Really, how hard is it to pick a book from the library? This is what happened when I went to the library on Saturday.
I had two holds to pick up that I was really excited about - both were Diary of the Wimpy Kid books, which I knew I would finish within a few hours. Although I had my next two weeks of reading planned out, and had no space to squeeze in an extra book, I still couldn't imagine leaving the library with just holds and nothing randomly picked. So, I decided to pick one more book that
1. wasn't new (because new books have a 14-day checkout period, as opposed to 21 for the rest), and
2. was literary fiction (and not one of my guilt pleasure reads, like thrillers or chick-lit).
With that intention, soon as I walked into the library, I browsed by the many shelves, checked my goodreads page for books I want to read, randomly picked up authors I know I want to try, but mostly stood aside thinking what to do. I spent about 30 minutes doing each of these actions, and still had no book in hand!
Ok, don't panic, I told myself. It's not that hard to pick a book. I may be a bookaholic, and may probably have a good chunk of the library in my TBR, but choosing one book from that humongous list isn't hard; at least, I tried to convince myself that it wasn't hard. At that point, I had a brilliant idea - why not pick a book for one of the challenges that I was doing. I thought maybe the Graphic Novels challenge was a good starting point - but graphic novels read fast, I didn't want to complete a challenge this early in the year (then, in my book, it's not even a challenge).
How about the Take a Chance Challenge? Purely random, best for impromptu book searches, except I hadn't decided my list yet, and I didn't want to stand like a dork in the library writing out my list. But oh yeah, there's my PIE list of books I SHOULD read this year. But most are heavy literature and I was looking for something light. Which brings me to chick-lit or thriller. But those were precisely the genre I decided not to browse for now.
Sigh... this happens all the time I go to the library and decide to browse through the shelves and pick a book. Somehow, I've never had the pleasure of doing that yet. Either I have each of my fingers on 2 different books and can't decide among them, or I chuck every book I pick saying I'm not in mood for it. Picking a hold works so much better for me. Or deciding in advance. Once in a while, I try to get a bit adventurous and pick a book at random. Nada! No luck! It's like walking into a grocery store without a list. You either leave a few ingredients short, or buy more than you planned to.
Whenever I read anyone's library posts, especially one peppered with a bunch of books, I wonder why I can't make up my mind. Is it because of too many choices, or because I really don't feel like reading some of them at that instant? Sometimes, I decide to take a book, and instead of proceeding to checkout right away, I go back to browse further, which adds more books to my hand and clutters my mind.
In the end, I decided to leave without any book (other than the two holds). I was incensed with my indecisiveness in the library. And you know what? I accidentally glanced at a shelf and saw Bernice McFadden's This Bitter Earth on the shelf, and knew without a doubt that this is a book I really want to read. Off it fell into my library bag! The day wasn't all waste, in the end.
11 comments:
The branch of our library system that's the closest to me isn't that good. When I want a book from it I almost always have to put it on hold, so they can get it from another branch.
I have trouble in bookstores for the opposite reason - I want all of the books.
That is hilarious Aths. I actually like brand new books, I don't like the smell of libraries :-0
I do look at my LibraryThing account sometimes for hours trying to figure out what to read next, lol
Ohhhh how many times I've done the same thing. Except I will check out like 5 or 6 books, knowing I won't read them all but I just had to bring them home!
Enjoy your reads,
Natalie :0)
°.¸¸.•´¯`»The Book Inn
I feel ya! That's why I order my books online ahead of time. So they are ready for me to pick up at the desk. Great post.
Faced with shelves and shelves of books I cannot make the decision either. I have to go in with a short list and find the first one that's available. Controlled decision-making, no?
Ha, I have the opposite problem. I ended up borrowing way too many books (randomly picked!)
In fact, I was just thinking about it today. I went to pick up my 3 holds, told myself I wasn't going to pick up any more books, or try to not borrow more than what I'd just returned... FAILED.
I enjoy looking at the new books available, never heard of, judged them by their cover and then read the blurb... I don't always end up borrowing something, but today I picked up quite a few (and funny enough, 3 books ended up with titles that had the word "lie" in them!)
And afterward I thought - going to the library is like going to a book store, pick what you want, and you don't even have to pay! :)
Granted, I don't always end up reading what I randomly picked (because I usually read reviews on amazon/goodreads after I have borrowed the books, and found they don't rate so well lol, not that I decide on a book based on ratings alone :)
I have too many books waiting to be read already (mostly library and a few ARC), but I just couldn't help myself every time I go to the library! Especially since it's so close to my work, just a 5-10 min walk, depending on how fast I walk :)
The only browsing I do at the library is in the "just in" section upstairs or the displays in the lobby. I tend to throw aside more library books than anything, but the one I'm reading right now is one my husband grabbed off the shelf for me when I was picking up some holds. It's actually quite good.
I very rarely browse at the library. I either go in with a specific item in mind (very rarely) or I just run in and pick up my holds. If I think I might want a book I request it so that it is sitting there waiting for me when I am ready.
Kathy, when I was doing my grad, I always put books on hold. Then I would go to the library, pick the hold and head back home. That's all the time I had with my busy schedule. But now, since I do have lots more "ME" time, I try to be a bit more impulsive and bit less list-oriented. I guess, some habits die hard, eh?
Marce, I can relate to that looking at LT account to decide a book. I do that often too, but with goodreads.
Natalie, I used to do that too - take a lot of books home and return them back just the same, sometimes with even the receipt inside the books. I'm trying to stop doing that, but now I have this other problem.
Juju, I think I will also settle to do just that.
Helen, I agree. That saves a lot of time too. I think I have to stop random browsing, and use it only to appreciate existence of tons of books.
Christa, we're all birds of the same flock, right? LOL! I can totally understand taking a bunch of books home and returning them unread. I do that too. :)
Anna, maybe we should outsource book-browsing to a family member? That's actually a grand idea!
Marg, I used to do the same. Thought I'll experiment a bit this time around. FAIL!
I feel your pain! I went to the library today to stock up and had a list of 70 odd titles that would be acceptable. They only had 3 of them in! Isn't that sad?
There's a certain art to putting books on hold -- enough so that you don't run out of things to read, not so much that you end up with 10 or more books all coming in at once.
Madigan, I really need to learn the secrets of putting just enough books on hold, so that they don't literally fall into my arms at the same time.
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