The Library
Once more I have a problem.
This time though I know all the solutions though in fact there is only one – time.
Last night I finished my library book. I get out two books at a time and they usually last me the tree allotted weeks as I only read to put myself to sleep and generally don’t get very far until I drop off. Even then I usually have to re-read the chapter before the bookmark as I have forgotten the story line.
Usually I am fairly mentally alert when going to bed, so a read focuses my mind until I doze off. Last night though I finished the book and was still alert. So I read the author’s biography and then the acknowledgements but was still alert. I switched off the light an then tossed and turned for an hour or two. It wasn’t funny.
We have a small library in the village. Not only is it an extremely good library [for its size] but the girl who runs it is very friendly and always gives me [and Penny] a cheerful greeting. Some time ago she asked about my reading preferences. I told her I read what might be termed the bottom end of the scale as its sole function was to put me to sleep.
She asked about the more intellectual stuff, but I told her I would prefer to write that myself. She gave me a funny look so I laid my cards on the table and told her to look me up on her computer. She pointed out that my details were already on the screen because I was a member. So I told her she was in the wrong place and to look up authors. She did, and up popped my name. She was really impressed [and immediately forgave my preferences for trash novels]. Fortunately all the copies of my book were up in Donegal for some reason – as far as possible from the bulk of Irish readers – so it’s unlikely she’ll ever read it. Never mind though. It had given me the kudos for a bit of special attention.
Sadly though the library only opens a few days a week and today isn’t one of them. So no new books. I have re-read just about every book that I own until I know most of them by heart so I’m stuck for tonight. I don’t know what I’m going to do about it. Maybe I could bring a load of groceries to bed so I can read the labels?
I have a feeling it’s going to be another long night.
Kindle?
You can download the Kindle Reading App also on your smartphone or your laptop – library at your fingertips, any old time of night or day. You need an Amazon account, though.
That would be an obvious solution but frankly I don't like the things. I like the soft light of the bedside lamp shining over my shoulder while I quietly turn the paper pages. Reading a screen just doesn't seem right unless I'm wide awake and messing on the laptop.
Sounds like it would be better if you actually bought the basic Kindle itself (about $90.00) which actually has a front light for reading whether you use it or just turn it off. I have and earlier version of the basic (no light) and I love the thing. And a bedside lamp shining over your shoulder should provide enough light to read the non-illuminated LCD screen (no glare, just like reading a book).
NOTE: Our "hard-copy" book library on the second floor of our house was getting so crowded with hard cover type series that the floor was warping.
I've downloaded a lot of free (out of copyright) eBooks from the Project Gutenberg website plus several "Kindle form" books from Amazon. I usually download the books to my computer and port them over to the Kindle by USB cable.
Try a Bob Ross art video on YouTube, just listen to the soundtrack, that’ll sort it.
He has a grand sleepy voice all right. He reminds me of a college lecturer I used to have. Everyone nodded off during his sessions!
My wife took our first grandchild to the library in about 2017 when she was 2. She was astounded ! So many books ! Thats how I feel every time I visit our local library (under threat of closure by our socialist council) So many books ! And I am determined to read them all ! (except crime fiction and the large print books for really old folks as I'm a dynamic youngster)
I don't know when I was first introduced to the library but I know I was very young. I was an avid reader from a very early age and was thrilled to get my first library ticket. I am delighted to say that Daughter is also a great reader and the Grandkids are all likewise. I have to be careful if I bring Granddaughter-the-Younger as she usually wants to bring a shelf-full home with her.
Although I'm an avid reader (and a fast one at that) reading never was a way to put me to sleep. Being the insomniac that I am I found out long ago that certain types of music, symphonies mostly, a pair of high end headphones (wrap around the ear type) and a decent portable CD player was all I needed to fall asleep.
Unfortunately I've gone deaf in my older age and headphones plus hearing aids don't mix. I suppose I could buy another bluetooth gadget to plug into the CD player which will in turn shove the music into my hearing aids however, considering the hearing aids have all the dynamic range of of a cheap, made-in-China, transistor radio…I think not.
So…how's you hearing?
Getting close to bedtime we generally switch on Classic FM for a while. As the name suggests, it's a classical music station and they always play lovely soothing stuff late in the evening.
The hearing is fine. Okay, I still have the Tinnitus [which tends to get worse as the day wears on but apart from that my hearing is excllent and frequently I can hear things that others can't. Sadly Herself's hearing has deteriorated so watching television is literally painful for me as we have to have the volume very high. Something else I have learned to live with!
Like you I am a long retired blogger and writer…..the self-published sort, telling late-life relationship stories……what I call Geriatric Adolescence. I have long since learned to dodge the wondering looks of why a guy would tell such stories.
Still, as a west coast Yank, who on three occasions has spent a few weeks bouncing around your lovely country, I am more than a little envious of your Wicklow Mt hideout. Keep on keepin' on.
Welcome Gil! [I have just been browsing your site and have a lot more reading ahead…] I like the idea of Geriatric Adolescence. It slots neatly with my state of mind and my rebellious spirit.
It is indeed a lovely country, just so long as you can overlook its flaws, like Nanny State laws and the price of everything. Maybe we should swap homes?
Come on, Granddad………….if you want to compare the present state of national flaws I'm afraid you're outmatched. I'm a Yank, remember? I have Trumpian flaws being sprouted every day. I understand that your great nation has its own history of dysfunction……and function. But our Trump guy trumps anything you can come up with.
Still, in the end you and I are left with the same answer, aren't we. We put our heads down, care for and about the ones who care for us, and we keep plugging along. That's where the blog post I'm working on this morning is taking me.
Thanks for your reply. I've signed up for your posts and am looking for more you Wicklow Wisdom.
Okay, I'll grant you that one. You lot do seem to have a habit of electing nut-jobs? I could argue though that we are just as much under the influence of Trump over here? If he decides to go ballistic [and I use that word advisedly] then we too will probably become a sea of molten glass.
I decided a while back that the best survival technique these days is to pull up the drawbridge, mine the front driveway and electrify the gate. So it's just myself, Herself, Cat and Penny and we are doing a grand job of living peacefully while the world goes mad around us.
I doubt you'll get much wisdom here. Little did I know all those years ago that Rambles was actually a very apt name for the site.
Once you have a reading app, there are loads of sites where you can download free books. These are mostly older, out of copyright books, but well worth a read. Wilkie Collins, Conan Doyle etc if you like crime, and even a few modern authors like Cory Doctorow (Sci-Fi), can be found on Project Guttenberg. Or how about a good, short dystopian story to start you off? https://americanliterature.com/author/em-forster/novella/the-machine-stops/summary
Your library, if it like ours probably does online books too, so in reality, it never closes.
Cas
http://www.oldireland.ie
As I said somewhere above, I avoid electronic devices at bedtime. The only device that is switched on is the phone in case Herself needs me urgently [which usually happens when I'm in a very deep sleep!]. Indeed, our library has a good selection of audio books and if you look deep enough into their Interweb system they offer a huge range of courses covering every subject under the sun.
I'm sorry, but I'm firmly an old fashioned reader that loves the feel of the paper pages and the solid weight of a book in my hands.