Jan 11 2009
feed your head
Some people love the smell of Barnes & Noble. (coffee, books…) I don’t. I worked there for YEARS and still find myself compulsively straightening books as I browse. The thrill is gone for me, and it appears to be gone for good.
I do, however, love the smell of libraries. Sure, they aren’t infused with Starbuck’s Holiday Blend, but that dusty, musty library smell takes me back to a childhood happily spent browsing and reading. (I do, however, straighten at the library as well. If ONLY these traits would transfer back to my home…)
When Hurricane Eva was a newborn, I would leisurely browse the stacks with her in my arms, whispering about how much she was going to love libraries as she grew up. Ah, memories.
Today, our visits to the library are pure crowd control. My library is fabulous, in that it has 1) a fish tank and 2) a train made of chairs. While these are thrilling to Hurricane Eva, they do not allow me to leisurely browse for books, reading a few pages and then selecting a few gems to spend the week with. I basically go through and look for colorful spines, throwing books into my bag as I chase after my child. And let me tell you, I’ve taken home some CRAP.
I have, with the help of some fellow-library-loving-mamas, developed a much better system. The first component is to do an online request through the online library catalog. They pick out the books and leave them for me up front. Sure, I don’t get to browse, but I don’t end up with a book that I simply can’t finish staring at me from my nightstand.
The second component is also essential - I have a system for keeping track of what I want to read. Now let me tell you, any time I use the word “system,” it is in the most loosey-goosey way possible - I’m a social worker, after all, and we are addicted to talking about systems.
When I first started doing my online book requesting, I had a hard time thinking up books to request (especially since I prefer a mix of high and low literature…I’m not trying to work my way through the great works here, people, I’m just trying to keep my brain from being taken over by Blue’s Clues.)
Here’s what I do: when I see a book I think would be good to read (in a magazine or wherever), I look it up on Amazon and add it to my wish list. When I go to reserve books, I’ve got a nice little list right there. You can also see what other people who bought that book are reading (beware of this, though…my current referrals are comic books, Toot & Puddle collections and books about trauma. I do a lot of Amazon shopping and look for all kinds of stuff.)
My favorite way to get book recommendations? Goodreads. You set up a profile, enter the books you’ve read and review them. You can see what people who like the books you like are also reading and why. It sounds much more complicated than it is, trust me.
Do yourself a favor and read a good book today.
