Growing up I was a bit of a library fiend. My weekend plans almost always involved a trip to its hallowed halls and I could be found visiting its stacks three or four times a week. I always had at least a dozen books checked out at a time. For a while I was pretty sure that I had funded the new expansion for our local library simply because I was paying so much in fines and late fees. At one point I had nearly $127 accrued. Don't ask me how since they don't let you check books out after you have more than $10 in fines. Somehow I managed it, though I think I had help from my mom.
In the past few years I've quit patronizing libraries and have instead spent major bucks on my personal library. This wasn't intentional it just happened. Part of that was because I was in the military for a few years and one of those years I spent in Afghanistan. This was okay because people from home was always sending Soldiers books so my FOB (Forward Operating Base) had a pretty decent selection of donated books. There was also a program that you could sign up for that would send books in your favorite genre to you for free. The only catch was that you wouldn't be able to pick the books and what you got was what you got. Most of those books had been donated to the program and I read a lot of books I wouldn't have normally.
The other reason is my kindle and the rise of indie authors. It can be very difficult to talk myself out of buying a book if it's only $.99 or $1.99. I spent so much money doing that while overseas that it was slightly unreal. That habit carried over when I got back and it has only been recently that I've started visiting the library again. Mostly because I had a sudden hankering to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back. I'm glad I did because I was reintroduced to an author I used to follow fairly religiously until her books took off in a direction I didn't like. Her most recent book blew me away and since I've gone back and reread her other series. Best of all, it was all FREE! That doesn't even touch all the new books I discovered just walking by the new books pile. Authors I never would have given a chance to otherwise. It also helps that the library has started buying books in one of my favorite genres, Urban Fantasy.
It's like I've rediscovered an old love and we're getting to know one another again. I'm going back and rereading old favorites, finding new favorites and this is almost no charge to me! I say almost because I'm already racking up the fines:) It's always fun rediscovering previously known treasures which the library was to me when I was young.
In the past few years I've quit patronizing libraries and have instead spent major bucks on my personal library. This wasn't intentional it just happened. Part of that was because I was in the military for a few years and one of those years I spent in Afghanistan. This was okay because people from home was always sending Soldiers books so my FOB (Forward Operating Base) had a pretty decent selection of donated books. There was also a program that you could sign up for that would send books in your favorite genre to you for free. The only catch was that you wouldn't be able to pick the books and what you got was what you got. Most of those books had been donated to the program and I read a lot of books I wouldn't have normally.
The other reason is my kindle and the rise of indie authors. It can be very difficult to talk myself out of buying a book if it's only $.99 or $1.99. I spent so much money doing that while overseas that it was slightly unreal. That habit carried over when I got back and it has only been recently that I've started visiting the library again. Mostly because I had a sudden hankering to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back. I'm glad I did because I was reintroduced to an author I used to follow fairly religiously until her books took off in a direction I didn't like. Her most recent book blew me away and since I've gone back and reread her other series. Best of all, it was all FREE! That doesn't even touch all the new books I discovered just walking by the new books pile. Authors I never would have given a chance to otherwise. It also helps that the library has started buying books in one of my favorite genres, Urban Fantasy.
It's like I've rediscovered an old love and we're getting to know one another again. I'm going back and rereading old favorites, finding new favorites and this is almost no charge to me! I say almost because I'm already racking up the fines:) It's always fun rediscovering previously known treasures which the library was to me when I was young.
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