Lucky Library Tresaure

Unfortunately, all of us are feeling the strain of this horrible economy.  My dad keeps repeating that, "these are times we've never seen before." I know that his almost-sixty-year-old sage wisdom is hauntingly true.  I can feel the tugs at my very empty purse strings, and still believe that it really might get worse before it gets better.  So, since we are doomed to the doldrums of not being able to pay for anything, I have tried to find ways to entertain myself with anything that is, well, free.  That is how I stumbled upon my adoration for the public library.

I used to love the library as a kid.  I remember the pride I felt the day I was issued my very own library card.  In Sonoma County, where I live, the cards are extra-special-seeming because they have the all important title of being "The Card."  The shiny, light green card holds an importance in knowing that I have the power... to borrow books for free.  

I know, I know...  The library is completely dorky and weird.  Which is totally true.  But it's also seriously fun!  Yes, getting books for free is a great thing - especially in this era.  What's even more fun, however, is the manner in which I check out books.  Since I can't really afford to buy anything new (nor should I since I own practically every thing I could ever want), the hunt of getting new books to check out at the library is like a treasure hunt.  Albeit a weird, nerd treasure hunt.  But still a treasure hunt nonetheless.  I have a new way in which I dig for my next read.  

Sometimes, I like to wander around my local Borders bookstore.  After I've read the hard news from US Weekly, I like the peruse some of my favorite sections.  I saunter into the cooking section to see if there's any new recipe I can fantasize about never making.  Or I turn the corner into the health/beauty section, to see if I can find any inspiring tips so I can continue my ill-fated trek of attempting to look like Natalie Portman.  Or I'll see what chick lit book is worth reading during my lunch hour at work.  While I wander through these sections, instead of yearning to buy a book I don't need, I simply whip out my trusty iPod Touch and use its Notepad feature, and I write down which book I may want to read.  I now have lists and lists... but that's only the beginning of the hunt.

After I have left the bookstore and find my self in front of the computer, with my semblance of a book wish list in front of me, I log into my local library's website.  This is where the magic happens.  I begin searching for the books on my list.  Once I've found them, I add them to my request list, making my "wish list" become a "reality list."  The "reality list" is where the fun starts.

Part of the treasure hunt is checking to see where the next book is on the list.  Often times I pick a popular book, so I am stuck in line waiting for it.  I know this sounds like it is annoying (and it is), but it's also fun to check which number I am, and which book I'll receive next.  I am cool seeing that I'm number 117 waiting for Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers."  I was stoked to see that I was first in line for "Courage to Start," a book that's going to teach me how to become a runner (it will, I know it!).  Part of the beauty of the library is jumping into the limitations it offers, and make the most out of it.

I guess the game I'm playing with myself with the library could actually be a metaphor of how we're all really attempting to play with the limitations that this economy has thrust upon us.  It is a harshening reality.  But, I think, with the proper tools, or lack there of, we can make the most of it.  I know that I'll be riding out this tidal wave of nothingness with book in hand eagerly awaiting my next treasure.