Thank you, Toronto Public Library, for including me in your ongoing feature about the people who frequent the library. I am ‘a bit’ late to post this on my blog, but as you know from the many late fines I’ve paid over the years, I’m always ‘a bit late’!
Meet Sarah and Cynthia…
“I’m a bookworm and I’ve loved public libraries since I was a child. Steeles branch has a special place in my heart. Why? Because of the kindness of the librarians there over the years when I struggled to recover from injuries caused by a car accident.
“Sarah and I bonded over a book. It was a PD James book and I really wanted to read it. But I was shocked at the long waiting list. I was #1341 on the list! I showed up at the library every two or three weeks to ask a version of the same question:
“What’s my number now?”
“After a while, I didn’t have to ask any more. Sarah would see me arrive and hurry to her computer to start checking.
“We’d share a laugh and sometimes I’d pretend to be outraged that I was nowhere near getting that book.**
“When my book was published, my librarians were among the first people to receive their own signed copies.
I think they were both happy and proud – after all, they had seen me on days when I could barely use a computer.”
**And yes – I did also get the PD James book! It was “Death Comes to Pemberley”, a perfect blend of Jane Austen sensibilities and PD James’ wonderful murder mystery skills.
Cynthia Reyes 