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Library Love

I love to read. I love books. So one might assume I have a longterm relationship with libraries. But the truth is, I dumped libraries after college; trading up for bookstores. B & N. Borders. Even Rainy Day Books, when I wanted to support the little guy. But books are expensive and I never walked out with less than four. The math wasn't pretty.

Then my friend mentioned checking out library books and I had an epiphany. I, too, was welcome at the library. I, too, could read books for free. Eureka! So I visited my neighborhood branch and in a few minutes, I was an official library card toting reader again.

Thing is, some things are different now. Card catalogs are obsolete. Learning the Dewey Decimal System as a kid wasn't necessary. Most computers have teenagers checking Facebook. And the whole be quiet in the library rule has disappeared.

But the library does have some advantages. Primarily, I can check out books on a whim. If it's not a good read, who cares? I can expand and limit my horizon as I see fit, free of charge.

A small embarrassment is my love of chick lit. (Hello, Jen Lancaster!) I'm almost 38. Shouldn't I have moved on to historical biographies or American Classics by now? To balance this shortcoming, when checking out books I allow myself unlimited mindless novels as long as I include one literature-type book. Then I use that book as my beard so the librarian will think that I'm an intellectual. At least until she see's the four books underneath. Whether or not I finish the highbrow stuff doesn't matter. It's the intent.

For the record, I didn't check out The Poetical Works of Keats. Even I know my limits.


Comments

  1. Bun ENovember 9, 2010 at 9:02 AM

    Luckily, I did check out the Keats:

    Give me women, wine, and snuff
    Untill I cry out "hold, enough!"
    You may do so sans objection
    Till the day of resurrection:

    Boyfriend

    ReplyDelete

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