Librarian, Part II

The coworker and I discussed the virtues of the writings of C.S. Lewis, especially the need for such clear-headed thinking so frequently demonstrated by our students and the choices they had made in their lives. My coworker has not read much by Lewis, and I have ready nearly everything by Lewis, and I want to get more into that library than just two fantasy series already there. As she suggested, having a better quality library could bring about better thinking among the students. We'll see.


However, today marked a difference in my usual interactions with the students in that I had more library time when they were available to come to it than I normally have. At one point, another teacher brought in two young men that were looking for something to read over the upcoming holiday weekend. I knew one of them, but the other was unfamiliar to me. The former kept trying to suggest books to the latter (I'll call them "Connor" and "Zeke" to protect the innocent).

Connor kept pointing to books that included varying levels of gore and violence, while Zeke was looking for something deeper and of better quality. Then again, Zeke was also interested in reading "Mein Kampf," which was not in circulation due to its questionable content. He commented on the fact that it might seem odd that he, being Jewish, would want to read Adolf Hitler's book, but then he revealed that he had relatives that survived the concentration camps. He wanted to learn more about the twisted mind behind those horrific experiences, but I could not help him.

A few minutes later, I heard him commenting to Connor about the "Left Behind" series. I quickly finished what I was doing in the office and went into main library room. I spoke to Zeke about his interests in books and then led him to a shelf with works by C.S. Lewis. First, I suggested "Out of the Silent Planet," but when Zeke made it clear that he needs a somewhat easy plot to capture his interest, I switched to "The Magician's Nephew." Zeke seemed confused so I asked if he had ever read the Chronicles of Narnia. He said he had not, but he had seen the most recent movie version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Hearing that he had liked the movie, I pressed him to take the first book of the series. He did. I'm eager to hear what he thinks of it.

Later, as my coworker and I continued our tasks in the library when everyone else had gone, she turned to me and said, "Bill, do you realize that you convinced a Jewish boy to check out a book by C.S. Lewis?!"

I replied, "Yes! It was on my mind the entire time he and I were talking. Given his interest in the Left Behind series, I figured a switch to the Chronicles of Narnia would just give him a better literary experience. Yes, it was on my mind the whole time."