I Feel So Sorry for This Book

I admit it, I'm a book lover. I'm sure that it was my Mom that instilled this love of books, not sure how, maybe because she bought almost every Little Golden children's book out there or maybe because she read to me all the time. It could have been because I was an only child for 10 years so an escape into make believe was a good way to keep the loneliness at bay. One of my favorite things to do is wander around Barnes & Noble or Borders books and browse, imagine, touch and ultimately buy something new.

When I first started working at my new job I realized I was right across from the LA Central Public Library. I was very excited. An entire building full of books, the ultimate collection. The 2nd day I went over and signed up for a library card. I'd never had one in Los Angeles before. Hope sprang eternal of all the possibilities. These were soon dashed as I made several forays into the depths looking for this specific book or that. Being a geek, one has needs, very specific and timely needs for research and constant learning. I prefer getting that from an actual book rather than an e-book or PDF.

Each time I went to the library they were out of the book I wanted and the books they did have were very out of date. At one point I even donated some of my older technical books to augment their collection. Today I tried again and was thrilled they had the specific book I was looking for. I practically ran down 2 flights of stairs afraid someone would beat me to it. There it was, sitting on the shelf, the dirty old book in the picture. Dare I touch it? It was filthy and looked as if it was left in the rain for a week the pages were so curled. I did check it out but only after I made the librarian make a note of its condition. After reaching my office I clorox wiped the hard cover, twice and washed my hands several times. Black, each time. It's sad that a book be treated so unfairly but I suppose its nice that it has a home rather than being burned in some Fahrenheit 401 reincarnation.