It’s Monday. I visited the library. I checked out 2 books, 3 books on cd and 2 music cds. I grabbed some magazines from the “free magazine” table and read the local newspaper. I read some chapters from books on the ‘New Non-Fiction’ bookshelf and paged through some Northern Colorado Business monthly newspapers.
Now it’s Tuesday and I am deep into the audio cd book titled Little Bee by Chris Cleave. The story uses first person voice alternating between Little Bee and her plight from a British immigration detention center and Sarah O’Rouke and her family from Surrey.
As each cd finishes, I contemplate whether to load and listen to the next one or to proceed with my Adobe TV learning, lessons and projects. I can’t do both.
In the Rotarian magazine (March 2013) was an article titled Living by the Book by Joe Queenan. On average he reads more than 150 books a year and reads about two hours each day. Last year I read 59 books and remembered the stories from most of them. I remember audio books much better than I remember books that I hold in my hand and read. I’ve found that if the author gets too much into the scenery or other details, I skip ahead in a book. When listening to it, I might miss some dialogue or other important information so I never skip ahead. One would say I am an auditory learner I suppose.
When I am at the computer, I listen to music while I am working on my projects. The music helps with the flow of learning and for some reason my brows are less furrowed when the beat goes on…
The magazines that I brought home with me (recycled instead of thrown away) are playgrounds of images – of designs that I’ve only noticed now as I work in the world of graphic design. Headers, sub-headers, number of columns and image placement – all mean something now. I think about the person (or team) behind the scene who determined the color structure and the layout. The magazines that I once gathered for content are now kept for ideas for future projects.
My world is surrounded by ongoing learning, lessons and application these days. Free tutorials on youtube.com, Adobe TV, lynda.com and other sites help me to continue learning as I sit in my warm computer room (the rest of the house shivers in 60 degrees temperatures). Learning when to push away at the end of the day is the hard part – and it usually happens with a smile on my face.
- Listen Up: Reading for a Lifetime (margekatherine.com)
- Booking Through Thursday – Libraries (sefccw.wordpress.com)
- Been to your local library yet? (margekatherine.com)
- A Personal History of Libraries (timetoconsiderthelilies.com)
- A library with no books! (margekatherine.com)
- Library (walkingwithnora.com)
- Audio Books (thejottersjoint.com)
- The Library Times Are Changing (cricketmuse.wordpress.com)
- Loving the library! (margekatherine.com)
- Museums Online: An Afternoon of Bliss (margekatherine.com)
Happily ... after retirement 
My mother was a librarian. Sadly I have not been in a library for a very long time. I get the part about pushing away at the end of the day… LOL
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I’m a library fan, too. Borrowing/sharing books provides the perfect adventure for me,
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Sounds like you are as addicted to words and images as me!
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Aah the written word, we share the same love of this world.
blessings ~ maxi
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i miss the library, it closed in Jan for renovations and won’t be open till May. They have put a bus in the city center but i can’t get up the stairs 😦 Sounds like a fun visit and great audio CD.
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the library – always a haven of peace and possibility. Ours has lovely comfy chairs to sit in. Once I was there, reading in the sunlight and dozed off. A haven, indeed.
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While we are on our travels, we have stopped in many a library for so many different reasons; to use the computers or printers, to see the architecture, to find a quite place. One of my fondest memories is visiting The Library of Congress. It is such a beautiful building, but so much more. I am so appreciative of an institution that is storing and saving our heritage, culture, music, literature and our nations history. I also remember immigrants in Boulder, CO talking about how they could not get over the fact that they could take home a book for free. Thanks Marge for your thoughts on our libraries.
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I adore libraries the same way I adore coffeeshops (even though I do not drink coffee) – they are all unique and filled with the delightful aroma of something wonderful!
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Finding that one precious gem is what it’s all about!
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We are so blessed, aren’t we?
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It’s a thing of beauty. So many books, knowledge, ideas, lyrics, vision, sounds and ongoing learning. Lucky us!
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It will be wonderful when your library reopens and everything will have a new look and feel to it. It will be like Christmas in May!
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Actually, the library is truly a haven for the homeless population. They often check their emails and make a day of hanging out either to stay warm or get cool (on hot summer days). Once again, I know how blessed I am.
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When I first found out that libraries were ‘free’ I was amazed. And I am amazed when people don’t access this amazing resource. The ongoing learning is fantastic with seminars, classes, videos, magazines, book groups, writing sessions, speakers and all the wonders associated with each. WoW!
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I find it hard to push away at the end of the day too :-).
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I like the idea of using magazines for future projects.
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