The Library

I just have to say that I love our public library! For awhile I got into the habit of buying books I wanted to read and now have shelves of books that I'll never read again taking up all that space. We have books everywhere, in every room, many on shelves but many in bags and boxes and stacked on furniture! I've been sorting through them and taking bags of books - to the library! The Friends of the Library has big sales several times a year and now has an on-going sale just inside the door of the library on a big bookshelf. They raise a decent amount of money that they use for programs and to buy books and other things the library budget can't provide.

While carting yet another bag of books to the library for their sale I realized that continually buying more books was kind of dumb. Now I only buy books that I want to have on my shelf, books that I might want to read more than once, books that I want to own for whatever reason. The rest - I check out of the library. I love that I can sit at home and look at the catalog (though there are times when I love to browse the shelves and hold books in my hand and leaf through them) and put books on hold. I finally realized that if I want to read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series in order, all I have to do is put them on hold. Miraculously, I get emails saying my book is ready for pickup at my local library, 2 blocks away. Usually it's quick, but right now I'm #84 in line for Revolutionary Road so we'll see how long that one takes.

Saves time, saves money, saves gas, saves paper - what more could I want?