Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Thrills of the Public Library

I love my library. I can get almost any book and keep it for weeks on end, free of charge. It's rather amazing. 

I also love the little unexpected pleasures that come from sharing books with thousands of people all across the huge city of Los Angeles.

A while back, I read The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N by Leo Rosten. As I finished the last page, I felt pleased and satisfied. Not quite ready for the book to be over, I slowly turned the end page and found one last perfect word:
My reaction, exactly.
More recently I was reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Lots of great insight about art making and the obstacles we encounter. A good portion of the book is about what the author calls "Resistance." It describes the self-sabotage that seems a part of most artists' lives. The reader cannot help but instantly recognize instances in their own life where resistance has played a major role in keeping success at bay. Here is a page that really got me thinking and examining the role of resistance in my life.


Let me zoom in and show you what else I found at the bottom of that page:


Apparently, I wasn't the only one examining their life.

2 comments:

Sherry Uribe said...

The library is a treasure chest; so much more than books....I share your library love

Jeannette Bowen said...

Love this post! Library books are what keep me sane (because if I had to buy all the books I wanted to read, I'd be broke and that would be no good for my sanity... grin).