Hello Library

I have been a librarian for 30 years. I could never decide what I wanted to be but I always loved books. I started working in the school as a library prefect and I never left. I like the variety of the job and not being tied to my desk all the time. You never know what is going to be thrown at you. 

I was working at Kings Cross library one day and a girl came in and asked “do you have any language courses?”  I asked ‘which language?‘ and she said ‘ Any!‘ so I knew she was someone after my own heart and we have kept in contact ever since learning all these exotic languages, she is now one of my best friends. We’re both language-learning tragics.

I am reading a Venezuelan classic called Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos which is unfortunately rarely read by English speakers. I am trying to read one book from every country of the world. It’s a crazy project – I have done more than 50 countries so far, I have a blog that I document my reading https://tirelessreader.wordpress.com/.  I’m translating my Madagascan title from French since apparently not a single novel from there has ever been translated into English. I am also reading through the classics and all the Agatha Christie mysteries in chronological order – I’m up to 1940 (two decades down, four to go!) I love her clever plots and brilliant characterisation and dialogue.

Libraries are one of the last neutral, open-to-all spaces left in this over-commercialised age. I can’t emphasise too much how important it is for a country that is democratic and wants to progress to have this free service available to everyone, rich or poor. When you travel, even to relatively well-off places like Thailand or Turkey, where public libraries are few and far between, or non-existent, you realise how lucky we are.

Occasionally, I go to other libraries when I travel the world. My favourite building is the new library in Alexandria in Egypt. It’s quite a beautiful building even though it had few books when I visited since it was newly opened. I would like to explore Vatican library – I’m sure there’s so much fascinating stuff hidden away there.

My bookcase at home is a work in progress – at the moment a large part of it consists of the floor! You would think that working in a library, and now having e-books, you wouldn’t need to own physical books, but it’s not so!

If I could only keep three books I would include The Lord of the Rings, Siddhartha, and the Name of the Rose.

I always encourage people to read the first three chapters of Lord of the Rings before they give up because the first chapter is more like The Hobbit (as a children’s book), the second one is the history which some people find a bit drab but the third chapter is when it gets exciting. The Name of the Rose is also like that – it starts off slow which puts a lot of people off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I visit the library pretty much every day to get books, I read very quickly. I have been a member here for 15 years. Today I have just borrowed New Science and two cooking books. In high school, I loved science and I also found it useful in my University studies (Film and Communications), my passion for maths and science has never left. 

Surry Hills has a very diverse group of people. This library is a refuge for most of them who visit and the staff are very helpful and compassionate.

I would like to be invited to one of Umberto Eco’s lunches in Bologna, Italy to explore his book collection. He is a philosopher and an author, and once a year he gets together intellectual greats—I would love to be at that lunch.

When I was younger I was a latchkey kid, both my parents worked and to keep me occupied they always made sure I had a book in my hands and I read all the classics. One of my  favourites as a child was Anne of Green Gables.  As an adult, a book that I really loved is the novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind. The movie was horrible, but the book is wonderful. I loved how the scent could make people do anything. I am a scent freak— I love books, scents and food.

I take my passion for reading right back to Shakespeare—his use of words and language, I discovered him in high school.

Today, I am doing some research and development for a play I am working on, it’s about Ludwig II of Bavaria. The staff are lovely here and I love the building itself. It has an indoor outdoor feel about it and the layout is great. It is very accessible in terms of energy.

I have just started War and Peace, talk with me next year and I’ll still be reading it! It’s fantastic, but it’s my second attempt to read it and I have more time now so I can do it one go. My first attempt was on a train between London and Paris two years ago, but it was not enough time.

I would like to explore the bookcase of Stephen Fry.  I think we have similar interests in terms of the Arts and he is so well read. If I could be like that I would be a very happy man.

I like to put the book 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez into other people hands. I think his looking at the extraordinary in every day is incredible. I have given the book to my father, my best friend  and three other friends in passing.

The local library is a brilliant resource—whatever you are after, it’s all here in one space. Libraries are good for the inner health of a city and the community. When I was living in England there was a loss of funding and most of the local libraries were shut down.  It would be a detriment to society if libraries closed.

 

I am borrowing a drawing book and some biographies based around musicians for my projects at school and my own pleasure, to get to know the musicians better. I borrowed the drawing book to improve my drawing.

I enjoy reading dramatic stories based around life, growing up and dealing with certain situations.  

I sometimes read romances; however, it’s difficult to find a good romance because most are very clichéd and cheesy. I prefer reading and writing fan fictions based around The Beatles.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and Lola Rose by Jacqueline Wilson are books I am fond of from my childhood, these books both have the main character dealing with the struggles of life, they both are incredibly magical. When I read about them, I feel as though the character is right beside me.

I have been to this library a few times and today I am waiting for mum and am attempting to do my assignments.

Basically, I’ll read anything that sparks my interest. My mother would always say that I should have been a cat because I am so curious.  It’s like that with books and I read mainly non-fiction. I will pick up a book and if it seems interesting I’ll have a look. 

I have been a member here for seven years. It’s quiet and everyone respects everyone else’s privacy.  This library has a good cross section of books and it’s  first with the latest DVDs.  I usually come here three times a week. I don’t have a computer at home but I have an email address so I also pop in and check my emails.

There are some books I like to go back to again, especially film biographies. The film director Sergio Leone started directing in the early ‘60s. He initially made  ‘Spaghetti’ Westerns and was an amazing director. Every time I read his biography I can refer back to the movies. I also enjoyed the biography of Ennio Morricone, who composed music for some of the Sergio Leone films.

If libraries were to close down I don’t know what I would do.