Bushwick #29, 7/18/07

First off, I want to say this'll be my last post for a little while. I don't know how long, but it's just that my days won't be as free to read and go to libraries anymore: I got a job. I know, unthinkable, but somehow or other, it happened. It's at a rare bookshop of all places, and it's actually more of a paid internship than a job, but either way. On to the library type stuff!

Haircut and other Stories was excellent; so good in fact that I bought You Know Me Al, also by Ring Lardner, at a used bookstore in Chicago. While there, I also noticed another book I'd been meaning to check out, and soon after getting back to this fine city I headed over to the Bushwick Branch to pick it up.

Branch: Bushwick
Location: 340 Bushwick Ave. at Seigel St.
Transport: bicycle
Book: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2007

This was a nice bike ride up towards that whole Williamsburg area, though due to an error reading google maps and a reluctance to change course I went the wrong way on a one way street longer than I maybe should have. There was plenty of room though...anyway what's done is done. The library was very nice, not in the best neighborhood I've seen but definitely not a bad one. It was a Carnegie branch, with the little balcony area over the main floor, though (like in many of these branches) the mezzanine was not open to patrons. It's one of the oldest branches, originally opening in a church basement in 1903 before moving to the current spot in 1908.

Since there were torrential rains Wednesday morning that I actually had to bike through, my sneakers were still wet at this point, which meant my dry socks also got wet. When I got to the library, after I dodged the angry kids on the steps (one on crutches) that the cop who was yelling at them seemed to have thrown out of the library, I sat down to hang out and read for a bit and took my wet shoes off. This flew for a while, half hour or so, when the same cop came up and told me I had to wear shoes. Why am I telling you all this story? I DON'T KNOW. But my shoes were pretty dry by that point, and then got totally re-soaked on the ride home when a truck forced me to ride through a giant puddle. Woo!

The library was nice though, lotsa kids hanging out, a couple playing chess, good time had by all. Now for a few pictures.



Long view, with the tower behind it.



Just the building.



Detail!

Don't get all sad everyone. I have a lot of books to read and soon little time to do it, and even less time to go to libraries, but I promise I'll be back before too long. Who knows, maybe having a job will mean I learn to...*shudder*...budget my time better. But, if for some reason it's way longer than I think it'll be, enjoy the rest of your summer! By reading!!!!