Find that corner in the library, unpack your items, with that book, and, adventure, begins! Translated…
No matter the stages of life, I’d always, loved, hidden myself, inside a library, whether to pave way for my future, or simply, enjoying reading a book, in the libraries, all the noises, all the flashes, were all, blocked out, it’d, given me that sense of peace, that comfort.
I’m a child of the mountains, I’d still remembered the very first time I’d entered into a library, it was when I was preparing for my high school entrance after middle school, after class, I’d gone with a fellow classmate to the library that was a part of a temple. Inside that tiny space, the yellow magazines on the shelves, felt that sort of a nostalgia, it’s still, clear, in my mind. Ever since, for the sake of making the grades, I’d trekked all over the libraries from Nantou to Taipei.
like this???
The summer of my college days, I’d once part-timed at a library in the tribes deep in the mountains, the sun shone through the windows, the breezes, gentle, the birds, the cicadas called, and, those days of being around something I loved, and making the money for my own education, became, an unforgettable time in my life.
As I entered into the workforce, because of work, I’d often needed to go to the libraries to research, and so, the enormous knowledge stashed away in the libraries, they’d, added to my professional skills for work.
After the birth of my daughter, I’d taken her to explore the wonders in the libraries, read along with her, other than, helping her gain a broader perspective of things, more importantly, she’d, led me, into a world of illustrated books, made up for the lacking of my own, childhood, like I had my childhood, to do, all over again.
And now, at midlife, I’d once more, set foot in the libraries, not for the sake of passing the tests, nor to do the research for work, but I’d, found that, secret hiding place inside a corner of the libraries, to enjoy a session of soul nourishing. At this time, I’d come to the library again, without my laptop, nor cell phone, just to, get away, from the digital overload of information temporarily, to evaporate from the world temporarily. In my backpack, there’s only, a water bottle, pen, and a notepad, as I sat, enjoying the space to travel to the world of books. And, when I see a line that touched me, I’d, jotted it down, word for word, to enjoying what the writer took, to write the words down.
illustration from UDN.com
The river of time flows onward, from youth, to midlife, to now, entering my own, old age, I’d always, loved going to the libraries, because, other than fulfilling my thirst for knowledge, the libraries added more colors to my life. Every passage of my life, I’d found my best memories here, inside the libraries, and that sense of bliss I got, from reading in the libraries, it’s, a special place for me.
And so, this, is precisely, WHY it’s, important, to learn to enjoy and to love reading, because, reading can, take you on trips (not the kind you get when you take those, hallucinatory drugs of course!), but, you can travel the world, in books, and, reading is a good past time, you just need a book, a chair, and, start, reading.