This and That

Just completed reading The Lost Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. Apparently, she has a series of books about quilts. I was drawn to this particular book because it was about the Civil War and finding the women who had done a quilt that had been found, so between my interests in genealogy and the Civil War, it caught my attention. It was an easy read, nice story, etc.

My daughter has given me the latest Jodi Picult book to read, so I will be attending to that next, so that I can return it to her. Again, pretty easy reading.

I went into the library at Canton Illinois this morning. Canton is about 12 miles away from us, and is a town of about 16,000. The library is the Parlin Ingersoll Library (http://www.parliningersoll.org/) and is just about the best small library that I have ever seen. No, not "just about", it is the best. I am so looking forward to retirement (another 4 days!) in order to begin reading all the great books that I see there. This morning I got a book on the Delta Mississippi Blues, on Organic Eating and 2 books on using Smokers (my husband got one for Christmas and loves it!). I can usually find whatever I am looking for there. Although I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have any books on Clean Eating, which is what I went there looking for. But you know what? I bet that they have some books about it soon! They really seem to stay quite current with books.

I had a pleasant surprise when reading the paper last week and learned that our really small town (Farmington), 5 miles from us, has purchased land to build a new library! It is on hold right now because of the economy, but hopefully it will get going soon. Right now I really avoid that library because it is so small that I can't even bend over in any of the aisles to see what's on the lower shelves. I know that some of that is due to my not-so-small size, but still...I'm not THAT big!

Another thing that I had read recently in our newspaper was that an anonymous donor gave something like 8 million dollars for a new library in Yates City (about 10 miles from us). I may be off on the amount, but it was an incredibly generous gift!

Reading Rules!

Some Related Book-Musings

I ran into Barnes and Noble today to pick up The Gathering. I could not believe how hard it was for me to leave that store. I just wanted to wander and wander and wander there all day long. There are so many books that I want to read. It is such an addiction. I ended up also buying The Shack, which I had never heard of before, but it sounded really good. Also bought a bargain book, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, again sounded really good. I had to check and found that the newest (and latest) Harry Potter book is still not out in paperback. I am thinking that I will finish the book that I am currently reading at home (The Worst Thing I've Done) over the weekend, so I had to be prepared. God knows, I could not go without a good book to read. How would I sleep without reading? How could I function without a good book? I don't have anyone near by who could help me out. The Farmington Library has a quite meager selection. I have to be prepared. I have books at home, of course, but right now I am not feeling like re-reading something. I need a new high...uh, I mean, book. Does that sound like addiction. Is so, no, I do not want recovery. I have not hit bottom. I want to keep reading. It is not interfering with my life. I am a functional book addict. Am I in denial? Am I crazy? No, I just like to read.

Has anyone tried buying books from Half.com? I have about 70 books for sale on the site. They have been listed there for several months. Apparently, I either have priced them too high, or I choose books that people just don't want. The very first day that I put books up on the site for sale, I sold one. And that has been it. So much for making enough each month to make your monthly house payment, as I read in one article about selling books! Anyway, it is a really neat site, and you can get books cheap there, so I do recommend it. That is if you are willing to wait to have a book sent to you (as opposed to walking into the book store and buying it for immediate access). Of course, you can also get on the library's waiting list for a book, again if you are willing to wait. I have ordered from Amazon on-line and it has taken several weeks to get the book, so that is not usually a good option for me.

And how about mail Book Clubs? I belong to the Quality Paperback Book Club, and have for years. I don't order as much from them anymore as I used to , but I still like to get the monthly magazine to read about the books that are coming out. Paying postage for the books is a killer. I don't think that any money is saved after you pay those expenses. Of course, they would argue that you get "points" toward more books. But again, you still have to pay the shipping and handling and it adds up. But I do like the QPBC...they offer good books for reading. I have belonged to other Book Clubs over the years (hard to resist those get 10 free books, or whatever), but I have settled with just QPBC for several years now, and it has been good.

I am always checking books out when I am at thrift shops (such as Goodwill) and garage sales, etc. I often find some really good books, really cheap. I am pretty particular about what I read, but I usually can find something that I am interested in reading.

I guess I suffer from what many other book addicts have...if I read a book that I really like, I have to own it. I do often re-read books at some point if they have really settled in my mind.