To be fully transparent, I am late to the library game. My mom has been telling me for a long time that she loves getting her books from the library on her Kindle, and it did not speak to me until recently. I would continue to buy my books, spending money and resources to obtain them without thinking twice. I had always bought books my whole life, why would that change now?
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Growing up, I lived down the road from a Borders (RIP Borders!!) and that was where I felt like I lived so much of my childhood. I went to Borders for the release of many of the Harry Potter books, and every year I would get a gift certificate there to spend on whatever books I wanted. We didn't have much money growing up, but my parents made it clear that books were different. Books were special.
Reading has always been a favorite pastime of mine, and it has been an activity that I have always enjoyed. In 2010, I started keeping track of the books that I read in a little book journal, and so far have tracked 172 books since then. It is amazing to be able to see your reading journey and the types of books you end up reading over the years. This is something I have also started doing with Lydia so that she can always keep track of the books that she reads as she grows up!
In the past few months I started borrowing more books from the library. I have borrowed a few physical books and also a few on my Kindle, and have enjoyed the books in either format. With the Kindle, I like that even after my loan is up, I can still read the book as long as I do not exit out of the book (and it does not hold up the loan for the next person, either!). With the physical books, I enjoy knowing that I get to read a really great book, but not have it take up a ton of space in my tiny house and it does not cost me anything. The last book I borrowed was The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda and was super excited to be one of the first people to borrow it from my library!
Now that I have started utilizing the library more, I understand what my mom was saying before. It is rare for her to buy a book anymore because she borrows them from the library exclusively. And supporting your local library is good for you as well as the community so that we can continue to have these amazing resources! Rather than buying a ton of books that you might only read once, borrow from the library and save your money. You are also reducing the resources used to make and transport books (though I do still think it is good to support your local bookstore as well. I usually save bookstore trips for books that I want to add to my collection).
Do you get your books from the library as well? What have been some of your favorite parts about utilizing library books? What has been your favorite library read?
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