Today's A to Z challenge blog entry is brought to you by the letter L. Sorry, having a Sesame Street moment. For me, one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of L is Library. I've talked about the library before. I'm obsessed with the library, it's one of the very few places this hermit goes. I love to be surrounded by books, I love to look at them, wander through the stacks, touch them, and discover new worlds by picking books completely at random, as well as the ones from my list. I would love to be able to buy books, but right now it's either buy books or eat, unfortunately. Someday I hope to have a huge library at home, full of a mixture of books that I've read and loved, and that I want to read. My dream library is the one from Beauty and the Beast:
I've always dreamed of a library where the shelves go all the way up to the ceiling and you have to use one of those sliding ladders to get to the top shelves. For now, this is my library, and I'm very happy with it:
Last Saturday, I took my weekly trip to the library and when I went to catch the bus, one of my favorite drivers was coming off his lunch and stopped to talk. He asked where I'd been and when I told him, he said, 'tell me, are there still books at the library?' I had to laugh since a) I had a bag with about 10 books sitting at my feet, b) I knew, of course, that he was joking, and c) I knew the thought behind the joke. He said that with all the technology these days, he wondered if people actually still read books. He said his daughter had wanted to go into editing or publishing but I guess she figured it wasn't realistic, at least right now.
I wished I had had more time to talk to him about it, for a number of reasons. People are worried about publishing companies, and yeah, ok, there might be some reason to worry, but not to panic. Yes, there are a lot more people self-publishing and e-publishing, but the majority of the market is still traditionally published books from publishing houses. Plus, as long as there are people like me out there who love books - not just reading, but books - the publishing industry will never die. A lot of writers need that justification of being accepted by a publisher and going through the process, and while those writers are still out there, along with the book lovers, I don't think there's any reason to give up on publishing houses for a long time to come.
Which makes it kind of ironic that I'm seriously considering e-publishing, but that's a story for another day. It's something I've talked about briefly in the past, and will probably talk about quite a bit more in the future as I get closer to finishing my novel.
And just like with J for Jamie (my brother), I wouldn't feel right about doing a blog on L without mentioning my sweet baby angel nephew Logan. He was 14 months old on the 4th and he's just an absolute joy. He's the sweetest little soul, always smiling and laughing, so happy and easy going. He does the funniest, strangest things, and he's just so sweet it makes my heart ache with pure, wonderful, unconditional love.
I wished I had had more time to talk to him about it, for a number of reasons. People are worried about publishing companies, and yeah, ok, there might be some reason to worry, but not to panic. Yes, there are a lot more people self-publishing and e-publishing, but the majority of the market is still traditionally published books from publishing houses. Plus, as long as there are people like me out there who love books - not just reading, but books - the publishing industry will never die. A lot of writers need that justification of being accepted by a publisher and going through the process, and while those writers are still out there, along with the book lovers, I don't think there's any reason to give up on publishing houses for a long time to come.
Which makes it kind of ironic that I'm seriously considering e-publishing, but that's a story for another day. It's something I've talked about briefly in the past, and will probably talk about quite a bit more in the future as I get closer to finishing my novel.
And just like with J for Jamie (my brother), I wouldn't feel right about doing a blog on L without mentioning my sweet baby angel nephew Logan. He was 14 months old on the 4th and he's just an absolute joy. He's the sweetest little soul, always smiling and laughing, so happy and easy going. He does the funniest, strangest things, and he's just so sweet it makes my heart ache with pure, wonderful, unconditional love.
Logan on his 1st birthday with the pirate cake his mum and I made - we call him Captain Jack because he staggers around like a drunk pirate
Today's L singer is Lenny Kravitz. I've loved him for pretty much as long as I can remember. I'm ever-hopeful that someday I'll get to see him in concert.
Do you go to the library? Do you agree with me that the traditional publishing industry will never completely disappear, or do you think technology will completely take over?
One of my highlights of the week is bringing my kids to the library on Tuesday night. Even if I don't find a book to bring home or I have too many to read at home, I still love being there and looking among the stacks! What a perfect L word!
ReplyDeleteThe library is an oasis for me and my kids. But without funding and patronage, they do risk falling by the wayside. I highly recommend the book, "This Book is Overdue" which is a great tribute to the library system. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI seem to get lost every time I go to the library, there are so many things to see, I walk out forgetting what I went int looking for
ReplyDeleteYour title caught my eye immediately. I love going to the library for books and CDs. And I lov Lenny Kravitz.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right. Paper books are here to stay...at least for a while yet. I much prefer to hold a book my hands than read from the screen.
What a great pot Marie. As I already told you, I enjoyed my recent trip to the library. I enjoy reading ur posts and being able to catch up on what I miss while I'm gone. Keep up the good work.
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