My daughter works at our local library which is on my way home from work. Yesterday, I decided to stop in and say a quick "hi" to her and see how her day was going. She works at the circulation desk and no one was in line, so I just hung out there and we gossiped a little about what was going on in her day.
A customer walked up to check out books with her two little kids in tow. I moved aside so my daughter could do her job and I headed to my favorite sections.
This is where the trouble began. If I had just finished our conversation and said, "Okay sweetie, I have to go now," everything would have been fine. But nooooo, something was calling me from the inner most shelves like a tractor beam tugging at the Millennium Falcon.
I didn't need to pick up any books. I already have plenty on my night stand. Most likely though, I would look around for a little and not find anything, tell my daughter "goodbye," and head home.
Of course that's not what happened.
Libraries have this magical, serendipitous power. Fate can place a book that you never knew you needed to read on the top shelf of the stack you pass, someone can cough loudly next to you and you look over and see this book cover right in your line of sight. Some unknown force makes you reach out to grab the book and you flip to the summary on the back cover.
You can't put it down now. You know you have to take it home and read it.
Yesterday, seven books caught me in their spell. Could I have written their titles down and gotten them a different time when I needed another book?
But I was drawn to them in this moment and I let the serendipity lead me right to the circulation desk where my daughter checked out all the books for me.
I know I probably won't finish all of them, but I figured it also helps the library to check out lots of books. In a time when funding for our libraries, especially in Ohio is scarce, it helps to show that they are being used often!
So go to your local library to support them and let serendipity take over.
