Last Monday morning, I came to work to find the elevator doors opening and closing constantly and refusing to move to the first floor, the reservation system for the public computers denying access to everyone, the library catalog refusing to tell anyone what books we had, and our library email not working so I couldn’t let our director know the state of confusion on the second floor. Then the phone started ringing with all the people who were notified that they had an eBook waiting and couldn’t download it! I had a sudden need for a sense of humor. I went to the 817 Dewey Decimal section where one finds humorous essays by writers like Nora Ephron, Lisa Scottoline, Dave Barry, Ray Romano and Paula Poundstone; I put up a humorous books display on the second floor.
Erma Bombeck’s newspaper column use to put me in a good mood for the day, when she and I were both raising children; I can’t weed her books from our collection, as I’m sure there are still people raising children who need to see the funny side of everyday life. Nora Ephron died last week but her books on aging such as I Remember Nothing and I Feel Bad about My Neck are still amusing and are in large type as well as regular print. We also have DVDs of her movies: You’ve Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally. Lisa Scottoline’s Why My Third Husband Will be a Dog will bring a laugh. For the men; Ray Romano’s Everything and a Kite, Mike & Mike’s Rules for Sports and Life or any of Dave Barry’s numerous books should put you in a good frame of mind.
Why not come and browse the entire 817 section or our display? You will be sure to find something to amuse you.
Phyllis Rogan, Reference Librarian
Steele Memorial Library