Quote:
Originally Posted by derangedhermit
The librarian of the adult wing of my hometown library refused my first attempt to check out books, when I was about 12. I told the juvenile wing librarian, who walked with me back to the other desk. She said: "Let him check out what he wants. He's already read all the books I have." It was an exaggeration, but not much of one. The periodicals and reference sections were on a small floor above the juvenile section, and I'd been through those, too, by that time, and she knew it. Encyclopedias are boring to read straight through. I only got through C of Compton's, I think it was, but further through Britannica - the latter had better writing. Dictionaries are better reading, there's something interesting on almost every page.
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This reminds me of own experience. When I was about 11 or 12 I was finally allowed to borrow books from the adult section of the library. My first book was Benjamin Thomas's bio of Abraham Lincoln. then i decided I was going to read all the books in the library. i divided it into 4 sections fiction, sf, philosophy and humor for starters Got through all the sf and the A's in fiction was a slower slog through the other 2 categories. then i went to college I figured I would pick up where I left off. To my dismay when i got my library card from the Boston Public Library( a great building by the way) I discovered they used the library of congress cataloging system rather than the Dewey decimal system so I sort of started over...lol. Fifty years later I still make feeble attempts to continue my goal. At least now that I am retired it keeps me busy..