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+++
title = "Libraries"
author = ["Michał Sapka"]
date = 2024-05-21T21:50:00+02:00
categories = ["blog"]
draft = false
weight = 2001
abstract = "The coolest places out there"
+++
You may have noticed that I've added quite a lot of media reviews recently under the name of "brain rots".
Yup, I've returned to watching and reading fiction.
But since space if not made of gum and book publishers are [at war](/blog/2024/book-size/) with the remaining shelf space I've still got, buying is not an option.
This led me back to an old friend of mine - library.
There's so much _magic_ involved in renting a book!
It is fashionable to have house stuffed with art.
I fully get it - the only reason I have not bought many more bookcases is my wife.
I'd overflow the apartment with books, music and old games.
But I would not read all of that.
I am software engineer, and it allows me for a comfortable life.
Buying _full_ set of _Discworld_ is not out the question.
I won't have time to enjoy them, and before finishing I'd buy something else.
In the same time library books have seen a lot.
They were touched by a lot of greasy fingers, seen a lot of toilets.
Just look at those two.
Both are still fully usable, despite the tired look.
{{< img-c "lib1.JPEG" >}}
Lady of the Lake and The Heaven Makers.
I hate such oversized reissues as we have here, with Witcher.
{{< /img-c >}}
{{< img-c "lib2.JPEG" >}}
They have seen better days
{{< /img-c >}}
There is something beautiful that I am only just another person who can enjoy them.
It has a calming effect on me, which I desperately need.
Now, I use a very small location of Krakow Library network.
I am mostly interested in SciFi[^fn:1] and the selection of "fantasy and scifi" is _very_ small.
We've got some great classics, but the likes of Dune or Hyperion are missing.
When I open online bookstore, the selection is overwhelming, even if Poland publishing stats are a joke.
Having a small set of books to choose from allows for discovery and randomness.
Now, I knew of _The Heaven Makers_, but most likely I would never bother in the vast sea of the greatest books ever.
Here?
Having it my hand?
Risking nothing?
It was an instant pick.
Libraries have a distinct soul.
Slow, quiet, full of surprises.
We need to preserve them at all cost.
{{< img-c "lib4.JPEG" >}}
And they come with their own badgadge of experience.
In Poland such stamps indicate when the books is to be returned.
{{< /img-c >}}
[^fn:1]: with age comes acceptance.
I no longer read what I think I should enjoy, but rather what I will enjoy.
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