My Library is Closing

What do you do when your library is closing for a couple of months and any book you check out is not due back until it reopens?

You go shopping!

Well, that's what I did. (Twice. So far.) I made a list of all of the books I wanted to read, all of the books that had great reviews, all the books that look interesting. I started taking them off the shelves with great aplomb, my arms filling quickly. I took as many as I could drag to the car and promised a return trip.

And I also placed books on reserve like mad, anything I wanted to study this winter. Miraculously, every one of those books also came in this week.

I will be reviewing my wish lists on Amazon.com and Half.com to see what other faves the library might have in stock for me. I also will walk through the shelves, both fiction and non-fiction, plucking what looks ripe.

I can't remember if there's a limit to how many books I can keep: 24, 36, something like that. Maybe, if due dates are all cattywhompus, maybe "book limits" are, too.

It's almost like Christmas came early — which is what I usually feel when I walk through the doors of the library. But this time, I don't have to worry about overdue fines, my one Achilles heel. At times, I simply buy the book from the bookstore because I'll wind up paying that much in fines.

But not this time.

This time, I have a chance to actually finish the books before they're due. If there's a reason to look forward to winter this year, this would be it: dozens of books piled high around the living room. (Wait, that's the status of my living room on a regular day.) (Not to mention the bedroom and the den....)

I checked out a book on decorating the house with books. Maybe I'll get some good ideas.

I'll see you in February, when my library re-opens and I come back up for air.