The Library

I managed to get through Tuesday with no referral, so today I'm working on getting through Wednesday.

Yesterday I said that I was going to start a few books on life in North Korea. I started one and as I started reading it I kept having more questions about the origins of North and South Korea and how that all worked, and I wanted more information about what went on when Korea belonged to Japan. So I kept putting the book down and getting back on my laptop to look up information and I didn't end up getting very far in my book. But I did learn a lot and I realized that Asian History is a really interesting topic, specifically the history of Japan, Korea and China. They're really fascinating places to read about and I've enjoyed learning more.

So in my research yesterday I decided that there was another book about North Korea that I wanted to read before the two I had already picked out. It's called This is Paradise! My North Korean Childhood by Hyok Kang. It's the story of a boy who was born in North Korea and lived there until he was a teenager and his family was finally able to escape to China and eventually to South Korea. It's heartbreaking and graphic in parts, but it's a really interesting look at North Korea.

The problem is that I couldn't get the book on Amazon Kindle, where I get most of my books these days, so it was time for a trip to the library. Yay!

When I was little the library was my absolute favorite place in the world. On Saturdays my mom would drive us all there and I would come home with a huge stack of books which I would plow through as fast as I could so that we could go back to the library the next weekend and repeat the process. For someone who loves to read as much as I do, a whole building full of books is pretty much the most exciting place ever. At one point my punishment for misbehaving was not getting to go to the library. Pure torture.

I don't live in my hometown anymore, so I almost never get to go to that library anymore, but every now and then when we're back in town visiting I find a reason to go and it's a funny feeling walking into that library again. It instantly makes me feel like I'm 10 years old again. It still smells the same and that smell has such strong memories attached to it for me. I love it there.

We have plenty of libraries in our town now that I enjoy but for some reason in the past few years we haven't gone very much. When my kids were really little we used to go every week for story time, sometimes twice a week, and we would sit and read books and have a great time. But as they've gotten older and started school, they go to the school library once a week and pick out books there, so every time we go to the public library they get books that never get read because they're already reading books from school.

Plus this house is already FULL of books! It's obscene how many books we own. I've been collecting books since I was a kid. One of the reasons I initially fell in love with this house is because it has huge built in bookshelves on the main floor and upstairs. You can't own too many books or too many bookshelves! I've usually got a stack of books to read that I've picked up at a book sale, or these days it's so easy for me to read them with my ipod Kindle application that I just haven't been the to library as much as I should.

So yesterday I decided that it was time for a trip to the library. It's been too long since we'd been there. It's a funny thing about me and the library. I have this instant reaction to being inside one. I just want to grab every book in sight and read them all at once. The second I walked in the door last night and looked at all the books I wondered why in the world I hadn't been coming there more often! I forgot how much I absolutely adore the library. So I spent a long time last night wandering around, looking at all the books and reminding myself why the library is my favorite place to go. I can't believe we haven't been going more often.

Anway, I got the book I was looking for and I started reading it last night. If you are interested in reading a book about what life is like in North Korea, This is Paradise! My North Korean Childhood is the one to read. I'm not quite halfway through it yet, but I should get it finished today. Matthew has a friend over this morning and they're happily playing, which is good news for me because it gives me more time to read!

So that should keep me busy enough to keep my mind off the impending referral today. One way or another I'm going to make it through these last few weeks. Today is one more day closer!