One of the perils of misspent youth: Financial troubles. Although I had my share of credit card debt, do you know who my most pernicious creditor was back in the day? The Sacramento County Public Library.
Mmmhmm. The library sent me to collections over a lost-for-a-long-while copy of War and Peace. Not very friendly if you'dve asked a teenage me. But more than a decade later, I've made peace and am here to tell you how much I heart the public library.
Did you know you can get books, DVDs, audiobooks and other things for FREE? I know, it's not ground breaking news, but for anyone who's racked up a hefty bill with Kindle's whispernet, push-a-button-buy-a-book-without-thinking technology, free books are a revelation. And did I mention the audiobooks? And the DVDs of current movies and TV? Free.
And the best part for e-reading? You can download titles from home without ever stepping foot in the library proper. (The only lame thing? No more holding books hostage, ahem. Titles disappear from e-readers after the allotted time.) And for bound books and other media, at least in Sacramento, you can search titles online, choose the ones you like, and library staff will have them waiting for you. Such service, I tell you! And, as Shawna-the-book-hoarder knows, you can also, ahem, pay your late fees online.
Besides having a world of literature and media at your fingers, the library also offers lots of kidlet activities and programs, free internet access for those who need it and probably lots of other awesomeness I don't yet know about. Pretty darn cool.
So go forth, get that library card, and read lots!
xoxo,
shawna
P.S. So you know, I wrote this I-heart-the-library post even after reading this horrifying news article about how researchers found traces of the herpes virus on copies of Shades of Grey library books. As the researchers note: Books are for reading.
National Blog Posting Month:
Day 1- National Blog Posting Month on BlogHer: I'm in
Day 2- Project Green Thumbs Season 5, winter edition!
Day 3- Things I'd rather do instead of "killing my darlings"
Day 4- A grateful heart: A man who understands writing deadlines
Day 5- Velveting: The secret to restaurant quality Chinese chicken
Day 6- Note: "Tea bagger" is NOT the same as "tea party"
Day 7- A moment in travel
Day 8- Fall in the desert
Day 9- The world's best salted caramel brownies
Day 10- It's not everyday someone throws a fish at you: Berryessa Gap Paella Cook-off
Day 11- Thank you, veterans
Day 12- Flying history: Buzzing around in the Boeing Stearman biplane
Labels: BlogHer, books, e-books, e-reader, free, kindle, library, local, love, NaBloPoMo, nook, personal, public, reading, Sacramento
