THE JOY OF BROWSING

By Andrea Plaziak

Head of Circulation, West Warwick Public Library

I’ve been reading the articles that appear in this column and have been impressed with the lists of reference sources that enable people to find books by their favorite authors or by authors who write similarly. People come to the library every day looking for this information and it’s wonderful that the library has such resources, along with terrific staff who help patrons each and every day find what they need.

Then there are patrons like me.

We come into the library, smile to the staff, sometimes we even wave, then we disappear into the stacks. We’re browsers. We delight in just walking up and down the stacks looking to see what authors’ works we might have missed reading, or finding an old friend that we’ve missed spending time with. Occasionally we come across an old favorite that is just begging us to read it again.

The hectic pace we set for all our other chores does not intrude on this joyous pastime. Leisurely we browsers wander in the stacks, fingering a volume written by John Gardner, or Ernest Hemingway, or one of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories. Is this the week to re-read The Murders in the Rue Morgue or The Raven, both well -known works by Poe? Or maybe some of his poetry – Annabel Lee, To Helen, To My Mother, or one short poem that I particularly like, Eldorado?

Maybe not, maybe this is the week for adventure. Let’s see. We have Dale Brown’s Chains of Command, Day of the Cheetah, Flight of the Old Dog; Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, The Hunt for Red October, Executive Orders; or maybe Jack Higgins’s On Dangerous Ground, The Eagle has Landed, or Eye of the Storm.

How about romance? Look—here’s Charlotte Vale Allen. Mixed Emotions and Dreaming in Color are only two of many to enjoy. French Silk by Sandra Brown, Prince of Magic by Anne Stuart, and That Camden Summer by Lavyrle Spencer round out that section very well, thank you.

Westerns! Can’t forget a couple of those. We’re familiar with Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. What about trying his Buffalo Girls or Anything for Billy? Has it been a long time since we read Don Coldsmith? Some of his works include Thunderstruck, Tallgrass, and South Wind. Before we leave the Fiction stacks: have you noticed how the titles of these books help to identify their genre?

Onward to the Mystery section! Yes, it is a separate section at my library. Sometimes it gets a little crowded here. We have many patrons who enjoy mysteries and are always looking to while away some of their leisure time with someone new. Let’s see. Jill Churchill’s Fear of Frying looks like fun. Hard Bargain by Barbara D’Amato features Cat Marsala, a freelance journalist. Haven’t read Robert B. Parker lately. Time to reconnect with Spenser and Hawk. Sudden Mischief and Chance are both here. Murder at the Baseball Hall of Fame and The Heaven Stone by David Daniel round out this trip to the library. But while wandering I saw a few old friends and one or two possible new ones. I’ve added them to my list. I’ll check them out on my next visit and maybe I’ll see you browsing in the stacks.