ABC... Easy as 123...

The first book I ever remember reading was a children’s book. A Little Golden Book. The flat cardboard ones with a golden spine. I had the Little Toy Boat book and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood book. There are so many Little Golden Books out there. Then I started reading a little bit longer books, like the Disney ones. They’ve got different ones like for Halloween, and a Christmas Disney Book and those Big Books like the ones I’m reading now. I think they’re “coffee-table” books. Then I started reading comic books. And I still go haywire with comics!

Whenever I can, I read books about Nashville. I love to look at the pictures while I’m reading about things. I read so many different books now, it’s hard to keep track. I like to read the Princess Dianna books too; I have lots of those! Well, sometimes I use a magnifying glass to read, but I can’t read the small print so this helps me see the words better.

I rent/borrow/check-out CDs now to read-- they used to be called “Book on Tape” and now they’re called “Audiobooks.” Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil was the first one I ever read; it was on cassette tape. This [format] makes it a lot easier for me to read the adult novels since the words tend to be so small. I also loved when Mom used to read the old blue Hardy Boys Books to me.

As an adult, I found the library again. And it is fun and quiet and helps you socialize a little bit. Brandon started taking me to the library and we haven’t stopped since we started. We go together once a week, every Thursday. I have friends at the library who help me find things. Josh and Ms. Carolyn and everyone there [at the Saint Andrews Branch] are so nice. It’s nice to have a good conversation and say hi and all that. They make me laugh and I made them laugh.

When I get there on Thursdays, I go up to the Return Desk and bring the stuff back when I’m finished watching movies or T.V. or books. Then I head on over to the movie section to see what I haven’t seen. Some I have and some I haven’t. I don’t get the ones I have at home. But it gets hard to find ones that you haven’t seen when you go every week. If I have ordered in a new audiobook that’s not from our library [using the Inter Library Loan System] then I go to the Reference Desk. Sometimes you can’t find everything you want to read in one place and you can borrow them from another library

I was able to read the Bond books and the Bourne Identity book series through the library. I read a book with Martin Short and it was funny (I Must Say My Life as Humble Comedy Legend). With books, I pick out things that I normally know a little bit about and then want to know more-- like being a spy. And Harry Potter. I enjoy reading those a lot. But like with the Bond book—there are some differences in the book compared to the movie and I like to learn and read and hear about the differences.

The library is a relaxing place. I’m very familiar with the area and I go off on my own and get to look through the movies and books. I enjoy being able to do that and not have to always ask people questions. But I know if I had a question, there are many friends there to help me out.

There’s a wealth of knowledge and it’s easy access for any and all people. There are libraries all over so if you like to read and want to know more about anything really… that’s the place to be.

~John Joyner