You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

I used to love the library. After the City built a new library, they increased their rates for people who lived outside of the City and didn't pay taxes. Since I live 30 kms away, that was me. I got a bee in my bonnet and quit going to the library. They have since built again and one of these days when I have some free time, I'm going to go just to sit and read. I have so many books that I have purchased that I don't need a membership at this time.

However, that would be me - go for one and come home with five. So what five did you come home with??

Yup, went in the other day to pick up A Visit From The Goon Squad and came out with that and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Diary of a Nobody and The Haunting of Hill House. The worst bit is that the reserved section is on the ground floor while the rest of the library is on the floors above...where I didn't even need to go!!!

Our libraries are subsidized by property taxes. An adult fee in my city is $7.50. The website doesn't say what period of time this covers, presumably a year. It would cost me $40.00 for the membership because I don't live in the city.

I'm the worst. I always check out the max number of books and have the maximum number of holds!!! :)

I am fascinated by this discussion! Our library comes out of our property taxes but I don't see that cost directly. Aand I don't have a maximum number of books checked out or holds either. I never even knew either of those two things existed. Makes me more appreciative of my library!

I have to say I feel guilty though for using the library when the publishing/book industry is having so much trouble staying afloat.

Right now I have so many great books checked out from the library I have no idea how I will get to all of them.

Judy wrote: "Sam wrote: "Yup, went in the other day to pick up A Visit From The Goon Squad and came out with that and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Diary of a Nobody and The Haunting of Hill Hous..."

I think they do you know Judy, I definitely felt some kind of force at work (therefore it is obviously not my fault lol). Oh I will do, it's been on my wish list for ages so it's about time I read it!

This is funny. By the way, the maximum number of checkouts at my library is 50. And the maximum number of holds is 100. :)

Judy wrote: "Maybe we can get Janice to add "support your local library by checking out a maximum number of books" as a challenge goal. LOL!!"

Could you add that suggestion to the suggestion thread Judy, so that when I'm considering challenge themes, it's there as a reminder?

Judy wrote: "Janice wrote: "Judy wrote: "Maybe we can get Janice to add "support your local library by checking out a maximum number of books" as a challenge goal. LOL!!"

Could you add that suggestion to the s..."

No. I would change it to something like "Read a book that you borrowed from the library", or something similar. Taking out the maximum number of books wouldn't be feasible. Feel free to amend the suggestion around the library though.

We're allowed 6 holds per card, but unlimited checkout. I use my son's card and my husband's, too, to be able to request as many books as possible. And then every time I go in I walk right past the hold shelves to the children's section and collect 2-3 bags full of picture books.

My mom's library in Wisconsin has unlimited requests. I wish I lived closer to her so I could get all the children's books from my 'wishlist-library' shelf at once instead of parceling them out.

I must say, if I had to pay $40 a year, I'd do it, because it'd still be so much cheaper than buying. But then I'd really feel the pressure to 'get my money's worth' and check out even more!

I can take our 36 books per check out but it sucks that you only have a couple of weeks to read them all! I have to say I'm a little obsessed with going to the library since here it's free! I collect books too but that gets expensive to going to the library is great, i can fly through books :)

Alexis wrote: "I can take our 36 books per check out but it sucks that you only have a couple of weeks to read them all! I have to say I'm a little obsessed with going to the library since here it's free! I colle..."

Alexis, can you renew your books online? We are able to renew the books twice. So, that gives us a total of six weeks per book - unless the book isn't being requested by someone else.....

Judy wrote: "Laurie wrote: "This is funny. By the way, the maximum number of checkouts at my library is 50. And the maximum number of holds is 100. :)"

Wow! I'll have to check with my library to see what th..."

We have a self-checkout machine at our library so I don't have to deal with the libriarian's disapproving glances. :) I don't think I have any children's books checked out right now, but this does include some audiobooks and movies. Most of my holds are for the new books only, the wait time on those are unreal!

Laurie, you've gotten disapproving glances from librarians?! All my librarians are thrilled to see materials circulate! One poor woman has a medical condition that means she's in constant pain, so she's not always smiling, but she still loves to see us checking out armloads of books!

I wouldn't mind paying small fees for renewals and holds, either. I guess there's a point at which the fee has to be big enough to be worth collecting, and small enough to be within the budgets of the majority of the patrons, and that point doesn't balance, so to speak.

All right, enough chatting, it's after the lunch hour rush, so I'm off to the library!

I am an absolute library-aholic. I go to the library and come up with all these books I want to get. My library in Connecticut is so so and then YA section is okay. But I love the Confessions of a Shopaholic books and they have every one in the series but the second on which is the one I need to read! I hate buying books that I don't know will be good or not.

And my library also has really good CD
s which also makes me love to go there ten times more.

I think I'd fail at step 6.

Yay Anna! You're an inspiration!

I think I'd also fail at step 6 - we're here, we got this far - but oh goodness no further!

Once in a while though I should send my son down to the library to return a bag of books - he won't come back with any for me of course!

You did say you were going to wallow, Judy. LOL!

I may have read Gone With the Wind, not sure though. I've seen bits and pieces of the movie. Time to add it to my wishlist.

Ok, I was a good girl - I took four bags of books that I was done with back to the library and only checked out the two that were on Hold for me. Of course, I have to admit, I was motivated because we're expecting houseguests!

If I can just not bring home more than I return each time, I'll be happy. Oh, and of course I really also ought to read the same number of books off my shelf that I order from half.com or buy from the library sale.

Pulling from Mt. TBR by themes, eh? Hm.. I'd probably do the opposite, that is, pull one from each genre for each month's 'assignment' - I'm kinda liking this idea... Good thinking Judy!

I love the library and yes I walk out with so many books they ask if I want a bag! I am there so much that a few weeks ago they called to tell me a book I requested was in, only I hadn't requested a book. The librarians had put a new release on hold for me because they knew I would want to be the first to read it!

msg 16, Judy said, "Gosh, one time I checked out two long books at the same time and one normal-length one and I heard one library worker say to the other as I was walking away, "There's no way she can read both of those in 3 weeks." (BTW, I did.) But can you imagine what she'd have said if I checked out ten books? Next time she's working I might do it .... hehe"

I don't understand that kind of attitude. Besides, I figure if I check out, say, 6 books, I'd be lucky if 4 were a "fit". Sometimes a book that looks like it's going to be good just isn't right for me so I don't read it.

Danielle wrote: "I love the library and yes I walk out with so many books they ask if I want a bag! I am there so much that a few weeks ago they called to tell me a book I requested was in, only I hadn't requested..."

They know you well!

Oh I always bring several good-sized bags and often fill them! Of course, I read children's books, too.

Oh the librarians in my town are awesome. They all read the same genre of books. They even leave notes for me on items i am picking up telling me of a new book i should read.

Ps...i am always good for taking out a bunch of books even if i dont think it is possible to read all of them in the amount of time i have to check them out. For some reason i like to have the books around me and i dont like to feel limited in my choices of what to read next.

I ALWAYS come home with more books than I had originally intended. Really, I shouldn't be checking any items out at all, seeing as how I have a pretty massive collection of my own! But I go through phases where I require a certain genre, and I don't always have it on my shelves. Recently, I came home with

and