One Great Thing: Library books #002

Closing your week with how little things can create big changes

The thing I probably tell my partner the most is “We are not buying anything else. We need to save!”. All you I-love-you-ers out there, please don’t judge. Only to relapse three days later strolling through vintage shops or estate sales on my way back from the gym. What I have never considered a slip, however, was when I broke my promise to buy books. 

When I moved to LA almost three years ago my home was so empty I borrowed/stole books from my in-laws’ so my home wouldn’t look like an Ikea showroom. Now, little by little, I filled an entire bookcase, adding more respect to my Zoom background every time I proudly finished a new volume. I slowly realized that shopping for books was my favorite type of entertainment. I have to say I enjoy browsing and reading, more than stocking up. 

There’s a degree of sadness about having books sitting around, like children waiting for their parents to pick them up from school, only to notice it will only happen a long time from now. I compartmentalize this melancholy as we do with so many problems that aren’t prioritized. I tend to rarely reread books, seeking more of the unbelievable never satiating amount of knowledge still there for me to pick up. What about you? Once in a while, I am lucky enough to exchange books with my dad, but our interests can only overlap so much, leaving me piles of feel-good novels queuing at home.

A library has been a place of study and chitchat in between classes. In this setting, I shared teenage flirtations and listened to Blink-182 for the first time. Coming from a giant city in a developing country, I never really ventured into the public realm. I would only attend private hospitals, parks, clubs, and libraries in school, because of the unknown these spaces presented for my family and I. There was always the unnecessariness of sharing a free access room with strangers. Why endeavor if we were privileged enough to not have to venture through these unkempt spaces? Until just a few minutes ago, I did not even know that very close to my childhood home is the São Paulo Anne Frank Library, named after the Jewish girl whose name planted so much in my heart. 

My first date with public libraries happened at Beverly Hills. After walking past it so often, I decided to stop and walk in. I couldn’t believe such a thing: a FREE Barnes & Noble, equally ginormous, with the same carpet smell, cutie café and all. I lost track of time remembering how to use the Dewey system and piling on books on subjects I would have never considered paying for.

Non-fiction has always been my go-to, opening windows into other worlds and experiences. The BH Public Library pushed me to Mary Kay Andrews summer novels like a lover who starts an affair with someone because they reminded them of a past mistress they still long for. I was hooked. How long would it have been until I understood that my heart ached for my first love of reading, Judy Bloom? Fiction is what started my book worming and to my surprise, I found mirrors, but also many windows. 

The reflections I saw of myself in the books I devoured also radiated to other habits. Renting vs owning is not a new concept for me, but I was never interested in test-driving the idea of sharing things with strangers if I can be honest with you. I don’t even like sharing with people I love sometimes but it’s beyond the point. The library life showed me all the fun experimenting I could have without sadly committing my paperback loves to a life of waiting on my shelf.

If you think about it, a book is made to be shared. The joy of returning books that someone else has reserved. The angsty feeling of knowing that the book you want will soon be available. I just growled once at a person who was taking the last copy of Andrew’s Homewreckers out of the shelf, but I think she got the memo and slowly put it back. Where am I going with this?

Check out a library book. Get cozy.

Does this mean the end of shopping for real? For a while yes. I guess it leaves “I love you” as the top thing to say from now on. 

I hope you have a great weekend and let me know if you think I should keep adding drawings to my thoughts.