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Just For Fun

Romancing the Library: The Place Where My Love for Books Began

by Christine Feehan

Photo credit: Hero Images, Hero Images/Getty Images

I have a special place in my heart for libraries. I have for as long as I can remember. I was always an avid reader, sometimes reading up to three books a day as a child. Stories were like air to me and while other kids played ball or went to parties, I lived out adventures through the books I checked out from the library.

My first job was working at the Ukiah Library when I was 16 years old. It was a dream job and I did everything from shelving books to reading to the children for storytime. I had so much enthusiasm that my friends would come and hang out there, reading and doing homework while I worked.

As I grew older and became a single mother, the library took on a new place and an added meaning in my life. I had several children and books were our main source of entertainment. It was a big deal for us to load up and go to the local library, where my kids could pick out books to read or books they wanted me to read to them.

I always read, using different voices, as though I were acting out the stories with my voice and they loved it! It was a special time to bond with my children and it instilled in them the wonderment of books.

Libraries offered story hour and I’d take my children, and then my grandchildren, there to listen to the books being read aloud. Sometimes there would be events, coloring or crafts, but everything centered around stories.

Now, I see my children taking their children to the library and I love that the excitement of going to the library lives on from generation to generation.

As an author of romance novels, I’ve found a new relationship with libraries. Imagine going into a library and seeing a book you wrote sitting on the shelf — it’s as exciting as winning an award or making a bestseller list. I encourage readers to go to their local library when they can’t afford to purchase a book. I see libraries as a safe haven for readers and writers, a bridge that helps put together a reader with a book. Libraries, in their own way, help fight book piracy and I think all authors should support libraries in a significant way when they can. Suggest to readers to use the library. Share library announcements on your social media. Frequent them when you can. Talk about them when you can.

I guess you could say that my first big love affair was with books, and I was constantly romancing the library.