My favorite time of day to go the Library is just when school is getting out. My library has a big play area for the kids right next to the children's books. Windows take up the entire left and front wall and you can see everything happening outside, but the outside can't see in.
I like to be there when school gets out because the Library is right across the street from the High School. Call me a creeper if you want, but I call it research. It's interesting to watch the High School kids get out of school. It's fun (and sometimes depressing) to make up stories about the teenagers that walk by.
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| Taken from my Pinterest Page |
Some are holding hands and others look lonely and dejected. The other day I saw a boy and girl walking together, then about fifteen minutes later I saw the boy walk back past the library. He had a huge grin on his face. I knew he must have walked his girlfriend home even if she lived in the complete opposite direction from him. How cute!
The other thing I love about this time of day is how many of those teenagers come to Library straight after school. Where I live, the library has a lounge in the Young adult section. With bean bags and places to plug in laptops, oh yeah, and books. I would totally hang out there if I didn't LOOK like a creeper ;)
I just love seeing our youth crack open a good book, and there has been more than one occasion when I've had to hold my tongue about book recommendations. There is something about being in the library and watching those teenagers, you can see how much they want to be a part of the action.
Friends, books are changing lives. They are helping those lonely and dejected teenagers find place in the world. Go to your library and (discreetly) look in their eyes. You'll see a whole world there waiting to be discovered.
As authors we have an opportunity to bring our worlds to them. Let's not waste that. Now get writing!
21 comments:
Stories are all around us, aren't they. That's what it all comes down to, getting inspired and then putting those words down on the page ...
Lovely post, and nice to see some appreciation for teens instead of the usual complaints about how ungrateful and rude they are lol!
(Had to delete the last post because it didn't quite make sense lol!!)
i was never forced to have a reading book for down times in school, but my kids are. i love it! every kid from 4th grade up has a book they are reading! (even e-devices to read) we keep those minds turning and churning and sparking them, whether they like it or not! (and they do, despite themselves!)
Agree that a book can be a lifeline for a lonely teen. Love that your library is so close to the school. That's not the case where I live. The kids would all have to drive across town to get to the free books. Kind of a shame.
Your library sounds like a cool place for kids to hang out. That's the way to encourage teenagers to continue the love of books they had when they were little.
I want to come to your library! Sounds wonderful. And the story of the boy walking his girlfriend home is too cute! Awwww! I love it. It's so great to watch them and learn for your writing. I call it research too. I won't cal you crazy :D
Nice post! At my neighborhood library branch I usually see kids from the nearby middle school. Often they are there working on some school project, but sometimes they are browsing the shelves for a good read. I write for that age group, so it is instructive to observe them. And, like you, I love to see young people cracking books.
I love this post. Libraries are some of my favorite places, too, and I love how the new ones are so comfy. The make it a place to be rather than a place to go and get something to take somewhere else. The Salt Lake City Library even lets people eat in the library. When I took a tour there, they said people take books home and read them while they eat at their kitchen tables. Why not at the library? My library isn't quite that progressive. lol
Great title! This post reminds me of Garth Nix's _Lirael_, which is set partially in a "dangerous" library. I luv libraries and always will:)
Those windows are exactly why I used to go to the library every day after school. It was 1/2 mile from school and a quick walk, and I could do homework and watch people without them watching me.
I have a similar library by my house. I've never been there when school gets out but that sounds like a great research place. Yay, for cracking open a good book and spying over the top at the other people in the library. ;0)
Growing up, the library was my favorite place in the world. Literally as I'm typing this my son is begging to go to the library. Ha. They are magical places.
I, too, am a creeper. I love watching interactions between teens. Especially couples. Research, and remembering when! ;)
I know books made a difference to me when I was a teen.
That would be nice if our library was right next to a school. It's much more compromising hanging out on the sidewalk while watching the kids exit the school, with passing police giving those stares (to which I am not speaking from personal experience at all). I do pay attention to a school I pass on the way to work, though. Fun details even then. :)
How cool is that. I wouldn't call it creeper. I'd call it observations. Research is better but you can use observations as a back up.
I can truly say books were a lifeline for me. When friends were off playing, I'd find myself a good book, slip out on the porch and read beneath the sun.
This is such a brilliant post and so true. I remember turning to books when I was a teenager, reading stories about young girls who were going through similar things seemed to make it so much better as nobody would ever talk about anything. It does make you consider that there are so many young people out there who could benefit from a really good book that brings up their issues and feelings. Certainly one to think about in depth.
Such a great post! Ah, you painted the greatest picture here. Is there room at the Library for another creeper? ;)
I feel really ashamed now. I haven't stepped into a library in months!
What a lovely post. It's nice to hear a shout out for teenagers :-)
I should totally take more advantage of the fact that I pick my kids up from school. I should arrive early and do some young people watching. :)
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