Boring? It’s Not!

            As I tried hard to talk to the little cute second grade girl in a way to find out what might pique her curiosity or interest her at the nonfiction area I heard the mother said “Nonfiction seems so boring.” The instant I heard her comment I found my heart sank and the energy was leaking from inside of me. The mother told me the school requires their pupils to read nonfiction, in addition to fiction. Asked if there was a list of recommendation, the mother said no.

            Failure seemed to favor me that afternoon for, one subject after another; one area followed by the other, all I got from the girl’s mouth was “I don’t know.” Finishing with the child, who was the main character in this case, I tried my charm to “enquire” the mother. “What TV programs does she like to watch?” “Any pet at home?” “What seems to occupy her room the most, dolls, pillows, etc?” “What does she like to talk about at home, in the car, etc?” The answers generated by those questions were ambiguous and none provided enough clues for me to proceed the reference interview. Then by the science section I heard the mother said the boring word. Her comment pushed me farther away from what I tried to solve the “mystery.” Indeed, they said “thank you” and left me there with a sense of failure: I failed my little patron. That’s what I was feeling as I stumbled back to the desk with heavy shoulders and a broken heart.

            How I want to win, to win the attention of that little girl, to win her interest at talking to me, to win her trust, and to win over the odds and discover what truly interests that cute little second grader. Yet, I failed to turn the coin that afternoon and allowed the mother and daughter to go home empty-handed. What did I miss? What subjects did I fail to bring up? Or was I lack of charm talking to small children? At the desk, I taunted myself imagining what Lynette, my branch manager, might lecture me. “Mei-Wan, let it go. You are too personal.” Ha…that’s her usual way to coach me: no one is able to win at every battle.

            Nonfiction is not boring. At youth, I was discouraged to read anything by my father. He didn’t like the idea of me reading other stuff except textbooks or things assigned by teachers. No knowledge of library, don’t mention about public library, my world was as small as a well with tiny opening facing to the sky. The sight of one of my classmates engrossed herself at reading on the commute train almost everyday on our way home was embedded in my brain still vivid as I recalled my childhood, and my school years. Somehow she hooked herself up with our class head teacher who was fresh from recent graduation. The two of them were very close. Classic literature was the new teacher’s specialty. She introduced the thirst of literature to my classmate and the student just took off. How envied I must have been for I still remember her profile reading a book on the crowded train.

            Nonfiction is not boring. Facts and knowledge are fundamentals and solid foundations to bring out curiosity, creativity, and imagination. Those three are given gifts at our birth. Because of them, the world is a playground decorated with potentials, hopes, and dreams. The children living in this high tech society are lucky and unfortunate. At one hand, they are lucky because information and infractstructure seem to grow exponentially over night and one doesn’t have to pay much to acquire them. On the other hand, children nowadays are deprived of the fun to create their own imagined toys, to much cherish what they could have, or to appreciate the convenience and handiness of materials and goods. At my childhood, I had to make my own bamboo gun and locate my own seed bullets to fight with my peers. Using the used caps or lids, I made my own musical instruments to play with my mates. One had to be creative to make things to fill one’s childhood at my youth. Being poor didn’t take away the joy being a child.

            Nonfiction is boring? Of course not! Books at the nonfiction areas wake up a person’s hunger for answers. One fact related to another sharpens a person’s sense about the world around her/him. Knowledge of other cultures narrows the gaps and allows a person to appreciate valuable treasures another race might own. Reading and studying reduce misunderstanding about a culture, increase a person’s saving in knowledge and education, invite acceptance of other people from different regions, and enhance a person’s self-awareness.

            Nonfiction is not boring. 
            All I ask is to please keep the door open so I can enter and introduce the delicious foods on the plate. Next time when the girl comes in again, I would ask her “Do you see a rainbow?” “Do you like the colors of a rainbow?” “Why are there 7 colors in a rainbow?” “Do you want to know why?” 
            Don't give up too soon. Give me time and be patient with me. You might take home a book that might change your life. Who knows? And that’s the charm of a public library.