Honestly, at this point, it’s no secret that I love books.  I can’t travel without at least two because you never know….you might get trapped on a delayed train (been there), you might get stuck in a 3-hour-long customs line (just survived that, too), you might have to stave off an uprising by reading out loud to soothe the troubled masses (ok, I haven’t done that yet, but I’m not putting it outside the realm of possibility).  And while e-books from Overdrive do, indeed, make a lot of sense for travelers who don’t want to lug a physical book along with them for the duration of their trip, I live in abject terror of batteries dying, which is why I tend to pack both my Kindle and (at least) two physical books (usually from the library) with me whenever I’m gone more than an over night.

This week, I’m getting some dissertation research done (look for a Postcard Post coming up later in the week), and while I was standing in the afore-mentioned 3-hour-long customs line, a chatty person in line noticed the barcode, while snooping at the title of the book in my hand (which was Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, by Paul Tremblay).

“You take library books on trips with you?”  the Individual said, with incredulous awe.

“Um…yes?”  I said, forcing myself to look up from said book and act nice for a moment.

“But…aren’t you afraid something might happen?” This Individual queried, in the same tone that horror movie characters usually reserve for the question “Did you hear that ominous moaning noise coming from the basement?”

“Umm…”  I said, eloquent as always.

“I would never take a library book so far away with me!”  Said Individual, with mounting righteous indignation.

And this is where the conversation fizzled.

Because that is precisely one of my favorite things about library books–they travel.  They go on adventures.  They get to go to the beach, or to the mountains; they get to go on planes and trains, and in cars, and on boats; they probably log more miles in travel that most of us will in any given year.  And often, they come back with some small story about the journey they’ve taken.

Now, we all love library books, and we all know that taking care of them is a very good thing.  Not letting your library book go swimming, or stay out in the sun too long, or fall down a mountain is always a good idea.  But I can’t tell you how happy it makes me when a book comes back with make-shift bookmark, like a ticket stub, or an airline napkin, or receipt from Far Away, still tucked inside it–or even artwork, like the kind we got last weekend, pictured above, which, I think, depicts a Prince and Princess at the beach, under an umbrella.

Because it means that these books have lived.

It means that you, dear readers, have taken that book out into the wide world, and made it part of your personal history.  You have added to the story of that book (not just the story in the book) by bringing it out into the world with you, and then bringing it back to share with the rest of us.  Those small tokens of travel, adventure, or a lived life that are in those pages are a testament to the power of stories in our lives, as well as to the power of Libraries to bring so many people together in love of those stories.

So, by all means, go and take your books out with you to wherever your adventures take you.  Take good care of them, and good care of yourself, and make lots of memories together.  Trust me, it makes all of us–the books included–better for it.