The Library Book: A Book That Started It All Again For Me

To cut a long story short, when I was in late high school I was severely depressed. As a result of this, I had no idea what I actually wanted to be in life. I had vague ideas, like I wanted to be a writer, of the adult and picturebook kind, but I didn't make any steps towards this. With depression riddling my sluggish brain, I was sure I would be dead by twenty, and the laws of what I wanted to be didn't really apply to me.

(Think of how surprised I am to be here, almost 24, and writing this to you all!)

So unhappy was I between my home and school life that I dropped out of school, in an attempt to drop out of life completely. I drifted around (in a metaphorical sense) for a while, before looking at possible careers. I wanted to be a librarian in a sense, but I knew that if I couldn't survive high school, there is no way I could possibly survive university. So I went into childcare, like a lot of lost souls with a sense of compassion.

I loved my years in childcare, until I got too sick to continue. The children were all delightful, and I think I learned more about the world there than most other jobs would have taught me. At the end of the day, however, it was a little bit unsatisfying. I wanted to study, but I was suddenly sure I didn't want to do a diploma in childcare. I just couldn't think of anything attainable.

Meeting Peter changed my life, as I have recounted so many times before. He has changed and bettered it in a thousand small and not-so-small ways. He inspired me to want to go back to school as I had always wanted to do, and better yet, he gave me the stable home life that I needed to support me. His influence has been indescribable. If I dedicated a thousand blog posts to him, it still wouldn't do him justice.

I was just over half-way through a certificate in game design when I found the book "The Library Book", and I wish I could remember which library it was from! It was life changing. I borrowed more and more books about libraries before it finally began to click: I wanted to be a librarian, and not for the first time in my life.

To stumble upon the audiobook of this, half-way through a library diploma, brought upon a wave of nostalgia. This is the audiobook of the book that changed everything for me, and rekindled an old desire of mine.

I want to be a librarian for many reasons, and not just because I love books, or because the library has always been a sanctuary for bookish girls throughout the centuries. I love learning, and I love information. I love universal truths, and classic stories. I also want to serve my community, and help others continue to better themselves, just as I try to, too.

The library is a place of infinite self-betterment and wisdom, and I treasure every moment that I spend trying to pursue this dream.

Books I Forgot To Review In May (Moonlight In Odessa, The Opposite Of Loneliness, The Novel In The Viola)

Apparently the debut novel of Janet Skeslien-Charles, this is a wonderful story which paints a flattering yet honest portrayal of beautiful, crime-filled Odessa. I really felt for and related to the protagonist, a young and capable girl, clever from start to end.

This book starts with one of the saddest notes I have ever heard. Marina Keegan, portrayed on the front cover and the writer of the various essays and fiction contained within, was killed in a car crash only a few days after graduating. Her family put together this wonderful collection and released it for the public. And while, as you read, you feel for her family who have lost such a lovely young lady, but you feel a loss as a reader. Her work is nothing short of fantastic, and we are left wanting more.

So aware of this poor girl's fate throughout the pages, I found myself crying on the train, when in one of her essays she discussed her future, which was cut far too short.

 Natasha Solomons has written a heart-wrenching novel about a young Jewish lady, starting just before the outbreak of WWII. It is a love story above all else, I enjoyed the perhaps controversial choice of the protagonist towards the end.

“The Best Australian Science Writing 2011”

Essentially an anthology of scientific writing, including everything from research articles to works of fiction, these books are worth getting on your hands on. I know I’m three years late to this particular edition, but a lot of the articles still hold up, while others are simply timeless. A sampling of topics includes malaria, vaccines, and suicide, in a variety of prose.

My favourite belongs to Deb Hodgkin:

“You’ll have to indulge me a little here, but ‘elements and compounds’ is Year 7 or 8 science so this is class I teach pretty much every year. … Sodium is a soft, silvery metal that is extremely reactive in water… You would think that a substance with [sodium] in would be hazardous and treated with utmost care.

Introducing sodium chloride… made up of one chloride ion bonded to one sodium ion and forms a crystalline white solid. …Common table salt. …

And that’s why there has never been mercury in vaccines. There used to be a preservative called thimerosal … that contained mercury as part of a compound. But the properties of a compound have nothing to do with the properties of the elements that make it up. …

…Thimerosal and every other ingredient of a vaccine, needs to be evaluated on its own properties, not those of mercury or whatever other atoms happen to be in it. Otherwise you would need to be wary of poison gas when cooking, and stay well away from salt and vinegar chips – they might explode.”

So good.

Jack Canfield & Gay Hendricks "You’ve Got To Read This Book!"

You’ve Got To Read This Book! Jack Canfield & Gay Hendricks

“To be honest, I really don’t believe any book can change your life – only you can. Look, two people read the same book: One is inspired, while the other is bored. It’s the person – not the book – that creates the transformation. The power lies within each of us. That said, I do believe that an author’s insights, when combined with the reader’s inspiration and desire to change, can lead to a new life for the reader.”

The above quote belongs to Bernie Siegel, M.D., who contributes a chapter in “You’ve Got To Read This Book!” Each chapter is by a separate author, who shares a personal story about a book that changed their life.

As Siegel noted, the influence of books is a very subjective experience. For instance, “The Bible”, quite disappointingly, is the most read book in the entirety of the English world, but it hasn’t had the same impact for everyone, noticeably sceptics like myself. Amongst the life-changing books included are quaint and beautiful works of fiction, self-help books, to huge manuals.

Each story is unique as the writer outlines their discovery of the book, whether their mother would read it to them before bed, or it just called to them sitting on the shelf. They talk about how it changed or reaffirmed their life, or simply gave them new perspectives. There are common themes, like dealing with loss, death, injury or sickness, and simply just feeling lost.

It was fascinating to read these deeply personal and sometimes tragic stories, following along with them as them as they chose a book to cling to in times of trouble (or happiness). I enjoyed watching each writer handle their situation, and experience the lead-up into their love of their particular choice of work.