My Trip to the Library

About a month ago, I went to the capital of our state for some training for work.  Right now, because of Hubby’s schooling, we’re living in a tiny town without very much to do.  So when I got to the big city, I started researching tourist spots to visit. 

Of all the different options, there was one that drew my attention.  The Public Library.  It’s been years since I’ve been in a library of any real size, and I was excited.

And the library was excited to see me.  If you don’t believe me, here’s a picture.

Exclamation point and everything

I didn’t have a card, so I couldn’t check out any books.  But that’s okay, because I could browse.  I’ve been trying to do better at reading more books over the past two years, and I think that in a year and a half, I’ve read the same number of books that I’ve read in the past six or seven years.  So there’s a lot of new authors that I’ve come to know, and a lot of great books that have become one of my favorites.

So I spent the evening looking for books that I’ve read recently.  There were some that surprised me, which were published in the past year and didn’t seem like they would be in the library yet.  There were others I expected to see and didn’t.  Maybe they were checked out.

I got insanely happy when I found a book by a favorite author in the recommended reads shelves. 

If you haven’t read Alexandra Bracken, you really should.

Then I climbed the stairs.  This library had three stories, and I browsed through each one.  I browsed through the fiction sections of the first level, then made my way up to the nonfiction.  There were quite a few books on writing queries and on writing in general.  I spent about an hour leaned up against the shelves flipping through pages.  Then, on the last floor, I pulled out my laptop and started writing.

Being surrounded by words from other writers inspired me.  I was able to spend another hour working on The Orphans of Jadox. 

So I’d say it was one of the best tourist spots by far.  And when there’s a book, there’s always a great destination.

How to Choose a Book

This post follows the thoughts of the previous one.  We talked about writing titles and ones that catch our attention, and it made me think about how I choose books to read.  I’m a bookworm, and I always have been.  But I honestly can’t think of a set patter that I have when it comes to choosing a book.

I was one of those kids who loved to go to the library and choose random books off the shelf.  Okay, not just as a kid.  I still do it.  Though I haven’t gotten a library card since I moved here a year ago, which is quite a shame.  And something I need to rectify.  There’s nothing like the thrill of taking home a pile of books (for free!) and delving into them for hours.  I’m also the kind of person who doesn’t like to buy a book until after I’ve read it.  I’ve had buyer’s remorse once or twice, which has made me a bit hesitant to buy a book without knowing whether I like it or not.

When it comes to choosing a book, it’s hard to say what really attracts me.  Is it the cover?  The title?  Usually it’s a combination of them along with the blurb on the back of the book. 

But all of that’s about to chance.  I just got my first e-reader for Christmas.  I was one of those resistant to the e-reader and e-book because I loved the feeling of holding a book in my hands, smelling the pages, and the finality of closing the book when it finished. 

Of course, I still love the idea of holding books while I read, but more and more of my friends are publishing e-books and I want to support them.  And with the price of e-books it may be just between checking books out at the library and buying them in paperback. 

Of course, this means that I have to develop a whole new way of finding books.  Though they’re all laid out, it doesn’t quite look like a bookshelf to me. 

So how do all of you find e-books?  What’s a good process?  What about a book most attracts you?  The title?  The cover?