I live relatively close to my local library (my wife would say too close), and it's by far the best branch in the entire county system. So I stop by the library at least once a week, and it's often twice a week. As a result, this stash has accumulated over the last two weeks or so, but luckily all of these were available for a six-week check out. They are stacked with the one due first placed on top of the stack, the ones due last at the bottom. I suspect that a few of you will recognize titles that you just reviewed yourselves in the last couple of weeks. If you do, just know that this is all your fault because that's why those titles ended up in this stack.
If this stack were all I planned to read in the next six weeks, I wouldn't have much of a problem, but that's not the case. From my own shelves, I am also about 120 pages into a 500-page Robert E. Lee biography (one written well after the Great Awakening that trashed the man's reputation and promises to set the record straight), a little over 100 pages into The Lineup anthology, well over 300 pages into my e-book copy of Your Perfect Year, plus about 100 pages into a review copy of Matt Coyle's series novel Odyssey's End. (I won't even talk about the other 10 books that are still on hold.)
And I know that you guys are going to keep adding to my immediate stack via the great books you all continue to uncover and review every week. I would think that something is seriously wrong with me except for the fact that I've read so many similar confessions on many of my favorite book blogs. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Your library stack looks as big as mine! And I just had several more holds come in that I need to go pick up. Isn't that the way it always goes? My library only checks books out for 3 weeks, but they let you renew them up to 3 times as long as no one else has them on hold. Which is good for me when I end up with too many to finish quickly. Happy reading all of these, Sam! :D
ReplyDeleteYep, that's exactly how it always happens; it's a library rule.
DeleteMy library limits books that others have on hold to two weeks, but allows others to be checked out for six weeks. Even then, I've run out of time on more than a few and had to go back to get the librarians to override the system and give me another two weeks on them. There's a chance that not all of these will appeal to me once I get into their first 50 pages, but it's kind of nice to have so many choices on hand.
Looks like a great stack to me! I have 9 on mine I think and tend to think of it as fluid pile, I might read them, I might not. I do try to read the ones I've paid to reserve (it's now £1 here) but if I start it and I don't like it well, so be it. I think of it as a donation to one of my favourite institutions. I go about once a week, it's so relaxing to stroll around, picking books up and doing 'random grabs' because something takes your fancy. I think there're worse addictions.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even thought of libraries charging for the service of pulling a book for you and holding it for pick up, Cath. I wonder if that would change my hold-habit very much or at all, really. I regularly put money into the Friends of the Library box anyway, so would probably just redirect my donations to the library system if they started to charge here.
DeleteIt was while living in the UK that I spent many a Saturday morning browsing the shelves of the relatively small Richmond Library - and discovering and getting hooked on great writers like Gerald Seymour (I remember being thrilled that his books were readily available in the US when I transferred back to the US) and others. What would be do without public libraries?
Our library change its system during covid- now all items get automatically renewed up to three times, if nobody else has the book on hold. Each borrowing period is 3 weeks (I think visual media and new arrivals are shorter) so it could be a total of nine weeks! I don't know if I've ever kept one that long, though. They did away with late fees too, so now I happily allow myself to splurge at the annual Friends of the Library sale- I figure if I'm not supporting them by paying late fees I'll gladly do so by purchasing used books from them!
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine life without public libraries to support my reading habit. They really are wonderful.
Nine weeks is really great, although I very seldom end up keeping any of mine more than four weeks as it usually turns out. This time may be the exception, even though I finished your Dirty Chick book from the top of the stack and abandoned the third one in the stack (bad surprise, that). We've done away with late fees, too, but I stick to the schedule because of how firmly I was brainwashed as a child never to turn in a book past its due date without one heck of an excuse. :-)
DeleteSame here, pretty much. I rarely keep a book overdue- I just start to feel guilty! even though we no longer have late fees.
DeleteGuilt is quite a motivator; sure works on me.
DeleteI'm impressed that you have 6-week borrows! Both my libraries only allow 2 week, though hoopla gives you 21 days. It's a constant juggling process, isn't it? Love the look of that stack, especially Lucy by the Sea. They May Not Mean to, But They Do is also an enjoyable read, and Road Ends is waiting on my kindle. Yes, our tbr piles are all out of control, but we're in such good company!
ReplyDeleteGood company, for sure, JoAnn. I'm particularly looking forward to Lucy by the Sea, so I doubt that one will remain so near the bottom of the stack for long. Today, as I mentioned to Jeane, I finished the book on top the stack and ended up abandoning the third one, a new short story collection from George Saunders. The first story, longest in the collection, was just so confusing and not all that interesting that I gave up. Probably should never have tried to read that particular story with a headache already coming on. Oh, and all of our audiobooks and e-books are held to a two-week checkout...no exceptions.
DeleteSo I take it that you recognized my sarcasm for what it was?
ReplyDeleteI feel your "pain," Sam! I love browsing at my library, even though I have enough unread books at home to keep me reading for a few lifetimes. I just can't get enough of a good thing, I guess :) It's definitely an addiction, but it's better than others we could have. That's what I tell myself anyway...
ReplyDeleteAs John Mellencamp said in song, "It hurts so good." :-)
Delete