Going to the Library is Like Shopping for Free
Without the Commitment
Gently Reader, you many have noticed I have a page dedicated to books. So it wouldn't be a surprise to you that I love the library. I love book stores, and I love to buy books on online auctions.
(Cue the bubbles of fantasy and imagination:)
In my dream home, there is a wood paneled library with floor to ceiling bookshelves on all four walls, except where the fireplace is, of course. In this imaginary library, in my dream home, there are large chairs to curl up in, each with its own small side table for a reading lamp and a beverage. This library would be filled with the books I have enjoyed. I would not want to give important bookshelf real estate to an uninteresting book. But how do I know if I'll enjoy a book, you ask? Well, I've had to have read it. The best way I've found to 'test drive' a book is to borrow it from the library.
My real life, however, doesn't contain a library but only a few shelves scattered throughout my home where I stash books. These are vital books; I refer to them often. The virtual bookshelf on my blog reflects the shelves in my home. These vital books have merited my hard earned money. I spent the money because I felt they were a valuable resource and their contents would enrich my life and the lives of those I love.
A book makes the shelf only after I have given it a "test drive" from the local library. I screen the books through the borrowing process. This 'library' concept keeps me from owning books I don't truly enjoy. Thus it is like shopping without the commitment.
The library in my area has an online catalog with a fabulously detailed search engine. (Internet Shopping, awesome!) I have put in searches like homemaking, french cooking, knitting, or pet care. The list of books is overwhelming. I browse and reserve until I'm tired or bored. In a few days, I receive a message the books are available for me to pick up. It is so much like presents in the mail. What fun.
Currently, I have checked out three books about french cooking.
Loomis, Susan Herrmann.
Bard, Elizabeth (Journalist
Beddard, Kristen,
I've finished In a French Kitchen. I truly liked it. I'm not sure it will make the shelf but. . . . there were a few techniques Susan wrote about I'd like to remember. Humm. . . to buy or not to buy?
All three of these books are in what I would consider a new genre of books. Perhaps, I'm out of touch but the memoir with recipes seems like a new genre to me. I wouldn't have gone looking for this 'type' of book. I was actually looking for traditional cookbooks with good technique and instruction. It was the library search engine that took me to this memoir with recipe and I am enthralled.
So you see, the library is so much like a shopping adventure. I never know what I'll find. I might discover a gem or a dud. What if I could "test drive" shoes like I can books, or appliances, or a new fruit variety. Oh, better yet, make up or skin care products. How many of those do I have shoved in the back of a drawer, only slightly used, because they were wrong for me in some way.
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