Book Feast

I have been known at certain times in my life to engage in book gluttony. I love the overwhelming feeling of there being SO MUCH I WANT TO READ! A few years ago, I made a commitment to no longer buy books (except occasionally for the kids) and only check things out of the public library or borrow them from friends. If you've moved the boxes and boxes of books that English majors and book gluttons such as me accumulate over the years as many times as I have, you understand why. Currently one of our upstairs closets is filled with books that we have no room to display, and I continue to fantasize about a library room with built in bookshelves. Also, I am cheap, and I don't like to spend money on something I can get for free.

The challenge with the library is that I often go with my children, and most children's sections of the library are separate from the adult parts. Since, it is culturally unacceptable these days to leave my kids in the children's section while I peruse the stacks the way my mom used to, library visits don't often pay off for me. Also, the time I have to read is usually after the children go to bed, when the library is closed and I find myself with no outlet for satisfying my book jones if I don't already have a book.

Luckily, the good people at the St. Paul Public Library seem to love people like me as much as I love them. They now have an extensive and growing e-book library that any patron with a library card can access once you download the 3M cloud library app. You don't even need a fancy e-reader. I downloaded the app onto my laptop and my smart phone. Both apps sync to my account, so I can start a book during my evening reading time, and call it up on my smart phone just where I left off if I'm out and about and have a minute to read. Essentially this means, I ALWAYS have a book with me! (my heart just skipped a beat while I typed that). Yesterday, I was at the Minnesota Children's Museum with the boys. While Charlie and Ellis played in the exhibits and Isaac napped, I read Michael Chabon's Manhood for Amateurs on my smart phone (it's a terrific book, by the way).

It's hard to find a lot of space for "me-time" aside from my daily visit to the YMCA. Now I can fit one of the things I love to do the most into random points of my day. Those librarians sure know how to help a gal out!