Trapped

There was a book I loved when I was little called Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library!  It's about these sisters, Mary Rose and Jo-Beth, who through a series of mishaps (their car runs out of gas and their dad goes to look for a gas station, Jo-Beth has to pee, etc.) get locked in an old library over night.  It's a mystery of whether or not the library is actually haunted or if there is some logical explanation.  It always made me antsy in a good sort of way, wondering what it would be like to be trapped somewhere as amazingly creepy as an old library.

Now of course, as an adult, I find so many problems with the story.  What about their dad?  Wouldn't he be freaking out when he got back to the car and his children were missing?  We can only assume their mom isn't in the picture, but if she was, don't you think she'd have done something to find out where they were?  But mainly my issue is this: WHY WOULDN'T YOU SIT DOWN AND START TO READ?!  If I were trapped in a library or a bookstore, I would a. turn on all the lights I could find because let's face it, I'm a big scaredy cat and bad guys can't get you in the light (or at least you can see them coming and be prepared for it) b. put on some music, because quiet is just sometimes TOO quiet, especially when reading and c.  I would find the comfiest spot in the place, choose a book and read.  I'd probably start with one I hadn't read before, something new, but then as the night went on and I got sleepier, I'd go for an old familiar favorite, like Little Women or Pride and Prejudice or Last of the Great Whangdoodles.  Nothing too sad or too scary  or different, just something to make me feel comfortable and relaxed until I drifted off to sleep.  Like a paper sleep aid, natural and good for you.  That's what I would do if I were trapped.  Then in the morning, the people who worked there would find me curled up with my beloved books, with a smile on my face.