FINALLY.
I’ve lived in this town for almost 10 years and have never stepped a foot in the public library. Ridiculous, right? My college years were peppered with visits to the university’s large library, but I rarely spent more time there than what it took to locate what I needed in the massive expanse of stacks. Leaving campus for anything was a real treat, however, the public library never made it onto our list of frequented places. Like the frozen custard place. And I think my roommate and I both visited the frozen custard place more than the university library anyway.
A few weeks ago I decided that I needed to take my library card (which I have had for years) and head over there for a visit. Read-a-Thon is coming up and while my “to read” shelf here at the house is bursting at the seams, there are a few new releases that I’ve been wanting to get my hands on.
Cue disaster striking whenever I make plans to visit a place. (See: Christmas 2009, our 2nd attempt at Christmas 2009, and Spring Break 2010) The news broke that bedbugs had invaded my town’s library. FABULOUS. And as when any news breaks on the 10pm newscast, my mom calls me (while I am watching said newscast) and says, “DON’T GO TO THE LIBRARY!”
So I didn’t.
BUT. The library came to me. That very same week the Kindle library lending feature was launched and I have been sitting pretty ever since.
I’m trying not to go crazy and check more things out than I can finish and so far I think I’m doing well in that aspect. There’s no need to hog a book that I can’t get to for a week if another patron is wanting to read it right then. A few of the books I’ve checked out to my Kindle I have been saving for Read-a-Thon and I’m really excited for that to happen! (Now I just have to get the rest of the study back in order so that I can be ready on Saturday. I can’t read in an untidy room. My mom would probably tell you that I somehow managed to get past that when I lived at home.)
Another feature they have that also allows me to check out books in my pajamas is their online audio catalog. That’s been available this whole time, I just hadn’t sought it out. I checked out Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, which I’ve already read, because I wanted to get a refresher on it before starting Linger (which I intended to read at the last Read-a-Thon). Love me some YA werewolf fiction.
How about you? Do you frequent your public library? How do you feel about audio books? Have you signed up for Read-a-Thon yet?
Stay tuned. Tomorrow I’ll be posting my Read-a-Thon stack!
Oklahoma girl through-and-through. Writer, aspiring domestic goddess and totalitarian dictator. Taking on the world one carb-induced coma at a time. Co-host of Picture Shows & Petticoats. 
I am so glad I read your old post about snowpocalypse. Aaahhh, the memories! Listening to Gary England on tv during such a trial is truly mesmerizing. And don’t even get me started on the live videos, stormtrackers, and technicolor radars! I cannot bring myself to turn the channel. “Gare” (our term of endearment for him) may not sport bedazzled ties like Mike Morgan to indicate various weather conditions affecting our great state, but I enjoy his enthusiam and fatherly advice in times of weather uncertainty. Thanks for linking your old post. It was fun to revisit the memories.
Seriously, Gary is the only person my family watches. We love him. And even though I was so tired of our snow and cold weather last year, I think I’m ready for another spell of it! Last night I dreamed that we had a freak snowstorm at the end of October. GAH!
Be still my beating heart, how I love the public library! The smell of old musty books, worn and yellowing pages. The quiet flipping which transports me to another world. There is nothing like it! For some reason, I can’t seem to get into audio books and it might be because I like to make up voices in my head for characters when I read instead of hearing someone else’s interpretation. Simply personal preference! I’ve never participated in a Read-A-Thon but it looks exciting and having just spent about 10 minutes over on the Dewey site, I’m looking forward to making this happen in April 2012! Such fun!
I have felt the same way about audio books for a long time. This one I pressed through because I knew I wasn’t going to have time to re-read the book before Read-a-Thon started. I’m not sure if they are for me, if you know what I’m saying.
I’ll be ready to cheer you on when April rolls around!
I keep telling myself that I can’t step foot in my local public library or college library until I get my TBR-owned down. Sad thing is I work across the street from both and they keep calling my name!
I have a really hard time listening to audiobooks but I love when my mom & I read aloud to each other while driving somewhere.
There may be an ability for you to listen to the audio at a quicker speed, depending on the software. My library’s audio uses OverDrive Media, and it allows you to listen at various speeds, which is awesome.