One of my biggest fears about living in PNG was not having enough books to read. Maybe that's a silly fear, but I love books, and I love to read them, and the thought of having a whole ocean between me and the nearest public library or Barnes & Noble sent shivers down my spine. So I stuck secret stashes of books in the bottoms of my two trunks and may or may not have paid a small excess baggage fee to get them here.
And I now say, "Ha! How naive I was!" For honesty compels me to confess to you that I currently have no fewer than 40 unread books sitting on my shelf, 32 of which I have acquired since coming to PNG. You see, apparently other people had fears similar to mine, and stuck similar secret stashes into the bottoms of their trunks, and when they finish reading them, or when they leave the country, they give or sell them to people like me . . .
And really, who needs Barnes & Noble when you have The Wanted Board. On our intranet message board, under the "wanted" section, all you have to do is post "Green Eggs and Ham" (or whatever literary delight you happen to be craving) and some kindred Dr. Seuss lover who secretly stashed it will be sure to write and tell you that of course you can borrow it for as long as you like. Maybe someday I'll try that when I actually finish all the books I already have . . .
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When you've finished reading those you can find more to read at www.desiringgod.org
Blessings
James
PS Glad to know you are doing better!
Hi Juliann, You had me smiling through most of this post, since I too am a book lover! Even "Green Eggs and Ham" sounds good... I still love to read childrens books. Perhaps you'd better find room for a couple of those unread books in your backpack for the next survey trip, just in case something similar to the last trip happens. Then you can read aloud to everyone instead of "going crazy"! Also, I just have to mention, there IS a public library in Ukarumpa, I know because Sara opens it Saturday afternoon from 2 to 4. :-) Nancy
ha! This sounds exactly like me. I have over 200 books that I have on my to be read list. I was really happy to see tons of books in people's houses and also to find the community library. We're even thinking we might volunteer there when we arrive...
You might well be interested in following my book blog.
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