Books, Books, Books

Sometimes it’s feast or famine.  At least that is what it feels like when I try to check out books from the library at the university where I work.

If there is a recently published popular fiction book either the library does not have a copy or it is already checked out.

The check out policy is that administrative folks and faculty can check out a book for 6 months!  You can put a ‘request’ for it and then the person is supposed to turn it back in within a week.  But my requests seem to fall into a black hole never to be seen again.  So, if the library has that popular fiction book and it is checked out, I might as well forget about checking out the book for a decade or so.  Then, it won’t be so popular.

If by chance the library has a copy of the book that I want and it isn’t checked out, you’d think that I would be able to find it on the bookshelf.  Right?  Wrong!  As I recently learned, people can sign up for lockers in the library.  They can take books off the shelf, use them, and then store them in their locker until they no longer want them.  The check out system claims that the book is available.  But, in reality, it isn’t.  Fooey on those people!

Last week, I hit the jackpot.  The computer said that the library had copies of three books that I wanted to read.  When I went to the bookshelf, lo and behold!  The book was there.  All three of them.  Of course I immediately checked them out.  I didn’t want to chance them being gone if I only checked out one at a time.

So, two books are snuggled on my desk and one accompanies me on my bus ride to work so that I can read it.

In preparation for our trip to Denmark, I decided to buy a book or two (ahem . .  or three . . . ahem . . . or five!).  Who can resist purchasing a book when it is less than $4?

Book one (a fiction book about Japanese sisters) arrived within 2 days.  The second book (about China) arrived the next day.  The third book (about Darfur) came two days later.  A day after that came a fiction book about India.

Now I’m waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Do you hear my impatient toe tapping?  Where is my fifth book — my book about American politics??  I check my e-mail from Amazon.  It will be delivered by September 14.  September 14?!?!!  I want to take the book with me to Denmark.  I’ll be in Denmark on the 14th!  Methinks I’ll just have to read it when I get home.  Le sigh (to quote my daughter-in-law).

Then there is the book on education that I am reading at work for work.

And the marketing book that I got from work that I get to keep.

That makes nine books for Nina.  Wait.  Let me count them up again.  Mmmmm . . . That makes ten.  Ten books for Tena (pronounced ten-uh)*.

That just might keep my eyeballs busy for the next little bit.

Oh wait!  I forgot the book that I got from a friend that she asked if I would read and write a review about it.  That makes eleven books!

I’m having a feast!

*Tena was the nickname that my older sister gave to me when we were teenagers.