Have you ever just entered a library with no idea of what you want to read and started browsing the isles? If you have never done this, I highly recommend it. So many times, we pass right by some great books when we enter the library on our mission to find that one Star Wars book that is never available because it is so popular, but we might as well check while we are there. Sometimes, treasures are found in those unplanned library trips. You know, the one where you see the library…and then suddenly you are curled up in a chair reading a book? Yeah, those trips are the best!
When I was a kid, we used to go to the library after school and just chill. There is something so calming about the silence in a library. It isn’t true silence…it is filled silence. Active silence. The silence of learning and exploring. Within the sound of library silence are those little distant echoes of typing, whispers of study groups, the shush of a librarian (no library is complete without it), and even that sound of people walking on a short fiber carpet with shoes on, the occasional door opening and closing as more people come in to enjoy books. And last but not least, the sound of books. The sound of covers slipping on each other as books are removed from shelves, pages turning, the occasional thump from the study corners when a thick encyclopedia snaps shut. That one I miss. You don’t hear that one as much these days. All in all, that silence is a specific silence. It is a silence I encourage you to visit from time to time just to take a breather and relax.
While you are there, browse the isles with no idea what you are looking for. Pick one you love to visit, one you know will give you something you are guaranteed to enjoy. Then, once you find a book or five, move to one you never thought you would enter. Maybe the history section (that’s the one I usually find boring), or perhaps the science research section (I love that one!), or maybe it is something else entirely. Whatever it is, enter and browse.
This strategy for finding new books to read can also work when you are online. Though you don’t get the same experience as being in a library, you can still do the same thing. Hop on the library catalog and search for keywords, then simply bourse. I did this recently when looking for books to read in February. That is how I found the book A Wolf Called Wander. If you missed that book in my newsletter review, it was a cute book written from a wolf’s point of view that artistically expresses the struggle for survival when someone experiences loss. It was a fascinating little book written from the point of view of wildlife, exploring possible thoughts animals might have about their situations. It was also written for younger audiences. I would have never picked it up off a shelf and actually read it if I hadn’t been able to search based on the keyword “Washington state.” There are no isles for that in a library.
Though that experience was good, sometimes I find some books I don’t even get past the first page of. This is another reason I love doing this in the library. I can sit down and get comfy, and if the book doesn’t grab me within a few pages, I just return it right then and there without having to drive all over the place. If it gets and holds my attention in the first chapter, I add it to my checkout pile. In short, random library book searches, both in person and in the online catalog, can be a great way to find new reads that you usually wouldn’t look for.
Have you ever done this? I would love to hear about the books you found in your random library visits and catalog searches! Comment and tell me about them!
Photo Credit: Wix Photos
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