Stephanie Evanovich is the bestselling author of Big Girl Panties and The Sweet Spot. If you attended this past ALA Midwinter in Boston or ALA Annual 2014 in Las Vegas, hopefully you had the chance to swing by our booth and meet her. And if you did, you know she is absolutely hilarious. Stephanie's third book, The Total Package, goes on sale today, and to celebrate, she's stopped by LLF to share her love for libraries with us.
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I loved the library even before I learned to read when I used to feed the night deposit box with whatever books my mother was returning. The library was where we went when it was either too cold or too hot to play outside. I wasn’t aware of the public “shhhhhh” section of the library because in the children’s room, unless you were creating a real ruckus, you had a lot of freedom.
I remember my school librarian more clearly. The library was a cozy spot in the basement of my old elementary school—which really was a century-old building. I proudly checked out my first book on Helen Keller for my first book report.
Librarians have always been nice to me. I may be dating myself here, but one of them told me to hang on to the recording of the movie 1776 because she was tired of me checking it out all the time. Yes, libraries have always been about more than just books. The Ocean Township Public Library was where I grew into a romance reader when I first discovered Wifey by Judy Blume.
Libraries are places of both freedom and support. It doesn’t matter if you’re a reader or an author. The library is a refuge—a sanctuary where you can get lost in the stacks. You have to think of your local library as a community within a community—where else can you find professional access to such a depth of resources, to local events and to music and movies? I’m grateful that libraries and librarians have been incredibly supportive of my work. From that little kid sneaking a peek at Wifey to becoming an author myself, libraries continue to hold a special place in my heart.
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Thanks Stephanie! The Total Package goes on sale today, so dive in to this steamy rom-com about a hunky football player whose big NFL comeback requires him to win back the spirited woman he dumped years earlier.
-Amanda