Novel thoughts.

A room without a book is like a body without a soul.
- Cicero

I took an awesome trip to Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire the weekend before last, and I promise that my next post will be all about the hike. I had a magical experience today, though, that I need to share.

I am now a member of the Bar Harbor library - the Jesup Memorial Library. It's a beautiful library. Think a miniature of Henry Higgins' in My Fair Lady combined with the feel of the Strahov Monastery library. It's really tiny and lovely. You walk in the front door, and the foyer is a round room, the floor a moaic of black and white hexagon tiles. To the left is the children's library, a room about the size of Syme rm. 312, complete with a reading area, books on tape, and young adult's fiction. To the right of the foyer is the periodicals room, about the same size of the children's room, a room bathed in sunlight (or at least outside light), with all the newspapers you'd ever want.

Straight ahead off the foyer (that you really must pronouce foy-yay) is the main library. The room is borderd by alcoves of books - the first floor is fiction and mysteries. Of course, there are those books that are fiction but don't quite fit anywhere, like Westerns, are shelved in the deep window sills. Each alcove has a table or a desk and there are stairs to reach the tip-toppy shelves.

At the end of the long room are two spiral staircases that creak beautifully when you step up them. Below the right hand staircase is a closet that is the 'Maine room,' housing all the Maine and local authors. The second floor, reserved for non-fiction, is open and bookshelves line the walls. Keep in mind that these are all actual old-fashioned wooden bookshelves. There are so many books that every bookcase has books crammed onto the top.

Of course, I checked out several books -
The Fifth of March by Ann Rinaldi
The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson
Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
My Father had a Daughter: Judith Shakespeare's Tale by Grace Tiffany

I think I'd like to start keeping track of the books I read. So the list begins...
I'll give an update when I go through all the books in my room.

Happy reading!