THE LIBRARY HAS ENGLISH BOOKS, THANKS TO YOU!

Universal Books, or Globus, the Ukrainian bookstore; Natalia and Julia making selections; with Tanya, head of new books for the Library; Natalia with the helpful proprietor of the modern English language specialty bookstore, Booklines.


Oh what a shopping spree! Natalia, English teacher at the university, translator and consultant par excellence; Tanya, head of new books for the Library; Julia, an English club member; and I went to Lugansk yesterday and had a book-buying spree to beat the band, and the bank (to continue the alliteration)!

Imagine a Ukrainian bookstore with an eclectic mix of English language and Russian books, and then another bookstore more like those independents we loved in the States before Barnes and Noble and Borders, this one specializing in English language books, newspapers, DVDs, videos and lots of things English. Imagine going through shelves and shelves of great books and saying, "We'll take that, and that, and oh yes, that and, oh look, it's Mark Twain. We'll take that, too!" We were like kids in a candy shop.

The first stop was Universal Books, Ukrainian in lots of ways, including the exasperation of the sales people at the many books we kept adding to our pile, and then the need for a detailed receipt for them! Had to be handwritten, every book. Gee, how could we intrude on their time like this! The manager of the bookshop, however, a mild-mannered but jolly babushka, seemed happy at our spending spree! This bookstore has its charms.

The specialty English language bookstore, Booklines, has a wonderful proprietor who knows all his books and obviously loves every one. He answered questions, found and suggested books, and delighted in our wide-ranging interests. His shop is both old-fashioned and modern, with a computer, printer, scanner, security system, and friendly approach to selling books to people who share his passion.

But best of all, we spent 4,000 hgrvnia and got close to 300 books. In addition to this, Iryna and Natalia have already ordered books on learning English, dictionaries, grammar books for different proficiency levels, and related reference works from a Kyiv bookseller, a 3000 hgrvnia order. So this Lugansk trip focused on literature.

The Partnership grant of $900 or 7200 hgrvnia (at 8% exchange rate) goes a long way here. And the local staff and friends of the library made the most of it, with careful and thoughtful purchases that will open new worlds for English learners and readers, and keep on giving.

I felt like a national banker, just going around with my clients, and doling out the money, well YOUR money! Ukrainians think all Americans are rich, and I'll tell you I felt rich in more ways than one on this book-buying spree for the Starobilsk Library.

So what books did we buy? It's a long list, but here are some examples. We bought a series of classic American and English authors, from Thoreau and Twain to London, Hemingway and Steinbeck to Dickens and J.K. Rowling. We got contemporary detective stories and mysteries. We added lots of USA history, world history and geography. Poetry, short story anthologies and "cultural readers" were favorites. We got several Russian classics in English, including Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Ivano Franko. We got popular international authors like Portuguese writer Paulo Coelho, whose Alchemist and other stories are very popular here (something I just learned and have added to my reading list). And we got lots of great children's books, from classic fairy tales to modern stories beautifully illustrated.

It was worth the trip in 110F heat, and a car ride that featured a HEATER going full blast all the way.We roasted, but never complained. What we won't do for books!

We want to give special thanks once again for special people: Leo and Kathy, Howard and Don, Mindy and Andy, Richard (CoeCoe) and Bob, Linda and Kermit, Bev and Sandy, Tom and Suz, and teacherJudy Bauer and her students at Blacksburg New School in Blacksburg, Virginia, who made origami peace cranes, sewed them into mobiles, and sold them to raise money for their donation to a village library in Ukraine! What an incredible contribution, and what a surprise! Thanks also to all those who made gifts in Loren's memory, and all those who chose to remain anonymous. KUDOS AND OUR HEARTFELT THANKS. Starobilsk will cherish and always remember your generosity and your belief in the power of books to transform lives. May the peace cranes live on!