I love books. I love holding them, I love reading them, I love hugging them and smelling them… I wish I could keep every book I've ever read, but I just can't afford to.
Thus the benefits of using the library system. How awesome a feeling it is to browse through their rows of shelves and walk out with a large stack of books in your arms --absolutely free! (Of course, I had to work through my little anxieties about the general uncleanliness of library books… who knows who's been reading them, and where? On the toilet? After blowing their nose? What is that small smudge on the page? Ew!) So, with hand sanitizer nearby, and with your immunizations up to date… the library is a great resource. The only disadvantage is that you must give the books back. Well, at least you should give the books back. Let's just say it's generally frowned upon if you don't give them back.
Yesterday, I happily left the library with these books:
With all that said, I have been thinking about the library a lot, especially with the release of Amazon's new Kindle Unlimited. While I am very excited by the idea of instant access to over half a million eBooks for such a low monthly price (*grin&wink*), it also makes me a bit nervous. There is something so special about a book in its printed form… I don't want to see it lost and replaced by a digital version.
So please, love your library. It is free, after all. It is also more fulfilling than you might think, when an urge to splurge on books is boiling up inside you. (I doubt I'm the only one who battles with that, right?)
And don't get me wrong, I do read eBooks myself and I have a long list of things I love about them, but I first loved a proper book and I will never forget my first love.
I suppose that sentiment is shared by many, so I needn't worry about the newest achievement of book technology. Perhaps I can give in to the excitement after all, because even for those who only read eBooks, at least they are reading, right? And that is something to get excited about.
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