Books and Libraries

OK, I will admit it. I have a big problem with books. There are too many of them I want to read and not enough hours to read them in. I tell myself that I came to terms a long time ago with the fact that I will never live long enough to read every book I want to read, but if I am honest, I have to say that this still pains me! As I type this, I am sitting here looking at the rows of books we have along two walls in our living room. These are just the books we could fit in the truck! There are 3 boxes more in a friend's garage in Oregon! A few of these are ones we picked up here at the thrift shop or the used book sale at the library. There are a couple of additional bags in the landing where we come into our apartment that are waiting to sent to their new home. And then there are the piles of library books. I love the library! This summer was quite something as we were on our trip and using libraries for wireless internet connections. Sometimes if I was done before Bill, I would go find a book and sit and read it there, but I felt so sad that I couldn't take others with me! All those books and I couldn't check them out!!! I would listen to book podcasts or read a review in a newspaper and really want to read that particular book. But instead, I wrote down the title and the author and waited—not my best thing! Then we got here and got our library cards! I got books that I had been waiting for all summer. Some were worth the wait and some were just OK. But still, it was like Christmas morning—and it still is. The library is the gift that keeps on giving. I can find unexpected treasures there when I look at the used books and magazines. I found a great crochet magazine there a few weeks ago and got some ideas that I used for Christmas ornaments this year. But best of all is just wandering around the stacks—rows and rows of books just waiting to be discovered. I usually have a list when I go in there and often something on hold. This library only holds things for two days when they come in, so I have to get in there fast when something comes in. If I have great will power on a given day, I might just run in, go right to the circulation desk and get my hold, leaving without venturing into the other part of the building. Usually, though, I save that for last and head into the maze of books, looking for what is on my list and then of course looking at what's around it and picking up an extra unexpected book or two. Then I stop at the new book shelves on my way to check out. I have learned to bring a bag because I always leave with more than I planned to carry out of there. And now with technology allowing us to look at the catalogs of all libraries in the system and place holds as well, I can even do this in the middle of the night or whenever it strikes my fancy to look something up. Of course, then I get so excited about the potential that all these books represent, that I could easily end up spending entire days with my nose in one book or another. Sometimes I spend a day doing mostly that. And it's usually a good day when that happens! And if it turns out to be an awful book, I can close it, place it back in my bag and bring it back to the library where it can wait to be read by someone who will love it!

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