It's not what you think.
No, really, it's not.
At the moment, I'm sat in the computer room of Orkney Library and Archive in Kirkwall. That's the Orkney Library and Archive which is big on Twitter, Facebook and Blogger.
They've won awards and everything, y'know.
Presumably for stuff like this.
And they're possibly the coolest repository of books and humour in the known universe.
Anyways, here I am, waiting for my car to undergo its MOT, so why not saunter over to the library to wile away the time? And bang out a quick one in the computer room? Well why not, eh? From the feverish sounds of keyboards being thumped all around me, I may well have the lightest touch in here at the moment.
Whilst packing up all our goods and chattels in MK (well, I assume they were chattels, I wasn't even sure which way up they should go), it struck me that we have way too many books (yeah, right, like that's possible!), but you know what I mean.
So it's been something of a revelation, since journeying to Orkney, to re-discover the concept of a public library. Liken it to the conversion of St Tense on the road to Deerness. The library takes on the onerous burden of storing all the books and I am allowed (well, not just me, obviously) to borrow them from time to time. Amazing plan! How could I forget such a whizzo scheme?
Sigh.
So this particular post is my homage to Orkney Library and Archive, for all the happy memories it has created over the years, when I wasn't living on Orkney, but wished I was.
And I'm not even going to mention how awestruck I was to actually visit the place for the first time last week (this is the trouble with holidaying on peedie, remote islands - Kirkwall just didn't appear on the itinerary).
So now you have to promise me that you won't mention any of this to my laptop. Playing away from home? There's just some lines you don't cross.
10 comments:
Libraries where one can check out books for free are about my FAVORITE INVENTION EVER. Free education. Well, then maybe free education is my favorite invention, libraries being a KEY means toward that end. =)
Spot on, bb.
I think I can track my "library loss" to around the time we moved to Tense Towers. The previous two abodes were definitely within walkable distance to MK's one (with two children in tow and a big bag of books). And then, I guess, Google kinda stepped in as the source of info. Still, All sorted now, I'm back in love with libraries.
Library or Coffee Shop - The kind they have in Amsterdam, with all that funny smelling smoke?
Or are you having a bit on the side in a lap(top) dancing club?
Now, now, ToaBV, you know my highs are all natural and very much tea-based :o)
and not a Kindle in sight.
Proper books. That's how reading should be.
What's the saying? You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment ;o)
Glad to see the public library is getting use by yourself and others.
Regarding the number of books... I thought there seemed to be a relatively proportionate number of books for the size of the house at Tense Towers. Unlike some houses I know..
Martin, could it be that your point of reference is somewhat skewed? ;o)
This could be true, or that everyone else's minimalist approach is just insufficient.
Personally I think fiction should be limited to books that either are soon to be read or are good enough that they will probably be read again. Non-Fiction on the other hand requires a decent reference library for sourcing all those things you know you read somewhere. I suppose the Internet can act as a substitute in some cases.
I just realised that in fact I have ditched all this at the present time and have about a dozen books in my apartment (plus 100 on the Kindle and 1100 journal articles on the hard drive), but then I am technically 'travelling'! That is my excuse anyway.
LOL! That's a decent excuse :o)
And I can't argue with Martin's First Law of Library Etiquette.
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