Jimmy Who?

Jimmy Who?


They come in all colours and covers, sizes and shapes. The brand new ones from the high street, this month’s best buys proudly displayed in shop windows. The once loved but now unwanted ones from charity shops. Browsing the shelves, touching, feeling, searching for the perfect fit. And then you find it. As you hold it eagerly in your hands, you’re just waiting to dip in. Looking at the content and flicking through the pages. Index, date of publication, back cover review. Skimming and skimming. It’s just perfect.

Ah, books. They are the fetish of many a respectable girl. Whether the choice is fact, fiction or special interest. The bizarre, the inspirational and the downright hilarious. The only difficulty is having enough shelves to house them all and enough time to read them all. It’s the promise of what’s inside written on those pages. Sometimes it’s an escape from reality. Other times the effects can be life changing after only 300 pages. And just like a favourite pair of shoes, some books can be enjoyed over and over again. Sometimes they just don’t fit. Try as you might, you persist, cramming your head into the content of the pages but still it pinches. So you give up on that one, moving on, knowing that reading is trial and error. Personal taste is personal.

Such is the demand for the write stuff that local libraries are upgrading to an automated system. A system that not only speeds up loans and returns but also frees up librarians valuable knowledge of their domain. You name it, they can find it or suggest something similar. What better place for one to indulge in their literary fantasies, guilt free. The only cost being the odd fine for returning a book late.
Even this has been overcome with an incredibly simple online service. Browsing reserving, renewing and reviewing. It’s all there. The virtual world of the community library is as sophisticated as the real one. Inside the warm, calm circle of the Deansgrange Branch on a Wednesday morning, seniors are being put through their paces. They stretch their minds as they learn hands on computer skills. I overhear the lesson, attended by a majority of ladies. Learning some email basics.
To: Subject: Send:
For a moment I marvel at these incredibly brave women for undertaking new learning skills. A whole world is opening up to them to enquire and communicate in WiFi.

It’s then that I consider, in fact, necessity is the mother of invention. These learners are striding forward into a world of education through technology and keeping up with the younger generation. Moreover, they are exploring a more economical option to stay in touch with their children and grandchildren. Loved ones who have had no option but to uproot and explore the globe for themselves. Once a week or every day, Skype and MSN afford us sound and vision into another world, cost free.

In these superstores of information we can borrow, buy, sell and download books and e-books. Talking books and ipods allow individuals to access novels and plays regardless of reading skills and abilities. The voice of a narrator and the sound effects brings the whole experience to life. Connecting with the characters, we feel their joy and their pain, their hopes and their fears.


The whole experience of hunting and gathering our paperback and hardback prizes to feed our minds and imaginations is a joy. However and wherever we acquire our fixes is as varied as the subjects themselves. Perhaps taking the opportunity to interface with the experts in bookshops and libraries or more randomly in charity shops, church fetes or online. Whatever our method, one thing is for certain, being Irish we all love a good story.


Patricia L. Murphy
086 6482651
nutrishon@gmail.com
7/2/11