Ah, National Library Week - a time to celebrate the magical world of books, those unsung heroes known as librarians, and the sacred spaces where knowledge abounds. But wait! As if that wasn't reason enough to rejoice, today also marks National No Housework Day! Yes, you read that right. That's an official invitation to set aside the mop, drop the laundry basket, and pretend that those dust bunnies are just literary tumbleweeds rolling across the vast prairie of your living room floor.

Now, some may argue that a clean house is a happy house, but you know what else brings joy? A good book. And here's the thing - books don't judge. Unlike your pile of unfolded laundry, books will never stare at you disapprovingly. They won't nag you about crumbs on the counter or that suspiciously sticky spot on the kitchen floor. They simply invite you to escape and immerse yourself in worlds where no one has ever been forced to scrub a bathtub - well, ok, there was that one girl, Cinderella.

To truly embrace the spirit of both National Library Week and No Housework Day, here are some suggestions:

  • Ditch the Laundry: The Tempest has a strong theme of transformation and cleansing. Characters are metaphorically "washed" by the storm, leading to personal and political renewal. Check out The Tempest, produced by the BBC.
  • Adopt a ‘No Housework, Just Reading’ Policy: If anyone asks why the dinner is not done, just tell them you're exploring the science and the history of the elusive void: Nothing: A Very Short Introduction. Frank Close's book explores that other vacuum in the universe.
  • Celebrate Modern life: Remind yourself how good you have it by reading Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Housework is a necessary evil, but at least we have dishwashers, washing machines, and electric vacuums!
  • Turn Your Mess into Ambiance: Pretend the unfolded laundry is just a commentary on our human existence. The unwashed dishes: just an avant-garde still-life art piece in progress. You are cultivating an aesthetic. Check out a collection of essays in Art and Design: History, Theory, Practice. With chapters like The Eureka Salon: Use, Usefulness, and the “Unuseless” Object and Art, Design and a Priceless Pillowcase, who's to say your housework isn't a work in progress?
  • Read Something That Justifies Your Life Choices: Pick up a cozy romance in which the protagonist never cleans, a sci-fi novel in which robots do all the housework, or, like Beethoven's Immortal Beloved: Solving the Mystery, a walk back in time to discover the secret love of one of the world's most gifted musicians.

So, fellow book lovers, let's embrace the chaos, celebrate our libraries, and let the dishes fend for themselves for one glorious day. After all, a good story lasts forever - dust bunnies will be there tomorrow. Happy National Library Week and No Housework Day!

 

P J PurchasePJ Purchase is the library director and oversees everything library-land related. She has one teenager and a Goldendoodle who will always be a giant baby.