Until the whole chain went belly-up in an ugly case of corporate mismanagement, I used to walk to the Bibelot bookstore down in Canton to grab a cup of coffee and browse the new books. Usually I’d find something interesting, sit in a big chair, and read through the majority of it until either my eyes got tired or the kid came by to tap me on the shoulder at 11:45. About a year before I left the area, the store was emptied and lay silent, and my quiet zen pastime was lost. (and that zen was good to have after I split up with my girlfriend.)

This evening, I decided to walk across the street to the Catonsville Library to see what their selection was like, and to sign up for my first library card in ten years. I was pleasantly surprised by the selection, the atmosphere, and the computer facilities. The new fiction racks are filled with good hardcover books, the library is staffed by helpful volunteers and filled with people of all ages, and the computers are all current, working terminals with dedicated laser printers. In about three minutes, my Dewey Decimal days came back and I navigated to the computer learning section, where I found not only a good Powerpoint book (the reason for my visit—I have a freelance gig tomorrow) but an OSX book I’ve been wanting to buy, a book on CSS, and an autobiography of Gene Kranz, the former flight director at NASA.

The library also features a historical section with records of old Catonsville, so that Jen and I can research the house to find out what it originally looked like, who built it, and who first owned it.

Speaking of houses, the soulless, brick rancher across the street is on the market for $65K more than we paid for this house. That makes the energy bill sticker shock a little easier to take.