#ReadingMyLibrary Challenge: Week One Update!

April 06, 2015

Did I tell y'all that I'm doing the #ReadingMyLibrary challenge, hosted by Stefani of Caught Read Handed and Amy of Read What I Like? I made an announcement, but it was in tweet-form. See all the awesomeness you miss out on when you aren't following me on Twitter?

Anyway, sign-ups are still open! The overall thrust of the challenge is to get people to go to their libraries—all you have to do to participate is read at least one book from your local library during the month of April. Check out this post for more information and other rules. You should totally join. There's going to be a scavenger hunt and everything!

I mostly failed the first week of this challenge by reading books that came from anywhere but the library: I chipped away at a purchased copy of Cloud Atlas for the #CloudAtlasAlong, made a small dent in a friend's copy of A Short History of Nearly Everything and made a more substantial dent in Loving Day, an ARC from Random House (thank you!). Like I said, anywhere but the library.

It was only yesterday that I finally picked up a library book, Yu Hua's Boy in the Twilight: Stories of the Hidden China. The good news is I've already read half of it, so I've nearly met the minimum challenge goal! Also also, today I picked up a library copy of Tell the Wolves I'm Home, April's pick for a local book club I've thus far failed to joined. Like Julianne, I'm hoping to change that. Hooray for using a library book to do so!

Stefani and Amy will post a new topic for discussion each week during the challenge. In keeping with this week's topic ("Tell us a little about your library [include a picture if you can!]."), I popped by the public library on the way to work. It's just a fifteen-minute walk from my house, and less than a five-minute one from my lab. Needless to say, I'm here a lot. It allegedly has three whole floors, though I only frequent the ground and lower levels (fiction and non-fiction, respectively). I only took three pictures that weren't super ugly—enjoy!

This building is over 100 years old. I looked it up.
A super windy marble staircase in the lobby I've never seen anyone use. Possibly leads to the alleged second and third levels.
The beautiful fiction stacks. Gotta love that overhead lighting.
Here's a photo of the main circulation/new books area, not taken by me:

Source: nhfpl.org
And that's it! Will she finish those library books?! Stay tuned for week two.

Anyone else taking the #ReadingMyLibrary challenge?

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17 comments

  1. That is a grand library! Loved seeing these photos!

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  2. Your library is so beautiful! Mine (which I hardly go to) is a new building is quite ugly. It doesn't inspire me at all.

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  3. Thank you! I only wish I'd gotten a few more nice ones. :)

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  4. Oh gosh, my college library was like that. It was apparently supposed to look like books on a shelf. Nope, just ugly. http://www.ybp.com/GobiProfile_files/images/nw_library.jpg

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  5. I should be taking this challenge - most of my reads are library reads! That's a beautiful library you go to. Marble staircase! Lovely!

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  6. Ah, do it! The sign-ups are open until the 15th. :)

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  7. Wow, your library is really pretty! Mine's pretty ugly, but perfectly functional, and almost always has short wait lists. I feel like whenever I go in there, I'm easily 20+ years older or 20+ years younger than just about everyone else in there. Not sure what to make of that...

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  8. Thank you! I'm fond of it, though I'm still very partial to the public library in my college town. There was a super awesome art installation that hung in the center of the grand staircase: http://www.epl.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114&Itemid=213


    All the library patrons your age must be hiding!

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  9. I agree with others... your library is pretty. The building that houses my library used to be an indoor farm stand. The librarians are super nice though, and that makes up for the somewhat limited selection.

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  10. I adore the library. I became a big library user when we moved to TX in late 2005. We bought our house in early 2006, and it was just up the street from the library. I began running a book club there, for classics, and it ran for 5.5 years before I had to stop running it. Our branch became a second home to me, and the whole SAPL system was wonderful. You could get holds from anywhere and bring them back to your local branch. The library here is also nice - and is very old, like yours, whereas our SA library had literally a year or less before we got there - but I miss SAPL! In any case, I don't buy books 99% of the time, and I almost never buy books that I haven't read, unless they're by an author I super-trust (there are less than five on that list) or part of a series I already love.

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  11. wait, this is so beautiful!! much classier than my library. I didn't include a picture of the outside of mine, but it's nothing to write home about. So glad you're doing this challenge too!

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  12. Wow! Your library is SO BIG! It looks amazing. Looking forward to what you think about Tell the Wolves I'm Home. It's one of those books I own but haven't read yet.

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  13. Amy @ Read What I LikeApril 8, 2015 at 10:39 AM

    So sorry that I am late in checking in, busy weekend… What I beautiful library! Love that staircase, its a shame they never use it, they should almost have a ball just so people can descend in fancy clothes like Gone in the Wind or something. Great post, thanks for sharing!

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  14. Isn't it so gorgeous?? It was always a treat to walk by when I made my way upstairs to the fiction. :)

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  15. Thank you! And that at least sounds like an interesting/original setup. :) I'm glad you enjoy it despite its small collection!

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