I've been bad

This isn't my day to post but I've been bad, very bad, and I, Kitty Griffin, need to confess.

I've ignored an old friend for far too long.

My library.

I have two Kindles.
And I've been flicking and clicking and scrolling and rolling.

But today Sparrow needed to play.
She's just turned one and it was a morning where she was tired of me, tired of her Mom, annoyed with her Pap, and the rain outside came down cold and gray. Look at this face! She needed to romp.

I remembered the playroom at the library.

So off we went. Vroom. Vroom.

Wonderful! There were two little boys for her to watch. She shrieked with joy and crawled off to rumble and tumble and roar.

With her Mom watching her I started looking at books.
And I got tingles.

Because I've missed the library. I just didn't realize how much.

There was a picture book on display with the wackiest title I've ever seen. "The Obstinate Pen by Frank W. Dormer. Here's an illustration from it.
What a silly, charming, strange little story.
It's all about a pen. This pen wants to do what this pen wants to do. You'll have to read it to find out what happens.

Then, as Sparrow played with a giant stuffed dog, I saw another book that I decided to pick up. It's an odd-shaped book, about 12 inches wide and 6 inches high. It's a Young Adult graphic novel by Youme Landowne and Anthony Horton. 

This is a remarkable and powerful story. I'd go so far as to use the word stunning, which I save for very special stories. It's a story about people who live in the dark and how they survive. It's a world that very few of us know. It's not a pretty story.

If you have a special young adult in your life who cares about other people and wants to understand the strength of the human spirit, well, this book would be good for them. Read it yourself first. Oh, have some tissues on hand.

I also found a nifty scifi set in the near future called "Dark Life" by Kat Falls. It's all about people who've chosen to live on the ocean floor. Then I saw a Newbery Honor book called "Breaking Stalin's Nose" by Eugene Yelchin. I took this out because I'm fascinated with history and this is set during a very exciting time. The book has quite a few awards. I also saw one that I knew I'd have to take out just because of the title, "The Inquisitor's Apprentice." It's by Chris Moriarty and I just love the opening sentence, "The day Sacha found out he could see witches was the worst day of his life." Glorious! I know this will be fun.

Finally, on the sale shelf I saw a dear old friend. This is a book that I know if I were sent away to serve a prison sentence on a desert island and I could only take ten books this would be one of them, "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr. I got this treasure for fifty cents. The first time I read this book I wept when I finished it because I was so in love with the characters. I didn't want them to go. Brother Francis Gerard is one of the most remarkable characters ever created. Seriously. Ever. 

So, you've got my confession. 

The library. A place of treasures. We need libraries and they need us. It's a symbiotic relationship that nurtures our souls as we continue on our pilgrim's journey, trying to become both good writer, good reader. Because to be a good writer you must be a good reader.

I do love my Kindle, but it cannot, will not, ever replace the library.