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I write novels, eat dark chocolate, raise three children, love my husband, scrub toilets, ignore the laundry, and love a good story, but hardly ever in that order.

OPERATION BONNET

STRETCH MARKS

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ACT TWO

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BALANCING ACT

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Read. Repeat.


We went to the library today, the kids and I. Do one's library habits reveal deep and dangerous things about one's personality? Say no. Because if my library patronage says anything about me, it's that I love paying late fees, particularly if there is a DVD involved.

I live less than a mile from our library, which means my library habits also point to sloth.

One of the best things about the library is that we can pretend we have real jobs. All of us, even the four-year-old. Here she is learning about bar codes and the outsourcing of human capital to machines. She's all for it. Get rid of the humans, she says, and give me the bar code zapper!
Ana loves the library and wants to live there. She is also speed-challenged when it comes to picking out books. Often, her slothful and fee-paying mother ends up rolling her eyes and hissing in a stage whisper, "Ana. We. Are. Leaving. Catch a ride home with the librarian." Our children's librarian is a total gem, though, so Ana doesn't hurry her pace one bit.

Mitch loves non-fiction and focuses mainly on the giant squid, natural disasters, and the never-gets-old Titantic disaster. Nothing says "pleasure reading" like mass casualties! I have tried without success to interest Mitch in fake people and fake stories, but he wearily shakes his head and with one motion, dismisses his mother's entire career. No biggie. I'm tough. And I can always have my revenge by writing him into a character one day....

Thea thinks the library is delightful because (a) it's so organized and (b) she can read the same stories over and over and over and over. And over. What is with this child? Why must we read the quirky but underwhelming Angela's Airplane 78,697 times when there are so many other choices? And I love Frances, but I think we can branch out and not hurt a hedgehog's feelings. And this book, on a rotating list of favorites, has made me so irritable, I may have been the one to hide it behind the bed so we could have some literary peace. 
I admit that Thea is hitting a nerve here. I do not re-read books unless they are written by God. And I don't want to know very much about the book before I dive in. I NEVER read the back cover and was totally anxious having to read the copy of my own back covers. They all give way too much away!

And you? Are you a re-reader, like Thea? Do you read the back covers of books before you begin? And, in the interests of full disclosure, have you funded entire sections of your local library by paying your late fees? Go ahead and and confess. You'll find no judgment here. 

5 comments:

  1. Oh, I LOVE late fees. I just look at it as my way of helping to fund an institution I adore. As for rereading, there are just a handful that I will revisit. Jane Austen and Jan Karon offer me a familiar respite when I'm just too overwhelmed to try something new. And I like to reread some of the classics from childhood--Heidi, Little House, the Narnia books, etc. Again, a lovely, familiar escape.

    Oh, and cover blurbs? Not only do I read them, I check back in as the book progresses to make sure they didn't try to lead me astray!

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  2. I am not a re-reader. There are so many books out there that I can't even get to reading them all once, let alone re-read. And I NEVER skip to the back cover! I am one of those "surprise me" kind-of-gals! If someone is casually talking to another person about a book that I haven't finished yet, I will literally cover my ears and "la la la" away from them, seriously, in public, to strangers - yes, weird! I have, however, funded entire sections of the library with my late fees and I think it most perplexing as to why we haven't had a library named after us. Hmmm, maybe they have a prejudice against sloths? Shameful!

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  3. I'm not a re-reader, but my oldest daughter most certainly is! I often have conversations with her at the library that go something like this... "Haven't you read those books before?" (gesturing to the 15 books she's just added to my already full library tote). To which she replies, "Yes, but I really liked them!" Fortunately, she is old enough that she reads (and re-reads) the books to herself. Though, her younger sister and brother also show strong signs of being re-readers. And like you, I may or may not have hidden books or taken them "out of circulation" in our home so we could move on to other good reads. :)

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  4. Oh, how I hear you all on the late fee issue. And Mel, I also cover my ears and sing loudly when I don't want to hear. Same for movies, though I haven't technically seen a movie in the theater since the late 90's.

    NEVER read the back cover! Have you no shame? ;)

    k

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  5. Proof that you should have moved by me, no late fees at my library. :)

    Also, I have reread your books. And other books.

    My children love to reread books over and over again. I have some memorized. Not kidding. I could recite Bob & Larry's ABC's for you. This was Seth's favorite book as a toddler.

    And I do read the back covers. BUT I DO NOT SKIP AHEAD TO THE END OF THE BOOK. My sister does that. I have my limits.

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