As a kid, I was a voracious reader, but also a very cautious one1. My caution manifested in a reluctance to borrow books unless I was very confident that I’d like them, but also a reluctance to read on if the first pages or whatever didn’t “grab” me. When I was eleven I discovered that sometimes all I needed was someone to read the first chapter ( Read more... )

For years now, I have relied on my library getting most of the books I “recommended” through Overdrive. I remember calculating that they hadn’t purchased about a quarter of my recommendations (and for at least some of those, the library instead bought physical copies).

But this year, they have not purchased fourteen of the fifteen ebooks I’ve ( Read more... )

1. I haven't decided what I think of the library's new catalogue (I mean, I hate it, because how dare they change it but that doesn't really count) but one of its new features, "People who borrowed this also borrowed", is potentially interesting. Potentially.

Last week I picked up a couple of new releases and the “People who borrowed…” section for ( Read more... )

After spending so much time reading on my phone, the weight of an actual book in my hands took me by surprise. This time, unlike when I picked up The Dictionary of Lost Words, I didn’t doubt my ability to focus on story -- I finished The Dictionary of Lost Words, after all -- but I kept expecting the book to weigh less. To feel smaller.

The weight ( Read more... )

A couple of the books I have out from the library are absolute bricks.

Both are books I had on hold for ages, requested because I’ve read other books by their respective authors, but I know very little about these particular stories. Once I have actively decided to read a book, I usually avoid reading anything about it. (Sometimes I’ll stop halfway ( Read more... )

I logged into my library account and picked a timeslot next week for collecting my library holds. The available timeslots are more limited than the library’s usual opening hours. I chose a day when I can guarantee that I can leave work on time. (It’s been impossible to manage that this week, as we have had to change how we do things yet again.)

( Read more... )

Out-of-print books are a... conundrum.

I’ve recently seen commentary about Open Library being sued for breach of copyright. Coincidently I just discovered that Open Library allows one to “borrow” scans of books which are out-of-print.

Before now, I have never paid attention to Open Library’s existence, so I don’t feel qualified to comment on the ( Read more... )

(I have been writing things and leaving them mostly finished and un-posted.)

I haven’t ended up doing very much zooming from home, but I have seen a lot of people who are, in meetings at work or in news reports. And I’ve noticed the people who have bookshelves behind their desk.

I really like how this looks. But while I am a little envious, I am not ( Read more... )

Still not managing to keep up with the pile of library books. I currently have four and half paperbacks, three ebooks and half an audiobook to read. #firstworldreaderproblems ( Read more... )

Rachel Neumeier posted about Ranking all of Patricia [A.] McKillip’s novels, and thinking about McKillip’s novels has made me nostalgic for the SF/F section of my university’s recreational library. I discovered McKillip during my first year at university and borrowed a lot of her books from that library.

From BookRiot, Librarians Must Weed Their ( Read more... )