The Joy of the Library

I have been starting to visit the library, in which I haven’t really been since I was a kid (other than maybe once or twice for some quick and specific reason). I forgot how enjoyable it is to just walk the isles and see something that catches your eye to sit down and read a few pages. Often when I’ve gone to read, I set out to read something specific and then quickly realize I either love it or give up shortly after, with the feeling of a quitter. ¹ But the library is such a great experience to me, because I feel almost encouraged to simply grab a book off the shelf and read a chapter or two (or maybe just a couple pages even), then re-shelve it and grab another one.

In my mind, I often feel that a book is meant to be an entire experience - to be enjoyed from beginning to end. But I think that I actually get quite a lot of value by browsing through random books I pass by. In a way, I often reflect and digest the words I read more this way; taken in small bites, rather than as a large feast.

Granted, there is definitely something to be said about immersing yourself completely in a fictional world and forgetting reality while you follow the plot that is so brilliantly painted by the author.