One of my favourite memories growing up, was every other Saturday morning. The chores were done for the day and my mom would grab a worn cardboard box and tell us to gather up our books.
We were going to the library! I was a very fast reader so I went through my allotted stash far too quickly. So Library Day was a very exciting day for me.
I can still smell the promising smell of musty paper and ink from the mimeograph machine. The rows and rows of books called to me. We would scatter, each to our own spot. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I would pull books off the shelf, inspect them, then put them back, trying to decide, carefully, which of the four books I was allotted that I could take out. I didn't dare take them off the shelf and lay them in a pile - like I desperately wanted to - I was afraid of the librarian. Sometimes I lost track of which books were my top choice and which were my second choice. But that was part of the adventure. I knew I would be back in a couple of weeks. Often I had to wait while my mom chose her books. To this day I still have no idea which books she read. The only way I knew which ones my baby brothers chose were by which ones my mom read to them in the evening. Sometimes I would listen in, mostly I was upstairs in my own room. Reading.
I still love libraries. Still love the sense of anticipation they create. But I also love bookstores. Because I can now afford to buy the books I want to read. And I like to purchase them because then, if it's a really good book, I can lend it out. I've lost a few books this way and have to replace a few. (Still looking for my copy of Ordinary Grace....and a few others) I technically have my own library now. I have a note book in which I write who has which book and when they borrowed it. I don't charge overdue fees and am only to glad to share books I've enjoyed. Do you lend your books out? How do you keep track?