Not In Cuba Anymore

Libraries are one of my favorite places on earth. I worked for the Miami-Dade Public Library System for nearly five years. Being around so many books and movies and other resources, was just wonderful, especially since I love to write. Writing a book on the ancient Maya? You can find resources at the library. Want to find that documentary your professor required, you are likely to find it at the library.

The Topeka and Shawnee Library does not disappoint. I'm usually there at least twice a week. Erin at the Reference Desk can vouch for that.

It's funny though, as much as I enjoy reading and writing, I never went to a library until I started to work there. When I was a little boy, in Cuba, my mother would take me to a bookstore a couple of blocks away from our house. There is where I fell in love with adventure stories, like Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, or his lesser known The Mysterious Island. But, alas, I never set foot in a library, except for the one at my high school, but that was just to print a homework assignment.

I don't know why it took me so long to go to a library, but once I did, I have enjoyed every moment, even its colorful cast of characters, which seem to show up no matter where a library is located. If you have children, don't wait too long to introduce them to the magic of books and libraries. I know Elena and I won't.