Summer Reading

Minneapolis Central Library - Children's Section

Charlie, Ellis and I go to the library at least once every three weeks - the amount of time you can check out most items. On our last trip, we checked out a record 29 items - books, tape stories, and DVDs - a grand total that would make my retired librarian mother-in-law proud. We are most loyal to the two libraries in the St. Paul system that are closest to our house, but sometimes we like to "branch out," so to speak. We like the Minneapolis Central Library because you can take the light rail to it: trains + books = extra fun.

When I was in grade school, visiting the public library was the main activity we did during the summer months. I would check out seven books (the maximum allowed at that time) and read them all in a week. All those books made me dream about the places I could live and the things I could do when I grew up. When I was in high school, back in the days before the Internet, I loved doing research there with friends and reading biographies of rock musicians. I have a friend who just started working at the library in my hometown, and it makes me happy to think of her there, in one of the most influential and transformative places of my young life.

I love that I am raising another generation of readers. I love to snuggle up with them and share a book or five or six. But most of all, this summer, I love having the time to browse the stacks myself, pick every book that catches my eye and return to my old role as a devourer of books.