The Little Book

I just finished reading one of the sweetest books I think I have ever read. It wasn’t really like any of the other books I usually pick out. I was at the Central Library browsing through the novels and I was feeling very overwhelmed. Most of ya’ll reading this have probably been to the Central branch so you know what I’m talking about but just in case you haven’t I’ll try my best to describe it.

I think that the most remarkable thing about the central library is simply the huge amount of books that it has. There are four floors filled with bookshelves that are in turn stuffed with books. Even though I think there may actually be too many books to just go in and casually look for one to read, I absolutely love to go to this library. The reason that I just love this particular branch is that whenever I enter through the front doors I feel just like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. The first time that I ever went to the central branch was on one of my first dates with Sam and he knew that I love to read so he took me there. As we stood in the middle of the first floor looking up at the tall wall of windows and the four floors of books, I was speechless. That’s when it hit me. I instantly got this picture in my head of when the Beast opens the door to his massive library and Belle prettily gasps in delight. I know this is a really childish reason to love a library but Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie and I like remembering one of my first dates with Sam whenever I go there. Anyway, the image stuck and I get the best feeling just walking into the Central Library.

So, getting back to what I was originally talking about, I was wandering around the fiction section not really knowing how to start deciding on a book when I got a call. It was Sam and he was calling from the floor above. He had been looking for books on international business and especially banking in China. Needless to say he was pretty bored and told me that he was ready to leave immediately.A really little book on the shelf in front of me caught my eye so I grabbed it and headed to meet him on the first floor to check out the books. I didn’t really even look at the novel that I had hastily decided upon until we got into the car. I read the back of it and was surprised to see that it was described to be “a book about the perfect marriage.” I wasn’t necessarily excited about reading it because I usually go more for exciting, travely, historical type books but I was intrigued by this description. In most of the books I have read, marriage is either not explored very much or it is given a somewhat negative connotation. Judging from the back cover, this book was about an eighteen year old girl named Annie and her new husband, 20 year old Carl, living in the late 1920’s – early 1930’s and putting Carl through law school. It sounds kind of boring but once I had read the first page I just couldn’t put it down. Carl and Annie were so endearing. They had this open pure love for each other that neither their money problems, one room living quarters, or Annie’s unexpected pregnancy could taint. They took each day at a time and cherished small things like eating dinner together at the cafeteria where Carl worked and walking together in the early morning. They really did have a perfect marriage of trust and selflessness even though they had very little time to spend with each other and had many financial difficulties. I just can’t stop thinking about this book and recommend it to anyone who appreciates sentimental things and could use a simple relaxing read. I love the title too because it reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses that I happened to write my creative essay around. The book is called “Joy in the Morning” by Betty Smith.