The Authors

Libraries of Our Lives is a multi-author blog. These are the 33 authors who have contributed stories so far. We welcome you to join us.

Rekha Vijayalakshmi

As  a person who needs books as much as food and water, I have spent most of my time outside of school, work, and home in libraries. They housed the Aladdin’s lamps that would transport me anywhere in the world from my provincial hometown. They were my safe haven in strange lands and on bad days. I owe them big time. This project is my thank you note – I have included ten libraries that were my second homes in various times of my life from 1979 to 2014. 

 

Jay Nair

I can’t imagine a world without books, or one without book places. I am very practical about the former these days – in most cases, if I can buy an electronic copy of a book, I would get that rather than a paper copy. But when it comes to libraries, that most delightful of all book places, I want the real thing,  for they offer you so much more than just their vast collection of books. Libraries were a big part of my childhood, and I hope I will find myself on a sofa in the reading room of my local library, a pile of books and magazines by my side ready to be savored, on many a lazy afternoon well into my sunset years.
 

Lata Hariharan

I love reading for fun as well as doing business research. Obviously now the tendency is to do everything online. However, this project has reminded me how precious libraries have been during my childhood and my kids’ childhood. It’s a place where one can forget about the outside world as well as the latest distractions from social media. It’s a place to just immerse oneself in the power of the written word. This project has triggered a renewed interest to go check out an old well-tested library or explore a new one.

 

Rajeev Soman

I was literally born into a house full of books and magazines. My father had already build up an extensive library at home and most of his time  after work was spent among books, at home, in the local libraries and the bookshops. It was but natural that I fell into the same groove. Little  has changed since then, one of the first things I seek out once I shift to a new city are the libraries. And my last purchase before I board a flight back from home is almost always a book or magazine from the airport bookshop. I came to know about his project very late but ever since it has been a delight reading about the various libraries, a few of which I myself had been a member. More importantly ,when I come across some of the contributions by the younger authors, it is a joy to know that reading has not died down as a hobby for the new generation!

 

Seema Richard

I was lucky to be surrounded by books in my childhood, because they have taught me many things outside school books. A library is a special place that exists to enrich our souls and make us human. The best thing about a library is that there literally is a book for everyone and there is no one who does not benefit by going there. As books combine fun with learning, they should be an integral part of every child’s life. This thought prompted me to start a library for the children of my neighborhood. I hope this project will help me gain more insights on how I can do a better job with my library.  

Ankith Nair

I completed my schooling from Loyola High School Pune in 2014.  At present  I am pursuing Mechanical Engineering in D.Y Patil College of Engineering Akurdi. The reason I love  this blog so much is that it really brings back old memories of visiting libraries and the different experiences associated with them. Reading the other articles makes  me relate them to my experience in one way or the other.

 

Librariesilove

Librariesilove  is a generic User ID that we created to post libraries shared by those who do not have WordPress accounts. The  name of the  author will be listed within the post, with permission. If the author gives us a brief profile, with a picture, we will display it on this page.

 

Authors who have used the generic id are:

Andrew Karlin,  Anjana Kurien, Annu Koshy, Athula Balachandran, Cecilie Stuvenberg, Chloe Stricklin, David De Giglio, Divya Khanna, Irene Kruse,  Jaya Ravi, Mala Sundar, Mauro Felipe , Rajeev Nair, Sivakumar Thekkenaduvath , Sujai Pillai , Rajeev Soman, Suman S, Andy Foster, Okko  Kuivalainen, Partha Sarathy, Ankith Nair, Lakshmi Nair and Gokulraj R.

 Young Authors Aditya Nair, Anand Anil Nair, Devika P,  Radhika Sreelal, Sid Shiv  and Siddh Rajput  (see profile below.)

 

Siddh Rajput

Books are my “Anytime Friends”….they literally are there with me anytime !!! I love reading different types of books. But my favourite ones are Mysteries & Adventure and  non-fiction books about Dinosaurs, pre-historic eras and Space & Aviation amongst many others. I could spend hours in a library, reading as many books as I possibly could. Apart from reading, I love sports, especially soccer & cricket. I enjoy swimming too !!!  I think I’d become a paleontologist or a soccer player when I grow up (very diverse, I know). I’ve lived in India, Malaysia, United Kingdom & Canada so far, pretty good considering I’m only 10, isn’t it 😉 ???