I’ve been a reader since forever. My mom may not have gotten everything right, but she did read to me as a baby and very young person. I still have a few baby books in a box, somewhere. I’m sure this is why I’ve always loved reading.
We visited the library at least once a week. I especially loved the Montclair (Oakland CA) branch which is contained in the cutest little house, in a lovely tree lined street.
We visited the library at least once a week. I especially loved the Montclair (Oakland CA) branch which is contained in the cutest little house, in a lovely tree lined street. My mom would read the magazines and newspapers, and I would explore the children’s section. I’d check out several books each week, and read them over and over until our next visit.
My favorite genre was, and still is, mystery and adventure. I loved Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, although the library didn’t stock those books for some reason. My absolutely favorite stories were The Adventure Series by Enid Blyton: The Island of Adventure, The Mountain of Adventure, The Castle of Adventure and several more. The stories surround 4 British children who find themselves in the thick of fantastic mysteries in the most amazing locations. On my first visit to London, back in the early 80’s, I found a used book shop and found 2 of her books. They still sit proudly on my bookshelf.
My current reading list is mostly detective and legal stories, and I read on my Kindle which is always stocked with plenty of material to chose from. I weaned myself off the feel of the paperback quite a few years back. The public library is no longer part of my lifestyle, but I do appreciate it for what it gave me as a young person
Live Aloha
That’s it. That’s them, Philip, Jack, Dinah, and Lucy-Ann. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I couldn’t remember enough about them to find them again. Enid Blyton, thank you so much.
So glad you were able to reconnect with your “old friends”:-)
Wish I’d known about The Adventure Series–I was always on the lookout for new books, but no Amazon reviews to guide us then. I also loved spending time at the library, but mine had none of the charm of yours!
I loved the public library, too! They were such an important part of my life growing up.
The best library, ever, at least for a young, emerging reader in the 50’s and through high in the 70’s. I can recall the smell and the floor plan after 56 years!
I grew up with Enid’s Blyton’s books in Germany, in German. I had all of them proudly lined up on the lone bookshelf in my room and they were my friends as much as my real ones, substitutes for siblings I didn’t have. Thanks for the reminder of that lovely part of my childhood, which I had completely forgotten.
Yes, the Montclair library is like none other! I didn’t read those adventure books, but I bet I would’ve loved them too. Thanks for this look back…