Mysteries, magic, joy, puppies...find it all at your local library

Libraries!

Don’t you just love books? I do! I love reading and being around books and there is no better place to spend one’s time than in a library. As a former librarian, I might be a bit prejudiced, but I really don’t think so.

Many writers entice their readers by weaving their stories between aisles of tomes. I’d like to share a few of those authors and their books with you.

For our youngest readers, in “Biscuit Loves the Library” by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, a frisky golden retriever pup pads through towering bookcases to join storytime with the children. Some libraries actually provide reading sessions with dogs, where children practice reading aloud to avid canine listeners. They gain confidence while building reading skills. For both story loving preschoolers and early readers, “Biscuit Loves the Library” is written at easy reader level.

“The Library,” written by Sarah Stewart and beautifully illustrated by David Small, is a picture book for all ages, from child to senior. It speaks of a love of books so big, that books take over Elizabeth Brown’s whole life. Honestly, Elizabeth could be my sister. She is my kindred spirit. In a lifetime of reading, Elizabeth grows a whole library all by herself.

If you like magical places, the library Harry Potter used in Hogwarts School of Wizardry is the best mystical library around, although the newer adventure fantasy “The Invisible Library” by Heather Lyons gives Hogwarts a challenge. In this series books become treasures that escape time and are moved, hidden and found again in unexpected places.

In the movie “National Treasure: The Book of Secrets,” we are given a glimpse of the largest library in the world. The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. houses more than 38 million books and printed materials, including recordings, photographs, maps and sheet music. It is open to the public, but only high ranking government officials have library cards. You can, however, apply for a reader card with photo ID and browse all you want. It’s well worth a visit.

About the President’s Book of Secrets mentioned in the movie? Officials say that it’s a myth. But I have to wonder. Who would really tell? I love a good mystery and if you can’t travel as far as D.C., Tehachapi has a new library on Green Street with plenty of books, and they will take your library card.

Last but not least of my library themed picks, I pay homage to the writer of all those books that end up in libraries, both personal and public. As written on the book flap of this very unique publication, “‘The Thirteenth Tale’ is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Author Diane Setterfeld will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter, and in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.” Well, of course I was skeptical of such high claim. And had to read it for myself.

A modern day gothic, Setterfeld weaves and layers several stories. The story of the main character. The story of her employer. The stories that her employer tells in pieces, broken by field trips and contemplation. And there is a cat. A story is always better with a cat. And houses that are haunted. And the people both haunted and haunting. It’s a gritty story, not for the weak. It touches the worst in humanity and the best. Perhaps the book’s most redeeming factor is that it ends. And in the ending, you find peace with all the emotions that the story unraveled in the reading along the way.

Good books. Good reading .

*Midge Lyn’dee is a fictional character used for the purpose of entertainment though the reviews are real and sincere.