Score!

The local library is a favorite haunting ground for me. Suffice it to say it is laden with books. Books. My very own vice.

On top of it all, it is embraced like a nest in the middle of a great big park with trails and ponds and trees and fountains. There are ducks. There are squirrels. There are even red-eared slider turtles in the big fountain. It is a happy place.

I often set up shop in the lower level of the library. From there I can see the large fountain and watch the ducks swim around, dodging the turtles as they come up for air. A couple of weeks ago, I even saw a momma duck lead her baby duckies out on a stroll.

This library has an interesting corner. Over there by the bathrooms, where there is not much foot traffic, behind the staircase, is a bookshelf. On that bookshelf are books. These books have been stamped "Free." On occassion I peruse and find some interesting book or other that I may never have otherwise come across. I take some home with me.

Today, though... Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses. Right there in hardback. Just sitting there waiting for me. I've been wanting to read this for years.