Lately I’ve been shifting A LOT of books in the adult non-fiction sections of UDPL.  There are two reasons for this:  1) to lower the top shelves whenever possible in order to bring the books closer to eye level, and 2) to arrange the books in correct Dewey Decimal order.  Now mind you, some of the books’ subjects are of little or no interest to me.  These are the books that present absolutely no distraction as I handle them.  Boy, can I whiz through the Knitting section, for example.  I’m Speedy Gonzales with the Do-it-Yourself books, because I know I’m better off if I don’t try to do-it-myself!  As for Cookbooks, well I like to eat as much as the next person (well, maybe a wee bit more) but why would I want to cook the food if I’m already married to the best darn cook around, namely my wife Mary?  So these are books – and trust me, we have MANY of them in the Cookbook section – that also never get opened while I move them to and fro.

But put me in the Sports section, or Music, or History, and now you are talking about books that call to me, wooing me with a siren’s song to “go ahead, take a peek inside, you know you can’t resist learning more about me.”  Stop!  Have done!  I have work to do.  So, you see, books can be a distraction to me, as I’m sure they can be to you as well.

Then, even more enticing,  we have the lower 900s – the Travel section.  Talk about books just begging to be browsed!  Among the several fine series of Travel books, e.g., Fodors, Frommers, Lonely Planet, my go-to series has to be Rick Steves for Europe.  Mary and I particularly like his walking tours.  We are both able walkers and often prefer to be on our own, guidebook in hand, saving a little $$$ charged by a group tour, spending as much or as little time at each designated stop on the tour as our schedules allow.  Though don’t get me wrong.  If a tour looks too complicated or daunting on our own, sign us up for the group tour!

One of the best Rick Steves walking tours we’ve ever taken happened just last year — in May, 2016 in the scenic town of Dubrovnik, Croatia.  From his book Rick Steves Snapshot Dubrovnik  (914.972 Steve on our shelf) I’ll let him introduce you to what he calls Croatia’s single best destination, the “Pearl of the Adriatic” – Dubrovnik:

This magnificent medieval city, encircled by a stout wall and poking proudly into the sea, comes with an epic history and plenty of ways to idle away your vacation days.  Climb steep steps to the top of the city’s imposing stone walls, and stroll high above Dubrovnik’s patchwork of red roof tiles.  Promenade down the inviting main drag, dropping into an eclectic smattering of fine museums – history, art, folk life, war photography, and the Jewish and Orthodox faiths.  Hit the beach and go for a swim in the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic.

I’ll go one step further and rank Dubrovnik in my top 3 European destinations, along with London and Rome, it’s that nice.  Are you ready to book your flight?

Well, maybe you’ll start a little closer to home and take in the upcoming appearance of Rick Steves at the Keswick Theatre (they like the fancy spelling)  at 7:30 on the evening of March 26, 2017.  And why not plug his appearance because UDPL, along with the other Montgomery County libraries, is sponsoring the event.  Perhaps I’ll see you there!

In the meantime, I’ll be breezing through the Chemistry section, not to mention Computers, Fashion, Mathematics, and a few more, looking forward to the next time I visit the 900s to learn what destination  we should visit in our future travels.  Happy travels!