Among the books I read in the library in 2008 was a tome containing biographies of all American presidents up to that time. The tome reported that President John F. Kennedy lost his virginity when he was 17. It also reported how being stricken by polio made President Franklin D. Roosevelt more sensitive to the problems of other people.
Of the magazines I went through in the library, the ones that had a strong impression on me were those with colourful pictures of beautiful women. I admired the clear blue eyes of those women. Unfortunately, I can't recall the names of the magazines, which says much about my lack of interest in their contents.
Then in 2011 when I was a first year student at the University of Nairobi (I dropped out of JKUAT in 2009), I again made the Kenya National Library the centre of my life. This time, in addition to reading books and magazines, I browsed the internet that was provided for free in the library. While browsing, I discovered Goodreads.com - a wonderful social networking site for book lovers.
The book I recall reading at the library in 2011 was a voluminous dictionary of quotes. I liked quotes in the dictionary that had been extracted from the Bible; they touched my heart in a way they had never done before. Oh, how I have wished to add that dictionary of quotes to my home library!
Over the years since 2011, I have made a number of visits to the Kenya National Library - though not as frequently as I used to do in 2008 and 2011 due to my inability to afford bus fare to the library. And during some of those visits to the library, I have found a book or two that have electrified me.
At one time in 2013 for instance, I came across Dr. Myles Munroe's The Spirit of Leadership in the reference section of the library. Even though I didn't read much of the book, I was invigorated by an anecdote in it that challenged me to awaken the spirit of leadership in me.
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Yesterday, I decided to spend my day at the Kenya National Library after having been away from the library for more than three years. Because my head felt groggy (something I attribute to lack of exercise and writing in the past ten days), I hoped to find a book in the library that would move me deeply to a point of making me feel whole again.
As I headed to the library in the morning, I could feel my mind brightening up in anticipation of what I would read. When I entered the library compound, I noted that the old building that used to house the library had been demolished. The library was now in a new bigger building that looked classy when I went in.
Well, the books I perused at the library didn't move me deeply. And I was a bit disappointed to find that the library's internet was down. Nonetheless, I enjoyed being surrounded by hundreds of books. It made me wish the library was within walking distance from home.
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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on how I have read in a national library, you might also enjoy another one on "Be Inspired Before You Expire".
