Good Omens

Saturday afternoon stretches out lazily. There's no homework to finish. No papers to write or books to read or problem sets to solve. No exams to study for. Several hours with no demands at all. It's the perfect time to get acquainted with the school's library.

Even in late October, California is sunny and warm. The library is several blocks away, and the walk over is pleasant and drawn-out.

Four stories tall, it sits on the border of two school campuses, next to the student health center.  The entrance is beneath a walk-way, which connects the original building to a second, newer one.  The doubling of space makes the library feel larger than itself.

Swiping a student ID card grants access to the building. A quick climb up the stairs reveals the main level. To the left is the entrance to the skyway that grants access to the other half of the library. That side is mostly reference material. The stacks are on this side.

The stacks seem to exert a magnetic force. Computers and reading rooms are all but ignored on the walk to the amazing stacks, which house the literature collection. The library may be four stories tall, but the stacks have been compressed so that there are seven levels of them. The space is tight, nearly claustrophobic. All the better to pack in even more books.

The stacks only connect to the main library on a few levels. A metal staircase  runs up one side, and tiny desks are crammed in on the sides of it. The classification system is unfamiliar, but it doesn't take too long to descend to the fantasy section, all the way at the bottom. Looking for these books is like descending into a cave. It's fitting.

Terry Pratchett is supposed to be a good author. His Discworld series inspired fanatical reactions in a few people in high school. Unfortunately this library doesn't have a single one of the 30+ books in that series. At least not on the shelves. It's not that surprising, given how limited the fantasy section is. This is a research library, after all, and the focus is different from the libraries in high school and middle school.

What it does have turns out to be even better: a novel called Good Omens that was co-authored by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Gaiman has written some excellent books, so any chance to read more is well worth taking. And a co-authored book seems like a much more gentle access point to this prolific author whose inspires such ardent fandom.

The book is carried almost reverently back up through the stacks to the main level of the library. There it's checked out with the assistance of a computer. Then back up to the dorm, and the grassy field outside it. A perfect reading spot is discovered, and the book is promptly devoured in the lazy afternoon sun.