every book when they’re searching the stacks? I love helping them search, but sometimes just the opposite happens. Browsing the other day with a longtime patron, I tried to find a new mystery series for her when suddenly she was the one giving suggestions.
“Here,” she pointed out over and over, “have you read this one? It is wonderful.” I mumbled something like “No, not yet,” while mentally adding them to an already large pile of unread and unpurchased books. Even I can get some new ideas and be surprised by what I find in our library — and so will you.
Have you run out of things to read? Come see us and take a look at our great collection. For a change here, I’m sharing some of the books that I’d like to read from our library. Most are from authors I’ve read before and I’d like to catch up on their backlist.
One of these is Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash.” Although it was written in 1992, it promises a vision of the world that seems familiar and includes virtual reality, computer hackers and a Matrix-like future.
Kim Stanley Robinson is another science fiction writer, but he also ventures into the realm of ecological and sociological themes often with titles like “Aurora,” “Red Mars,” “Green Mars” and “Shaman” all available in our library.
If you like horror and want something different, try Dan Simmons. He’s one of the best and one of my favorite horror writers. We have two that I haven’t read: “Black Hills” is set around the Battle of Little Big Horn, and “Abominable” is about a chilling mystery surrounding climbers on Mount Everest.
For something humorous and because he’s an El Dorado native, Charles Portis is on my list. His books have been recommended to me many times as very entertaining. Besides “True Grit,” which I have read, we have “Norwood,” “Masters of Atlantis” and “Dog of the South.”
Combining sci-fi and humor is “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. I don’t know how many people have told me that I must read it. It’s not very long, and I could probably read it in one day. Still, it’s on the list waiting.
Tim O’Brien is an author most often noted for his novels about the Vietnam War. Right now, my lunchtime book is “The Things They Carried,” his collection of stories about a group of American soldiers and their experiences in Vietnam. As a veteran himself, his powerful stories are honest portrayals of his own experiences that are often difficult to read, but worthwhile.
If you’ve ever visited our book sale, you never know what you’ll find. Recently I discovered some surprises in the book sale while moving it to a different location. One was the non-fiction “Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock” by Pete Fornatale. How did I not know this was in the book sale? Rest assured, it’s now in the library collection where those of us of a certain age can appreciate it. To summarize, it’s written by a longtime New York radio personality who collected an oral history of many key figures from three unforgettable days of peace and music.
Another hidden gem (actually about gems) is “Read My Pins” by Madeleine Albright. When I found it in the book sale I added it to the library collection for everyone to enjoy. A beautiful coffee-table book, it’s full of color photos of the collection of pins and brooches that the late secretary of state wore during her tenure, along with her own stories about their history and her time in the office.
These are just a few books that are sitting on the shelves waiting for me to find time for them. I hope you’ll find time to visit our library very soon, too.
Lauri Wilson is the cataloging and digital content librarian at South Arkansas Community College.