Library Love

Thanks for all the congrats on the film deal. I do want to make clear (since I've seen some things pop up in Google alerts that have been posted elsewhere) that this doesn't mean a movie is being made. It's just that a studio has put up the money to put dibs on the right to make a movie. There's a lot that would have to happen before a movie actually got made, and that would likely be at least a couple of years down the line.

In other news, I'm in love. I mentioned a few weeks ago that we were getting a new library branch in our neighborhood that would be like Barnes & Noble, only the books are free. Well, I went to the grand opening this morning, and I have to say that the new branch is better than Barnes & Noble, and the books are free. I'm totally in love.

One of the great things about my neighborhood is that there's a network of canals throughout it, with landscaped walking paths. Unfortunately, most of the businesses built near the canals completely ignore them, just plunking down a building with the windows facing the parking lot and the all-brick rear facing the canal. There's one restaurant with its windows and a patio cafe facing the canal (and it's wildly successful, so you think they'd learn from the example). But now the library is built on the side of the canal, and the architects actually made use of that. The entire rear of the library, which faces the canal, is floor-to-ceiling windows, and that's where all the comfy reading chairs and study tables are. Some of the comfy chairs have little fold-out desks, so you can sit in a comfy chair beside the window and work, when you're not looking out the window at the lovely scenery. There's a little coffee shop attached to the library, and it, too, has windows overlooking the canal, as well as a patio cafe area on the side of the canal. I didn't get a look at their menu, but the lady who runs the shop used to be the pastry chef for the Four Seasons, and the pastries they had for the grand opening refreshments were to die for. The pastries and the location alone beat any nearby Starbucks, since there aren't too many Starbucks with sidewalk cafes overlooking a waterway instead of a street or parking lot. If they have anything resembling a chai latte, I may be in trouble.

Best of all, it's just a couple of blocks from my house, and I can walk there in less than ten minutes. If I want to take the scenic route along the canal paths, it might take me fifteen minutes. I may move in. I was practically swooning at how lovely it was, and I think I'm going to take some work there next week, just to soak up the atmosphere. Oh, and the divider between the children's section and the rest of the library is a wall made to look like a pirate ship!

The one downside is that my neighborhood library doesn't carry any of my books. They need to do something about that. They still don't have as many books as I'd like, in general, but there's plenty of shelf space to expand into. I could see this place becoming a real community gathering spot, since it's right in the middle of the neighborhood in such a lovely location.

And now I have to stay off my feet the rest of the weekend, since my knees are killing me. I don't know if it's the weather (a front came through last night), but the aching kept me awake for much of the night. I probably shouldn't have walked to the library, but I wasn't going to miss the opening. I did try to walk slowly and gently to reduce the pounding. Maybe if I stay on the sofa today and avoid going up and down the stairs I can sleep tonight without a lot of pain. I have books from the library and the Texas vs. Oklahoma game is on this afternoon.