Tag: Library card

Book Recommendation – The Last Chance Library

I have always been one of those people who has fought for the local library. I believe that they are extremely important to the community. My brother has worked for a library for almost 30 years. He even wrote a guest blog for me on their importance. You can read that here:

Guest Blog: Libraries Are Important!

I don’t even know how I came upon my latest read. It may have been in a list of books that came up when I searched for a different one. The title, The Last Chance Library, caught my attention. After reading the synopsis, I had to add it to my list.

Here is what Goodreads had to say about it:

June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library. And through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.

Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.

Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer’s feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won’t believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way.

To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she’s determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too.

I could easily see this book being turned into a movie. It had very distinct and likable characters. I found myself relating to many of them on different levels. It’s hard to imagine now, but I was shy and rarely fought for anything when I was young. I was just like the main character, June.

It was also very relatable. In schools, cities, and government in general, they are always worried about the bottom line. In way too many cases, programs, community events, and such are often cut or closed down to “save money.” The decisions to do this never seem to take into account how it will affect the people using them.

That being said, I was rooting for the group of friends as they fought for their little library. It was a heart warming story that I recommend for lovers of libraries and books.

4.5 Stars out of 5

Read More Books

About a week ago, my wife told me she wanted to read more books this year. She sent me a text with a book and asked me to get it from the library for her. She didn’t have a library card at the time, believe it or not.

I told her I read 66 books last year and she couldn’t believe it. She asked me how I did it. I told her than most of the books I read were actually audio books that I listened to on the way to and from work. I explained how much I really enjoyed that and how it made the drive go by faster. 

Well, she got herself a library card and downloaded the Libby app from our library. She began listening to a book by her favorite author and almost finished it at work in one night. She let it play while she worked. She then realized she could connect it to the car and started listening to it there, too.

I had mentioned that I use Goodreads to find books that interest me. She created a Goodreads account and it’s been fun to see her adding many books to her “want to read” list. Some of the books she added are ones I have already read. 

On Goodreads, because it is the start of the new year, they have a yearly reading challenge. 

My wife thought I was crazy to put my reading goal at 100 books. I figure I read 66 last year, I may as well try for more this year. 

Last night while I was at work, Sam texted me from work and asked if I had read a specific book. I told her I hadn’t and asked what it was about. She sent me the synopsis and I added it to my “want to read” list. Somehow, I think she may very well be the one to read 100+ books this year.

I am close to finishing book #2 for the year and it is a good one. 98 more to go!

Are you on Goodreads? How do you find the books you want to read?

Loving Libby!

If you were to look at my Goodreads account, you would see that I am currently reading 3 books. A friend asked me how I could do that. I’m not sure why this seems odd to folks, but I am.

The first book I am reading, is my slowest read. That one usually sits on the night stand next to my bed. It is usually a book that is a “compilation” type book with many short stories or bits of information that I can read a page or two before bed. It is my “don’t have to think much” book. I usually fall asleep while reading it.

The second book is a true book, usually from the library, that I bring with me to work or two the doctor. If the book is good enough, then I will usually read a chapter or two once the kids are in bed.

The last book I am “reading” is an audio book that I play in the car on my way to and from work. With an hour drive both ways, it helps to pass the time and is a good way to get through my “to read” stack!

I have been keeping the library fairly busy lately with my book requests. They have been equally books and books on tape. Recently, I thought my reading was going to slow down because of my new car.

This is the first car that I have ever owned that does not have a CD player in it. Because of this, my usually stack of music CDs will now have to be transferred to a digital format and I’ll have to keep a thumb drive or external drive with my tunes on it in the car. This isn’t too big of a deal, as much of my music is already digital from when I was DJing.

However, the audio books I was getting from the library were all on CD. I walked into the library a day or two after I got my new car and returned three audio books. The librarian, who knows me from always being in there, commented that I must have listened to them all in one day. I explained that the new vehicle has no CD player. That’s when she told me about Libby.

Libby is an app that allows you to listen to audio books, ebooks, magazines and even videos! I can “borrow” an audio book for up to 21 days. My car connects with my Android Auto on my phone and the audio books play through the car radio. I had no idea this app even existed. My librarian told me that if there was ever something I couldn’t find on Libby, there was another app I could try called Hoopla.

What Libby doesn’t have – Hoopla probably does! All you need is your library card.

I have never liked to read digital books on a Kindle or a Nook. I love the feel of a book in my hand and I love turning actual pages. Listening to an audio book can be just as nice and I love that I can listen to them even when I am not in the car.

Library Memories

Yesterday’s blog about taking Ella to the library led to various conversations that brought back many of my own library memories.

My first trip to the library was of course during grade school. We always had a day during the week where we could go and check out a book. There were some occasions where we got to go to the library and listen to audio cassettes or record albums. I remember they had the worst headphones for listening to things in the library!

The above picture is close to what those headphones looked like, but I think the ones at school had very little cushion to them. They were either so tight that they left your ears red, or so loose that the never stayed on. It was rare to every find a pair that were “comfortable.”

On a trip to the library last year with my sons, my oldest wanted to play on the computers and asked for headphones. You guessed it – the headphones they gave him were almost identical to the ones we had in elementary school. Maybe they want them to be uncomfortable, so you won’t be on the computer too long?

My buddy Max reminded me that before the days of computers, you would take the book to the desk and they would stamp it with the due date. This was very similar to the way books were checked out in school, but in school, your name and the date showed up on the card.

Note the card had the date loaned, your name, and your classroom number … just in case they needed to hunt you down!
This one is a bit different in that it has the due date, homeroom and your name.

Today, you go into the library and do a search on the computer for a book. Back in the day, you had to use the card catalog!

With the card catalog, you could look up a topic, a title, or an author. As I recall, the cards were hand typed and in alphabetical order. You would then be able to find the section where the book was located using the Dewey Decimal System. You’d get the number, find the section, find the numbers, and hopefully the book was on the shelf. Each book had those white stickers with that info on the binder.

When I think about the library, two great childhood memories come to me immediately. Growing up, they used to play old radio shows on the radio. I was familiar with them because we used to check them out of the library on cassette tape! I was introduced to Jack Benny, Amos and Andy, Fibber McGee and Molly, Suspense, Dragnet, and so many other shows because of trips to the library. I loved checking them out and listening to them at night.

I also remember looking forward to the nights my dad rented the 16 mm projector from the library.

It was always fun to have dad set up movies and us watch them on the wall. He always checked out old Laurel and Hardy films, Three Stooges shorts, the Little Rascals and Smokey & the Bandit. This was in the days before any of these were out on video. It was awesome to be able to see these at home! I remember those nights very well. I was probably introduced to so many classics this way.

It’s been many years since I got my first library card. In that time the media used at the library had changed drastically. Instead of records and cassettes, today you can check out DVD, Blue Ray, and CDs. There are computers readily available for folks who have no internet. And, of course, there are millions of stories sitting upon the shelves in books. When I hear people say there is no need for the local library, it makes me sad, because it remains one of my favorite places to go.