When did we start asking others to make our choices? Are the stakes really too high to just pull a book off the shelf based on the spine design and the amount of dust on the edges? Do we really need expert advice about such minor matters? Do we need a concierge to tell us whether to go with the hash-browns or the sweet potato fries?
And when we get expert advice, do we pay attention? When children started demanding white owls for pets because of Harry Potter, the experts said "not a good idea". Parents obtained owls anyway!
Duh. Owls are nocturnal, need a lot of space, have sharp beaks and talons meant to tear flesh and bite through bone. Owls don't want to be cuddled, and cough up pellets of mouse bones and hair. So now who can those parents blame?
Wander the dimly lit stacks. Smell the worn bindings and disintegrating paper. Read reviews if you must. Sniff out your own reading material and just let the librarian stamp the date due. If you don't like the book by page twenty-five, return it. In the big scheme of things this is not a major deal!
1 comment:
I loved Olive Kitteridge (linked stories, not fluff, but, yes, fiction) and The Psychopath Test (non-fiction by Jon Ronson.) Currently reading The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton while waiting for All the Devil are Here (non-fiction about the economic crisis; will dovetail with The Psychopath Test, I'm pretty sure) to come in at the library.
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