So I recently signed up for Netflix, which I love. Having been out of the country for 6 months and focused on travel for the past year, I'm totally out of date in my films. So netflix is perfect for some of the pop culture catch up I've been needing, plus its way more affordable and convinient than any alternative. Plus, lets be real here - I'm unemployed, and there are only so many hours of law and order one should watch on any given day.

So like I said, I'm in movie heaven. But here's the thing - I kinda miss reading! There is something really magical about a good book, where every word is chosen so carefully. Books have character actors and props and settings and scene changes and mood lighting and everything movies have, but all the work is done by two people, you and the author. with just words and imagination, you and the author become intimate strangers working together to create your own spectacular production. Amazing. This is not only why I read books, but why I read tv scripts before I watch a show. I like participating in the realization of the story. This is also why I love tv shows like Lost, where the writers insist the audience do an equal amount of work. The writers have created a mystery that is meant to be read, read into, infered from, and speculated about. In addition, books make frequent appearances on screen, offering clues and subtext to the interested viewer. You practically need a readers companion to fully understand the show, and it would have to include stephan king, watership down, the third policeman, the bible, owl creek bridge - oh, and a working knowledge of symbols and imagery attached to Roman Gods, Buddhist philosophies, and Egyptian hieroglypics wouldn't hurt.

As much as I enjoy movies and television, my first love is reading. My mom is a reading teacher, and as a child, she kept my imagination well fed with a steady supply of books and frequent trips to the libary. When I was 10, my brother and I were almost kicked out of the library for deshelving books. The librarian simply couldn't believe two children were planning on borrowing and reading so many books in the allotted 14 days. (hah, proved her wrong!) Six years later, I got my first job and that same librarian became my first boss.

People are reading again in this country on a much broader scale than they were ten years ago. Amazon and Borders and Barnes and Noble helped make books glossy and intriguing and appealing again. Popular shows like Oprah Winfrey and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart feature authors and have helped encouraged dialoge about new authors and titles. People are reading and buying and talking about books, which helps increase the knowledge base and critical thinking skills of our country (which lets face it, could really use some help). As the publishing industry turns a profit, they are able to publish more books and it is once again an attainable dream to earn a living as an author. But with all of this stimulation in the literary world, libraries seem to be left behind in the dust.

I think the American Library system is due for a makeover. I have some pretty extensive thoughts about it, but i think this post is long enough already. But i've totally got a plan to make libraries the hip place to hang, and financially independent institutions. And don't think I can't, I rock the pop culture :)