Libraries (Where I Kill Time)

So it might seem a little peculiar, but one of the very first things I did when I decided it high time to do something for myself was to go (back) to the library and start browsing for new books to read, and to borrow again.

I used to go to libraries a lot. 

In one season of my life, nearly every day.

Libraries were (and still are) one of the few places where you can wander in (quietly), settle down on a seat and just do your own thing. You don't necessarily have to get a book to have a seat- but it's best you do- because even if your brain isn't in reading mode, a hardcover or a paperback is sometimes a very calming thing to have.

I dont' know how many times I've written notes or letters or journals whilst sitting in the library. 

I also don't know how many times I've just sat there and stoned. 

The library is a wonderful place to be when you're in this sort of mood. 

No one disturbs you, no one bothers you and no one cares what you do just so long as you keep to yourself and not bother others too. 

I head to the library whenever I have something to write, but because I also like to read, so I often find myself browsing the shelves for a book (or two) before settling down on a seat that I like. 

Corner single seats suit me best. 

Because I'm an introvert- with a love for her own space which she doesn't necessarily want to (always) share.

My journey with libraries go back a long way. 

Whether it be the old National Library, the school library, the Library @ Orchard's Ngee Ann City, the new National Library or the Library @ Orchard's Somerset, I've been there. 

Doesn't mean that I don't go to the regional libraries.

I do. 

The libraries of Toa Payoh and Queenstown are like a time capsule that fascinate me, and the libraries in NEX, Hougang Mall, Chinatown Point, White Sands and Harborfront are excellent places to rest the feet when you're tired from window shopping but don't want to spend money on a coffee. 

Of course it isn't just the heritage ones or the mall ones that interest me. 

I like the libraries of Ang Mo Kio, Geylang East, Esplanade, and Jurong East too. 

In fact I just went to the Esplanade one not too long ago. 

And I borrowed The Great Gatsby and Girl With A Pearl Earring paperbacks whilst I was there. 

It was nice to step back into the world of bookshelves and books all over again. 

There was a time in my life whenI could afford to rad voraciously. 

I  miss those days. 

There isn't that much of a time now. 

Maybe my reading habits have changed. 

Or maybe I haven't gotten back into the space of quiet reading just yet. 

I'd like to get back to my host of local short stories with the works of Catherine Lim, Dave Chua and Philip Jeyaratnam. 

I'd like to get back to reading the stories of Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Anton Chekhov. 

And I'd like to get back to my readings from Clive Cussler, Sylvia Plath, Charlotte Bronte, my go-to Irish author Maeve Binchy, and the very good but sometimes very difficult to understand action-thriller writer Frederick Forsyth. 

It's been too long a time. 

So, I hope, soon.