I am a mood reader. This—unsurprisingly—means that I read based on my mood or what I feel like reading. This is great because it means that I read a lot of different things (although I do read mostly Horror when it comes to fiction), but it also means that I don’t do a lot of series reading, re-reads, or assigned reading. Â
I bring up that last one because I have a confession—I haven’t read many of our Rogue Reads selections over the years.Â
I know. I know. Â
But I did read this year’s title, The Book of Delights, by Ross Gay, and I’m so glad I did. Â
It reminded me of one of my favorite books, The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. This book falls into the rare re-read category for me. And I think it’s because, like Book of Delights, it is a series of small “essays.” So I can pick and choose my favorites to re-read.Â
The author John Green may be familiar to you because of his career writing YA Fiction novels. The Anthropocene Reviewed, which started as a podcast before becoming a book, is his first foray into adult nonfiction. Â
The full title is The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet. Much like The Book of Delights, it takes the “mundane” parts of human existence and turns them into something interesting, impactful—and, dare I say, delightful.Â
What I find lovely about both writers’ respective works is how they discuss tough topics (Gay talks about his friend’s Leukemia, and Green talks about his Viral Meningitis, for example) and beautiful topics (celebrations and milestones are continued examples) with equal amounts of wonder and reflection.Â
Because all those things create this crazy thing that we call The Human Experience, these two books are so easy to re-read, at least partially. There is something there to match your feelings at any given time.Â
I re-read an essay in Green’s book about the history of Auld Lang Syne every year on New Year’s Eve. I’ve done this since 2019.Â
Chapter 14 of Gay’s Book of Delights is “Joy is Such a Human Madness,” and I’ve re-read it three times, and always when I’m feeling especially introspective and “artsy.”Â
Both books have the ability to say the exact right thing to me at the exact right time I need it.Â
And I hope this blog – maybe not this specific post, but the Library Connect Blog as a whole – is that for you.Â
This blog is – in a way – a type of creative nonfiction or a collection of essays (we call them blog posts, but I like to bend the rules a little) that don’t shy away from talking about the tough parts, the mundane parts, and of course the good parts of life. Â
Sure, some of our posts tie into specific events, so maybe they aren’t great for re-reading, but I like to think that there are plenty of posts that exist that you could go back and re-read – and that they, too, could say the exact right thing to you, at the exact right time you need it.Â
Beyond that – I want the library to be that for you, too.Â
I want you to stumble into a program you didn’t know was happening but that you found joy in. I want you to find the book that speaks to you on the shelf. I want there to be an empty, comfy seat next to a window when you really need to take a rest. Â
Because the library is here through the tough times, the good times, the mundane times – at the exact right time you need it. Â