On Loan
Posted By Kristabella on August 30, 2011
I’m not the smartest person in the world. Or the most frugal. So remember that as you read along.
THE LIBRARY IS AMAZING! HOW AWESOME IS THE LIBRARY WITH THE FREE BOOKS?? FREEEEEEEEE!
(Insert the smattering of D’ohs right here)
OK. I’m an idiot. I avoided the library forever because…well I don’t know why. I’d like to think it was because I wanted to support authors and buy their books and help keep books alive. Or something. But really, it’s probably more because I’m lazy and online shopping is a dream! No waiting! Books when you want! ALLLLL MIIIINNNNEEEEE!!
But that was back in the day when I was just reading books at night. I could make a book last a month, if I wanted. So in my head the money I was spending on books wasn’t a huge expense or out of hand.
Then I got my new job. (That I still LOVE! So much so I should write a song about it! Or a love poem!) And with my new job comes commuting to and from downtown on public transportation. (Which I also LOVE! For many reasons!) So I have an hour each morning and each evening to read. And it is the most glorious thing ever! In all the land! I love books and reading!
So I’m up to about a book a week. I can usually start one Monday morning and finish it on Friday or at the very least before the next week starts. It makes the train rides go by so fast. That is, if I don’t fall asleep and drool on the book pages. (It’s happened. Don’t judge.)
I started to notice about a month into my job that “hmmmm, I’m spending a lot of money on Kindle books. This can’t be fiscally smart.” I realized I had to start doing something about it because sooner or later I was going to not be able to pay my mortgage due to a large expenditure on books.
Just after my trip to Jamaica I decided it was time to finally get a library card in Chicago. (I used to have one in California, but even then, I bought more books than I should have.) In my defense, I did try and go get a library card during one of my many periods of unemployment a few years back. But I walked all around the library and couldn’t find a form to fill out or someone to help me. So I gave up, defeated. And went home and ordered two books on Amazon.
But enough was enough this time. So I marched my happy ass down to the library that is like ONE BLOCK from my front door and signed up for a card. (ONE BLOCK, PEOPLE!) And then I checked out some books. And then I looked into their ebooks that they have available. And then I fell in love with the library and every other person in the world yelled “I TOLD YOU SO! DUH! WELCOME TO THE 19TH CENTURY!”
Their hours aren’t the most convenient, but thankfully I can go to any of the branches in Chicago. AND! You can do everything online! I can renew my books so I’m not charged a late fee! And even better, I can look through books I want to read and put them on hold! It is AMAZING! DID ANYONE EVEN KNOW THE LIBRARY DID THIS??
(Yes, dumbass. Everyone knew this.)
My Kindle is sad because she is gathering dust. But hopefully the whole Kindle-Libraries lending thing will come through soon, as planned. And then that way I don’t have to read the ebooks on my phone (FREE! Ebooks! From the library!) and can read them on my Kindle. For free! It’s glorious!
And then all will be right with the world. And my bank account.
This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by Kristabella: The Most Clueless Person Since 1977.
About the author
The day I figured out that my library not only had books, but would DELIVER THEM to your door, for FREE after you ordered them online, was kind of like 28 years of Christmas and Birthdays all rolled into one. Which was unfortunate for everyone else in my county who had already figured that out and really didn’t care to hear me evangelize about how awesome! the! library! is!
(The day I went there and realized I could pretty much cancel Netflix because of all of their DVDs was shockingly similar. So, you are not alone. Not at all.)
Kate´s last blog post ..Louie
I got a Nook so that I could check out ebooks besides buying new ones! So far I have only checked out about 5 since the selection of ebooks is not huge but still – so nice and easy!
Bren´s last blog post ..WW – Movin on up!
Yay for saving money, for getting to read books for free, and a practically unlimited selection. If you’re anything like me, you probably also feel bad about giving away books you spent your hard earned money on when they start piling up too high. It’s a win on all fronts! And don’t feel so bad for being a little clueless. My mom reads at least 5 books a week, maybe more, and just recently got signed up at the library. She was getting books at Half Price books, but still, it was a lot of money.
Andrea´s last blog post ..Italy First stop: Rome Part 3
we are twins.
I wrote this exact post when I realize that I could take out ebooks from the library. It’s amazing! AMAZING, I tell you.
I, too, am waiting for the Kindle/Library thing to get sorted.
lceel´s last blog post ..Wordless Wednesday – One More
We can borrow ebooks from our libraries, but I haven’t done that yet. As for the online requests – ISN’T IT SO GREAT??? My kids do it too (with my help). 🙂
Angella´s last blog post ..Date Night
Weirdly, I just joined my local library in London last weekend too! I haven’t actually been yet but it’s a start, it’s the first time I have joined a library since I was a teenager!
You are not alone in your glee because I just discovered the AWESOMENESS that is the library very recently. I am love with the fact that I can get browse online and get just about any book/dvd/cd I want and they’ll have it waiting for me behind the counter (I even do it for items at my local branch, heaven forbid I take the time to find it myself!) Also, my libary allows free music downloads. Only 3 per week, but I’m slowly building my music collection. FOR FREE! I need to investigate this home delivery option – that would be AMAZING! I have been using the library app to read books on my phone, but it is not ideal, and there is often a long waiting list for the downloads.
Every time I go to the library I am AMAZED that I can bring home so many books! for free! I can take them home! For FREE! so don’t feel silly-I get ya!
Sensibly Sassy´s last blog post ..Sassy Sidenote: I’m Big In Mexico!
Are libraries suddenly marketing themselves or something, because I have recently had the same revelation. Although I don’t know about ebooks…I need to look into that.
Mary´s last blog post ..A Feminist Issue
It was hard to go back to reading actual books because I love my Kindle so much. But yeah, the money. And I love checking stuff out for free. Music too! I got lots of free music by checking out cds.
I KNOW! I’m waiting impatiently for the day library lending is available via Kindle. Until then, I love my free little treats. Granted, I’m number 300-something on the waiting list for newer books, but that’s a fair enough trade.